OK, I am new here. Here's some details and what I need help with. I have a 92 Camaro TBI....its mostly stock. The mods are:

- Open Element Breather
- Accel Spark Plugs, Rotor Button, Distributor Cap, Coil, and 8MM Plug wires
- Smog Pump gone
- B&M TrickShift Tranny Fluid
- SensaTrac Shocks in rear
- FiberGlass Harwood 3 inch cowl hood (the one with louvers)

I am running 235/55/R16's in the rear.....they are MasterCraft's or something....like new tires but traction isnt their thing, because i cant "get on the convertor" (AKA hold the brake and bring your RPMs up) anywhere over 1700 without breaking traction. But thats not the main problem. Anyways, after all these mods, I can only climb into the 10.50's in the 1/8th at our local track. My original problem was top speed, which ive been getting faster but it seems take off is my main problem because a TPI Camaro ran 10.31 and was only at 64 MPH while i was at 68.44 MPH and runnin 10.63. However, my main problem seems to be my off-the-line time.....It is really slow off the line, mostly the Reaction time is around .500....at first i thought it was me but then my cousin Terry tried it and it was the same....the car seems really really slow off the line.....Now, I'm not wanting to go all out but I do have some questions:

- Which are better, shortie or long tube headers on my motor? Also, would it help if i dropped the Y-pipe setup and just went true duals that stopped right behind the front seats?

- What are some mods that dont require heads or boring or any take the motor apart kinda job. I could do a cam but then I'd need a chip and I have no clue where to start there.

- I'm not to knowledgeable with a grinder on my Throttle body, so whats a good throttle body/intake setup i could get?

- Any help would be appreciated!!!

I thought I was doing good on the mods until tonight when i ran my car against an 88 IROC 350 TPI.......he left his in OD and ran 10.24's....his is stock as can be....talking bone stock.....and i was manually shifting because it knocks my time down, which in that race I ran a wimpy 10.68......I'm getting mad at this TBI setup and am almost tempted to rip it all out and drop a High Rise intake and Double Pumper......SO, like I said, any help would be appreciated....BTW, I dont do NOS or Superchargers/Turbos, sorry. I'm not tryin to buy like a thousand dollar set of heads, just a car that comes together piece by piece kinda, I just have gotten frustrated with the TBI setup because it seems inferior to everything else out there.....It's like its not even in the league of TPI's, EFI, and Carbs....Yes, i know it is a form of fuel injection but anyways, if you can offer any help, please do so, ill take in all suggestions into consideration. Thank you.

 

im not an expert by any means, but i think you need to have a chip when you remove the emissions stuff, or it will run poorly like yours is currently doing

 

Not sure if you've seen them yet, but check out the stickies at the top of the board, there's a ton of info on TBIs and what you can do to them.

-Now, the debate of shorties vs. longtubes and single vs. dual exhaust happens a lot here. But, for our cars, all you need are shorties with a y-pipe (I'd recommend the Hooker 2055s, very well designed) and a 3" cat-back of your choice.

-Here are some mods you can do that don't require chip burning: Open element air cleaner or dual snorkel, ultimate TBI mods, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, injector spacer, throttle body spacer, TBI intake manifold, 1.6 roller rockers, remove or gut cat, headers, and cat-back. That's really about it since you don't wanna burn chips. You don't have to burn your own chips, though. You can datalog your car and send to someone like TBIchips.com and he will burn a chip for you.

There are also some other mods that are not engine related that will help out a lot. These are: Higher stall torque converter, shift kit, Corvette servo, aluminum driveshaft, 3.42 or 3.73 ring and pinion gears, positraction differential, subframe connectors, etc.

-There's about 4 or 5 choices for TBI intake manifolds. Edebrock, Holley/Weiand, and GM Peformance Parts make TBI intakes. You could also buy a carb intake and then put on an adapter to make it work on TBI.

-It would help if you did the ultimate TBI mods and AFPR. I know you said you're not knowledgeable with a grinder, but what about a dremel tool. I think your supposed to use a dremel tool. I know how you feel though, I had never used a dremel tool until I did the ultimate TBI mods and AFPR but mine turned out just fine.


Heck, if you want to you can send me yours or find one in a junkyard and I'll do it for you.


And, don't worry, everyone gets frustrated with TBI. The problem is that GM had to make a V8, fuel injected car get really good gas mileage and have some performance, which sometimes doesn't mix. It just takes time, money, and the will to make them fast. It's not hard, modding a TBI car is just like modding any other type of car.

 

The problem IS NOT with the TBI itself, but what GM put around the TBI. The TPI Z-28's and IROC aren't superior because of the Tuned Port, but because they got much better cams and heads.

Read the sticky at the top for an introduction into modding the TBI. Like Benm109 said, the Hooker 2055's are a great set of headers (I have them myself), just make sure not to cheat yourself and get them ceramic coated.