i just picked up a mechanical cream puff...an 87 Formula 350, auto, 4 wheel disc brakes(WS6?), 104k miles, adult owned, BONE STOCK, $1700...anyway,
i want to hit the 13 second mark in the 1/4 with no internal work and street tires...what can i do?? i figured all the free-mods would be nice, a/c delete, smog delete, weight reduction(remove rear seats/bumper support/etc),

anyone out there have a car similar to what i want? how'd you do it? i basically want to do this with as little money as possible.

 

honestly it'll be tough. with full bolt ons and tires I've seen l98 cars run 14.0s.

Personally I'd do full exhaust (headers back), gears, converter/cooler and get some street/strip tires (nitto 555s) and hope to hit 13s. I've never seen the 87 model l98s really perform all that well, but maybe that's just me.

ac delete and smog delete will gain you ZERO power, just some weight reduction.

 

it WILL free up power. i gained 1 tenth and 2mph JUST by pulling my ps belt off, with all the equipment still intact, just no belt. ac and smog are the same. and you can delete the 80+lbs. that they weigh.

 

87 models have the same potential as an 88 or 89, same mods will get the same results.

Headers/Y-pipe/Catback/Good tires/Runners and ported intake/K&Ns - Gutted Airbox will insure 13s. Orr89rocz is running 13.8x with just headers/stall/LCA

 

imo the later 91-92 cars have faster stock times than the 87s... also remember orr89rocz is pulling exceptional 60ft times, and his trap speeds are way below average for the ET.

mw66nova, pulling off a PS belt is diff than deleting your smog system. On the fourth gens it does absolutely jack sh*t except make your engine bay a little nicer. I've never seen a third gain anything from it, and I've seen back to back runs at the track.

But if you gained time by deleting it, but imo, a change that small could have been something as simple as a longer cool down period, or a different launch technique. You'd have to average out about 10 runs before the mod, then average 10 runs after it, paying attention to the DA and the 60 ft.

not a flame, just an observation.

 

i see where your coming from, but this is simple physics man, it takes power to turn those pulleys (as marginal as it may seem) but everyone i've seen who has deleted these systems have gained (actually freed)horsepower. with that said, is it possible that the smog pumps from the thirdgens are less efficient and actually do take enough power away from the engine to see a decrease in ET? maybe not enough to notice SOTP though.

i am also a firm believer in underdrive pulleys. i just recently (yesterday) installed some lightweight aluminum pulleys. these weighed literally pounds less then my factory 85-87 serp/vbelt combo pulleys. as crazy as it sounds, i really did feel a difference(turst me when i say i did not expect to literally feel a difference) and can't wait to go to the track to get more track time tomorrow. the less weight of the pulleys (reciprocating weight) actually allows the motor to spin more quickly and freely.

 

How is the car non-mass air? Converted to speed density?

 

I've never seen anyone benefit from pulling the A.I.R. system or the A/C besides the fact of wieght savings.

I don't think you realize that the smog pump has literally about ZERO drag on the system... All it does is push air with some bull**** little fins. I could see the A/C maybe doing a LITTLE something, but I doubt it would even gain you a solid tenth... If so, it would be pretty amazing, and I think we'd all hear alot more about it.

But if I was taking it to the strip, I would pull the crap anyways, although not really because of power gains... Just to free up the engine bay, make it easier to get around in there, and just to not have unnessecary components.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong - but, doesn't the A/C pump spin with no resistance unless the A/C system is turned on?

 

Yes, but it's like havng a boat anchor on the front of the car. You're talking about somewhere near 80lbs where you don't want it.

That being said, if the car spends any time on the street during the summer, it's not worth the gain IMO. And I've done it and suffered

 

this is my second GA summer with no ac. i'm doing just fine in my 98+ heat with 98%+ humidity.

 

after having a car with A/C all summer, I'll never pull it

I'm interested in your track times with the pulleys nova, so make sure to post em!

I've never seen real gains but hopefully you'll have some luck

 

i've seen mixed reviews. some say it did nothing for their et but increased fuel mileage. others i've literally see drop 3 tenths (wtf?) so, yeah. i have too many other little things i've done since last week to see what the pulleys will really do by themselves, but they do look MUCH nicer.

 

yaeh i got headers/ catback/2800 stall and 3.27 gears now, and alot of suspension work.

eibach springs, with adjustable tokico shocks. panhard bar, LCA's and brackets. i set mine to 4 outta 5 stiffness on rear and softest setting up front.

car went 13.89 at 96.6 mph in decent weather without the LCA's and brackets. now with new gears and LCA's, i had some problems with exhaust leak and torque arm bushing, but still go 1.88 60 foots but only did a 13.99 at 93. i think i got my problems solved and i will hit the track in october. hoping to pick up

non mass air? if speed density i guess you will suffer from bolt ons like runners/afpr/etc...

if solid tho and with 91-92 computer, free mods, gutted air box, suspension, full exhaust, and great gear/stall combo, it should break a high 13.

 

Easily!

 

Last time I ran at the 1/4 mile was almost 2 years ago. Then I was running 13.21@104.63 with stock internals. Since then I have done afew other boltons and the Gtech shows a nice improvement but I wont state those times until I can back it up on paper from the track...... most of my boltons are listed below in my sig.
*** your 87 Formula 350 should be mass air and 89 made 10hp more then 87-88 because of the duel cats, someone above said they made the same hp*******

 

my 89 has a single cat... i think duals was an option?

 

Later L98’s got bigger cams, different heads, dual cat exhausts with a much better y-pipe (you’d probably call the ’87 one more of a T) and were factory rated at up to 25hp more…hell, the later 305s were rated higher.

I ran a 13.59@100 with basically a cat back and cold air intake on my ’87 formula 350 on the stock (at the time 16y/o) Goodyear ZR’s with a 1.8 60’. There was other stuff done to it, but they were the assorted “free” mods and suspension stuff (I bought the car from an autox’er) that if anything made the car harder to launch.

 

sweet info guys, i appreciate all of it! TPI-Formula350, your car is freaking BEAUTIFUL! if you ever get more pics send em my way.

what exactly are the free mods on the TPI cars? i'm familiar with the LS1 free mods, but not these...i tried the throttle body coolant bypass on my dad's 92 Z28 and it screwed up the idle, so i don't want to touch mine. what else is there?

 

The coolant bypass shouldn’t do anything to the idle except possibly in very cold, very humid conditions. I’ve done it on every single car I’ve ever owned and have never seen any change in idle quality.

Otherwise, I’m talking about little things like inflating the front tires, making sure that everything is tuned/adjusted just right, finding what timing and fuel pressure your particular car likes the best… some people might take it as far as grinding inside the TB openings on the plenum to open up the closed in areas back there, making sure that your runners and their matching openings lined up perfectly, removing everything that you’re not using to make the dragstrip pass (at least the spare, jack, tools…), jumpering the TCC terminal (you might find that your car runs slower with it locked up, mine does under most conditions)

 

Lots and lots of bolt-ons should do the trick.

 

just broke into the 13's with my car, 131k on it. It is a SD L98, AIR and AC all assecories fully optioned only weight reduction was cowl hood and removed spare, have cast iron manifolds, and stock chip. You need good cool dry air, it was in the upper 60's for me and low humidity. A set of DR's is mandatory. Get a pair of nittos or BFG KDW's and you will be close, add a few choice bolt ons, and the 13's are yours