crosswind vs air gap intake

[creative1]

anyone have any experience with the crosswind intake? it is advertized as being the same as the edelbrock airgap, but it is almost half the price. just curious if the performance is similar, and if there are any fitting problems.

thanks for any input.

[djswwg]

I've sold a few of these to chevy guys, they say they work as good as the Eddy's on them. Don't know about the Mopar engines but should have the same results.........djs

[dkn1997]

if you are talking about a small block, then an added bonus is that you can use it with magnum heads with no intake mods!! food for thought

[rumblefish360]

And give your money away to the chinesse while helping to put Americans out of work!
Something I try very hard to avoid.

[cutting torch]

Rumblefish, are you a union guy?

torch

[titan]

a friend of mine bought one off E-Bay and the biggest difference I saw compared to my Air Gap was when you held the intake gasket up to it it had a lousy match. not a huge problem since we gasket match our intakes anyhow, but it did not come out as good as I would have wanted it if it were mine.and then there is the fact it is not made in America.

[cutting torch]

Quality control in China: Yup, looks like an intake. Ship it!

torch

[pishta]

They also brag about having a better casting method that doesnt induce core shifting. If you port match it anyways, you get an already polished intake that works with regular or magnum heads, is 1/2 price of the original Air-Gap, and it already has nitrous bosses on the runners. Biuld a better mousetrap, and they will come....Edelbrock is mad at these folks for good reason.

[djswwg]

And like it or not (not!) almost everything is manufactured offshore these days. Especially things like con rod forgings, which are then shipped to the USA for finish machining and the manufacturer name then puts their name on it so you think it's a totally American made product...............djs

[rumblefish360]

Originally Posted by cutting torch

Quality control in China: Yup, looks like an intake. Ship it!

torch

Would it make a difference?

[cutting torch]

No, just wondering. I've talked to a lot of Union guys that say the same kind of things, and a couple of them had really bad attitudes toward their employers. I have to wonder if some companies resort to moving their operations out of the country because they had too many bad apples. What sucks about that is, the good ones get hosed out of a job too. I think that American companies could be more cost effective, and therefore more competitive. We can never compete with Chinese products on a cost basis, since a day's wages over there might be just enough to buy a few Big Macs over here. One thing we know we can do, though, is make one hell of a better product at a reasonable price. If unions were a little more discretionary about who's job they protect, and get rid of the bad apples, that would help a lot. One rotten employee can erase the profits of ten good ones. Well, Rumblefish, I guess I'm done ranting for now. And by the way, I'm a union member.

torch

[rumblefish360]

If unions were a little more discretionary about who's job they protect, and get rid of the bad apples, that would help a lot.

I am a member of a union that i can say is in termoil and in a bad way with bad things going on. I dare write this and say, I think someone is about to get shot.
Bad taste in the mouth about it.
But on your qoute above, i wish the union could something like that, but, then it would not be doing it's job to protect the employee. Unions are a catch 22 in this case. Where I know some workers that are so bad, they not only endanger there life, but other lifes as well, the union can and will do nothing about it.
I allways say, for those totally dumb ass people there, Thank GOD for this job, because they couldn't survive anywhere else in this world. Flipping burgers is out of there grasp. And we can't rid ourselfs of them. Very bad.
Disgrutaled union member....yea

[cutting torch]

You sound more disgruntled at your union than your employer! I wish unions didn't foster such adversarial attitudes towards the employer. After all, the employer pays your wages, not the union. If you work to improve the company and the union, you can help make a bigger pie, of which you get a bigger piece. You never hear much about a union being concerned about the company's health. If too many guys get the "hooray for me and %$&@ you" attitude towards the company, then they will be griping about the company while they're standing in the unemlpoyment line.

torch

[dwc43]

Originally Posted by creative1

anyone have any experience with the crosswind intake? it is advertized as being the same as the edelbrock airgap, but it is almost half the price. just curious if the performance is similar, and if there are any fitting problems.

thanks for any input.

Do you have a link to there site? I'd like to look over one of these crosswinds. I have an efi magnum I am about to convert and might get one of these if it's cheaper or better than an M1. I doubt it's better, but it might be cheaper.

[dkn1997]

it's such a double edged sword.

Not saying union guys don't work hard, just that it is pretty unfair to a company not to be able to can a guy who is not cutting it. Just like it's not fair for an employer to tell you that you would have to work a 12 hour shift with no breaks. These type of companies were the reason unions began in the first place. There is not AS MUCH of a place for unions these days, with all of the other checks on employer abuse (dept of labor, OSHA, the courts)

On the other hand, the only guys I know in the trades who can afford anything are the union guys, because non union shops won't start a laboror at 15/hour or pay a mechanic 30/hour.

[creative1]

Originally Posted by dwc43

Do you have a link to there site? I'd like to look over one of these crosswinds

sorry to say that i dont. all of the info i have gotten i got from seller's ads on ebay. i do know that they seem to be going for about $100 less than the edelbrocks, though. even if they are only 75% as good, it is still a fair price, and better than stock or a performer (not RPM). havent tried an internet search, though... might do that later tonight.

[cutting torch]

[QUOTE=dkn1997]it's such a double edged sword.

No doubt about that! A little balance would go a long way.

torch

[Fast One]

I have one here for an injected Ford, quality seems ok, one of the runners is a bit out but nothing major, seen worse castings from Weiand etc, guy wants me to port it & match the runners, see what it goes like in about 2 weeks when the engine is finished

[70AARCuda]

here is a picture

[pishta]

A links to their product, a quote from a salesman and one opinion...



http://www.professional-products.com/

"Core shifts can cause misalignment between the ports and the heads, or even actual air or water leakage. That is one problem you will never have to worry about with Power+Plus."

And from the peanut gallery,"...Don't buy these made in China Edelbrock knock offs. The port finish was poor compaired to an Edelbrock, and it was machined outta square. Some bolt holes wouldn't even line up with the cylinder head!"

About 50 bucks cheaper than an Air-Gap for the satin finished.

[dwc43]

Thanks Pishta for the link. My searching did not turn it up. I think I'll do some checking on them. Still don't like china stuff though. Just seen too many failures, but then again it can't all be bad right??

[cageman]

I bought one, I really like the dual bolt pattern, I am going to put it on my magnum headed 273, I was saving for a Mopar one but at this price I can save my pennies for other things, Hell the Mopar one is probably offshore too.

[cutting torch]

Originally Posted by cageman

Hell the Mopar one is probably offshore too.

I don't know about the intake, but their cast 4" smallblock cranks are made in Argentina, and machined here. That is supposed to be a bonus, since they use arsenic in the casting process, and that makes the casting much stronger. Very few countries allow the use of arsenic for that any more since it is bad for your health.

torch

[70AARCuda]

Originally Posted by pishta

The port finish was poor compaired to an Edelbrock, and it was machined outta square. Some bolt holes wouldn't even line up with the cylinder head!"

My crosswind bolts up just fine on Edelbrock heads.....wow...

My question how many people who are talking about them acutally have one or have seen one in person????????????

[dkn1997]

Originally Posted by 70AARCuda

My crosswind bolts up just fine on Edelbrock heads.....wow...

My question how many people who are talking about them acutally have one or have seen one in person????????????

you hit the nail on the head, aar. This problem runs rampant on internet message boards. CAT rockers come to mind. Lots of people badmouth them without having tried them, or even personally knowing someone who has tried them.

I don't mind when someone offers up info as to what they have heard about a product, as long as they mention that it's just what they have heard.

Now as far as people complaining about them being made in china, that's a different issue and people absolutely have the right to feel that way.

[creative1]

well, i was hoping that someone had bought one, put it on their car, and run it... but i guess not. i (and at least 2 others) have asked this same question on another mopar site, and gotten totally ignored.

i guess, like the chain saw spark plugs (which seem to be working just fine!), i will just have to scrape together the $$$ and find out for myself. i just wish that they were available for RB engines, though, cause my spare 440 may well wind up in the '74.

[pishta]

Just to set the record straight, I dont have one, nor have I ever even seen a Mopar model. I did see a polished Chevy SB model and it was beautiful. All info on my post was taken from various internet sources. Refer to Roger of Edelbrock's past posts on this outfit and youll get some more info on these intakes.
I dont have any bias toward import parts, Sylvania TV's are about the only ones you can get that are made in America anymore and they come back defective with the same percentage as Mexico or Taiwan/China. People dont "make" much anymore unless you are talking about Guatamalan woven baskets, It's more in the manufacturing processes. And alot of the Casting/Machine tools, no matter where they are doing there work, are still made here in USA.

[moparmotorman]

Local 100 and not proud. Roger Toussant kiss my ass!!!

[moeflo]

Don't know if it applies, but, I had a China knock-off of a Edelbrock victor, in here, for a small block ford. Compared to the Edelbrocks, it was a "dirty casting". Lots of slag, etc. For porting, probably OK. For out-of-the-box the Edelbrock was much preferred.

[70AARCuda]

So you buy what you want....a edelbrock or a dirty clone.