Taking It All In

Generating more power and performance out of an engine is something that speed enthusiasts strive for every time their toolbox is opened and the hood is lifted. Any true custom automotive enthusiast with gasoline in their veins desires more and more performance when the acceleration pedal is planted, and most want to do it without breaking the bank.

A performance exhaust system is a great place to start, but increasing the airflow into the engine will also help get those horsepower numbers up-to-snuff and get you moving down the road quicker. On late-model vehicles which need to pass strict emissions requirements, a huge huffer with dual carbs poking through the hood is not the most viable option.

The key to balancing performance and reliability is determining your truck's use, and gearing the engine modifications to it. For a weekend cruiser show truck, a blown and injected Rat motor might be the answer. On the other hand, for the truck owners who use their truck daily and tow toys with it on the weekends, simpler and emissions-legal modifications make the most sense. A good set of headers and exhaust can yield great performance gains, but as mentioned earlier, getting more air into the engine is paramount to jumpstarting a performance enhancement.

The folks at AEM (Advanced Engine Management) take the task of increasing performance very seriously, and offer a simple and affordable solution to updating the power and performance of your late-model pickup with the company's Brute Force line of performance air intakes. Recently, we suggested to the folks at AEM that they develop an intake system for the popular '88-'95 Chevy trucks equipped with the throttle-body injected 5.0/5.7L V-8s. The company developed an intake for the '96-and-later fuel-injected Chevy pickups, but had not addressed the throttle-body-equipped haulers. Last year, they got the ball rolling and began tooling up an intake for one of the most popular trucks on the road.

Here in Southern California, you cannot drive more than a few blocks without seeing this body-style pickup either lifted to the sky or slammed to the ground, and if these owners are tweaking the suspensions, you know they are toying with the powerplant as well.

To give AEM a base to work with for development, our project 5.7L '95 Chevy spent some time at its Hawthorne, California, facility serving as a test truck for the new intake system. After months of development and testing, this hot new product is ready for the aftermarket, and Truckin' got a front-row seat at experiencing the eye-opening throttle response and horsepower gains recognized by installing it. Follow along as we add some additional ponies to our '95 Chevy Silverado using AEM's latest Brute Force air intake unit.