hey guys, i own a 83' Z28 Trans Am LU5 V8. My dad always kept it stock but now that its mine i wanna start working on performance. I dont know much about cars and I was wondering if someone could tell me wat would be the first steps to take, or first mods i should do to upgrade the performance of the car.

Thx

 

Full exhaust

 

EVERY SINGLE PIECE, as a complete assembly; starting at the heads, and not finishing until you reach the back bumper.

It should include chassis-specific headers, cat, and cat-back, BUT NOT FOR LU5. Using parts that are designed to fit that setup will PRESERVE THE BOTTLENECK, which is the miniscule coffee-stirrer-sized Y-pipe and cat. Get the parts for some other application!! 84 L69 would be one to consider, probably the best though would be the 87-92 350 TPI single-cat setup. Get good quality headers, not just the cheeeeepest thing you can find that says "headers" in the catalog; CHASSIS-SPECIFIC. SLP is very good, Edelbrock TES is worth a look, there may be others. I highly recommend ceramic coating. You can get a cat for about $100 at Summit and the like. I'd recommend a 3" cat and cat-back.

For example, the SPL headers for TPI 350, the right "install kit" if it takes one (will include the adapter to fit the stock cat), stock replacement Catco or similar cat, your choice of 3" cat-back from Hooker, Slowmaster, Dynomax, Edelbrock, Borla, SLP, etc.

 

Upgrading the performance is too general of a description of what you want. If your budget is $500, you aren't going to do much to the car to increase the performance (NOTHING YOU CAN FEEL WITH THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS).

On you stock car:

- Putting on a "performance" exhaust will just make the car sound louder
- Buying a computer chip will just increase your top speed
- Installing "performance" spark plugs is a false sense of performance gain
- Installing "performance" air filters (ex. K&N) is a false sense of performance gain

With all that junk installed, is a 0.3 second change in your 1/4 mile times. Its okay to do all that stuff, but you are just going to be lying to yourself about having a fast car while nothing really changed.


THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT:

-Improve air flow naturally (ALL AT ONCE - TB, Intake Manifold, Heads, Camshaft, Exhaust, and Tune)

-Improve air flow forced induction (supercharger, turbocharger)

 

Gotta agree, and still disagree here.

- If the exhaust is a bottleneck, & the new one allows the engine to breathe more easily, then it's a good mod.
- If the chip is burned for that car, then it's one of the best mods you can do (besides, some cars wouldn't be able to hit that top speed even without having the limiter removed! )
- Agreed. "Normal" or ordinary plugs are more than sufficient for virtually all street cars.
- Not sure I agree here, it'd depend on the car. If the K&N is the only thing done, yeah, it's largely pointless, but by the same token, little things can add up, as you're able to afford/accomplish them.

If what you're saying is that "Unless you perform all of the mods at once, it's not worth doing", then I'd have to call . I'd bet that at least 85% of the people that read this are "ordinary working Joes" who aren't going to be able to spring for what's effectively a new engine - at least, not more than once every few years. Hell, my wife & I make a decent living, & it's still taking me a while to get exactly what I want!

I would make the argument that doing little mods is still worthwhile, if only for the fact that you feel like you're incrementally making progress toward what you want - and the little things can "add up", & make larger contributions when you're able to make the bigger mods. When I added my homebuilt CAI, with the K&N & de-screened MAF, I honestly didn't feel any seat-of-the-pants difference, but I noticed that the engine seemed to rev noticeably more quickly. And that CAI will pay larger dividends when I finally install the HSR & AFR heads on the 383 I'm building.

Will the small things make a big (or sometimes even noticeable) difference immediately? Maybe, maybe not. But if they keep you working towards your eventual goal (and if they're not "snake oil" crap like a generic aftermarket chip, "Tornado", etc.), then they can be worthwhile.

And on the flip side, adding forced induction to an engine that's otherwise stock is pretty stupid (IMHO) as well. One of the guys who used to be in our local F-body group did that about a year ago - it didn't last too long, & he's not in our group anymore..

Just do a lot of research, remember to address the bottlenecks (choked-off exhaust, crappy intake, poor ignition) whatever they may be, ask people who've been down that road before & you'll probably be OK.

 

The FAQ forum shows info on general good first upgrades for your new 3rd gen. Many threads on this topic.
The ones mentioned here, like exhaust and air intake are good ones. SFC's and suspension bits along with bushings are great too.

LU5, that's the crossfire isn't it? That's another bottleneck to address right there too.

 

 

Ok, I see what you are saying, any gain no matter how small is worth it.

I did have a chat with a GM Powertrain engineer, and asked him this question: "Do you limit horsepower by using a restrictive air filter?" - his careful answer was NO. We'll hey, mind you it is a stock vehicle. You wouldn't want to use the stock size air filter on a modified engine (or then use a stock size cotton gauze or foam filter).

But that is the thing guys, the real bottle neck is the size of your intake valves and the duration it is opening. You are unleashing the greatest potential by improving the exhaust, but that is all you will get. If 10 hp makes you happy, then go for it...I think i'm just taking it personally, i'd rather have a 100 hp gain :P

The man you talked about putting force induction on his stock engine...I am sure if he tuned it, the car would run fine...think about it, the cylinders aren't "drawing" the A/F through crappy heads, its getting forced under a higher pressure to fill those cylinders. Cylinder fill is undoubtably going up.

 

Well, that wasn't really the idea that I was trying to convey, but it's not that important. Pretty cool that you were able to speak with a GM Powertrain engineer...

Agreed - and it's even worse with big blocks. If you want really significant gains, you can't avoid addressing the cylinder heads. I guess what I was saying was that some of the smaller things can have value beyond just the HP numbers that they lay down.

Tune it??? Hell, he didn't even put headers on it! Ah well, it's just a story that he can tell of "Stupid things I did when I was young"...