I am going to do a tune up on my car next weekend. I just bought the car yesterday, and it needs a tune up badly. What do you all recommend I replace/clean when I do this? Ive never done a tune up before, so I need to know everything that would be good to do to a Camaro.

 

Dist. cap and rotor

Spark plug wires and plugs

PCV

Fuel filter

thermostat (try to a 180* one)

radiator cap

oil change

if you still got some extra cash, try to get a MSD Blaster 2 coil and an open element air filter

and when all of this is done, bump your timing up 4*.

(if you do get a MSD coil, get some plugs that are gapped at .045 as opposed to the .035 stock setting. And stay away from gimmick plugs. They are not worth the money. I like the AC Delco rapidfires myself.)

 

I have the blaster coil and have my plugs at .035. Would I gain anything by regapping them to .045? They are delco plugs. I had to get rid of the bosche plus platinum fours that foulded out.

 

i'd have to agree the platinum+4's $uck, tahts what i put in and ther fouled up.

 

I just put in a 160* thermostat cause my car was over heating. I paid a whopping $5 for it too. When I pulled the neck off the intake, I was surprised at what I saw...NOTHING! There was no thermostat! Then when I was cleaning the car, I found it in the storage thing in the trunk. But I dont need to worry about extra cash...cause I wont have any for a while. Im just trying to get the car up and running its best. But bumping the timing up 4*...this can be done for free, correct? How would I go about this?

 

It's in the tech articles I think. It will tell about the wire that you have to disconnect so the computer doesn't compensate.

Look at the ultimate TBI articles.

 

WHILE YOUR AT IT YOU SHOULD PORT AND POLISH THE INTAKE AND HEADS AT THE SAME TIME... stick a bag of sand on the intake from home despot for about 5 bucks then crank up the car... that will polish all the internals real good!!!!!
then to wash out all the sand hook up a power washer to the intake to rinse out all the sand!

 

lmao

 

In regards to that, does anyone else feel the same way? I read the tech article about tuning and it mentioned that Bosch Platinum series was highly recommended to install in your tune up.

I've heard others say they are crap.

This is very confusing... are these good or no? And if there is a better option out there, what would that be?

 

Do not get them. Thay are over priced and not a good match for our cars. They can be a great plug but not for an HEI set-ups. I had the blaster coil with the plus 4's and they fouled out after 2000 miles. I can take some pics and show you how unevenly the wear was on these things. I switched back to the good ol' AC delco and the car ran a ton better. These plugs are good for other cars though that have platinum plugs from the factory. We put some in my roomates old Z24 and the car ran a lot smoother and he got like 5mpg better. I have read that they are no good with high power igniton systems and I geuss the HEI qualifys for that. I have read this in magazines as well. The car ran great with them for like 500 miles and then they went downhill fast and my car missed, had bad mileage, and a rough idle.

 

So basically what you are saying is that for third gens in particular they are not a good match, but for other cars they may be pretty good? I have a hard time understanding why someone would recommend them in a tech article if they fouled out so quickly.

For now I think I will stick with AC Delco as that is what my friend has in his 5.0 305 TBI V8(89 RS). He says they were installed in January and no problems as of yet.

Thanks for the reply, Shifty.

 

hey thats true about putting them in a z24, I did that in my 90 (the +4's) and it did make it run awsome but not so much in my camaro.

 

Ok thanks, I'll remember that.

 

Lots of people have had problems with these plugs. I think the guy in the tech article didn't run them long enough. They are good for cars that come with Platimun plugs from the factory. But our cars did not and the spark is to hot and wears out the plugs super fast.

 

AC Rapidfires...

 

OK, cool. What type of sand should I use....... Uncle Stinky's Sand Box Sand brand sand or Home Depot's private label "Children's Play Sand"?
I imagine I should get the low respirable silica type, so I don't end up with silicosis from all the sand blasting out my tailpipe.

Uncle Stinky's Sand Box Sand brand sand............ Forgive me, my mom dropped me on my head when I was a small child. For a whole day.


S-D

 

Hey man, its good that you are becoming a camaro driver....i was with no money when i got mine. What i did was just did the basics.

-oil and filter
-air filter
-factory AC Delco plugs
-took the radiator for a clean out
-removed the termostat...( that way i would never have problems with it sticking so it provides a free flow.)
-Wires Factory

All this you can find in autozone thats if you guys have that store over were you live. You can also find it any other auto store.


I am planning to make mine a bit better, yet none of these people have responded to my message only a simple "it looks good" one. I would need links to sights that give informations about tuning up a 305 TBI.

i hope the tune up info helps out.

 

i really don't recomend that route.

 

dewey is right, do not remove the thermostat it may even cause your car to run hotter, not to mention your comp. will not like that idea either! use a 170-180 degree

 

removing the tstat does not allow the water to flow slow enough to cool in the radiator especially if you are in bumper to bumper trafick!!! goin down the road is not a big deal though.
i have even read that those high flow electric waterpumps can make you run hot because they flow too fast!!

 

well it has work fine with me...i havent head any problems with the car over heating on me. The normal temperature for these 3rd generations cars would be between the first and middle level of the temperature gauge...thats if i am right....that is were my car stays All the time...i have taken it bumper to bumper a few times...And i had no problems with the temperature....one thing that does make the temperature go up is when i am flooring the car after every stop light. I assume that it should happen to most cars. after making it work so hard ......reply ...it seems interesting...I think i have to mess with the radiator lid...i have a really crappy one...

 

okay, what about your mpg?

 

well, the 'normal' temp for these cars, is between 195* (t-stat temp) and 225* (fan temp). really you don't want to run much colder than a 180* stat in them, because the computer will not go into closed loop without reaching a certain temp.

now in my car, i run 6* advanced initial timing and have a custom timing curve. i also run a 160* t-stat, BUT, i changed my closed loop enable temp so that i run in closed loop even at cool temps. and i do have a hair of knock if i sit in traffic and the car heats up higher than normal.

 

Alright, I'ma fix this once and for all...

Mind you, I live in florida.

I ran my car for 6 months without a thermostat, going through winter....and it ran fine.

Without my thermostat, I could keep the car at 100 deg at night time, and during the day, in heavy traffic, it would run up to 230...which then the fan would kick on and all were merry...

With the thermostat the difference is...I can't keep it cold anymore, and it heats up 3 times as fast during the day, thats it.

In fact, what really is going on, it backpressure....my radiator had no problem cooling off the coolant...now it simply heats up quickly anyway.

Supposedly the higher engine heat is supposed to allow for better gas mileage and to an extent better performance(assuming you have cold/ram air) because it will cause a better firing of each cylinder because the spark doesn't have to work as hard to burn the stuff...but I dunno about all that.

All I know is, if you want it to get to "running temperature" quicker, get a thermostat.

Otherwise, leave it alone.

Also, i know everyone says not to, but get a 160 deg thermostat, that way if it DOES get stuck you're car won't completely overheat, it will have enough holes to keep the coolant flowing no matter what.

 

i just drove to ga from va last week and i got 24.8 mpg and didn't overheat a bit and i was doing over 75 most of the way!

 

that is part of the point i am making, you never get warm enough to let the computer do its job, at that temp, it never enters closed loop, that is a bad thing.

 

never caused a problem for me...

 

yes the car will still drive, BUT YOU NEVER GET INTO CLOSED LOOP. you car will not operate as well as it could, you AF ration will never be 14.7:1 like it should. you will most likely be running rich all the time, ect.

 

how can you tell when a car goes into closed loop???

 

by datalogging

if you have a stock chip, i beleive it has the closed loop enable temp set ot like 165* or something like that, i'd have to grab a stock bin and look to tell you for sure

 

ah.....I see....I thought it might be something which you could tell by looking/listening to either this or that.

 

i thought it was alot hotter than 165... i may be wrong but i thought it was 180 something???

 

i thought like 180 also.

 

like i said, its been a while since i looked at a stock bin, it may very well be 180*, mine goes to closed loop at like 152* now, so that while driving on the freeway in cold weather, i can stay in closed loop, even with my 160* stat. which is really benificial, since i don't beleive hi-way mode is accessable if you are not yet in closed loop.

 

hey man ...not to sound al retarded...but elaborate on your data loop.. explain it more.

 

i had ac rapid fires in my tpi and they fouled out after a couple of months i dont know why, took em back got another set and 3 mothns later same prob. running bosh platnum regular type and runs fine. but if ac is better why is my mortor not likein them

 

i assume you mean open vs closed loop?


open loop is when the car is in its warm up stage , and somewhat under WOT, it basicly runs the car off a predetermaned fuel/spark table. with minimal input from sensors. once the engine warms up to a present temp (there are a few other variables also) it enters closed loop. at this point it figures the fuel based on readings from sensors, o2, map, coolent temp, MAT, ect. it will adjust the predetermaned tables based on those sensors readings, to try to ensure a 14.7:1 AFR at all times. at WOT it reverts back to using the tables, UNLESS the o2 sensor is reading lean, it which case it still adds fuel to ensure you don't run lean.

basicly to get the most out of your engine, you want it to run in closed loop.

 

you are probably running too rich then.just my opinion.
the bosh plugs run good in small engines, i believe because they rev quicker and operate in higher rpm ranges, ours dont. i dont know this to be true, but its something ive always pondered. this is just my theory on why the bosh plugs "suck". AC rapidfires are the best plug ive ever used for v-8s, i even use them in my dodge truck. so i think if you gapped yours at .45 and they still fouled out, then you are too rich.IMHO

 

FYI i was lil on the lean side i had it dynoed with them in there and i was a lil lean

 

did you gap them at .45? and hey, to each his own whatever works for you dog.

 

yea i just whould like to use em if they are hi-perf plugs but i cant.

can any reccomend a good spark plug wire not to expensive but something from an auto parts store thats good ?

 

i think you can pick up accell 8.8 at just about any auto jiffy store. they are overrated though IMO. ill probably get crucified for this, but blue streak seems to have a nice product. their craftsmanship seems to be up to par.