Both cars have original LB9s, with 700r4s behind them. Mine had nothing done except a corvette servo, he has smog delete. I think his car has a bit more stall than mine, but nothing major.

When I had 2.73 gears, and he had a destroyed fpr, we ran them from about 20mph. He pulled on me immediately, not by much, but even then I couldn't believe it considering the car ran absolutely terrible. He was at a car length ahead by 70.

We fixed his fpr, and I did a fresh rebuild on the rear end of my car with 3.42s. This time we ran from about 15mph, up to 90. I got the jump on him and stayed ahead up until about 60, when he pulled on me, about 2 car lengths to 90.

I've heard 85 TPIs are freakishly fast compared to every other LB9 auto produced in other years. I believe that.

The cars in question. He's got the Z.


The story isn't over though. I plan on beating him, at least once.

 

Camaros are a bit lighter than firebirds. if both cars had identical drive trains,that fact alone would make the Camaro faster.

 

Without a doubt. I also have subframe connectors, a strut tower brace, and at least 30lbs of sound deadening on the inside. He's got none of that, and he dropped the smog equipment.

But even so, weight isn't as big a factor when the cars are already moving.

I've driven his car though, it definitely felt a lot quicker by the seat of the pants feeling.

 

Reason you lose is because you have the peanut cam.

 

Bingo. Crane 2032 cam is going in while I'm doing the head gasket this fall. Along with a little port work to the heads, 1 3/4" headers and a bit of stall. Should have no problem with him, and even most L98s.

 

..Or a nice sprinkle 50-75 shot in a hidden system would be cheaper and very amusing.

 

Weight is always a factor, it just becomes less significant at speeds greater than 100mph as aerodynamic drag increases and becomes the greater drain on power.

Yes, the 85TPI is pretty much just a TPI on top of a L69, cam profile is near the same as later L98 engines. In 86 they went to the peanut cam for LB9s, no one has ever seemed to have a reason for GM to make the cars slower.

 

My theory is that they didn't want the LB9 stepping on the toes of the L98 when they introduced them in '87. The gap between the '85 LB9 and the '87 L98 was only 10hp, and if they kept the LB9 the same, why would anybody (aside from enthusiasts) pay a lot more money for only a 10hp difference. The L98 wasn't available with a stick, so this idea didn't apply to the LB9 5-speeds.

 

The 85 irocs where no push overs but compared to the latter year models (like my 90 iroc) they had substantially less HP I think somewhere in the 30-40 less HP range and firebirds where same way so I'd say you are honestly faster BUT always keep in mind due to the air intake system camaros usually had about 10-15 more HP than the firebirds so regardless your looking at like 15-20 HP difference and for that little amount if u drove it better than him you'd win when u get that close together ever little thing matters, weight, gears, who had better tires, how far are u racing, everything

 

BTW I like y'all's cars and I really like the iroc ask him what kinda rims he has if like to get some like that (if they are aftermarket I think they are but I can't really tell)

 

I would suggest a different cam, lol. We have had bad experiences with that cam here, 3 different people in our club have used it and all 3 have changed it out. 2 switched to the Comp XE grind and gained big, and the 3rd swapped over to a Lunati Voodoo and actually out did the other 2 on the dyno.

Just a suggestion

 

They were 17" chrome Iroc replicas painted black.

I won't be using it anyhow, now that I've decided to go a different route. I took the 305 out because of a bad head gasket. I originally planned to put it back in. Then I woke up and got a clue, and realized putting that engine back in would be silliness. Plans for a 383 are in the works now, just getting the funds together.

 

has anyone actually measured the Camaro's air filter setup for flow vs the Firebird?

this used to be a hot debate many years back.

if you actually measure the true opening of the Camaro Y-Intake opening has less surface area for flow not to mention how narrow it is beyond that for area, the filter elements have less area and the opening on the sides past the filter elements in the lower tray have less area as well.

SLP even used the 88-89 Firebird hoses on the single cold air kits and added a deflector in it to straiten the air. why would they offer this as an improvement on a Camaro ?