My goal with the single carb setup is strictly for use as a test setup, to see what, if anything I'm leaving on the table. The ease that manifold swaps are accomplished with a B/RB mopar is one of the strong points in the engine design. It takes me a whole hour to swap intake/carb combos, it would be 20 minutes, but the top removal on the STR makes the job take a little longer. Before I go any further, I have to say that I have LOTS of tune time with the STR-15 and almost none with the Victor 383/Bigs 950. Anyway, the test results are in. The Bigs 950 is a nice carb and was good for a two tenths (0.21) improvement over the 1000HP. However, the Edelbrock Victor 383 with the 1000HP (11.66 @ 115.4, 85* 60% humidity) is SLOWER than the STR-15 with 2x750 cfm eddy carbs (11.27 @ 119.6 on a cold day, 11.35 @ 118.1 on a 85* 60% humidity day), by three tenths (0.31) and the Edelbrock Victor 383 with the Bigs 950HP (11.45 @ 115.4, 86* 60% humidity) is SLOWER than the STR-15 with 2x750 cfm eddy carbs (11.35 @ 118.1 on a 85* 60%), by one tenth (0.10). I accomplished my goal, but I was surprised by my findings. My best 60' with the STR-15 with 2x750 cfm eddy carbs was 1.524 and my best 60 with the 1000HP was 1.667 and the 950HP was 1.625. I'm sure that with more tuning, I could make the 1X4 setup with the Victor run better than the STR-15 with 2x750 cfm eddy carbs. But that is not the point. The point is that the STR-15 with inline 2X4 is an excellent manifold and will run with the new technology stuff. This test also throws that carb CFM formula right out the window. I've proven to myself that the low deck strokers NEED lots of CFM to work, 1500 staged CFM is not too much for a 451. I had put the STR-15 up for sale in anticipation of using some stage VI heads with a crossram setup, but I decided to kill the eBay ad until i completed the testing. As it is, I am keeping the STR-15 setup and will re-install it after i tune some more with the Bigs and Victor 383. The 1X4 setup is an excellent test tool, but that is all it is. I built the car for NSS, and that is what it will remain for as long as I own the car. My STR-15 has not had the DC internal mods performed yet, but they will be, before it goes back on the car. Not only does the car run better with the STR, but the visual impact alone of the dual quads makes the work that has went into making it run well worth every ounce of effort. So there you have it, the old school stuff is not so bad after all. The Bigs 950 is an excellent unit, well constructed and EZ to tune and I feel it is worth the $$$.
