TBI vs Vortec

[Iowan]

What's your favorite? And why?

I heard that TBI is better because its more simplistic and if you're trying to up the engine output engine I also heard vortec can hardly sustain stock engines.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

TBI guy here. Strength in simplicity, no plastic intake, no warping or cracked cylinder head issues to worry about and less stuff to fail. I'm not going to argue anything about the power or MPG or whatever. To me, my 300ftlbs is enough. I'm not winning any drag races but it's super easy to troubleshoot and work on myself. Plus I like the look of the old school air cleaner set up.

 

[98 Nitro]

I have 94 Tbi 1500 and a 98 Vortec 1500 truck, both with 350s. Vortec makes more power and does better on gas. Tbi is simpler. To me I wish GM would have kept Tbi on the trucks to kerp them simple and went ahead and gave us the updated more powerful engines. Some claim there are 96 vans with this combo but I don't believe it.

 

[Iowan]

I have 94 Tbi 1500 and a 98 Vortec 1500 truck, both with 350s. Vortec makes more power and does better on gas. Tbi is simpler. To me I wish GM would have kept Tbi on the trucks to kerp them simple and went ahead and gave us the updated more powerful engines. Some claim there are 96 vans with this combo but I don't believe it.

I've heard that as well, unicorns can exists, but who knows?

 

[DerekTheGreat]

I've heard that too, that vans up until '98(?) kept on with the TBI engines. I don't think they got vortec heads though, firing from the hip with this though.

 

[98 Nitro]

I've heard that too, that vans up until '98(?) kept on with the TBI engines. I don't think they got vortec heads though, firing from the hip with this though.

There are 96 Tbi vans, but the rumored vortec headed ones I believe to be a myth.

 

[Wade]

I like the look of the TBI intake setup. It is so easy to clean it, polish it, and throw on some chrome to give the top end some nice aesthetics. It is also so easy to work on and troubleshoot.

 

[slowburb]

Vortec heads with TBI absolutely exist, with a GMPP vortec/TBI intake in between them. There's more at play in choosing between one or the other IMO. TBI is OBDI, while vortec is OBDII. That may cause you to prefer one over the other. It's not that easy to get a chip for a TBI any more, so while it may be easier to build up with hard parts, it's not as easy to feed air/fuel to it.

Vortec setups are grossly undertuned, meaning there is more power in the parts than there is in the overall package...even with the injectors in the intake runners, and the tiny tiny cam. For longevity, a vortec is better because of the roller cam & lifters. It also gets a bad wrap because of the intake gasket failure issues.

I have to go vortec, but the ideal setup would be with a different intake manifold and injection system. Still GM parts, but not what was sold in the pickups & SUV's. I'm part of the way there now, with the ramjet cam and 1.6:1 roller lifters, but I still need the aluminum hi-rise TBI dual plane intake and marine TBI unit (that GM sold under mercury marine on the marine application 350 engines). There are modifications for throttle hookup and computer to work, and this would be ran by an 0411 computer instead of the vortec black box, but once together, it would be a ******* HOSS, son. Vortec head power, with the torque beast 395 cam, and a good intake that will rev past 5000, that would be perfect.

 

[skylark]

Tbi because even though there is zero reason why, I rarely see a vortec go over 250k. I honestly prefer a TBI short block with a Vortec set of heads and a good roller cam.

 

[884x4310ci]

Gotta say tbi. But just because I never owned a vortec and I heard a lot of bad things.
now with the 20 that my truck was tbi. I did have bad things happen. But they where more simple to repair.