ok here is my story i go to university in the fall so i need to save money but i would also like to do some work to the camaro....my problem is as everyone else in the world i want more power my issue comes in with money i am looking to do more than just the cai or exhaust i have been doing a lot of redin on the turo and the head swap i am trying to decide between these two options. i have a couple questions # 1 the 3x00 head swap i get except for the part where the distributor doesnt fit what is the replacement for it and how much will it cost? now i read that the head swap on the 3.1 would give you something like 14:1 compression is this also true on my 2.8? if so is there anything other than a piston swap that can change this? also for both i am for sure going to put a different cam my question is can i match a cam with either of these upgrades and still have that classic "lopey" sound that a v8 would have please don't judge me for that lol it isn't just the sound the associated performnce is the draw to it... now with the turbo i have read over dave's post many times and i understand what is involved but i have also seen a lot of posts saying if you dont plan to exceed 7 pounds of boost then #19 injectors and a blow off valve are all you need is this true or what? i have access to a few turbo's for free but i was told they were all to small 3 of them are skyline turbo's is twin turbo an option or will i be losing power past 4500 rpm i think those turbo's are .43 ar that is what i was told... the same person who told me that also suggested a 5 wire o2 sensor, megasquirt, a wideband air fuel guage so i am not sure if he thinks i am going for more power than i am or not....the reason he suggested all that is he said that he was always told never to use fmu because it adjusts the fuel not the timing, meaning that this would create a major chance for ruining my motor. my final question is my plan was to eventually do both the head swap and the turbo on my car are these two compatible?

sorry for the length and number of questions i greatly appreciate all and any answers.

Thanks A Newbie to performance"
Brandon

 

I really would like to hear from firstfirebird and project 89 because you two are the ones that i have based 95% on my reading on...i am closely following both of your projects



thanks

 

There's good, Fast, and Cheap, and you can have any two.

If it's good and cheap, it isn't going to be fast
If its good and fast, it isn't going to be cheap
If its fast and cheap, it isn't going to be any good!

The above outdated joke just goes to show how much things don't change. You are in the same boat as 90% of the people who are on this board. How do I get more power without spending a bunch of money???

Nitrous is the cheapest HP per dollar you will get, PERIOD! There are some drawbacks, such as having to fill the bottle all the time, and the power isn't added unless you are spraying (not always available). I used to use it on my car, and I paid about $450 for a 75 HP gain. That is $6 per HP gained. Most of the time you will pay more like $20 to $30, depending on what you are doing.

Turbos are probably the absolute best way to make big power gains on a 3rd gen V6 (that's my opinion). They require fabrication, tuning, and some money input. A lot of people aren't capable of doing that.

The head swap also will give you a good power increas, but will also take some tuning and fabrication. I'm not that familiar with this, but what it will most likely do is turn your engine into a High RPM monster. This means that you will need to have lower gears to effectively get that HP to the tires for better takeoffs. The new heads and big cam won't work with your stock computer too well, etc...

You can do a few things that won't be too difficult, and will help you some. One thing is to try to find a lower rear gear ratio rear end, and swap it out. You might even get a posi and 4 wheel disc brakes while you are at it. Case-in-point, my 1992 Firebird 3.1 has a 9 bolt Borg-Warner rear out of a 1989 GTA. I swapped the brake master cylinder and proportioning valve out of the GTA, and now my cars has a posi and 4 wheel discs. I didn't get a lower ratio, but the same one. If you could find a 3.42 or 3.73 gear, it would give your car more kick out of the hole.

Work some on your exhaust. A high flow catalytic converter and a good pipe and muffler will free up a few HP. These pieces will also be helpful with any future mods you might try.

Try to lighten the car some. Removing a bunch of the sound deadening and stuff will help shed some weight. Also, big heavy thumping stereos add weight and slow your car down. Great big wheels slow you down too.

These are great cars, and there is a lot of fun stuff you can do to them to get better handling and performance. It just all comes with a cost. Best thing to do if you are about to go to College would be to keep it near stock and just drive it. After you graduate, then save up some money and either mod it then or buy a higher performance car.

That's my $0.02

 

on the turbo stuff

a t3 turbo will be ok to use, a t3 50 trim will be good for just about 250-300 hp at the flywheel before it hits its limit

u do have a maf based 2.8 so u do not have to use a mega squirt.
depending on the turbo u use u can get 7-12 psi on the stock ecm with the 19# injectors, and u wont need an fmu

the stock 2.8 timing tables are fine for boosted applications,infact i ran mine with an extra 4* of timming on pump gas

the problem with a turbo setup is u will get hooked ,say u setup for 7-9 psi, i can guarantee that u will always want more boost. this is what will get u into trouble unless u tune the stock ecm or switch to a megasquirt.

the megasquirt is a much better option then tuning the stock maf ecm

and u deff want atleast a turbo with a .63 hotside and no smaller then a t3 50 trim on the cold side.

idealy i would go for a t3/t4 hybrid turbo