lozerkdd

I am running a totally stock 92 automatic firebird, and by stock i mean i havnt touched anything under the hood. I have a friend who just bought a 96 or so automatic Sunfire and was all pumped because he could "pimp" it out and stuff. He has upgraded alot on his car and engine and wanted to run against me and my bird. At first i was weary about it cause i know what he has done to his car and i didnt know if it would make a difference. So i finally decide to go, and when we found a street that was basically unused, we had someone count us off. I went and shifted into 1st so that i could manual shift, and get the tourque off the line. She sends us off and at first we were nose and nose(im giving it all i got) and i pull in front of him and then all of a sudden i heard something under my hood. When we finnish i pulled off the road to check it out and i had torn my belt. I had to go and drive to autozone and get a new belt. When i got home i had to explain to my dad that i dont know what happened and that it happened as i was turning out of church on a bussy street. He bought it and now im kinda weary of doing it again.

Asdfga3

Umm... unless that kid had a blower, or a bottle, or you have a V6 Firebird, that is the saddest story I have ever heard.

darrel88

he does have a v6 bird

Asdfga3

Then what the heck are you doing racing it?

Anyway, if you're going to drive a car, you're going to go through parts. If you race a car, you're going to go through even more.

If you want to keep your car perfect, park it in a garage and leave it. If you want to use it, drive it, and accept that it costs money. If you want to actually enjoy it, race it, and accept that that will cost you even more money.

Also, for christs sake, don't drive the car without the serpentine on it. The trouble it takes you to walk or get a ride to AutoZone is NOT worth the cost of a new engine.

phoenix305

leave him alone he can race it if he wants. What wrong with racing a v6? just because its slow doesn't mean its not fun to beat other slower cars. And yes if you're going to race it will wear out parts faster but if you're only doing it every once in a while your not really going to hurt anything.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Your buddies '96 sunfire makes 115hp and may have the A3 tranny. That means it is worthless in a race and may be one of the slowest cars on the road. I know because I used to have a '95 cavy with the same set-up. Bolts ons for that car will only gain him a few horsepower. Your 3.1 should beat him with ease. It may seem close off the line but you should pull away next time.

Racing your car did not break your belt. Improper maintenance was to blame. Try to keep racing off the streets and onto the drag strip.

Asdfga3

Shifty is right. You've got to keep an eye on stuff like that, especially if you drive hard.

phoenix305 - Trust me, when I first got my T-Bird I was 17, and I fast learned why you don't race in a V6.

lozerkdd

yea i know that it was a sorry race or what ever but the thing is that i was all hyped up about this car and when i first raced a car i won so i was happy, then when another bird raced me he owned me so i didnt really race after that. But i was pulling alot of rpms when i was shifting and that was the reason my belt tore.

87TPI350KID

Well maybe you shouldn't leave your car bone stock and never touch anything under the hood. There is a thing called maintenence. It would be wise inspecting certain items such as belts, oil, tranny fluid ect ESPECIALLY before you race your 6 CYL on the STREET.

Demon355

iTrader: (1)

*cough* TOOL *cough*


I'm not much of a nice person when it comes to ppl like this

stu

You shouldn't bother manually shifting either.

89IrocZ350TPI

Hes right. At the track I tried manually shifting thinking I could go faster and only ran 13.8's. Then when I let the auto do all the work I got a few 13.5's. The auto knows exactly when to shift to get the most out of every gear it seems.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

This correct until you increase or shift the powerband of your car. For a stock car manually shifting is pointless. A modified car can benifit from it because the stock shift points are pre-set to maximise acceleration with the factory powerplant. When your L98 starts making power past 5k you will want to manually shift.

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

Yep, what they said above about manually shifting. I do it in my TA because my car makes power til right about 6000RPMs and I have a stock transmission with stock shift points. And before anyone comments, I am well aware that shifting a stock trans at 6000RPMs with a good amount of power is a deathwish...the trans will be changed shortly. My Z28 on the other hand is a 6-speed, so that gets shifted when I want

I also highly doubt you were "pulling a lot of RPMs" and that's why your belt broke. Your belt should out-live your motor in terms of RPMs. I take both of my cars ('88 Trans Am with mild LT1 setup and '98 Z28 with LS1) to 6 grand every day and I've never lost a belt, and both of these motors are pulling way harder on that belt at 6000RPMs than your 3.1 is.

I would also advise against driving without a serpentine belt, but if its only for a few miles, usually you'll be okay.

89IrocZ350TPI

Do you mean if I got a better cam I would be better off manually shifting beacuse the hotter cam would allow the engine to make power past 5K. I only have bolt ons as of now and I get better times relying on the auto.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

You got it.

With bolts ons you are doing the right thing. They don't shift the power band that much but they do enhance it. Therefore peak power will still occur around the same RPM as when it did before you added the bolt ons. Letting the auto shift will still shift the car an approptiate time.

A cam swap will change the RPM range that your motor makes power. Lest assume TPI is not RPM power limited. Adding cam X that amkes power to 5500 rpm needs 1500 more RPM of operating range. If you do not shift manually the car will shift to soon around the stock peak power RPM (4500 or whatever it is). Since there is no way to cheaply adjust the shift points of the 700R4 you are forced to shift is manually.

dbtk2

If the Sunfire is a GT it would be 160hp. Thats more likely. It seems to me that the 115hp one wouldn't have a chance in keeping up with the bird, even if it is a 6 cyl. I have a friend with a '99 GT 5 spd. and for being a cheap little 4 banger its actually not too bad, it runs low 16's but you have to beat the crap out of it to get those times out of it. It would probably actually keep up with my '86 TA or at least come close.

Its okay to race in a V6, as long as its boosted or pretty heavily modded. I've taken quite a few LT1 f-bodies with my little FWD 6 cyl. before, the key is to just not keep your 6 cyl stock...

Shawn

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Was that the last year for the 2.3? I missed the GT part. Your friends '99 GT has the 2.4 "new style " quad four (150hp) and I know how quick they are. My bud had an '89 Z24 cavy and he could easily hang with my LO3 when it was stock.

By the way I see you are from lima? Farm town represent.

PhAnToMs

iTrader: (2)

i have a sunfire GT as a daily driver its rated 150hp and 155tq i have run a best of 15.72@88mph with WAM and perfect condtions.

Asdfga3

Heh..... maybe if it was an SC T-Bird, but the stocker 3.8L has no power whatsoever.

pvt num 11

Hey, my V6 is stock... (wish it wasn't, boost is more addictive then heroin)

89IrocZ350TPI

ya but your v6 has 300 hp.

stu

Since when has it mattered how many cylinders a motor had for it to be cool?

89IrocZ350TPI

I think when kids put stickers all over the Honda that mom gave them to make it look fast, people start to look down on the the v6 and 4 bangers. It kind of gives all imports a bad rep in a way i think. So i think it goes hand and hand with the whole ***** appearance. Thats the only reason I can think of.

Asdfga3

Having never owned, or spent a significant amount of time working on an import, I may be way off the mark here. But assuming both cars are NA, displacement should win out, unless the weight advantage is too great.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Only if the manufactuer exceeds the NA power limits of a motor (which they don't and they won't). There are many four bangers that make more power than older V6 and V8's. Every GM, Ford, Didge, Toyota, etc etc V8 vehicle created today has wasted displacement. More so than their 4 banger base motors.

89IrocZ350TPI

I dont know. Id take a V8 any day but some of those 4 bangers can really move. My buddy had an 04 STI omg did that thing rip out of the hole!

stu

That will only lead you to disappointment. You'd take some crap box 305 over an STi? Really?

87TPI350KID

Be careful of little carollas and cheapo dohc cars. T3 Hybrids are only a few hundred bucks and with some piping and a tune, they can be respecatble for only a few grand.

And STi's, EVO's, Modded WRX's, Mild SRT 4's can take just about any Thirdgen. Possibly even hang with Turbo TA's.

89IrocZ350TPI

lol man you are picky. I am not a big fan of how those STI cars look but I do think they are sick in performance. For around the same price id much rather have an SS,WS6, or an SVT cobra. Gotta love rwd long burn outs.

stu

What do you mean possibly?

89IrocZ350TPI

Ya STI's run very low 13's stock. No stock third gen is going to touch that. Not even the TA. TA's usually run 13.4-13.7, but they look waaaaaaay better.

Jgolden314

Let the kid have his win already! Just because he has a v6 firebird doenst meant we have to jump down his throat. I mean it can be a nice cruiser. Some of you people are rediculous.

Enjoy your car.

89IrocZ350TPI

There is a V6 board....you will have better luck there.

urbanhunter44

iTrader: (3)

Actually stu the sti will trap a little below what a stock TTA will trap iirc. And dollar for dollar I'd be willing to bet the TTA can go faster on the top end. The STi has the advantage of AWD from a dig though.

89IrocZ350TPI

My buddys sti was limited to 143. Take off the governer and youd go faster for sure....

DuffMan

iTrader: (1)

I'll give you the 3 cubes and yes, I would take a 302 over an STI

Eric: