Okay, I'm hearing the word all over the place, porting. I hear people say like ported MAF, ported TB, ported intake manifold, ported heads..... So what eactly is porting? Is it just like to make the holes larger to allow for more flow, or is it much more than that. Can porting be done at some with ordinary tools? Thanks a lot for any info.

 

Porting is used to smooth out rough areas that may cause turbulence and slow down air flow. It also slightly widens the passages being ported. Porting a MAF supposedly creates a larger opening for increased flow. But wider isn't always better. smoother is. That's why it's a good idea to 'port match' cylinder heads to your exhaust. This reduces turbulence, increasing flow rates. To port heads you have to not only get things smooth but find the optimum contours in the passages to increase flow. Just hogging out the runners is not gonna give the expected gains.

Hope that helped. Anybody, if I am wrong feel free to correct.

 

Yep, a lot of times its all about velocity, not hogged out ports. I am not sure about the LS1 heads, but there are a few LT1 head write ups, and basic SBC head porting guides out there that can anwser just about every question you might have...