my problem is that my '83 Trans Am w/a crossfire-injected 305 puts out 175 HP and 250 lb/ft torque from the factory. The performance is enough for me but I would like to at least be able to say my car has over 200 HP and I would like to get the torque up around 300 or more. I do not have the time nor the energy nor the knowledge needed to do any major modifications so I am relying on quick-and-easy bolt-on type parts that will help with my power deficit. I already bought K&N air filters and after my tune-up and trans. flush I am going to install a Jet Chip. I'm hopin' that the filter and chip will put me over 200 HP but I think I'll probably still be shy on the 300 lb/ft of torque, so if anyone has any other products that are a quick and easy power booster, let me know. Thanks.

 

i think the general consensus is skip the chip and go for gears, headers, etc.

 

really? my dad has a buddy who installed a Jet Chip on his '99 T/A and got pretty noticeable results, but what kind of performance gains can I get from headers?

 

How about 20 HP and 15 lb/ft from a set of headers. From what I've seen of those chips, they seem to work better on newer cars, but not so much for our vehicles.

Do a full exhaust and that open element, throw in some gears (which do not technically make HP) and I'm sure you'll be happy.

But then again, once the speed bug bites you. . . .

 

hey I'm all for headers I just wasn't gonna spend the money yet but if you guys think it'll be more effective than a chip I guess I'll do that last. The thing w/gears though is that while I will would get more use out of low-end grunt since I am deathly afraid of wrecking my car doing 90 down back roads I still want some high-end torque and a decent top speed. Won't lower gears screw that up? oh, and how much is that gonna run me?

 

If your car has the 2.73's in the rear, going to 3.23's or 3.42's will make a noticable difference and not effect your top end hardly at all, but all of my experience with gears was done with automatics in the cars. While you're at it, you can throw a posi in for some added benefits.

I paid $100 for the posi, $50 for 3.23 gears with 5 miles on them, $120 for a rearend rebuild kit, and $125 for labor to rebuild my rearend.

When you do your exhaust, make sure you plan it out right and research on here. There's a wealth of knowledge and experience as far as exhaust systems go.

 

k, guys, thanks for all the advice. I guess I'm gonna check here b4 I do ANYTHING to my car from now on......

 

Port the intake manifold! Biggest restriction on a CFI car! Then get exhaust. Also you should already have 3.23 gears and posi.

 

yeah, I knew I had posi-trak but I wasn't sure about the gears... I guess I won't worry about that, then... thanks..... (scratches gears off list)

 

there are no chips in LS1 or LT1 cars...

 

MrDude- I hate to tell ya but they're $309.95 for stage 1's and $319.95 for stage 2's..... I don't know what you mean.

 

They arent chips. They actually reprogram the comp instead of replacing a chip.

 

thats funny if that WAS a chip and i paid 300 dollars for it i would shot myself. for 300 dollars you can get headers, and even gears for that much. if you know how to find them. youi'll probuably see more of an increase this way rather then a chip

 

ok,well I don't know where he got the chip from then... I guess I'll ask the next time I see him.......

 

I beleive there is actually a chip, but it's welded permanantly to the computer. Point being that you can't buy a chip. You can reprogram it though, like MrDude said.

 

After moving into "computer" mode, and out of "car" mode, there is obviously a chip

But like I mentioned, and (MrDude meant), you can't buy a chip like you can for "Gen 1" SBC Fuelie motors.

Checked with my buddy, and he agreed, he had a 95/LT1 TA.

 

chips are worthless. too much for too little. crossfire injection...do they even make prog for those things? if your looking for bolt on power, your really limited to the headers and exaust, unless you wanted to do a cam? i would do the port and polish intake to go with the headers.

dang i dont even know how cross fire works. not to tick you off or nothing but i heard that cross fire is horrible. do you have any problems with it?

 

problems..... like reliability problems??? just complaints in general??? It's got more juice than the carb.... as far as reliability goes I've had no problems with the fuel injection.... the starter grinds occasionally (twice last summer) which I'm replacing and I think I have a transmission leak but I'm not sure and that's got nuttin' to do with the CFI either, so I guess the answer to your question would be no.

 

right from the website ppl......

JET Performance Chips offer the most horsepower available for your GM car or truck. Only JET performance chips provide exclusive full range DST programming of the air/fuel ratio, ignition advance, transmission and various other parameters. Each program is track and dyno tested to ensure the most possible horsepower from each application without effecting drivability or fuel economy.

1983 Camaro, Firebird 305 Crossfire Auto

Stage 1 #18303
$159.95 Qty:


Stage 2 #18303S
$169.95

 

gen II and III motors.... (really all of GMs OBDII motors as far as i can recall) get updated by flashing the ROM in the ECM...


there is no chip.


and there is no need to reprogram anything unless you have mods that require it.... they(JET and other generic chip sellers) can sell all the crap they want, it doesnt mean its a good idea.
the LS1 and LT1s already have a agressive timing map that pulles out timing only when needed (and in the case of the LS1, it can go by the cyl...)
the only gain these "chips" used to give on gen1 cars (still a waste of $) is a more agressive timing map.
they cannot accuratly predict your fuel needs, no matter how much crap you tell them abotu your motor.


theres a reason that 100s of people nation wide make a living running LS1 and LT1 edit..... and why there is a prom board here.. to actually be effective and useful, you have to test and run the car.

you dont expect to get a "race" carb, slap that puppy on and have it be righton do you? what if you sent off to JET to get their calibrated race carb? think that will work? they change a few springs and jets and send ti back... will it help?

theres no way to know....





there are no "chips" for LT1/LS1... you can get stupid lil programmers to mess with shiftpoints, rev limiters, fix gear changes and a few other things... but mostly they're just crap and a waste of money... not to mention, like most GenII and any genIII parts, they're overpriced.





anyhoo, when you get down to it, if i wanted to keep the CFI and wanted some decient power, id save my money and not get a "chip" but i would modify the motor, throw a better cam in, clean up the heads, put some headers on.... then have someone help burn a prom.... i dont know if you're up to it, but id probly swap to the 747 ECM before i start..... then burn a prom test, burn another one, retest, ect....
then and only then will it run to its full potential for the parts you have.

 

like i said, chips are worthless. more juice then a carb? are you kidding? cross fire has nothing on carbs. there is a reason gm only used it for 2 years...

 

Stick with the CFI. Don't waste money on a carb/intake swap. With the money you would spend switching to carb you can use it on something more useful on your car like exhaust.

 

hey i never said switch, i just said carbs are better then cross fire. am i wrong?

 

port that CFI manifold. its really killing your top end. and get some headers and a catback,

then a cam and don't get a chip. bring it some one and have then tune it. you'll make 230hp and 300+tq

 

Kontrax... the charts n stuff I've looked at show that the carb 5.0 made 150 HP 240 for torque, crossfire 175/250, and the top-of-the line carb made 190 HP but again only 240 on torque.... 25 more HP sounds like more juice to me. Maybe the 190 HP carb performs better I've never driven what but it seems they should be about the same cuz I'm puttin out more torque and the carb's only got me beat by 15 HP.

 

alright guys, I came here to get advice on the best way to the power of my engine not to argue over whether my car needs a "chip" for the 'puter or a "module" for the 'puter. I also didn't come here to discuss which engines are ****tier than other engines. The engine that is in my car is staying in my car and I wanna know a cppl quick ways to boost the power. So thanks to those who have given me advice and thanks for gettin' me all straightened out on which cars have chips welded in er w/e but telling me the crossfire is a POS isn't gonna help me boost it's power output and I'm not chaning it so if anyone has any more tips let me know... thanks. Oh, and I apologize to anyone whom I may have offened.

 

that's *boost* the power.....and...... I've never driven *one* (not "what") srry guys... I guess I need to start re-re-re-reading these b4 I post em....woops

 

maybe your right in third gens, but you have to remember the tech they used then and all the emo crap the cars had to pass. if you have been reading CHP or any other chevy mag lately youll see how they rebuild the little quadra into a little monster using a 30 dollar rebuild and slightly bigger jets. im just saying you can do a whole lot to a carb for shot cash to make more power. also keep in mind that you can get tons of different sized carbs for different applications.

 

ya in some cases you can do more to a carb, but SOME ppl dont have one and arent going to cut off all their wiring to go back 50 years in technology. So I hate when someone tells me to dump the x-fire and go to carb. I have a couple carbed monsters I rebuilt , I know my alternatives.
So when I ask about something fuel injection related, I hate when someone buts in and says switch to carb.

PLEEAZE ppl. just try your best answering the question, not going along to each board and telling a newbie, who probably just familiarized themself with what they got and they want to know if this will affect that, totally irrelavent talk that will not help them in any way like "switch to carb, or swtich to tpi"
Alright

 

hey all i did was put in my two cents. i think if your asking a question like that and people give you the old "switch to" answer, just reply with "i already have another car with that" or "i want to keep the injection the way it is" so you dont get the "switch to" answer...gotta love these boards

 

With the power that you are wanting, you will have to do quite a bit more than just a chip and air filter Combined you "might" get 10-15 hp, but I would even doubt that. Those are more Quasi mods. Without having access to your specific car and knowing your mods the chip wont probably do much. People usually do the filters because they do flow a bit more, and they are re-usable, but I wouldnt expect much power from it. Exhaust sounds like a much better idea, but I still dont know if that will get you up to your power levels. What kind of transmission do you have? If you mentioned this I may have missed it. You could probably step up on the gears and not have to worry about your high end. I would imagine that you will be power limited before you are gear limited.

As far as the carb thing. I am a pro Fuel Injection person, but not all fuel injection was created equal. As a matter of fact, most fuel injection that was created for thirdgens were not the greatest for power. I am currently using a carb just because of the power per dollar ratio. It makes it a lot easier. I would like to go fuel injected down the road, but there isnt really any of the stock injections that I would want to put on because I would just be limiting my setup. I dont know what kind of parts there are availabe for cfi, but if they make them a better intake may be a help, and if not maybe consider porting yours.

 

ok, so far here's my plan for spring..... 1st there is a little bit of surface rust in the engine compartment like around the battery n stuff that I am gonna have touched up. Then the driver's door rubs just a smidge so I'm gonna have that tightened up, also. Then I'm takin it for a tune up cuz those wires n plugs n crap are the original ones. While it's there I'm having the transmission looked at cuz I think it's leaking and also has probably never been flushed. THEN if I still have money left I'll start lookin' at exhaust and that intake. Anything else in case I happen to have money left?

 

cam

 

That door rubbing, if its what I think it is you cannot just tighten it up. The pins over time will wear an oblong hole out of the original round hole and it makes the door sag when you open them. Very common on these cars. Check that out. Top Down Solutions being only one supplier of hinge repair kits, To do it properly they are not cheap at around $220 a kit. I know I need to do mine also you can see where the door rubs the door sills and also when you hit a bump going down the road you can hear the door clunk in its jam, damn I hate that.

 

yeah... that's the prob... mine doesn't jerk around over bumps, tho. The only reason I know it sags is because of the scratches towards the back of the sill... thanks for the info... dang I was hopin' it was somethin' easy for once...

 

It rarely is

 

Usually it is only the upper hinge that is worn out. You can get the replacement hinge pin and bushings from gm for pretty cheap. The one from top down contains stuff to fix the lower hinge, and the gm upper hinge stuff. Usually that isnt needed though. Also, it is possible it is just sagging. Try lifting on the door and see if there is play up and down. If not then it probably just needs "bent" back up. There is a special tool that attatches to the door to do this. If there is play, try to see where it is. Most likely it is just the upper door pin.

Ben

 

there doesn't seem to be any play in the door... it doesn't really want to jiggle around much and I can't feel it drop down when I open it. What do you think- should I just take it to a GM dealer and have them do all the work on it?

 

Gm is very expensive. I know I can lift up on mine when its open and can see the play in the lower hinge. Theres other possibilities of course. If when your doors open and you grab the end of it and lift theres no play at all, its possible you have a bent hinge plate, like if the door was open and some big fat A_ _ was leaning on it. Who knows could be quite a few things. I think if it bugs you enough and you can't figure it out, you might find a reputable local body shop or something that will look at it, they would probably be cheaper than GM.

 

door pins are like 2 bucks and all you need is a pry bar to lift the door. be sure to put a heavy rag over the sping in case it pops out, its flys and youll never find it. real simpl to do. have a buddy help you, goes a lot smoother

 

Where are 747 ecm's sold at

 

hey man ive got the same car as you daytona 500 and all i got a hypertech thermomaster chip and a cooler theromosat trust me its def worth it i paid like 250 in all for it also buy a new computer at napa (they were the cheepest) itll make an improvement as well as K&N air filters (our air clearers are very ristrictive that helps) also get a air tube like on the carbs 5.0s and run that from the front bracket to the side air damn on the air cleaner it will work a lil more givin it more "ram air" also a nice 277 9 bolt rear will give you some more top end also have your lower intake port polished bored and have ur egr channel removed and get a block plate for it my ta went from the stock bull**** 175 hp to 215 and i paid about 350 in parts the expensive part was havin the new intake put on and having the throttle bodies tuned by a specialty shop (which i highly reccoment it gives it alot more) hope this helps pm me with any questions