Okay, here goes. I've been checking out the board for several months now. There seems to be as usual some great info and some funny stuff too.
My question(s) are about the '91 I bought a couple of months ago.
I'm going to be pulling the trans soon, as it needs a rebuild, so I have'nt been able to take it to the track yet ( closets one is 1/8 mi). I have seen alot of comments about the ultimate tbi and the 454 tbi. What are these mods, and what are they worth? Also, newbie question, but is the 305 tbi a roller cam on flat tappet. I plan on changing out the motor, ( as soon as the 377 is built) and am interested in track performance primarily for this car. I'm not terribly worried about feul econ. For now, I would love to keep the tbi setup. What cams, intakes, exhaust are good starting points for the 377 tbi? I'm not worried about losing too much power with the 305, as the 377 is def going in. Current thinking seems to be with carb intakes and adapters.
Another option I have is yanking the 355ci/350th out of my truck and putting it in the '91. I know this would give me some decent times ( 9.1 @ 79 mph in the truck, 1/8 mi) but I would rather get the tbi a/4 into the low 8's in the 1/8 ( mid 13' in 1/4)
I am lookong for honest help here, and apologize for my rambling. Thanks to any and all replies.
Kevin

 

First off...... you're a Ford guy aren't you. We have a th700-r4, not an "a4". I just HAD to clear that up.

The Ultimate TBI mods are listed on the homepage ( www.thirdgen.org ) under "Technical Articles". The 454 TBI is just that; it's a TB off a 454 out of a 1 ton pickup.

The 454 TB has larger bores then the stock TB on our cars. 2" instead of 1 11/16"

The "Ultimate TBI" mods are nothing more than smoothing or increasing the radius in your stock TB. It's supposed to allow more air flow, but I have my doubts. Not saying it doesn't help, but is the effort worth the results? That's my question. I guess even if it only helped a little, it costs nothing or next to nothing to try.

Your car has a roller cam.

By saying 377, are you stroking a 350 standard bore, or destroking a 400 bored .030" over? That will make all the difference in the world of what cam, heads, etc. to use.

 

Here is the link to tech articles: https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/

You may want to check out the article on "Ultimate TBI I and II".

Power increase from TBI mods is dependent on condition and any mods to existing motor.

Your 305 motor is likely a roller. Mine is 91 305 and it had a roller.

You'd need to decide on if you'll be keeping the TBI or converting to carb before worrying too much about cam/head and exhaust combos.

Perform searchs on this site to find further info. TBI setups can be made to produce respectable power, but like anything, they take time and for full power will likely mean delving into PROM programming. The info already existing on this site is amazing and is tapped via searches.

I stayed with the TBI for a few reasons: I need a dependable driver, decent fuel economy, acceptable emmisions and the challenge of learning about programming of chips. Otherwise, I'd be going with the troglodyte-large-displacement-carbed-small-block for pure un-bridled power. Both have their merits.

Best-
S-D

 

Also meant to ask, "What the hell is an A4?", but AJ answered that for me. I only have experience with Chevy's, obviously.

AJ, are there some Ford skeletons in the closet we need to know about?!? Just a ribbing-

Best-
S-D

 

a4 means automatic 4 speed

m6 means manual 6 speed

thats what most ls1 guys refer the 2 different types of trannys to and he's an ls1 guy as you can see in his sig so give him a break.

 

Yeah...I refer to my transmission as a M6, not a T-56 six speed...and if I had the 4L60E automatic, I'd say A4...hehe. It's a LS1/LT1 thing.

 

25THRSS, Yes I also have an ls1, and you are correct, a4/m6 is how we refer to our trans. Thank you for noticing!
Swerve, for now, I plan on keeping the tbi on it to keep it legal. I know I could take the easy way out and carb it, but I would like to try and see if I can get the tbi to run.
Aj, Actually, I am not a "ford" or "chevy" guy. I just sold my 93 302 T-bird to a friend 'cause he wanted a project car, and it was taking up too much space. I have two camaros, one chevy truck ('76 stepside) and one Dodge truck ('03 ram quad, and no, unfortunatly, it's not a hemi! ) I have owned many different brands of cars over the 20 some odd years that I have been driving, even a Honda prelude. The all had thier merits, and I enjoyed and cussed at all of them.
I don't take any offence to being called a "ford" guy. I am quite simply a " car" guy. Not trying to start any flame jobs here, or make anyone mad, just introducing myself to everybody. All comments and replies are welcome!
Anyway, on the 454 tbi, are there mods that have to be made to install one? I live within sight of a junkyard that has a couple of likely candidates. Which year/model would work the best? Oh, almost forgot, by 377, I am building a destroked 400. .30 over, 350 crank, 6 inch rods, flat top pistons, etc. Good question actually, as I have gotten in some heated discussions over how to build a 377. Ie: 400 block, 350 crank or 350 block, 400 crank. This usually involves someone who thinks that a 400 crank, 350 block is a 383. It is if you bore it .30 over.
Going to go take a shower/eat now. I'll be back online later. Anyone want's to bs, I'm on yahoo IM as kmdracer.
Kevin

 

You must have some good traction to run 8.2@82 in the 1/8th! I usually run about a 8.5@82MPH or so...damn I need some sticky Nittos.

 

bahamutRS. Your right. The night I ran the 8.2, I had borrowed a set of et streets from a friend. The best I've been able to get the '99 on streeet tires ( 255/16 dunlops sp5000) is 8.59 at I think 81 mph. The weather that night (8.2 run) was also really great for south central Texas. Low temps/humidity and wind. Still trying to do it again with the street tires, but I don't think it's going to happen. Maybe if I put on some aftermarket arms, but right now, I am going to build the '91 tbi. I hope to be able to get it somewhere in the 9's (?) this summer, but as I haven't put it on the track yet, that may be beyond my means this summer. Most of my money is being saved to buy a house right now.
later, Kevin

 

What do you have done to your LS1? I have a Loudmouth and a MTI lid...I am getting some FLP long tube headers and Nitto drag radials in a few weeks (I spent money on rims rather than headers, that's why it's taking so long..hehe). Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have some Stage II heads and cam in the Z28 and I'll be pushing about 420rwhp...

I'm surprised your rear end held up for the launch with ET Streets! Those are hell on our rears, even for an A4...

Good luck with the house!

 

I just got back from the track at Dinwidee with my LS1 and all 4 runs i got in were 13.2. I ran a best of 13.213 at 106.34 mph with an 8.594 8th at 85.36 mph and a 2.137 60 foot just to let you guys know. I'm pretty happy for my first time at the track in my car, I just wish I could get some damn traction. Oh yeah, my reaction time was a .508, pretty damn good huh?

 

bahamutRS.. Sorry it took so long to reply. My ISP has been down since about midnight last night. It was down when I got back from the track. We took a buddy's 92 ranger that we have put a 302 cobra motor and m5 in. He ran a best of 9.1 @ 81mph. He would have ran much better, but it was the shakedown night, and still on 235/45/17 tires. Not too shabby IMO.
As far as the ls1 goes, it is stock, really. Some of the people around here don't thin it's totally stock, but it is. I have done some suspension/ tuning work, but every thing on the car other than the muffler and the tires is stock. I want to see how fast I can get it before I start changing things. I think the first thing I will do to it is some aftermarket suspension parts, ala SSM bars and torque arm. Gotta get those 60ft times down.
About the rear end... that was two launches on the et streets. After the second, I decided not to do that again untill I had changed the rear end out. Gonna go for a 12 bolt next summer.
25thrss.. Great times. I am assuming you have an SS from you name. I was wondering how much, ( if any ) faster the SS were than the stock ls1 Z. Don't know if you are stock or not but congrats anyway. RT is awesome. I generally get about .598-.600
I need to run the tree more!
Later, kevin

 

exactly

exactly

 

Actually I dont have an ss, I have a z28, but they generally run about the same time. Stock for stock the ss might have a tenth, i say might. Mostly the ss is just an appearance option. And thanks, I followed the .508 with a .530 reaction right after that. I'm pretty happy with my times.

 

The WS.6 and SS option doesn't really give a big power gain...basically you get 17" wheels, and if you want, an aftermarket air lid and SLP cat-back...so it's the same as a lid/cat-back Z28 or Trans Am/Formula.