My objective: My goal is to gain as much horsepower as possible with my limited budget. My budget is $500. I want to add as much horsepower as possible, with out using nitrous, and without blowing my T-5 trans.

These are the mods that I am considering:

· MSD 6A ignition
· MSD Blaster Coil
· New Distributor Cap
· New Spark Plugs, and Wires
· Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator
· Under-drive Pulleys
· Hyper-Tech Chip or Custom Chip
· Remove the Two Flanges From the Front of the Throttle Body
· Custom Ram Air (Described in the Thridgen Tech Articles)
· Tune Up
· Exhaust system (headers, and Cat back system will be added over the summer and will not factor into my budget)

Well this is what I am planning on doing. Please give me any suggestions, comments and advice.

Also if anyone could give me suggestions on changing the timing on my Camaro.

Thanks


[This message has been edited by Dominic00 (edited October 28, 2001).]

 

Dominic,

Welcome Aboard!

Put away your wallet, and warm up your keyboard. There are a lot of threads in the archives that address similar wishes, and a section on the front end of the site that lists teh free and "cheap" mods that you can perform to improve any car.

Another couple things to remember - a new distributor cap, rotor, wires, and plugs are not really "mods", just normal routine maintenance. Before you do anything to modify what you have, you should get it operating in peak condition. If that means new ignition components, fluids, filters, belts, hoses, flushes, etc, then you'll need to do those.

Next, an adjustable fuel pressure regulator really isn't beneficial until you have done some other significant modifications to require a different fuel flow. Several people that havfe installed AFPRs on lightly modded engines have discovered that the best pressure setting for performance is around 44 PSIG - the original factory set point.

Third, under-drive sheaves are not a panacea for power. The alternator will still take just as much power to turn in a street vehicle regardless of the input RPM. You can underdrive it to the point where it cannot maintain system voltage, but then you waste all the "free" power you might have gained in incorrect primary ignition voltage and poor injector performance due to the low voltage. The other flaw with aluminum underdrives is that they typically wear out in a couple of years or less. The belt grooves start to lose shape from the constant motion of the belts, and the softer aluminum is not as resistant as steel. Personally, I would prefer stock sized sheaves in a lightweight steel design or aluminum hubs and steel sheaves.

Next, HyperTech PROMs are probably the least effective aftermarket PROM available - they just happen to be the most advertised. There are a lot better PROMs available, or you can burn your own for about the price of a very good custom and a little of your time.

Finally, the easiest way to improve power, performance, and maintain mileage is to improve flow. Your idea improved exhaust flow is a good start, and removing the intake restrictions is a very good place to free up some flow.

Instead of all the bolt-on parts, consider shutting down the operation for a couple of days and installing a different camshaft. It will probably provide the greatest overall improvement for about the same cost as an MSD box and AFPR.

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

i'd start with k&n air filters to go with your ram air mod and a good cat back exhaust system. deffinitly adjustable fuel pressure regulator. for spark plugs i'd recomend rapid fires, accel 300+ race wires, brass terminal distributor cap, and hypertech coil. that'd be plenty for your ignition. your not likely to notice alot of difference with a msd ignition other than a high price and underhood dress up. i'd recomend since you have a 5 speed to spend 50 bucks and buy a shift light. you don't really need the full tach with it, the factory one does just fine for what you need to do, but a shift light helps to not have to look when your racing. pullies aren't a bad idea, but i wouldn't expect to see much from a chip change yet. better off installing a 160 thermostat and bumping the timing a bit. when your idling in traffic, it may still run hot, but that's not common in the cold months to be a problem. i'd wait for the headers to put in a chip and i'd recoment fast chips for it. airfoil isn't a bad mod either for the price. it's no nitrous, but it can be noticed. while your doing your tune up, i'd change the fluid in the transmission and rear diff. even manual transmission fluid has to be changed on occasion. other than that, it's a start.

 

This is what I've done to my 92Z28 convt 5spd.
Catback exhaust (already on car when purchased) It's the Dynomax and sounds great.
Hollow cat, no e-check in Florida now, thought the car passed e-check without the cat! TB coolant bypass. I've completely ported and cleaned up the intake, plenum and runners. I added an aluminum driveshaft and Centerforce clutch. Also, K&N filters inplace of the stock units. This car ran a best of 14.21@96mph on stock Eagle GA tires and stock suspension.
That was at Maryland International Raceway in good air. Normally she does 14.5 all day.
That was with the stock FPR and I never touched the timing.


------------------
Rob P
89RSconvtZZ4TPI Edelbrock Intake
SLP Dual Cold Air Intake 1 5/8" Headers Semi-Siamesed Runners, IROC
suspension, alum shaft. Numerous mods.
92Z28convt5spd (stock)
71Impala convt 402BB
BETTER DRIVING THRU SUPERIOR HORSEPOWER!

[This message has been edited by Rob P (edited October 28, 2001).]

 

Hey Rob P., is that the dynomax 2.5 catback?? If so what do you think about it(i.e. sound, drone.etc..) I am considering getting one for my 91 L98 Z but hear it's too small????