I have a stock 92 Camaro z-28. I've done most of the things needed for a tune up, so I believe no I have a solid base for some upgrades. I dont want anything too crazy, just some more low end toque and throttle response, but I want pretty much everything to be reversable and nothing to pricy till I can get a job this summer. With that in mind I have made these plans:
K&N Cone with elbow and PVC pipe
TPIS Air Foil
TPIS AFPR(and FP test gauge if it is needed to set it up right)
Port Plenum
Pulleys
Exhaust(probubly cat back)

Has anybody done this kind of setup that can tell me what gains to expect or make a guess. Anything else you think I should do or take off the list? Any advice is greatly appreciated
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any better fuel mileage?

 

you wont get much of a noticable performance unless you spend some money.

headers are the best you can do but they cost a little. labor to install them prolly is the most of that cost.


but you want some cheap performance upgrades buy a cold air induction kit with a K&N air filter. go on ebay you can find some kits for around 70-80bucks. wellllllll!!!!! worth it

watch it with the Adjustable fuel pressure regulator. mostly guys who street race and drag race have them. unless you know what your doing not really useful for daily driving. but if you do get it dont buy a holley one. too many stories of the diaphram tearing.

get the air foil if your dont mind paying 20-40 bucks for it.

fresh exhaust is a nice upgrade. if you don't have too much money do the cat and get a performance muffler. If you have the money get some headers to replace the exhaust manifolds and do the entire exhaust.

another cheap upgrade or update is an accel or msd distributor cap/rotor kit. might as well replace the ignition control module while your in there. they're only 20-30bucks

port the plenum if you want but wear saftey goggles and watch out for those aluminum shavings.

never delt with the pulleys. you should be fine unless you want to put in a delete smog/ac pulleys

replacing your oxygen sensor is a good idea after so many miles.

same with any sensor, if no check engine light i guess your fine but those engine sensors determine how your car will run so its good to know them and what they do.


any other questions let me know

 

Thanks, I plan on doing a full exhaust once I can get some more money and Ive already got a new distributor cap and rotor. As far as the AFPR, I wasn't planning on changing the pressure drastically, just a few PSI. From what Ive heard the setting from the factory isnt the best for performance or gas mileage. No check engine lights, but ill look into the O2 sensor

 

K&N Cone with elbow and PVC pipe = 0HP And a dirty intake (waste of $$)
TPIS Air Foil = 0HP (Waste of $$)
TPIS AFPR(and FP test gauge if it is needed to set it up right) = could gain a few ponys but will lead to errors. Better off doing some tuning (Computer).
Port Plenum =-HP-0HP (without associated tuning)
Pulleys = maybe a wee bit -o- power but money spent better on tuning.
Exhaust(probubly cat back) = sounds better but little HP.

 

I know Im not going to get the advertised 8hp here and 15 there, but does anybody have a ballpark number

 

ZERO, maybe less.

Seriously, save your money.

 

i would just take your stock air box and gut it and put some k&n filters in the stock location cause the stock air box is a pretty good design. like already said headers and exhaust r gonna be the best mods on a budget.

 

Have you actually done this stuuf or just telling me what others results are?
I dont see how a K&N filter would have no change. The stock set up is so restrictive and Ive got test results that say a air foil greatly increases air flow. Im not expecting huge gaines from it, but with other intake mods i should get about 4 horsepower. For 20 bucks thats not bad. I think some people believe the air foil has no effect cuz they get a crappy one or leave everything else stock
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you dont think Im gonna get anything from the exhaust either, theres gotta be some increase from that alone

 

I'll think about doing a full exhaust rather then the other mods, but I thought gutting the airbox or even cutting the bottom off like some people can let water in the engine in a big puttle(live in Florida rains allot)
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Will the full exhaust raise gas mileage

 

on ebay look up a coolant bypass kit. its 11 dollars and just something nice to do. dont do it unless your only going to drive the car in spring and summer. hot hot coolant flows under your throttle body and warms up the air that enter your engine. hot air is less dense and doenst burn as much/or as easily. so you by this kit which is just a hose to hook up the coolant to bypasss the throttle body and then you'll have colder air flow through into your engine. get it?

the only reason GM had hot coolant flowing under your throttle body is so in the winter time your TPS and IAC sensor and throttle body itself wouldnt get iced over.

but if your not going to drive it in the winter then whats the point in having it.

im not saying its going to make drastic changes but for 11 dollars give your engine what it needs which is colder air flowing.
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and yes your right the fuel pressure counts towards your gas milage and performance. just saying becareful and either know what your doing or have someone ho does know do it. and do some research on which brand to by. i got a holley but have yet to put it in since ive read so many bad reports on it.

if it fails you may have either low fuel pressure or no fuel pressure which means your going nowhere and stranded. or if your like some of the lucky people you have gas spitting out the regulator and possible catch fire on your engine. not saying it will happen just make darn sure you understand how to use it and install it. and i'm not syaing you dont or wouldnt do the research just lending some helpful thoughts to tihnk about.

so if your just want to tweak your PSI go to summit racing .com and see what they got and what works in your price range.

good luck

 

Thanks for the post, I have seen some things about the coolant bypass before, and was thinking about it as a possibilty. Now that I know its 11 dollars I will really consider it(Live in Florida no winter). Summit and Jegs are were I have been looking for AFPR, Im gonna stay away from Holley like Ive heard so many others do, I was leaning towards TPISs model.

 

I have seen people bolt on in excess of $500 worth of this stuff and run slower 1/4 miles and loose numbers on the dyno. There used to be a guy selling a carburetor that would give you over 100MPG and he had test results to prove it. The test results did not change the fact that it did not work. Air foils are snake oil, maybe they help when flowing 800-900 CFM, maybe; your engine will never flow that much.

The stock air cleaner is only a restriction if your engine is flowing more than it can handle. K&N does a horrible job of cleaning the air (don't forget that is why you have an air cleaner) and while it may be capable of flowing more air, again; if your stock air filter flows enough for your application then throwing money at the air cleaner won't help one bit. There is more snake oil in these air cleaner products than performance.

The cat-back will again yield very little for the investment. up to 12HP (maybe) for $350-$500. I'd do the exhaust more for the sound than anything, the little bit of power is a little bonus. I love the sound of a flowmaster delta flow.

Bolting a bunch of crap on a motor does not necessarily in it's self produce more power. Many things like headers and cat-back enable your system to adequately support or make full use of real power producing modifications.

If you think you have an air cleaner restriction, put it on a dyno and make a pull then remove the air cleaner and run again, if you see any difference it will be 2-3hp. That's a lot of money and life off an engine for 2-3hp and dyno runs will fluctuate that much anyway. If you see more, maybe there is some merit in your situation. my 91 350 showed zero difference with factory vs. no air cleaner. Before you put a K&N on your car, look at open cell foam filters, they flow the same or better than a K&N but stop dirt as a bonus.

Locate real problems and resolve them rather than throw money at things because everyone else does. Some guys run the low restriction intakes because they have cams or other mods than can use them. Other guys install them because it is the upward limit of their ability and they want to do something. Whatever reason you choose, it's your money and as long as you spend it in a way that you find gratifying, that's what it's all about anyway.

Remember just because a group of idiots stand around and agree on something does not change the fact that they are just that, a group of idiots.

Have fun

 

simple first mods should be

full exhaust..headers back. big gains here, as stock stuff is horribly restricting

gut your TPI air box. cut the bottoms off below the filters. get that flow moving. and if possible run some ducting to the front grille to make a ram air like setup.

TB coolant bypass does help keep the plenum cool. which is a bonus which will lead to better times at the strip. i've iced my plenum and picked up a tenth....same with my buddy's L98 firebird. with the TB coolant running thru it, it would get very hot again and icing wouldnt have done as much and it would have taken longer to cool. Trust me, it is easy to do and very beneficial

get a 180 degree thermostat...these L98's run hot and should be kept abit cooler.

a torque converter is the best bang for the buck i feel. huge gains to be made there. 2800 stall on my car with sticky tires yeilds 1.74 60 foots but with more in it and i only got full exhaust. i ran 13.63 at 97.

play with the timing...could gain a few ponies i'm not sure yet tho, i'm still tryin to play with mine and get times/dyno numbers for it.

after that u can play with tunning to squeeze more power out of it but you probly wont see much. Tunning a stock car will give some results but you'll see alot more when u start modding the TPI setup with larger runners/base

 

does putting a full exhaust on warrant doing something to the induction side or does stock still flow enough. It seems that if I have air going out faster, then it would make sense to have more air coming in would be better

 

That was pretty much the extent of my mods (+dremel'd tpi)