Delco Filters ain't what they used to be.
basic mods done. What to expect? any advice welcome.
- Thread starter HouTX87
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Delco Filters ain't what they used to be.
williamsGN
'Horse sneeze' addict
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2007
- Messages
- 2,122
Actually the boost controllers I spoke of and have are for external gates. Seen similar ones for internals but not the Turbonetics on GN1s site or otherwise.
He learned that the hard way too.Get a Wix or Napa gold and you should be good.
After 2o minutes of run time.
And yes, that was an AC Delco PF52 filter.
Yea you can see the blue on the top of the can.
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
My 2 cents worth
All great ideas posted thus far....here is something you do not want to over look since you have a low miileage example before doing much more you need to do the braces and missing body bushings unless previous owner did them. It helps keep the car rigid even if it is a hardtop. Rear seat braces, frotn brace kits, missing body bushings world of difference with those improvements.
Not sure if it was posted or I missed it, install the caspers feeder kit that gets the proper voltage to the fuel pump which will help with fuel delivery.
Not trying to plug our company as these items I mentioned are available from Gbody as well....The Pypes exhaust is extremely popular we sell a lot of them. He started in the GTO business yearss ago like I did.
denniskirban@yahoo.com
All great ideas posted thus far....here is something you do not want to over look since you have a low miileage example before doing much more you need to do the braces and missing body bushings unless previous owner did them. It helps keep the car rigid even if it is a hardtop. Rear seat braces, frotn brace kits, missing body bushings world of difference with those improvements.
Not sure if it was posted or I missed it, install the caspers feeder kit that gets the proper voltage to the fuel pump which will help with fuel delivery.
Not trying to plug our company as these items I mentioned are available from Gbody as well....The Pypes exhaust is extremely popular we sell a lot of them. He started in the GTO business yearss ago like I did.
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Wow, I know the delco filters used to be high quality. I had seen a comparison to a Wix and a Fram about ten years ago. The Delco and Wix looked identical. The Fram looked like garbage. I will definitely be switching to a Wix or a NAPA gold asap.
The rear seat bracing is another high priority and I need to take a look at the body bushings. The previous own did spend some money upgrading the rear control arms though.
The rear seat bracing is another high priority and I need to take a look at the body bushings. The previous own did spend some money upgrading the rear control arms though.
I am a little late to the thread but I would wait on the downpipe. It has been proven that the stock downpipe and elbow are not a restriction until you get into the high 11's. Years ago at the GS Nats a guy ran a 11.90 car down the track 3 times with the stock DP then ungraded to a THDP 3" downpipe and made 3 more passes and basically picked up nothing. The car did not ET any better and picked up less than 1 mph with everything else being equal. Lots of guys claim they could feel a difference on stockish 13 second cars but I think they mostly just feel the effects of reduced weight in thier wallet by $450!
x2. I ran my stock downpipe and turbo, no cat, through hooker exhaust with good gas at first at 20psi and later alky/pump at 20psi all well into the mid to low 12's with drag radials around 105-110mph.
To answer your original question about getting into the 12s no alky, it can be done but alky makes it easier. You'll also need drag radials, taller the better. You can pull some timing and turn up the boost a little to get away without alky. My car still pulls great with 16-17psi and timing around 17/15. I run this tune when it's too cold to spray meth.
My main concern is having more power on the street. I'd like to see it be competitive against some of the late model muscle out there these days from a 30 or 40 mph roll. Having some nice time slips would be great too but I don't intend to have it at the track all that often, maybe once or twice a year.
With my fuel system now upgraded, next upgrading the intake and exhaust seemed like a no brainer. Although I dont want to be throwing money away on parts I don't need for my combo either.
I think I need to really plan for an ALKY kit.
With my fuel system now upgraded, next upgrading the intake and exhaust seemed like a no brainer. Although I dont want to be throwing money away on parts I don't need for my combo either.
I think I need to really plan for an ALKY kit.
You are off to a good start. Get the K&N cone filter, powerplate, adj wastegate, and RJC boost controller. With the powerplate you may have to get longer bolts, just make sure enough threads are catching. You could get away with a used non progressive SMC alky kit for that power level. Keep an eye out as they come up for sale. Make sure the trans is working fine. A restalled stock converter will help wake it up and they are cheap. For tires, stay with 26" tall, 27" max. 235/60/15 MT drag radials are more than enough. Lightweight aftermarket rims will help but not needed. Weight is your enemy. Cheap mods such as getting rid of the spare tire, aluminum bumper inserts, etc will help. Also look at the cooling system. Put in a 160 thermostat if there isn't one already, check the radiator and replace with an fbody one if needed. Check the baffling around the radiator. With the hotter temps in the summer you may also want to look at dual fans to keep the temps down. A dutt neck on the stock intercooler is pretty cheap and works. Heat soak in the summer will kill the performance on a stock intercooler. Alky is a must to counteract it. Once you get alky get a TT alky chip. If you use the same chip with more timing you'll get some tansitional knock on the street.
Look at the relatively few mods I had done to my GN to take it to 11s on a stock turbo:
http://turbobuick.com/forums/threads/11-97-on-a-stock-turbo.284204/
Good luck!
" Heat soak in the summer will kill the performance on a stock intercooler. Alky is a must to counteract it. "
This hadn't occured to me be it's great advice. Especially since I live in Houston, Tx. The radiator was already replaced by the previous owner but not with an f-body radiator. 160 thermostat also installed.
The car had been parked since '93 up until he bought it 3 years ago and it was not running. He put a radiator and a fuel pump in it, got it running and only put about 2k miles on it during the time he had it. Then the powermaster started leaking and he put it up for sale. Turned out it still had the recalled black pressure switch that was leaking.
In hindsight I think he probably got frustrated and didn't know how to tune it or didn't want to put the effort into it. I immediately had to replace the fuel pump and install a hotwire because the pump would quit after about 20 mins.
This hadn't occured to me be it's great advice. Especially since I live in Houston, Tx. The radiator was already replaced by the previous owner but not with an f-body radiator. 160 thermostat also installed.
The car had been parked since '93 up until he bought it 3 years ago and it was not running. He put a radiator and a fuel pump in it, got it running and only put about 2k miles on it during the time he had it. Then the powermaster started leaking and he put it up for sale. Turned out it still had the recalled black pressure switch that was leaking.
In hindsight I think he probably got frustrated and didn't know how to tune it or didn't want to put the effort into it. I immediately had to replace the fuel pump and install a hotwire because the pump would quit after about 20 mins.
All good stuff. There are so many little things that go into making the whole car perfect. That's the fun of it, your car will be your car. You are off to a good start. You'll need the bracing after you turn the boost up and the plate keeps it safe on a stock intake manifold. You can go fast on a stock intake manifold. Have fun!
Okay so over the past few days I've installed comp 980 valve springs, rjc power plate, adjustable wastegate actuator, and kirban rear seat bracing. I have boost set at 16 psi with zero knock and the car runs stronger than ever even with the heat here yesterday. Coolant temp was running 180-190. Outside temps in the 80's. I saw a few third gear pulls looking lean with o2 mv as low as 740 and other pulls in the 800 range. Should I turn the boost down a little more to be safe or try adding fuel with my TT chip/scanmaster?
The previous owner supposedly did a 160 T-stat along with a stock replacement radiator and water pump. When it was a little cooler outside a few weeks ago warm up temps were in the 170's. The highest the temp got yesterday was 190. What are typical coolant temps with stock thermostat? Still has stock cooling fan, I have not done the fan resistor mod. If I need to I'll consider a dual cooling fan setup for summer cruising, maybe an f-body radiator.
