Well, the wife convinced me to keep our 91 Z28, so now I'm asking all you california 3rd gen owners: What can you do to these cars to bump up power and stay smog legal? I know people out here have connections to get cars passed smog that don't really pass, but I want to keep it legit. My car is all stock. Any suggestions on where to begin? Thanks

 

You can make make around 320-340 rwhp (400-420 crank hp) with the right combo of parts and still be 100% smog compliant. The best thing to do is determine a budget and see where that can take you. With the right combo of parts you can still get 16-17/22-25 MPG city/hwy and have a pretty fast car.

I would first begin with suspension mods namely sub-frame connectors and a steering brace. Torque-arms, LCAs are small-to-moderate improvements but a good PHR is a wise investment.

 

What engine/tranny combo do you have?

 

my camaro has the 5.7 tpi motor with the auto trans and posi rear.

 

What do you want out of your car? 12 second ET's? 13 second ET's? Mild mods to your stock engine? Most importantly, what is your budget?

 

I would like my car to run 12's at the fastest. Should I just slap a supercharger on it?

 

That's one way to achieve the goal, however I dont think a stock TPI with a blower on it would get into the 12's. You'd need headers, exhaust, and an upgraded intake as well. Dont forget the tranny will need to be beefed up and upgraded.

Jeff's car has a Vortech blower on it, and he is in the 12's. Check out his car. His handle here is BLWR PWR.

 

You can probably get into the high 12's without a blower. A blower will do it, but your going to need at least a $5000.00 engine under it and that is just the cost of the engine without the price of the blower added on. Kevin got into the 12's with mostly G.M. parts. He has ported Vette aluminum heads, an lt4 hot cam, and stock Chevy internals. The problem is that as soon as you make enough power to get into the 12's, the rest of the drive train is suspect. If you go with a blower, you will need to build the engine with forged crank, rods, and pistons. I think I would stay with iron heads for the extra strength, but with a blower you will definately need a stronger trans and rear end. Your 700r4 can be built to handle it, but your rear axle is suspect.

 

thanks guys for all the help