Well I bought my car off a r3dkn3ck who malnourished it and treated it horrible up til his fuel pump stopped working good thing is that he had no idea it was the pump. Lol but any ways I've read these engines had only about 170 HP at the crank and most likely less than 150 HP at the wheels but I was wondering what do you guys think could get me to about 250 HP at the crank and be more around 200 HP at the wheels. It's cuz my friend has a 98' GT that I know will kill mine lol I just wanna keep up. It's a 1990 Camaro RS V8.

Some of my ideas are:
SHORT HEADERS-some Hooker 2055's I've read they are great but for tpi idk about TBI
OPEN ELEMENT AIR FILTER- I've seen them and they look pretty cool and with a K/N Filter
NEW EXHAUST- the previous owner cut off the the original midway through the car so it would be louder lol
NEW SPARKPLUGS- forsure new ones but performance ones idk
OOK??- what type of oil is recommended on these engines/cars my dad has always used Valvoline
CAMS- if the time and money are available

 

Exhaust: Yes, do it. It will also be of use when the 305 eventually gives up the space for a 350/383
Unless you have some custom fabrication resources around you that won't gouge you on price, plan it out before you buy any single part so you don't end up with the cost of custom fab work to integrate the headers with the rest of the exhaust. DON'T buy any exhaust components intended for LO3, LG4 or any of the low output 305 engines. You want stuff intended for the TPI and 350 engines. To keep things tidy, I'd go for shorty/midlength headers and single 3" exhaust. That will suffice up to about 350 hp.

Rethink the open element air filter. At the dragstrip without heatsoak it will be ok, but for street driving it will hamper performance.

Oil: no need to overthink it. Any conventional 10W30 will do just fine.

Cam or ANY internal engine work: NO. It's not worth it.
Put a 100 shot on it and have fun with it as long as it lasts. No near-stock '98 GT will keep up with that

 

some good ideas there-especially the exhaust system upgrades-you might be able to get a little above 200 FWHP with stock cam,but the original is a very mild"fuel economy" type, so a suitable upgrade there will make a big difference in power potential-the stock "swirl port"heads are easily good enough for your mild 250 HP target as is the TBI injection though the regulator might need modified to turn up the fuel pressure a bit if needed.
No need for special plugs on a mild engine,as long as they light the fire they are good enough.Beware that K&N type oiled filters will let some very fine dust through-they flow well,great for competition purposes but for long term street use can cause engine wear.Back in the early '90s, did cam/exhaust/air filter upgrade on my LG4 305 and this woke it right up-total transformation

 

So anything from the TPI's will work on my TBI? And single exhaust good thing you cleared my head I was over thinking on getting a true dual but I'll go with single now I was planning on putting a 2.25 inch pipe all the way to the muffler and 2.5 inch outlets but idk I know it will get restrictive around 275 HP but I don't plan on doin that anyways just a simple street car to cruise in. On the open element no also ok but how much HP will new my engine do with a new exhaust and shorty headers. Maybe an aluminum driveshaft also

 

Yes.

Considering my old LG4 was around 200 hp with just TPI manifolds and exhaust, I think you should exceed that by 10 or so if the fuel and spark is right. You may find a little extra power by running a few degrees extra base timing.

 

I fully agree with the above.. in addition to that, i would like to add a few items
Lt1 camshaft
Lt4 valvesprings or better
1.6 roller rockers (self aligning)
Underdrive pulley kit
New TBI intake, weiand i beleive makes a nice piece
Custom chip
3.42 gears

This will make a VERY nice power improvement

 

Do the Hooker 2055's and 3" inch exhaust all the way back. Forget the 2 1/4. You already have it. Do the rear with a posi and better gears like a 3.42 if not done already. Open Element is an easy cheap mod. I have done all of this and it makes a world of difference. Once you have done all that you'll be ready for more serious mods in the future. After all that you will still need a cam change and tune to reach your goal.

 

Ok on headers yes every one recommends the 2055's but what about the 2460's? They are way chappie and they are hooker brand so they can't be that bad right? On cabs what do you guys recommend and where can I find then

 

And on exhaust well I don't really want to look ridiculous with a 3 inch pipe, is a 2.5 inch and 2 3/4 inch- 3 inch outlet. It's cuz I haven't seen many 3 inch on cars mostly trucks but idk

 

I am going to be the voice of reason here. Your car has (at best, when new) 170hp, your guessing 150 to the wheels. That's a solid guess if the car isn't ragged out. Sounds like it may be. You want to get to 200 hp to the wheels. That's a 25% increase. GOOD LUCK. A 100 shot will get you there and probably leave your motor in a 5 gallon bucket. As far as all the other stuff, you won't pick up 25% without spending a TON of money. My car dynoed stock at 204/260 wheel hp/tq I added k&n drop ins, removed all the smog stuff, put on short headers and a real Y pipe, removed the cat, flowmaster exhaust, installed 3.70s in place of the 2.73 and had a custom chip burned so it all worked together. I picked up about 20hp and 30 ft-lbs. That equates to about 10%. Where you going to find the other 15%? It's not in a cam. Even heads and cam. Don't dump a bunch of money into chasing your buddy's GT. You might as well just but an LS1 4th gen and smoke him all day. These are both pulled same day. Both are after mods, before and after tune. I don't have stock sheet.

BTW, my car is a 89, L98 single cat car.

 

So full exhaust will get me around 10%? I mean thats not bad and i might as well do it. ok so exhaust is covered and will be first on the TO DO list ok what could get me to around 15-20%?

 

More around 170-190 at the wheels

 

Not just exhaust... I did a lot more than just replace the exhaust. It is a good start tho. You could probably squeeze another 5% here and there to get you to 15%. Long tube headers and custom exhaust may get you there but it would be expensive I'm sure... I'm not trying to be a downer, just honest.

 

Keep in mind, to get the full advantage of a full exhaust you'll need a tune. If you do a cam you will defiantly need a tune. Pretty much any mod you make should be followed by a tune to get full advantage of your upgrades

 

Not only to get the full advantage, but also to ensure the car is running safe and not leaning out! Do not mod if you're not prepared to tune.

 

I plan on doing a tune anyway lol but yeah after every major upgrade. Well right now my car does not even have an exhaust the guy cut it off but I plan on getting a used to one off a car that I saw a couple of weeksago and getting it to pass a smog inspection and getting it dynoed to see exactly what I'm working with. After that I plan on buying my exhaust things like headers and muffler. Speaking about mufflers what do you guys recommend? I like how the 40 series from Flowmaster but idk anyone know of someothers that sound nice

 

What could a new TBI intake give me or a performance one?

 

Its not worth it. I've read on here that a stock TB will be good from around 300 horse. With your goals, you should be perfectly fine with the stock TB and either a little bump in fuel pressure or slightly bigger injectors.

 

O ok so something idk is that if they make 3.42 gears with drum brakes because I don't want to go through the hassle of making a brake system change and on muffler do you know of any nice ones ?

 

3.42 drum rears are common-found on mid-80s v6s,probably other years and models as well-got my 3.42s from an '85 v6-i just swapped the ring and pinion from the v6 axle to mine.A damaged '99 z28 axle I bought to salvage the torsen posi from also had 3.42s

 

The 2055's retain the emissions tubes and come with a Y-pipe that bolts right in. 2060's would require a custom Y-pipe.

I found two 10-bolt 3.42 drum rears on craigslist in my search. Keep an eye out. It will cost more if you want to upgrade one to a posi.

 

Considering the stock TBI intake is barely good to 4200rpm and you need much more RPM to make power in a 305 it will certainly hel in your quest...
3.42 rear ends are quite common especially on 3.1 v6 5speed cars.

 

There is some good TBI info right here.

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/g...bi-limits.html

They're claiming the stock smallblock TBI is good for 450CFM, but the 454 TBI is good for closer to 650+, which is probably more than that 305 will ever need.

And here is a CFM calculator. Its meant for carbs, but will give you a ballpark of your air needs.

http://www.classictruckshop.com/garage/shopmathcfm1.php

At 100% efficiency in the rest of the motor, a 305 turning 5K only needs 440 CFM according to this. So with stock heads, you shouldn't exceed the stock TBs flow capabilities, assuming the guesstimate from my first link is close.

 

To get any kind of respect from a 5.0 you need a decent set of gears and a posi unit. You can have 500 hp but if you can’t get it to the ground with two wheels hopefully grabbing at the same time and launching you towards your goal than you've got nothing.
A 3.42 ratio is nothing more than a one wheel peal without a Limited Slip Differential/AKA the term "Posi. Unit".
I would do the bolt on's with the engine and at least shorty headers to a decent "Y" into a new high flow Magnaflow cat with a 3in. cat back (or something to that affect) and start the search for the rear that's going to work for you. There’s a ton of information here concerning how to upgrade your rear. The cheapest way would be to find one from another car with what you want. Not really a search Id want to be on because you never know what you’re going to get until you open each and every prospect looking for the gears you want and a stock posi that still works. The other way is to build a "stronger then stock" 10 bolt from new parts.
Or you can spend more on a 9" or 12 Bolt rear that has been altered to fit a Third Gen.(best option for a car that will see hard launches at the track and the one that will not break.)
I chose to build a 10 Bolt with new parts. It was like adding an extra 40 HP.
Link =
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...de-photos.html

 

Well I have no experience in gear stuff I probably don't even know how to take of the drive shaft off but I will most likely do it some day I have everything stock on this but eventually they will need to be replaced specially with all the rust it has

 

I just upgraded 2.73 to 3.70. Major difference. My car is posi as well. Haven hole shotted it yet as it's 11 degrees.

We shall see this summer.

If his buddy's GT is a 99, it's a 4.6L turd. A far cry from the old 5.0 (4.9 actually).

 

10 Bolts come in sizes
2 searies ratios =
2.73
2.93
3.08

3 searies ratios =
3.23
3.42
3.73
4.10

 

I may sound dumb and all but what does it mean when a differential is 8 bolt, 9 bolt, 10 bolt, etc.

 

The number of bolts holding the ring gear to the carrier.
There's no reliable correlation between # of bolts and strength. Ie. the GM Corporate 10-bolt that came in 1/2 ton pickups is about as tough as the old 12-bolt, but the 10-bolt in F-body's is pretty weak.

 

Cuco Witrago,
You may not understand much about your differential but that only means there is a learning curve a head. The three primary aspects to any build would be Engine, transmission and differential. All three support each other.
When you build an engine you must have a transmission that can handle it and a differential that can put the power to the ground without exploding.
It all just depends on what you’re going to use the car for as to how far you will need to go.
Do what you want with the bolt ons and such but I would start a crash course on learning about your rear end. It can give you what you’re looking for. A quick off the line car and the feel of a car that's fun to drive. Your 2.73 open differentials ( non posi ) is killing you and will continue to until it is replaced with at least a 3.42 gear ratio and a decent posi unit.
It took me almost two years to save for mine.

This is some good information to start.Take note your 2.73 ratio is at the bottom of the barrel.

10 Bolts come in sizes
2 series ratios =
2.73
2.93
3.08

3 series ratios =
3.23
3.42
3.73
4.10

 

This.

I noticed the most "seat of the pants" increase going from 2.73 to 3.70.

I also swapped the 3.45s in my 2010 SS with a set of 4.10s. That's the gear the car should have when you get the manual. Makes 6th somewhat useable and has no effect on mileage. But whatever. That has nothing to with 3rd gens. Just echoing what was said above. It all works together.

 

Thanks alot guys I really like that yall were the nicest ppl when it comes to helping each other. Another question I have is that would it be cheaper to buy a 3.42 gears from a v6 and the rebuild it?