Hi yall, I just test drove a 92 RS with a 305...my saturn had as much pep as that thing. I still refuse to think that all 305's are that weak! Please somebody tell me otherwise. I am a patron of Camaros and this just shocked me. BUT if thats the way they are...slow.... ....is there anything I can do to make it faster with more torque...Besides like nitro.. Thanks and HELP!

 

Santange,

Welcome aboard!

A stock 305 with TBI can be somewhat disappointing. It is a lot heavier car than a Saturn, and therefore requires a lot more torque to get it moving. Your call was right on the money - more torque.

Yes, there are several very easy things that can be done to improve the performance of this setup. The exhaust and intake tracts are restrictive to the point of ridicule. There are also some free/cheap/easy modifications that can be done to alleviate these and other issues.

And if you want to spend more time and money with it, there is a lot of potential under that hood. After all, all those cubes should be good for something, and it's amazing how much the GM Powertrain guys were able to de-tune the engine and still make it run acceptably. All you have to do is re-tune to your preference.

 

Yeah, you're lookin at a 16.0 1/4 mile car there. If you want a quick 305 you'll need to search for at least a 305 TPI, but even then they're mid 15 ones, just find one with the G92 option, they're good for at least gettin into the 14s.

 

The joys of a stock 305 TBI engine. I'm glad mine was a manual, but it still ran 16.0 @ 85 mph with 3.73s and the rest stock. I think you can get the TBI into the low 15s with intake/exhaust/chip(~$1000+ of work though) much cheaper if you find used stuff though. I may be wrong though. Never really built it up, bought a 305 TPI car. Mid 15s stock. mid 14's with exhaust/chip/etc. ~$700+ of mods.

 

the best I have done was 13.9 1/4 with g-tec...thae rest of times are 14.1-14.4...thats not too bad for a 305 but I have done quite a bit of work on it...

 

Of course just about everything that comes from the factory can be improved on; on all 305's. Better acceleration, better mileage and more smiles on your face.

 

The 305 TBI is definitely very hamstrung, and yes, slow from the factory. You're not imagining things when you say that your saturn hhas as much pep, there is a good chance that the saturn is in fact quicker and faster.
Can it be improved upon, sure. Getting it to at least beat your saturn and other modern family and 'sporty' cars is no big deal. Beyond that though, well i'll defer you to the people that believe in TBI's ultimate potential. If your goal is to be able to hang with modern muscle like LS1 4th gens and late model stangs you have a little bit more work ahead of you...

but no, 305s in general don't have to be 'slow', but 'fast' depends on what you think 'fast' is...

 

What is the main factor IMO for quick performance you can feel and actually use is gears!! The 2.73's that are probably in that RS dont accomadate the small powerband found on most 3rdgens. By jumping from 2.73's to 3.42's or even 3.73's you will have more useable power with the smaller engine. It's not how much power you have but what you can do with it!

 

3:42s would be better for a stock TBI than 3:73s as far as 1/4 mile goes.

 

I agree that as far as SOTP, gears work great,and they're usually worth a decent amount in the quarter depending on the particulars of the car. I'm also a huge fan of the torque converter, but thats probably out of the scope of a newbie at this point.
Check out the TBI board and see what those guys are talking about as a starting point.

 

I just went from a saturn to a 305 TPI, and its WAY BETTER. My saturn had pep, but my ROC is faster. Even if it is only a second faster, everything else is better about it save for gas mileage.

 

Hey Vader,
this may have been covered before, but why do you have a link to Adobe acrobat in your sig?

 

My TPI 305 seems pretty quick...

...when it runs...


...blah...

 

I had a bone stock 85' 305 TPI with 3:42's. I thought it was pretty quick. I did a lot of mods to the 305 including intake exhaust gears chip etc. It impressed alot of people. I would guess low 14's modified. Probably low 15's stock. Also, remember in 85' there were no lt-1's or ls-1's the onl;y thing quick was a 5.0 or a gn. So at the time they were the baddest vehicles coming out of the showroom.

 

My 2.8 can be made to run in the 16s and low 16s . I KNOW the 305 can be improved .I also knew a guy that worked not to far from me . He had a 92 305 , I saw him one day in the car with 13.40 written on the window and I stopped and talked to him .He had mostly bolt ons , everything you can think of , pulleys , headers , catback , chip , ignition . He had gears , dont know which ratio , a shiftkit . I dont know if he had any internal mods , I bet he had a cam or something to run 13.40 ....

I wanna get me a V8 one of these days , whether it be 305 or 350 ! But I'll always have my little 2.8 in my garage .

 

\

I would imagine that he had a decent cam.

 

NJ SPEEDER ran a 14.29 with the lo3, if I remember right he had 3.54 posi, heads, cam, exhaust, intake, shift kit, and suspension

another guy ran 13s with about the same set up and n20

but the guys are right about a stock lo3, thats why I'm buying a 350 block right now

 

would also had to have heads

 

My little 305 started out as an LG4. Changed the carb and intake and ran a 14.94 @ 91.67mph. Everything else was stock.

I then put a TPI setup, cam, headers, 3" exhaust, and 3.42 gears and some other mods on.
I ran a 14.74 @ 93mph. I found out a week later that my TPI was running with a non-functioning Prom in her. I could pull the prom out and start her up and she would run the same.

I am thinking the car should have ran a low 14 with the stuff I had on the car if the Custom Prom I burned was working.

 

My suggested mods

Heads $630 http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...br=76&lastcat=

Headers, and exhaust $500

Holley TB and TBI manifold or $400
4bbl and dual plane, distibutor $600 -$700

cam $150

Performance tune up $200

100 hp shot of NOS If your up to it.

3.42 gears and posi

Upgrade suspention - contol arms $90, panhard rod$90, Torque arm $260, Weld in subframes connectors $200

This should net 250hp - 300hp depending on exact parts selection. And mid to high 13's and possibly 12's on the bottle.

 

So you've ran this combo, tell us, how did it go.:lala:

 

He forgot sticky tires...

 

Anyone know where to go for a performance tune up?

 

I think my TBI'd 305 needs a performance tune-up. So to keep this thread technical, what exactly is a performance tune-up? Do I have to buy special performance parts to make it not a regular tune-up?

Thanks bunches! :lala:

James

PS I'm on my way to buy new sticky tires!

 

It consists of NGK Iridium Plugs and MSD 11mm Plug wires.

 

Santange,

Some people think I am crazy, but I just sold my excellent condition '96 Toyota T100 w\3.4L V6 200HP w\only 83,000 miles and bought an '89 IROC-Z w\305TBI w\178,000 miles and gets 170HP. The difference is amazing. I don't know how they manage to get as much torque as they do out of a 170HP engine, but it is amazing. I got into this car and was shocked. It is completely stock w\no mods at all. I can be doing 70MPH and step on it and get it to 90 in a heartbeat. The truck is quick, but not that quick. I know it is not much of a comparison between the truck and this IROC, but fast is all a matter of perspective. As a daily driver, 305TBI is more speed than I will ever use. If you are looking for race performance, the 305 may not be the way to go. But for me, just outgunning minivans and rice burners with fart tubes on the way to work is good enough! I don't think I would ever get the full use out of a 300+HP engine, but you may. For me 170HP is as much fun as I need, at least for now.

BTW, welcome to the boards. I am fairly new here myself. I have learned alot from these folks. They are an invaluable resource.

Andy

 

Hey Santan...I got an 88 Roc with the 305 TPI and a 5 speed, and i kept up with my friends 95 lt1. He did some mods to his, lke fuel pressure reg. and cheap little bolt ons, but I raced his and was only 1 car behind him and we were doin about 100.
P.S. He runs 13.9's...and alll i have done is gears

 

If you're car is near stock, then that LT1 is way out of tune. You've got a mid-low 15 sec car there, compared to his.

 

Damn. Flag got raised. I have to agree. My freind had a 95 lt1 auto 3:23's. He did the minor stuff(pulley/jet programmer/msd/cat back). His car pulled 14 flat with the Borla opened up. He added headers and got 13.50 on a cool night. I had a hard time beating this car on the street( I ran 13.0s on street tires/no tune up). With the TPI torque I could never take advantage of the low end and the LT1's screamed up top so it was always a close race. I don't think your stock 305 TPI would come close to either of us.

 

Don't get me wrong he did start killing me at the end...about half way through 3rd gear he pulled away on me but not as bad as i thought it would have

 

a 305 TBI will outrun saturns...no way my car would loose to a saturn...wtf come on give the 305 alittle credit with open element. tune up and exhaust i havent lost a race yet except to a ls1...i havent raced anything crazy but all hondas have went down, celicas, and all those stupid cavaliers

 

I seriously outta tune stock 305 will run 17s, lol, don't ask,

 

There is no reason that a properly running 305 TPI won't run 14s stock, or at least with only a few basic mods at best. Assuming we're not talking about a peanut cam car anyway.

An L98 cammed LB9 running 15s is either broken, or hamstrung by gears and exhaust (for the 90-92 SD cars like mine), or running in bad air. I'm running 14.1 with just headers and a torque converter, and with a day of TnT i'm sure there is a 13.999 in it. So please stop making yourselves look stupid by raising the flag on a 14 second LB9

But TBI is a whole different animal, typically running HIGH 16s stock. That translates to getting smoked by new hondas, saturns (most of which are at least high 15 second cars unless you get the basest engine in the heaviest car), etc without a good amount of work.