After nearly 3 month's of waiting, I finally received the AS&M "big tube" runners I ordered in an "AS&M Group Purchase"a bunch of us did on another Fbody forum.

I got home late from work today and there was a big cardboard box waiting for me on the staircase as soon as I walked in the doors. I didn't know what it was at first until I saw the the name printed on the tape used to seal the box.

I snapped off a few pictures just in case any of the TPI owners on here are thinking of upgrading and don't know which aftermarket runners to go with. Thes picture's may help you make a decision....

These AS&M's are simply amazing. EVERYTHING, about these runners is impressive. The first thing I noticed was the their color. It's a very bright silver and looks as if it has "metal flake" in the finish. They actually "sparkle" when you move them from side to side. I don't know if they've been painted or not, but whatever the reason for their awesome appearance, they're just that....awesome looking...

The next thing I noticed was how light they were when I picked them up. They have almost no mass at all. I don't know what the stock piece's weigh, but these things weigh much less than what they look like they should weigh.

Just staring at these thing sitting on the floor, I couldn't help but think they looked like some kind of wreckage from an alien spacecraft that just crashed in Roswell New Mexico.
They look like something that was smuggled out of area 51

These things just look bad-@ss. Plain and simple.

To the untrained eye, they could easily be mistaken for a stock set of runners with a custom paint job. But those who know TPI's well enough, will right away realize these runners are quite a bit bigger than the stock ones....

The insides of the runners are smooth as silk. All the welds are virtually PERFECT. The flanges are completely flat and straight, no warpedge of any king. In a nut-shell, the AS&M's just scream "quality & craftsmanship"....

They came complete with instructions, all necessary gaskets and 4 stainless steel flange bolts. After lining up these gaskets with a spare plenum I just bought yesterday, the runner ports on these AS&M's are noticeably bigger then the ports on the stock intake, so it'll definitely have to be ported to match the runners in order to get the best results.

If anybody wants to see any other pic's, or has any questions, let me know.

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Here are a couple more. Enjoy!

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How much hp do they claim these will add? They look awsome.

sweet. Have fun with the install!

AS&M claims that independent tests show an increase of aprox. 25hp on a stock L98 ( 5.7L 350). They don't make any mention of what they'd be worth on a 305 though. As to whether or not they're really worth 25hp by themselves with no other mod's, I have my doubts, but there's no question that they provide 10x the breathing potential of the stock runners. These things are enormous in comparison to the factory runners. They flow 260cfm per runner making them by far the best flowing TPI runners ever produced. If I had to bet what they'd really be worth on a 100% bone stock L98, I'd say 10-15hp.

On the other hand, if you already have the usual bolt-ons (exhaust, headers etc.) I believe they'd be worth 25.

I'm currently porting a plenum from an '85 Iroc-Z I picked up the other day and I'm doing the same with an Edelbrock base I bought a few weeks back.

My only mods thus far are 1/34 headers, cat-back, and 1.6 roller rockers + all the "free mods". I've already got a bet going with a couple guy's that these runners, with a ported stock plenum and my Edelvrock base, will be worth at least 35-40hp.

That's my conservative guess. I'm pretty sure it will end up being even more than that but just to be safe, I'll say 35-40 .....

I'll post some results after I've finished the installation and thrown the car back on the dyno....

i had an arguement with someone a few months back about these runners...and there claime to 25-30 hp over stock....totally ridiculous. the highest flowing runners out there can barely get 10-15hp by themselves even SLP and they siamesed the first inch or two to increase airflow and extrend the plenum area thus creating more power and higher RPM's due to an actually shorter runner. ur right on with the 10-15 hp with runners only maybe alittle more with the porting of the plenum (not as extrensive as with the SLP's tho) the edelbrock base is a good one but ur still limited by the tube diameter and length of the runners i think the total runner of a TPI setup is something like 26 inches including the base. that just means low end grunt with no top end. SLP's have made the most power bc they extend the RPM range...hp can not be made with out higher RPM's. TPI engines will die off rapidly after 4800 rpms. wat these runners are gone do is alow more air and more power but i doubt u will see peak power above the baseline. 35-40 hp is alot from a base and runner change, even if u port the plenum...runner upgrade and base u might see 20-25hp max. edelbrocks matched sets only make something like 15-20hp over stock. they did a test on a 87 Fcar with a 350 tpi base lined it and only did a vortech high flow TPI base and vortech heads and they made 50hp!!! and the vortech head flows alot more than a stock TPI head. u'll be lucky to get 25 hp from the intake upgrades. more power will be made from the intake upgrades after a cam and head change. the 350 TPI F car i believe ended up with 354hp from vortech heads, hot cam, high flow base, high flow edelbrock runners, ported plenum, fuel pressure regulator and 52mm throttle body.

most power would be made with a good CAI and low restriction exhaust tho

305's dont choke as much as the 350's bc the TPI was intended for 305's and the base of a stock 350 TPI is the unchanged 305 base so the intake upgrades wont make as much an increase unless your doin a head and cam upgrade and really need more air...tho it will still benefit

any idea of the Inner diameter of the runners? i kno edelbrocks and SLP's etc are bout 1.60 to 1.66 " and stock is 1.47 and a normal high flow runner will flow about 250cfm

they do look nice tho... amd it looks like they only grinded the first inch or so from the runners opening but the insides look real smooth too. enjoy if its a 350 tpi in ur car bump the fuel pressure to 50psi and port the hell outa the plenum including behind the TB and the base too as well and open that puppy up and theres more hp to be made...the car will like the fuel with the new found air. descreen the maf if u hadent already and do a TB coolant bypass.

ENJOY!
oh yea they are lighter bc the tubes are thin aluminum tubing like that of the stock runners u can see the lip on the flange and thats good for weight but that just means u can't port them like cast runners.