First, I'd like to say hi to everyone. This is my first post ever. Anyway, I've always thought that IROCs are the best looking cars out there. So, after saving money I finally bought one as my very first car. I've talked to my guy friends and they say that IROCs are slow and that even imports could beat them. I'd love to prove them wrong. After bringing it to a mechanic to make sure everything runs good, what steps do I take to make my car faster? I just want to be faster than my friend's new mustang who keeps saying that my Camaro sucks. Thanks in advance.

 

Well, they are an older car, and the mfrs have been making their cars faster for the last several years; so even though they were among the fastest (some of them were anyway) when new, to some extent the state of the art has moved on. But there are a few things you can probably do.

Which engine is in it? 305 TBI, 305 TPI, or 350 TPI? If it's one of the TPI engines, does it have option G92 (look on the build sheet if you can find it)? Auto or 5-speed? What kind of condition is it in overall?

 

Dude your friends are stupid. Don't let them mislead you. Obviously, its possible for your average import to be faster, but that requires investment. Put that investment in your stock IROC, and you'll be smoking. And everybody respects a nice, fast, American car. What I've said here is the absolute truth, and guys will back it up. You'll be glad you didn't become the r*ice cliche.

As for going faster, hang here on the boards and read A LOT. Get a goal and go after it. Research, research, research. If you find a suggestion you like, research more and see if guys back it up. There's a lot of bad advice out there. There is a LOT of good advice and help here, though.

We need to know a little bit about your car before we can guide you, though. What year is it? What engine is in it? What type of intake does it have? (TPI, TBI, carb). What transmission does it have?

You're going to want to free up your exhaust first, and then make sure you have the desired transmission and rear-end setup before you start modding out the engine for power. You may have the right stuff already, and we can help guide you.

 

if its an iroc it is probobly tpi...
if its tbi your screwed!!! most imports are running in low 15's to high 14's. but spend several thousand on them and you can get them to 13's spend a couple thousand on your camaro and your set!!! if you buy the right stuff you can do 13's easy!!

 

Hey another girl with an 89 Irocz!
They are NOT slow, and you can learn a lot by reading through posts here.
welcome

 

i wouldn't say slow, but not impressive. my 86 iroc with LB9 wouldn't go better than 15.65 when it was stock and my 84 sport coupe went 15.61 with an LG4 pretty close to stock. after alot of work it went 14.40, but until i put the cam in it, it was hopeless. my current truck was faster than the iroc without a cam change even and is pretty close to stock.

 

Don't let anybody discourage you.....whether you have a 305 or a 350, TPI or TBI, we can help you go faster. It's just that some combo's are easier to get power out of, obviously. Tell us what you've got and we'll get started.

 

datz wat im takin bout preach it brutha...
you can do more hp wise with less money for your domestic v8... compared to the imports. my ecu from jim wolf was 700.00!!!
and it only dynos at an 8 hp improvement!!! jw clains 20 hp...
the pulley was a good mod though. the asp pulley for the 300 was 175. and it was just the crank! the march aluminum pulleys came with 3 and they are the same price.

 

Make sure your 350ci TPI and drivetrain are in good tune.
1) Clean up the ignition (new plugs, wires, cap, rotor).
2) Cold Air Induction in some form or another (K&N) filters. Do some searches for this one
3) Aftermarket Cat back exhaust and muffler.
4) Bump the initial timing.

Say hello to low 14s in the qtr in the mid to high 90s in mph.
A few more mods after that and your doing 13s, if not already.

 

i agree, i wouldn't be discouraged, but i wouldn't go racing much with a stock 5.7 iroc either. with some fairly mild bolt on mods you can get the performance on par with mid 90's cars. how new is your friends new mustang?

 

Thanks for the advice, guys and girls.(Hi, TPIgirl! I was worried about being the only girl in here).
The only stuff I know about my car is what's under my username when I posted. What I did leave out was that it has about 100,000 miles on it and that it has automatic transmission.
Also, my friend says he has a new cobra. I rode in it and it feels like it has a lot more power than mine. I want more power so he can stop talking so much crap about my baby.

 

I should have noticed the stuff you listed to the left. In all likelihood you have a TPI 350. If your friend has a new cobra, then yes, it will kick your ***. I don't know what the current HP rating is, but they keep boosting it every year. As an American, it's cool to see Ford pouring so much power into their muscle car, but as a GM devotee, I'm jealous, too.

Don't think it's a Ford thing, though, our cars just don't compete with newer stuff (new F-bodies included) in stock form. It takes some work.

If you're going to want to compete with your friend's cobra, you'll need to do a lot of research and spending to get it there, but it's done A LOT with our cars. The total cost would be prohibitive to spend at once, in that you'll want to upgrade basically every part of your powertrain and rolling stock, but doing it a little at a time is doable, and is how the majority of us have to do it. That is, unless you're just flat out rich - then we'll tell you what to get and you could be ready in a month !

You'll need to free up your exhaust from headers to tips (the stock system is very restrictive). Also, you'll want to make sure you've got a clear path for air to get to your intake manifold. I'm guessing that your air intake is still in its restrictive form, there's some minor cutting you can do and buy a certain filter, then you'll be set. After that, you'll probably want to put together a set of engine components to make power. It's important to do these parts together, because they need to complement each other. Basically, you'll need to make your engine a better air pump. You'll need a high-flow intake manifold, cylinder heads, camshaft, and injectors for starters. You'll need someone to tune the computer for the new parts, as well. You should simultaneously think about beefing up or changing your transmission and differential gears in order to prepare for the power you'll be feeding them. There are many, many little things here and there that help performance, but basically, you need to make your engine a more efficient air pump and you need to be able to put the power to the ground in the most efficient fashion.

I'm not an expert in particular combos, but I've done a lot of reading - you can learn a lot from just reading these boards. Also, I'm sure there are a lot of more experienced guys willing to help out.

Depending on your resources of time/tools/money, this could be a short or long journey, but these boards and the members will get you there. If you're ready to spend a little cash on your new toy, we'll have you competing with that Cobra in no time!

What's your situation like and where would you like to start?

 

Crap I just noticed....you live in SanFran. This just got a lot harder, in that you won't get past the Smog ****'s, but it's still doable - you just have to get the right (read: legal) parts.

 

Ya, your friend has a 40K dollar car there, and if its an 03`, then its supercharged as well. It will take a couple thousand in engine work to even compete. Your thirdgen was around 20K probably brand new. If you wanna smoke him, throw in a carbed 383 or something with some new gears. He'll eat his words. But for now, you'll have to endure his Ford lovin **** lol

 

If it isn't a real cobra and its a SOHC 4.6 GT it won't take you much to outrun him. Some guys over on stang.net can't get there new GT/5 speeds to run better than 14.8s..some run low 14's. Depends on the driver.

You shouldnt have any problems with stock 94-98 stangs now. You'll probably run close with a fox body mustang but nowhere near a stock 03 cobra yet. Those cars haul ***.