1986 to 1987 HP gain

[williamsGN]

Anyone know how Buick gained the extra HP from 86's 235HP to 87's 245HP ?

 

[TurboDave]

On paper.

 

[williamsGN]

Haha.. think so ?

 

[mgmshar]

In the recent movie, one of the guys said that the Vette was bumped to 240 hp in 1987. So, to stick it in Chevy's eye, Buick bumped the rating of the GN to 245. No changes were made to the engine.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Turbo Buick

 

[Tom87GNX]

Anyone know how Buick gained the extra HP from 86's 235HP to 87's 245HP ?

I've been told by accurate sources that there was a slight calibration change in the computer chip which raised the HP to 245 and Torque to 355ft.lbs vs the 86's 235HP and 330ft. lbs of torque. No physical changes in any engine components. Wether or not this is really an accurate truth is unknown.

 

[turbo nasty]

Both years have the same rating...it was just released as different ratings when they were actually the same.

 

[turbodave231]

In the recent movie, one of the guys said that the Vette was bumped to 240 hp in 1987. So, to stick it in Chevy's eye, Buick bumped the rating of the GN to 245. No changes were made to the engine.

True story! Ron Yuille (retired Buick Powertrain manager) explains the whole reason for the rating change on the bonus part of the "Black Air" documentary.

 

[bison]

Haha.. think so ?

Yup. The calibration is the same. Both years had a replacement PROM that was burned the same and installed in the cars that helped with cold starts. Actual hp is around 260-270. Weather and slight tweaking would add 50 or more hp at almost the blink of an eye. Feeding the hp with the stock pump/wiring was a limitation.

 

[coach]

Yep. He said the actual reading was 245, but they did not need to advertise it at 245, so they wrote 235. In 87 when Chevrolet added hp to the Vette...they just decided to release the actual hp of 245. It was funny listening to him because, as we know, they coulda just kept raising it by adding boost. The Vette didnt stand a chance.

 

[Tom87GNX]

Yep. He said the actual reading was 245, but they did not need to advertise it at 245, so they wrote 235. In 87 when Chevrolet added hp to the Vette...they just decided to release the actual hp of 245. It was funny listening to him because, as we know, they coulda just kept raising it by adding boost. The Vette didnt stand a chance.

Thanks everyone for the true story, it's nice to finally know the real version

 

[Buick Mark]

Yep, it was 245hp in '86, Buick was pissing off Chevy. Thats one of the reasons Buick didnt have a G body platform in '88 and Chevy, Pontiac, and Olds did. Buick was being spanked by GM for having a faster car and more powerful engine than Chevy, BAAAAAAAAAAAD Buick, no more rear drive Regal for you!

 

[bison]

Yep, it was 245hp in '86, Buick was pissing off Chevy. Thats one of the reasons Buick didnt have a G body platform in '88 and Chevy, Pontiac, and Olds did. Buick was being spanked by GM for having a faster car and more powerful engine than Chevy, BAAAAAAAAAAAD Buick, no more rear drive Regal for you!

Wrong. All the late 87 GN's were sold as 87 models instead of 1988 even though they could have been called 88's because the w was already in production.

 

[dennisL]

I've been told by accurate sources that there was a slight calibration change in the computer chip which raised the HP to 245 and Torque to 355ft.lbs vs the 86's 235HP and 330ft. lbs of torque. No physical changes in any engine components. Wether or not this is really an accurate truth is unknown.

Tom, the truth about the difference between a stock 86 chip and a stock 87 chip is this:
- In the 87 chip, the afr is slightly less rich during engine warm-up
- In the 87 chip, the base PE afr at 133 degF is leaner than in 86 (14:1 vs 13.5:1)

That's it. Both changes were probably dictated by slightly stricter emissions laws. As for performance, if anything the 86 chip would make a pinch more hp at 133 degF since the PE base afr is richer.
Oh, and show this to your "accurate source" and have them contact me if there are any questions.

Dennis

 

[Tom87GNX]

Tom, the truth about the difference between a stock 86 chip and a stock 87 chip is this:
- In the 87 chip, the afr is slightly less rich during engine warm-up
- In the 87 chip, the base PE afr at 133 degF is leaner than in 86 (14:1 vs 13.5:1)

That's it. Both changes were probably dictated by slightly stricter emissions laws. As for performance, if anything the 86 chip would make a pinch more hp at 133 degF since the PE base afr is richer.
Oh, and show this to your "accurate source" and have them contact me if there are any questions.

Dennis

Thanks for the info Dennis, for the record I was just posting what I was told. Obviously the info I got was wrong, so much for that reliable source lol.

 

[coach]

If I've learned anything it's...reliable sources usually aren't very reliable!!! No shit. Someone that's used. "I guarantee" or "I'll bet you anything" are 99% of the time...full of shit.

 

[dennisL]

That's so true but in my case "you can take this info to the bank!" LOL

 

[3.8L V-8 eater]

I always heard that extra 10HP was due to the 87 having an adjustable wastegate actuator the 86 didn't have.....However, If anyone woud know it would be Ron Yuille....

 

[turbo nasty]

I always heard that extra 10HP was due to the 87 having an adjustable wastegate actuator the 86 didn't have.....However, If anyone woud know it would be Ron Yuille....

Nope...both had nonadjust wastegates...boost in stock form was controlled by wastegate solenoid via chip

 

[87GNSteve]

In reality 10 hp is doo doo... Cars coming off the assembly line car vary in HP ( I'd venture a guess that it would be a 10% variance +/-). As we know some of them were made and all the planets aligned for them and ran quite well, and others...well.....
Remember the saying about cars built on Mondays and Fridays....