greetings,
been lurking on the boards the past week or so and decided to jump in the mix. I have '92 Z28 w/ the G92 package and air conditioning. It's basically bone stock except I had a local speed shop tune up the car some time ago and they yanked the dual cat's and welded in a straight pipes. Since then, I got married and had kids so the car has hardly been driven as my wife and I carpool and we use her minivan most of the time (especially with the kids). I finally thought it was time to start tinkering with the Z especially since my new neighbors have Camaros (1st, 2nd, & 4th gens) and we've been hanging out in each others garages recently. Any suggestions on some budget modifications to get things started (and not arouse the suspicion of my pregnant wife). I was thinking K&N filters, inexpensive airfoil, perhaps a chip and lower thermostat etc.

thanks

 

Changing to synthetic oil has been shown to prolong wear in engines and give measurable dyno results. You could bypass the throttle body coolant line. Look at your throttle body with the air intake off and check out the coolant lines going through it. They heat up the throttle body, so if you bypass it your tb/plenum will be noticably cooler. Colder temps=denser air=more air=more power.

G92 means you already have good gears, but do you have good tires? Z-rated tires make a noticable difference, although they can be expensive. K&N filters are good to use, and you could even make ram air with some tubing through your fog lights if you remove the flaps and make a few cuts. All you need is some 90 degree bent dryer hose or piping)I used some twist-flex type steel air conditioning ducting.

These cars are meant to run warm, but switching to a 180 degree thermostat may help performance. Don't bother with aftermarket chips, it is the general consensus around here that they are a waste of money. The airfoil may give a seat of the pants difference in throttle response, but you could make one out of jb-weld or something else similar. If you have a buddy with one you can press it into some clay or a piece of styrofoam and fill the hole with jbweld, then drill some holes and you've got your own for two bucks.

If you have access to a drill/dremel/die grinder you can buy some porting bits and remove restrictions from your stock plenum. You're wife will likely notice this, but I doubt she would mind aside from the sound since it will cost very little for the bits.

There is an article around here about turning up your fuel pressure using coins inside of the fuel pressure regulator, which you could follow. Read up on it and other free mods on the main page. Doing all of these mods could give you a very noticable gain in performance, have fun!

 

I don't have nearly the same car as you, but I certianly noticed HUGE gains in power from just a new set of headers. To keep the wife out of your hair have your neighbor hold the car for that day to put them on lol. Larger tubing in the exhaust could also help. Even though they say aftermarket chips are for the birds- try finding one cheap from E-Bay or around town to give a little extra boost in response just for the time being. Good Luck

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll certainly take your recommendations into consideration as I make my modification plans.
I've got to admit, these forums are very addicting and contain loads of information.