Ok so i just got a 91 rs with a 305 and im going to be honest, its slow. The car is all stock with a TBI. What is the easyest/cheapest way to make this car move without going big? If you guys could help me out with parts or simple tuning things that would be great! Thanks

Start with exhaust, air cleaner and tune-up. Then get into tuning.

What Graebz28 said is correct, start with the easier mods and work your way up, go with a basic tune up, then move forward to a headers and catback exhaust system. Throw some subframe connectors on there, those are rumored to help alot with the overall feel of the car. Go with a posi rear end if you don't have one, swap in a good gear ratio, 3.23, 3.73. whatever suits your style.

After that you have a few options, you can either put some money into that 305 that you have and get a cam, heads, and intake manifold, then either make yourself a custom chip or pay someone to do that for you.

Or you can swap in a 350, alot of people will probably tell you to swap in the 350, and that makes sense, because think about it theoretically, you can put that money into those parts for a 305 i.e. heads, cam, intake, chip, but you can put all of that into a 350 also and see much bigger gains.

Good luck, hope this answers your question.

so far iv done plugs, wires, cap and rotor and i got a k&n filter and im making a custom open element out of the stock snorkel. Im pretty sure the car is running rich, how can i tune it up? or can you get me a link to it if there is one?

i really dont have the abillity to drop a 350 in right now so im just trying to make due with what iv got. But ill see what i can get out of this motor now. Its sucks having a kid with a faster ***** than me at my school. Hes got an eagle tallon and he walked all over me. just trying to even the odds.
thanks guys

Friend, you aren't alone. I also own a '89 RS with a 305 in it, and I've been trying to get what I can out of it (Although I'm having horrid problems with it).

I'd have to agree with what the other guys have said. The simplest mods will add some power, and after you get them taken care of, the rest will come with time (and money - Meh). Also, about the car running rich; I think there's a FAQ in the main portion of this forum, in the "Everything you need to know about TBI" thread. I think.

I also have a few rivals at school....3 more days until I graduate, though.

I don't know whether that's a common problem among our TBI inducted 305's but that seems surprising that the car is running rich, especially considering the strict emission standards our cars had to live up to.

There are quite a few reasons as to why your car could be running rich, fouled spark plugs not fully igniting the mixture, your timing could somehow have been disrupted, AIR injection system could be malfunctioning, the catalytic converter could be faulty.

The Y-pipe on the 3rd gens sucks. I think a tbi truck can be made to fit. Find one at a junkyard and try it. Grind off the lip on the throttle body and radius it smooth. You can put an extra gasket under your injector pod and raise it up a little. All these mods will give you a slight increase in power but to be honest an engine swap and chip burning are going to give you the best hp per $.

iv got new plugs in it so that shouldnt be the problem. i just made a custom open element out of the stock intake and got a trany flush. once i get it tuned up iv got about 500 bucks to throw into it. what would be the best things to get first. other than exhoust, im just going to buy a cut out and wait on a full kit. i was thinking gears but i dont know what size to put in it. im looking for good low end but i want to be able to cruise at decent Rs at the same time. anyone have a set they would prefer?

Everyone has stated everything you could do for now. Start reading the Stickies over and over (In the TBI Section) to learn what can be had from these cars with each mod done. Please read them too, thoroughly. I still (been a member since 06) need to go back and read them again, mainly to refresh but to make sure as well as to what I am doing.

Read my signature...

Thanks everyone. The only other thing is is there a section or sticky for tbi chips? Iv been looking and cant seem to find one.

It's in DIY-Prom

Rebuilding your TBI unit with the injector spacer actually makes a pretty big difference. I had 160,000KM on my odometer when I did my rebuild. After 18 years the filters, o rings, and gaskets start to look pretty gnarly. My kit was $60, but you can buy them on eBay for $40. It had taken me 2 hours to take it off the car, clean it, rebuild it, and reinstall so it's pretty minor work. Depend how mechanically inclined you are, too.

yea my tbi untit is getting to look pretty bad where can i get the kit from? Is it just called a TBI rebuild kit or what?

Most parts stores should carry it, it's a bunch of gaskets, and o-rings with a few filters. The fuel injector spacer you can buy on eBay for like.. $14.00.

You don't need many tools, either, I changed most of the gaskets and stuff with my leatherman Wave multi-tool and a Torx set.

Here is what I am unsure of.

I have two here, one cheaper than the other but with MORE parts, one more expensive but with less parts? Which one would be best as the descriptions aren't the best. Also both are from the same Brand Name as well...

$36.99 27pc Kit

$44.99 No Description Kit

the only thing i could think of is if the $44 one has an injector spacer with it... maybe thats the only thing i could think would make the diffrance. if anyone know that would be great becouse i need to get a kit myself and im looking to get one tonight.

Autozone has 2 kits: 1 is 7 dollars and one is 45. The difference is one comes with the diaphragm for the FPR.

My theory is if you want to play you have to pay. If you are going to play a little then build a motor that is gonna take it, Don't go messing around swapping this and that out on that 305 its not gonna hold any power combos that you bolt on to it. Do it once and do it right, trust me I've been there!

well i agree with that comment and im most likely going to be dropping in a 327 this winter. The only thing im not sure about is if i should stick with the Tbi or go carb. I think it would be easyer to go tbi but can it put out the power? the motor is suposedly pushing out around 300 hp. can the Stock TBI fuel that much or do i need a new setup?

Yes, the TBI system is much easier than a carb, no tuning is required with a TBI other than getting a custom chip made for your exact modifications performed, a chip would be necessary to gain all the HP you could get from the TBI system since you'd be dropping in a 327.

I've read somewhere on here that the stock TBI unit can't handle much more than I think 200 HP, I'm not sure on that but I'm almost 100% sure it can handle about 200 but no more than 250. The Holley aftermarket unit can handle an upward of 300 HP I believe. So it would not be very beneficial to stick with the stock TBI unit on anything more than a stock 305 motor, yes you could probably tune it up with a chip but it will get to a point where the unit just won't flow enough to feed the motor.

Hope this helps.

Fast355 (IIRC) built a near 450hp TBI setup. It can be done, just takes a lot.

I plan to stroke my motor to a 335, then supercharge it with a wynjammer kit. I'm looking for a nice 300-400tq.

I have a 383 running tbi that I am pretty sure makes over 250 hp. I have a bored tbi and 91# injectors running 30psi