What do you guys want to see in the magazine?

 

305 TPI? Anybody? Buehler?

 

How about a T-56 swap into a thirdgen?

 

You're starting w/ an 89 car right? (saw johnny mention it in another post)

A4 or M5, G92 or no?

If you're trying to do a budget minded approach why not just do something like i'm doing. Get all your basics in order and the car running stronmg. If it's not a G92 car, get it to those specs w/ dual cats and a decent rear.

Then do mods that all apply for the future, and in an order that makes sense. Like SLP headers, no point in skimping when edelcrocks are gonna restrict a real engine down the road, thus increasing future costs. Maybe a nice torque converter or clutch. Some basic suspension mods like LCA relocation brackets from Spohn to get it to hook.

As for the engine, obviously a ported plenum and all your free mods. An AFPR and an article on actually doing TnT at the track to show how to do it and gains. That alone is a mandatory topic, you should see how many people think you get an AFPR just to set it to 50 to go fast. On the same note, in the early stages you could do an article of just knowing how to race and test. Like go to the track and just play with the timing and tire pressures. All the little stuff that apparently a lot of people miss.

When you want to go further, there's plenty of work to do to the base. On a 305, the stocker should be decent for a while so you could do an article on porting it, showing how to fix the transition at the heads, etc. And there's always siameseing if you want to get on that band wagon. Then there's always the cam, ZZ4 / vette aluminum heads, more suspension work, tranny work, etc, etc. And except for a cam, everything could be used on a350 down the road. Even the vette heads for a strong 12 second combo.

Or a blower.

 

I WANT TO SEE THE LT1 INTAKE MANIFOLD CONVERSION!!!!!!!!!!!!! www.lt1intake.com

 

Here's my 2 pennies...

I'd like to see product comparisons on topics that are asked the most on this forum, which a lot of times, end up into a pissing contest. For example...

Throttle bodies- 48, 52, or 58??
Don't use a stock thirdgen for a mule as we all know larger TB's don't do squat on a stock motor. Use a thirdgen that's been extensively modified (heads, cam, ported intake, MR or SR). Magnum TPI perhaps? Then do back to back dyno testing and/or track testing. Most of us would love to do it ourselves but we don't have the time or money to test 3 different size TBs. I myself believe they make a difference on a head/cam motor but posting your results in your mag would be more credible than someone on the internet (like me) saying 'yeah it works' or 'no it doesn't!' Maybe just for *****, "acquire" a Ram Jet 502 for dyno testing...a lot of people say a larger is not needed because the 502 uses a 48mm. I say let's test that theory.

Drag radials- Nittos or BFG's??
There's an interesting thread on the Aftermarket Product Review board on drag radials.

Torque arms- Spohn or BMR???

Well you get the idea. I know there's gonna be some variables involved which can affect your results but IMO it can benefit a lot of us who are gonna go with those kind of aftermarket parts.

Oh yeah, ditto on the LT1 intake! I'd like to see that too!

 

I would like to see a true "BUDJET" buildup, not a 'dream job' with $10,000 invested in the motor. Start simple with the free mods, headers, head swap to vette heads, and manipulation of the intake, AFPR, then onto cam and such. Tranny and hook also important, and as mentioned earlier the most important part of a budjet minded individual, TnT the combo to squeeze every inch out of the combo and $$$!!! Thnx for asking!

 

First off where is the behind the scenes stories on the TTA and the Typhoon/Syclone that jonnie said he would look into when i first suggested it to him like 2 yrs ago :-) would love to see that done in the same vein of coverage as your behind the scene/origin of the turbo buick :-)

As far as building a tpi car, follow the low buck route without scimping out...SLP runners i will agree by far as will most here that for down the road they can be ported/hogged/cutdown to suit almost any type of tpi combo so that makes sense to me and i run them on my formula as well.

Put some cams to the test and see what works and what doesnt and what kind of price tag u pay for them...or u can do a siamesed stock intake base and give us the final word on that topic

Vortec cylinder heads and sdpc tpi intake? im running this combo(ported vortecs/sdpc tpi/ lt4hotcam/slp headers/1.6rr)on my 91 formula and i love it so far...still need to step up the tc to the 25-2800 range and get everythign tuned correctly as my blm's are in the 100-110 range most of the time...

How about a tuning/diagnostic artcile dealing with the various alternatives to the high dollar after market systems like FAST or DFI..there is a whole world out there that supports tuning the stock ecm, such as tunercat to modify the bin and diacom to run diagnostics and using a pocket programmer to burn the actual prom...using various alternatives and availbale free softwares if u only need it for one vehicle u can realistically tune your own car for about $200(i had to spend $$$ wanted support for multiple vehicles/ecm's)

Revisit the effects of a vigilante torque converter on a properly running tpi engine as well :-)

and lets see some real #'s on larger tb's...i second that gm uses the stock 48mm twin tb on the 502 ramjet and gets 500hp so i have never been for bigger is better on the tpi tb

And foremost, look into all the suppliers of thirdgen engine, suspension, trans mission, etc that are not named B&M or hotchkis,etc there is a lot of stuff out there equal to or better for the same price or less and a lot of us here use it very succesfully
thats all for now off the top of my head
i will be back :-)
later
jeremy
PS met johnnie and troy?(sales manager?) at buicks at bristol 2 yrs ago and they were pretty cool even bs'ed for wuite ahiwle with them
GMHTP fan since premier issue of high tech

 

1st of all I love the magazine! 2nd of all I love the magazine! Its the only car mag I read cover to cover everytime. However in the last 6 months it seems like some of their articles have got out of touch. One example Magnumn TPI. That was a great project that I think alot of people were interested in, but when the 396 build up started it got totally out of touch. I don't know anybody, I mean anybody, that is going to put $10,000 in a motor for a car like that and I just put over ten grand in my 87' IROC in the last year. They need to spend more time doing low buck articles and evaluating products on the market so you know what to buy when you do spend the money!

 

Oh! By the way the T56 swap into a 3rd gen is a great idea. I'm sure the several people on the board (myself included) could help with any tech questions about the install.

 

A t56 swap has been done a few times by the other mags. I've got a few of them in front of me as I just completed mine this week.

I'd like to see an ignition box install, to see whether they really do anything. Car Craft just did one, but they started the dyno with an MSD 7AL-2 and then dynoed every box after that. I want to see what happens with a box, and without one. I say they're not needed until you're twisting 6000 rpms and/or have a blower/turbo/nitrous installed.

I'd also like to see the difference in clutches, so I can have proof when I say McLeod makes the best clutch.

I'd also like to see a header comparison, so I can have proof when I say SLP 1 3/4" are the best smog-legal headers.

Lastly, I'd like to see Johnny Hunkins stick to one side. He has the Magnum TPI car that he talks highly about when its running, and then in your new LT1 buildup article, he slams thirdgens in the first page like a typical stuck-up 4th-gen snob. I still cant believe all the problems you guys are having with that car (magnum tpi). Its like its inhabited by goblins!

 

How about an article where you find a lame beater for cheap and try to take a long trip in it. Then do all the rest of the stuff suggested above.

 

I'm all for what Ed said since that's exactly the approach I'm taking with my car too.

I like many of the other ideas posted as those may be future projects also.

 

I love the mag, too. It's my favorite magazine. Besides going to a monthly publishing, this is what I'd like to see:

I'd LOVE to see some dyno and track numbers of SuperRam vs. MiniRam on various engine combos. The purpose being to see which intake actually provides what advantages at what rpm's. For example, does the SuperRam REALLY provide more TQ down low than the MiniRam? If so, how much and in what powerband? Provided the SR does make more TQ down low, at what rpm do you need to rev your engine to so that the MiniRam will become more advantageous? 5500 rpm? 6000rpm? 6500? At what rpm do you get so much more HP using the MiniRam that the upper rpm HP makes up for the lack of low end TQ (compared to the SuperRam)?

I know Johnny Hunkins said this will never happen b/c no mag wants to anger it's advertisers, and I can understand that. But I think it's something that would help A LOT of us. I still don't see what is wrong with saying, Product A works better in Situation A, and Product B works better in Situation B? Ie., SR is the better intake under 6000rpm, and MR is better if you plan on revving over 6000rpm.

Other than this, I'd like to see a bunch of regular guys get together with various engine combos and see what their times are. Maybe get 10 or 20 readers with different engine combos together and see who runs what. Then give a brief description of what it is like to drive each combo on the street. Can it be a daily driver, or is it just streetable enough to take out on the street sometimes.

I also like IROCZZ3's ideas on a drag radial comparo and finding out when a 52mm and 58mm throttle body actually give you some HP.

 

Just like buckeye said, do exactly like High Performance Pontiac and gather some cars at a strip. Give every single spec on the cars, weight, engine, etc. And of course run them and dyno them. Make sure you encompass the tpi, lt1, ls1 cars. I don't need an entire feature on the cars, just hard numbers and what it takes to get there. I am so tired of guys saying "i put my t-56 in for 400 dollars total." This way you eliminate the car owner "pro-my car" propaganda


I also want to see an article on nitrous until it blows. Gather some renter cars, fill the tanks with 94 octane and stick a fogger nozzel in the intake tract. Sounds like fun to me. Hell, lets take my firebird and put a 250 shot on it. I am building an engine anyway, I don't care. Who would like to see how far my L98 can go????????

 

ya i like the mag too but i'd like to see more 3rd gen stuff period, the magazine seems to be going soley to LT1 stuff which is all good and still interesting but i would like to see more on 3rd gens in general, any kinda of performance is great with me.. engine, suspension, performance and results..

 

I've seen most everything ... but, an intake comparo would be really cool. Yea yea yea - I know - "you can't test intake vs intake because the intake needs to be setup with the proper matching components". Although that is true ... its just not the reality of a thirdgenner. Thirdgen cars have the highest number of intakes available to them. Stop worrying about what the manufacturers think and just do what your public wants. Take a L98 car ... stock ... and dyno the various intake combos ....

- stock
- ported plenum
- ported plenum & 52mm TB
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & LTRs (AS&M)
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & LTRs (SLP)
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & SIAMESED base with stock runners
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & SIAMESED base with AS&Ms
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & SIAMESED base with SLPs
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & Big Mouth base stock runners
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & Big Mouth base with AS&Ms
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & Big Mouth base with SLPs
- 52mm TB & SuperRam
- 52mm TB & MiniRam
- 52mm TB & StealthRam
- RamJet

*Then intstall a set of AFR190s and repeat the tests
*Then install a GM HOT cam and repeat the tests

That is the kind of data that thirdgenners want to see. Yea, I know, its a ludicrous amount of dyno runs. But, who cares - you guys would be quoted FOREVER in terms of conversation in any thirdgen arena. GM High Tech performance would leave its mark on the community FOREVER. If you don't want to do the full comparo then just do the 'fully upgraded intake approach' ...

- stock
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & SIAMESED base with AS&Ms
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & Big Mouth base with AS&Ms
- ported plenum & 52mm TB & SIAMESED Big Mouth base with AS&Ms
- 52mm TB & SuperRam
- 52mm TB & MiniRam
- 52mm TB & StealthRam
- RamJet
(Don't really need to worry about the SLP runner because the AS&M LTRs will outflow them anyhow.)
*Then intstall a set of AFR190s and repeat the tests
*Then install a GM HOT cam and repeat the tests

Tim

 

4 things i want to see:

1. a nitrous shootout. different brands installed on the same car, dyno them and see what kind of HP they put out, ease of installation, how the kits are set up, completeness of the kit, price, etc. Use NOS, TNT, NX, Venom, Compucar, Top Gun, and Edelbrock plus whatever else u can find. Maybe we can finally figure out if TNT is really better then NOS or NX or whatever.

2. a GOOD article on putting a EFI converted carb intake into a MAF car. Using the stock ECM, custom chip obviously. No SD cars either, thats the easy route. I want to see what can be done with a MAF setup. Also maybe test a few different intake designs, I.E. tunnel ram, high and low rise single and dual plane intakes, etc. That would be cool

3. A single or twin turbo SBC 3rd gen. Dont care how it gets done, just make it street legal and doable with no one off prototype parts that wont ever see the light of day again.

4. An article or project Ty/Sy. I never see these trucks in any magazines and id love to get some more info on them


As far as "budget" build ups go............boring. Cripes, how many times can different magazines put friggin headers and a K&N on a 305 TPI and say "ya it felt like it had a bit more power". BORING Damn guys, stop being cheapazzes. You all know what a catback a AFPR will do for your car, why do u need to see it in a magazine for the 10,000th time? Every time u see a magazine do a budget build anyway they always get some insanely low priced car to start with. "We found this mint 89 IROC with a 383 TPI motor, 4L80E trans, and Strange 12 bolt sitting out front of out offices one day. We paid a nickle and a stick of bazzoka joe for it" Then they end up only spending $2000 for a nitrous kit and heads, run 9's and tell everyone it was a budget build. How about starting with a $4,000 car like everyone else.

"I want to see a budget car that is built for $5 and runs 11's" It aint gona happen. I honestly dont know what u guys expect these magzine dude are gona come up with but nobody can give you plans to make your 305 TBI car fast unless they spend a ton of money. My advice, take what you see in the magazines on the crazy high dollar dream cars like Magnum TPI and APPLY IT to your situation. Read into the article and figure that ok, this isnt the same as my car but they did this and that and got this, is there something similar that I can do to my car to get similar results? Damn, sorry for the rant but who wants to read about 15 second 3rd gens. Bring on the Big Cube SBC converted carb intake nitrous turbo cars that cost $50,000 I say!!

 

I love your Magazine, but lost a lot of interest when Magnum TPI went High Dollar.
I think you need a combination of projects and articles.
Low dollar bolt-ons with lots of testing to show true gains and how to maximize the gains.
Product comparo's, get about a dozen popular camshafts/runners/TB's/Intakes/headers and try them out on a LTR TPI motor. Then take the best ones and take it to the track and see what you can get out of it. Do the same for the SuperRam and maybe the MiniRam (I think they pretty much did their own and you can buy their book on it).
Power Adder - Centrifugal blower, nitrous, turbo, pick one or all of the above and build one without breaking the bank and then flog it. Drive it like you stole it and see if it can take the abuse and what it'll run.
Suspension mods, what works and what doesn't, most importantly standing starts, no one likes to be left spinning the rubber donuts while the guy in the other lane is making tracks.
Quit calling your yellow project car, Thunderchicken, it's demeaning.
I like the idea of doing like High Performance Pontiac. Get some readers rides together for a dragstrip shootout. Then grill them about their combos. Or just slap them on a chassis dyno and then grill them.

 

Excellent magazine!! Looking forward to my next issue!

I want to see more chicks in bikinis leaning over the hoods of multiple thirdgens!!

I'd love to see an article on what goes best with what -
Is an IROC thong material or should she wear a 1-piece?
Does GTA mean thigh-high stilletos or something more conservative?
If you drive a drop-top should she drop hers?

An attractive woman alongside a beautiful automobile will win the hearts of the masses. I was VERY impressed with the Buick T-Type article that had the attractive young thing in the pics. I don't drive my car merely because it's bada$$ but because chicks dig it!!

 

id really like to see the miniram,stealth ram,super ram,and ported/siamesed stock intake compared,along with some of the stuff that traxion said,like using different heads and cam,and use other intakes basically- that i think is one of the most misunderstood things in thirdgens,actual horsepower from intakes.It would be really nice to see you test the stealth ram since nobody has done a dyno with one yet.Thanks for asking!!!

 

since it IS GM "high tech" performance, and is about computer cars..

maybe it should cover some of the high tech aspects of the hobby?

let's see. Everyone knows that a miniram, AFR 190's, headers, and an upgraded cam equals power and 12's in the quarter mile. Pretty much anyone can bolt this on to their motor. *yawn*

How about taking the above motor (miniram, afr190's, headers, or some kinda similiar upgraded motor) with a stock PROM, and do a column that spans a few issues on how to TUNE the ECM for this motor? and do it from the standpoint of a beginner....let the reader follow along as the author learns how prom programming works, both in his successes and mistakes. and most importantly don't make it an article that is beyond the average reader...put everything into terms the average reader can understand!!

 

Hey I think this is one of the better ideas Ive seen yet. I think a LOT and I mean a LOT of people could stand to learn from this approach.

Personally, I dont know that much about stock PROM tuning. I have a speed pro and it has helped to me understand stock ECM tuning some but I still dont know as much as Id like to. Ive read the articles on the web and still dont come away with what I feel is a great understanding of how to tune everything in.

I think that and the intake articles would be great. There is always a debate on which set of runners is better and everyone has their own opinion as well.

Ed Maher has some good ideas too.

I have done just that. I figured up what it would cost to pu tmy power plant together a few weeks back...

total: ~$12500 (not including sales tax, shipping on items) but that was everything. gaskets, bolts, oil, everything.

 

Although I like the tuning article idea, you have to have a well matched combo first. You can do all the tuning you want on a poorly matched combo, but it will never be up to par and you will never be satisfied with it. You end up wasting money. That is why people want to see what combos work best. If you're looking to build a daily driver and can spend X amount of money on combo A that runs an ave. of 12.9 @ 108 but could have spent the same X amount of money on combo B that runs 12.5 @ 110 with the same streetability as combo A, you're not going to be happy.

Just give me (1)the engine combo and mods on the car and (2)what is runs/dynos and (3)how it drives on the street. A picture or 2 would be cool, too.

 

Sorry Guido, I stand corrected. The Magnum TPI article just really pissed me off because I was so interested in reading it. I know I probably would if I had $10,000. I just feel that most 3rd gen guys would be more interested in a more conservitive build up that they could afford to duplicate.

 

You are right. Most 3rd genners arent as into it as I am. I know of more than a few other people on this board who have dumped quite a lot of cash into their motors, but they are about as deep into it as I am at this point though. lol

 

All the ideas sound good, I'd really like to see the LT1 intake conversion get some magazine coverage as well.
Since everyone's had some good ideas, I'd like to give a few things I DON"T want to see.

1. I don't want to see rehashes of the same article six times
2. I don't want to see any article that is almost identical to any article printed in any other car mag in the last 12 months (at least). Heh wish I could get this point across to Hot Rod and Car craft, the two worst offenders, though CHP is pretty bad at this too.
3. I don't want to see an article called a comparo that just lists different parts with out actually comparing them!!
4. I don't want to see some that claims great stuff then has no numbers to back it up. IE an engine build up without dyno or drag runs, or suspension build ups without giving some before and after skid pad numbers, or how far the tires spin.
5. I don't want to see an article that says "Oh we didn't have time to dyno/test/evaluate this mod" How unprofessional is that!

Granted I haven't seen to much of any of these in GMHTP, though I have seen 4 and 5 a couple times. But most of the bigger mag's have fallen into these traps over and over, learn from their bad example and don't do it.

Besides that I'm sure we'd all like to see some thirdgenner's cars featured Oh and maybe some more plugs of thirdgen.org

 

What TRAXION said! I think the most debated topic on these boards is which intake/head set-up to run. There are alot of packages available and some of us just don't know which to choose. This would also include modifying the intake parts to achieve better results (ie. siamesing the stock intake base, and is it really worth it). Keep in mind, that most of the folks out there don't want to or can't drop $10,000 in the motor, it's unrealistic for the majority.

Pick a good, simple test mule motor (Stock L98, speed density), SLP headers, 350 disp, and roll with it. It is a given that a 355 or stroker will produce more power, so keep it simple.

I, along with most everyone else here, would like to see this in a multi-part series, incompassing everything from intake, cam, and head selection, to DIY PROM buring (a seperate article in itself).

Also address what we can an cannot get away with, best fuel pressure , timing, on a stock PROM and how altitude affects it.

 

I would like to see low dollar mods. Everybody knows what can be
done for $10,000. I have a feeling most of the people who mess
with this stuff are younger people that may not have alot of
money to just blow or alot of time to spend doing it.

Put to rest the throttle body debate (cfm).
Put to rest the plenum debate (eyeglass cutouts, EGR walls).
Put to rest the runner debate (stock, LTR, siamesed).
Put to rest the base debate (stock, aftermarket, siamesed stock).
Put to rest the entire OEM intake debate (what combo gives the best bang for the buck)
Exhaust, exhaust, exhaust. What gives the best bang for the buck.
Torque converters, how much is too much.
Rear end gear comparisons. Use like 2.73, 3.42 and 3.73 gears.
Tires, which ones bite and which ones don't.

Show how much can be done on a limited budget. If you dig
around a bit, there are all kinds of low budget things that will
get you to the end of the track quicker than normal.

 

I'll keep it short.

1. What TRAXION said
2. Fabricte your own turbo set-up
3. Big block conversion

By doing what TRAXION suggested, you would be nobbing 2 girls with the 1 rubber, in the sense that you are doing a throttle body comparison AND the runner debate at the same time.

Rob

 

1. What TRAXION said
2. Sy/Ty Project
3. Do not do any 305 TPI or TBI stories, use an L98
4. When using said L98 do not do the same old tired bolt on articles as there have been a ton of them.
5. Magnum was a flop when it went high buck like everybody else
said. I specifically remember going "oh no" and flipping right
past the rest of the story.
6. Some girls here and there wouldn't hurt...hell, the ricers have
the market cornered on that one, then the Mustang guys have
chics in theirs too...we deserve some, and not liek those lame
asses they put in Hot Rod.
7. What TRAXION said again.
8. No more Alero stories.

 

Hey those Alero stores are interesting. I just want to see where that thing ends up Id like to see a late model GTP or Buick GS buildup too.

 

For what its worth ... when I began moderating the PROM board and I wrote that intro tech article (https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/promintro.shtml) I sent Johnny an e-mail to say

"Hey! - this article is the perfect thing for your magazine. All the thirdgen guys would love to see this."

He e-mailed me back to say I should put it in writing and MAIL it to GMHTP. Ummm ... ok. So, I didn't mail anything. The info is there. Its perfect for a magazine for GMHTP. But, my 'high tech' e-mail wasn't good enough. I didn't want to put my car in GMHTP. I just wanted thirdgenners to know this information exists.

Tim

 

I like traxion's intake comparo idea too....so what if it takes 3 pages of the magazine to report the results in charts, that would be a mini 3 page TPI BIBLE!!!

 

After getting my current issue, I have to ask, do fully half of your readers drive FWD Grand Prix's? Because it seems that way after the who's who rundown for the bash the UGLY GM Concept Cars article.
G8? They should build it and call it the "GTO" Instead of that UGLY Holden, I don't care if it does have an LS1! Did GM promote every moron that helped design the Aztek to design leader for more UGLY cars!? Okay, I'm through ranting!

 

If you match components to a Mini-ram and match components to a S. Ram, the MR will walk the SR unless it has too little converter / cam etc.

But your idea would still give an idea for the person who understands :hail: area under the curve vs. peak numbers

Matthew

 

I'd like to see some chicks. If you ever pick up a mustang mag, there are chicks all over that thing. What's wrong with the F-body?

 

Chicks are for skin mags. Mustangs need chicks to draw
attention away from the fact that Ford sucks. If the readers are
too busy jacking on the chicks thay won't notice how ugly
Mustangs are or how sadly dissapointing Ford "high tec" cars
really are.

I read tech books for the tec, skin books for the skin.