alright.. so my car is going to have some downtime here obviously because of the snow, and im installing my sfc's and doing floorpan repair
so since its going to be sitting around i want to get some more power out of it
i want to spend as little money as possible, because im cheap, heh.. and i want todo something else with my car in the future anyways, but heres what im thinking atm

ill need to buy heads, cam, headers, i guess ill need a new intake too, chip burning hardware

id like to get at least 230hp out of it in the end if I can (for cheap still.. heh) and still keep my good highway mileage..

so the question is, to anyone whos already done it, is it doable, and how much will it cost me...

also the tuning thing has me confused, it would seem to me the whole idea behind computer control would be so it could make changes on the fly, based on the data its receiving from its sensors, what makes it so damn hard to tune then??
im good with computers and i program and what not so if thats the hard part i should be ok
with a few adjustments, say from 1 to 10 how close can you dial it in? i dont want to have to mess with this thing all spring just to get it to run right

 

Your goal is easily achievable. You realistically could have a set of TPI heads and an LT1 cam for around 150 or less. Chip work is esential. Speed density systems do not learn your new mods. They have a set of fuel and spark tables that are referenced for certain siutations that the motor is in. Heads and cam basically throw those charts off the map and they need to be changed to accomodate the new fueling and timing needs of the motor. There is no way to make solid power on a TBI car without chip work. Don't forget the added cost for gaskets and such. Those have a tendency to sneak up on your project budget.

 

With a full exaust you could get 230 HP. Id start the project off with a complete exaust system for another car, like a tpi car with a 3" y-pipe. Edelbrock TES headers are very close to a direct bolt on if you want easy installation. After that, select the cat and cat-back that you want to run. Whatever you do, dont use exaust parts meant specifially for the L03. Itll only maintain the restrictions.

EDIT: Shifty posted before me, so follow that advice as well after youve done the exaust.

 

Start with the exhaust first as Dimented mentioned. I completely left that out That is the first bottle neck on these cars that needs to go. From engine to tail pipe.

 

The car already has a 3" cat-back with a flowmaster, so at least Im saving a little money there
according to the edelbrock site I think that would mean i want #6872
5.0/5.7L T.P.I. , 3" inlet slip-on single cat.


also i remember seeing somewhere a direct replacement for the factory ecu, but it requires no chips, you can just change all the settings on the fly.. know anything about that?

 

That would be the PROMinator. Highly recommended. Check it out here. http://misterbill.homeip.net/aboutprominator.asp

I think moates.net has something along the same lines, but Im not entirely sure how that one works.

 

so do you suggest I go with the PROMinator instead of burning chips, only working on 1 car and price looks the same..

it will work with the 8746, and I can find a .bin to get me started?