[grivera]

So my 64 LeMans has dual Edelbrock quads with an Edelbrock intake and due to the spacing, air filter styles are limited. PO installed a set of 6.5” boat spark suppressors which look really cool but the suppressor height is 1.5” and of course there barely any air filtration with these.

I tried the Edelbrock dual quad oval air cleaner but it has a 2.5” pink, oiled filter element and it clashed with the look so I painted it black and still looks bad. The latest is a set of 6.375” chrome air cleaners with 2.5” elements.

So what are your thoughts on the look of these? I do like the look of the spark suppressors but not sure if the lack of filtration will cause issues on a car that will see <3k miles a year. Do the spark suppressors outflow regular air filters? If the lack of filtration is a major factor I will be keeping the chrome air cleaners on there. Any other option I’m overlooking?

[400 Lemans]

I like the look of the chrome ones the best.

[68 Firebird]

yes the chrome style units look great

gerry

[25stevem]

Any air filter assemblys flow rate is highly dependent on the base it’s sitting on in terms of height above the Venturi and the radius leading to the top of the carb.

You can have a great flowing filter , but the base can murder your hp numbers if your air filter area is already on the edge of not cutting it.

Also note that air filter assembly’s that have a added filter in the lid are the worst thing you can have as test have shown.

[Steve C.]

Stated- "Also note that air filter assembly’s that have a added filter in the lid are the worst thing you can have as test have shown."

THAT IS NOT NECESSARLY CORRECT.
Much depends on the carb used during testing. With independent testing over the years it is suggested a carburetor with a smooth inlet contour for the airflow works well with it, like the Holley "HP" series.
A carb design WITHOUT a smooth contour, example one with a choke tower and a Q-jet carb design, can affect the testing results. The Holley 'HP' series carb with it's smooth contour is a completely different ballgame.
It reduces intake turbulence.

Onward thru the fog.


.

[geeteeohguy]

The dual chrome and paper ones look the best. My bet is the K&N style one that looks ugly will actually perform the best.

[tom s]

Its a street car!The best one will be the one he likes looking at the best!KISS!Tom

[Goatracer1]

Why don't you have one made? Combine good looks and practicality. Something like the Mopar Hemi air cleaner has a large diameter.

[tom s]

Check the center to center and see if a big 409 AC will fit if you want something like that.Tom

[b-man]

I would run the reproduction 421 SD air cleaners.

Even if I had to swap to an Offenhauser intake to use them.

Pretty sure the Edelbrock intake puts the carbs too close together to.use them. Swapping to the Offy intake will net you a power increase so win win.

[grivera]

Good points- I am too cheap for a custom option!

[tom s]

Bart,his carb tops are too big for the corvette-SD A/Cs.Tom

[grivera]

Someday I may get an Offy - not sure why Edelbrock puts the carbs so close together

[25stevem]

Edelbrock put the carbs closer together to have longer runners and build a more usable average torque band.

The Edelbrock duel quad is stated as having a power band of 1500 to 6500, where as the high rise Offy 360 intake is stated as having a power band of ( and I quote) 1800 to 8800!
This high of a power band of course is very much CID dependent.

[grivera]

Aside from looks and inability to filter out particulate, are spark suppressors a contender when it comes to flow?

[Cliff R]

As mentioned air cleaner assemblies can have a MAJOR impact on power. I've done a good bit of testing in that area and this is what I found.

Drop base air cleaners are horrible if/when they move the lid too close to the carburetor. I like to see a minimum of 3" from the air cleaner gasket to the bottom of the lid. You can get away with a little less than that if the air cleaner lids and bases are radiused to help direct flow into the carburetor.

Filter lids, like the K & N Xtreme lid are worse than running a solid lid with a nice contour to it. I've also experienced stumble/hesitation/bog going quickly to full throttle testing the Xtreme lid. With the stock Shaker parts no stumble at all, and no stumble at all with nothing above the carb. So not sure why the lid by itself would cause issues but the problem occured both times I tested one on two completely different engine set-ups.

All that testing was done with factory Q-jet carburetors and stock and RPM intakes. You may be able to get away with a little more (air cleaner lid closer to the carb or Xtreme style lid) using a square flange carb like a Holley or AFB.

Not meaning to get off topic but I've ran into issues killing off power and vehicle performance testing things under the carb, like open spacers on divided intakes, and cutting down dividers in dual plane intakes. Dyno and track testing also suggests that at least a 1" well blended open spacer is REQUIRIED on a dual plane intake, and that's with a spriead bore or square flange carburetor, but the power improvements (or differences with or w/o a spacer) were always greater with a spread bore carb vs square flange.........

[Singleton]

Off-topic, but here's an interesting dyno test of 19 different air filter combinations, including the filter lid, stock dual horn, drop bases, velocity stacks, etc. Results at around the 10 minute mark.
https://dai.ly/x693421

[Mr6x]

Show Cars has an open element air cleaner that should fit the Pontiac Edelbrock intake with the 5" carbs. Same carb spacing as the 409. Large filter. Phone: 507-233-1958.

[1968GTO421]

Originally Posted by Mr6x

Show Cars has an open element air cleaner that should fit the Pontiac Edelbrock intake with the 5" carbs. Same carb spacing as the 409. Large filter. Phone: 507-233-1958.

Interesting site, large selectiion of GM air cleaners, pics included if you hover. Thanks.

https://show-cars.com/02-engine-external

[grivera]

I’ll have to check this out