Hello fellas. There are a number of things I am looking to get for my 87 IROC. Me and my dad both have spent hours upon hours of trying to find out what to get and what not go get. Been trying to get the best bang for the buck. There has been so much back and forth talk about this works or that works and then someone else says it made no difference. It is very confusing and a bit frustrating. I have learned a lot on these boards even though I haven’t posted much. I was hoping I could name a few things I have been thinking about buying as well as some things people have told me. I would very much appreciate it if anyone could set some things straight. Or at least point me in the right direction. Just for the record I have about $1500.00 but if I need to save up a little more then I will. I also live in California so keep smog legal setups in mind. It is an almost stock vehicle, only upgrades are: TPIS Airfoil, Flowmaster exhaust. I plan to do as much of this myself. I am 17 and want to learn everything there is to know about working on cars. I am no dummy but not an expert either. My dad on the other hand will be helping me when needed.

And so my list of upgrades I am thinking of begins:

Edelbrock or SLP headers: Haven't decided which one yet, I have pretty much heard the SLP's are the best of the best but when trying to get the biggest bang for my buck, I am not sure the SLP's would be worth it? Someone has also told me that I should only expect about 10 more horses and that it probably wouldn't be worth the trouble. (From what I hear it can be a lot of trouble at that!) Also, if you have something better to suggest than please do and explain why!

TPIS or Edelbrock base manifold: Now I have read that the TPIS big mouth manifold is the same one made by Edelbrock. The only difference is that they port match it. The Edelbrock manifold is a few hundred bucks cheaper I am pretty sure. Is the TPIS big mouth worth it? How much gain should I expect? (Not alone but working with my other upgrades.) Do any of you suggest another brand?

SLP Runners: From what I have read, their Siamese runners provide better low rpm performance. If I do get these, they would be later on as they do not seem as important. Should I get them eventually? How big is the gain? Would another company be better to go with?

TPIS adjustable fuel pressure regulator: Doesn't sound like there is much difference between brands. Sounds like this will make a fairly large improvement by increasing the spray though. Can someone confirm this? What kind of gain?

1.6 Rocker arms: Don't really have a company suggestion on these but they sound like they would have some gain. They are fairly cheap from what I can tell. Will these work if I got new heads? Brand suggestions welcome.

TPIS Level 4 PROM: I know off the shelf PROMS are not much liked around here. You guys opened my eyes about these. I could not find anything about the TPIS PROMS though. Are they any better? They sure do claim a lot of horses once you do some upgrades. I also read that they will custom make one for your car based on your upgrades. I bet that would help but I would like your opinions.

52MM throttle body: Not too sure about these. Heard they can actually cause too much flow because the stock ones are big enough. Feedback please.

Heads: I have a friend who can possibly get some new edelbrock heads for cheap. (He knows someone who works at edelbrock.) How are the gains? Are they worth it? Would you suggest a different brand?

Cam: I am going to hold off on this unless you convince me otherwise. I hear the stock one is pretty good on these and there isn't too much need to change it unless you’re really getting aggressive.

I would be forever in your debts if you can answer at least a few of the above questions. If it makes a difference, I am looking to have a very streetable car that makes around 325+ horsepower. The more the merrier as they say. I would also like to keep the cars torquey feel as much as possible. It is my daily driver but I do not drive it too often. Once I get older that will probably change though. I mainly just drive it about 4 or 5 times a week. I enjoy mean, loud, muscle cars and want this baby to come as close as possible without getting 5 miles a gallon. I know what I mentioned above breaks my budget but these are also things I am looking at down the road. If there is anyone still reading this, thanks you! If you can reply with some knowledgeable information then it would really make my life a bit easier.

Thanks again
-Jason

 

First and foremost, try the search button. There is vast amounts if info buried deep under the search button. But in a nutshell:

Headers: Both work. Has SLP once upon a day, sold em (I had the smog legal one's, too). Loved em when I had em. Though, I never had anything else for comparison. That might be a problem, finding someone with comparative knowledge.

Don't know much about the TPI platform, as far as aftermarkets go, sorry.

Rocker arms, Comp Cams are probably one of the most trustworthy name out there. They offer the steel bodied, roller tip magnum arms, which are about 150$ for non-self aligning and 175$ish for self aligning. Beyond that, there are the Pro-Magnums, which are damn near invincible pieces, but are about 100$ more than the Magnum versions. The Pro-Mags are a full roller design, though. Fully rebuildable, to boot. For reliabilty, if it were my engine, I would only go with Comp.

Prom, burning, not big on that, but the DIY'er kind is usually the best from what I gather.

52mm TB: From what I gather, this is money better spent elsewhere. The stocker is more than sufficient and the TB isn't the weakpoint of the intake system anyway.

Heads: If they are 50 state legal, by all means go for it. Between them and the cam, the biggest gains can be had at the top end.

Cam: The LT1 cam is pretty much a direct bolt in and can be had for relativly cheap. Though, since you are looking into doing your own PROM work, looking at 50 state legal roller cams might be something to think of.

 

Thanks for the help. I did try searching but I could not find all of the answers I was looking for. Mainly on anything TPIS. All the damn threads that say TPI come up. Maybe I just don't know how to use the search properly.

If anyone else has more to add then please do!

By the way, how many horses do you think I could have after most of what I mentioned was done?

Thanks again.

-Jason