Eh, maybe. The ZF is bigger, heavier, with heavier gears and parts, plus I believe the DM flywheel is heavier (35lbs). The ZF might be more efficient, but I don't think it is and I'm confident that it's not 7% more efficient.

I think 10% is close to reality.

 

I'd say without the overdirve its around 7.

 

UPDATE: Got a quote from the foundry yesterday and drove over to the foundry this morning to have a meeting with the plant manager. The quote was way too high and I do mean high. I did try and negotiate a better price, but they didn't want to budge on cost per unit except if it took less time and the cost then would come down. However, it would have to decrease in time a fair amount to really dent the finished price. I still have to have them machined. So, unless everyone is OK with a price tag over $900 shipped, the cost is much too high and it really sucks since I wanted to keep the entire production in AZ. I know the cost will go up a tad, but not that high.

So, moving forward, I do have a few people to talk with that can put me in touch with other foundries that can do a pour and I'm waiting on a call back from one right now. I also talked with the owner here in Phx at TA Performance yesterday since they have casting poured at the same foundry here. The conversion was interesting to say the least and he dd provide me with some good info on foundries and a few other things. This project almost feels like it did back 10 years ago which was a huge PITA to get things rolling. So, give me some more time and I'll see what I can work out. Push come shove, I take my brand new tooling and throw it in storage never to see the light of day again unless someone wants to purchase it. More to come...

 

I don't see why $900 should be too high. What does a (used) Super Ram cost? What does a new Mini Ram cost? What does the ProFlow cost? What does/did a TPIS Bigmouth assy cost? What does a FIRST cost? HSR...after fitment machining?

I don't think $900 should be too high for a direct replacement, bolt-on intake that has the power potential that yours has. JMHO....

 

Yes and no... the problem then becomes that unlike a HSR or the likes that the market for it is small. It would hurt me but I would pay it to be right. I mean I already got shafted at 550 for a crap one that's as god as a door stop now so....

 

I'd have to agree that $900 may be quite a bit but it's a lot better than $550 for a shot in the dark. Quality costs money I guess, I just don't know how many others would be looking to buy one at that price. Either way, thanks for the update.

 

Ok, as a potential customer - I'd say 900 is out of reach. I was close to buying at the 500ish that you could order it for with a discount code but after reading about all the quality issues I backed off. I would have expected no excuses quality at 500, that's not cheap for 1 element of an equation that has other parts that cost money. I'm not looking to build a huge engine, just looking for some "cheap" bolt on ponies. Given the uncertainty in the Renegade future, I had picked up a spare stock CFI manifold with a pair of complete unused throttle bodies and air cleaner assy off local CL, think it was $160? Since then I've ported it per some of the articles floating around on the net - and am ready to bolt it on. Along with some 1.6 rockers and a couple other mods. Again, in no way do I think it has the potential of the Renegade, but that's more than I need, I just want to grab some low hanging fruit with minimal cash outlay.

So bottom line, at 900 i wouldn't give it a look. I'm not debating whether the price is justifiable given the engineering and manufacturing costs that have gone into it, but from what I want to get out of my 84 Vette, it's just not worth it to me. Maybe I'm a typical potential customer - maybe not - but as an owner of a CFI who's looking for a little boost, I'm probably a relevant data point. I will say I'm retired, so I have a lot of flexibility on how I spend my time, if I want to spend a bunch of hours porting a manifold, I can do it without having to justify it. Somebody who's working full time may have a different view on their perceived value of their time.

 

I think that would be a fairly standard position to take for the owner of a 84 corvettes in the US. They are pretty low cost so there is a chance of over capitalizing on them. Just with those 1.6:1 rockers make sure the push rods clear the heads. There is an oval slot for each pushrod in the heads just check that the pushrods don't bind due to the longer rockers. I’m not sure, it might be fine or it might require the slots to be clearanced. If you are taking the heads off to clearance them then you might consider replacing the heads with an aluminum set.

 

UPDATE: I talked with another foundry owner this morning and he seemed hopeful, but we shall see. I sent him a tons of pics of all the tooling to get an idea what to expect and go from there. Unfortunately for me, this foundry is out of state which means a road trip, but it isn't too terribly bad. Also, thanks for all the honest comments. All I can do is try to keep the cost down to a minimum. My goal is not to gouge anyone with this new project, but it is what it is on cost. Anyone that knows about manufacturing can relate to this and it just happens to be a somewhat complicated pour. If I can not do this within reason, I will shelve the tooling.

 

i reckon they could do it in China nice and cheap for you.

 

ABSOLUTELY NOT! It says MADE IN USA for a reason Greg...jus sayin'.

 

But made in USA with globally sourced parts works too.

 

I don’t think the Chinese factories in Shenzhen or Dongguan care about what the print on the lid so it could say Proudly made in the USA if you like. Last time I was there I bought a lovely Rolex that was proudly made in Switzerland.

 

LMAO... Having something made there like the manifold brings on so many issues I don't want to deal with, it isn't funny. The things I would have to deal with on the other side of the planet would be endless for me and I just don't want to do it, plus I would have to spend even more money just in travel and I have no interest on going to China. Since I have traveled all over the middle East with my last employer, that was more than enough for me in this lifetime.

 

Oh man I wouldn’t wish that on you and besides you don’t even want to go to another state.

 

900 is a lot but if it’s between 900 dollars for a renegade 2.0 or the program being scrapped I’d be willing to pay the price

 

UPDATE: I have contacted three more foundry's including Edelbrock. I just got off the phone with the Edelbrock plant manager and had a long conversion with him about the manifold. I just sent him all the pictures of the manifold to look over and give a quote. He was very interested in what I have and was looking forward to seeing it. This is not the same guy I talked with years ago at Edelbeock, so I will see what happens. The other two foundry's called me back and waiting to hear about the quotes from them. I guess this is all a positive thing, but we shall see. The Edelbrock guy did mention that some more foundry's are closing due to the virus pandemic and their phone has been ringing off the hook. Not sure if that will be a good thing or not? If nothing else, if Edelbrock does do the pour and the machining, I feel real confident that it will be correct the first time. As always, more as it unfolds guys, stay tuned.

 

Edlebrock is very good with their castings.
I heard that they were doing castings for low demand items once a year or so in batches.

That would be excellent if they did it!

 

UPDATE: I'm going to go on a road trip with the tooling to a foundry in a couple weeks so they can see about doing the pour...that is all.

 

Hey man, I respect your perseverance and hard work on this endeavor.