Hotair upgrade help

[GN Ben]

Hi, I am new to the forum and need advice for performance upgrades for my car. I have an 85 Grand National with 12,000 miles on it. It has been in storage for 13 yrs. I was going to sell the car but got itch to drive it again. The car is all stock. The upgrades that I have done so far are....160* thermostat....Cold Air Induction Kit (Mark Hueffman)....New High Pressure Fuel Pump.... New Adj FP Regulator and a Hot wire kit for the fuel pump. Any other suggestions?

 

[WFO]

i'd say a boost gauge,a scan tool(turbo-link)and a good street chip burned for you combo.

then tune,tune,tune....

what plugs are you running?

 

[GN Ben]

I am still using the stock plug R44TS. I am having trouble finding a good chip for the car. I contacted Jay Carter and he told me he doesn't do hotair chips. Seems not many vendors are interested in Hotair cars. Other questions I have are about turbo upgrades... TA-33 is it worth the investment. What size injectors would match the turbo upgade? Headers, good or bad? Will I have problems with the trubo spooling up with headers? These are some of the questions I have. I have read a lot of different things about these upgrades and am looking for advice and other members opinions and experiences. Thanks for the help.

 

[WFO]

Originally posted by GN Ben
I am still using the stock plug R44TS.

they'll be ok for now,but once you start cranking it up you'll want to go with the 43's.

Originally posted by GN Ben
I am having trouble finding a good chip for the car. I contacted Jay Carter and he told me he doesn't do hotair chips.

joe lubrant(pte) or jim testa can burn you a good chip.

Originally posted by GN Ben
TA-33 is it worth the investment.

yup,it's a good upgrade and works well with the stock convertor.

Originally posted by GN Ben
What size injectors would match the turbo upgade?

if your stockers are in good shape spend the $$ elsewhere.if you want to upgrade i'd go with 36# or 42.5#.

Originally posted by GN Ben
Headers, good or bad? Will I have problems with the trubo spooling up with headers?

headers and downpipe are a good upgrade for these cars.unlike the 87's the stock hotair headers suck ass.my 1st choice would be the atr stainless headers/2.5"dp($$) followed by the postons set.both will actually improve your spoolup.

later,sean

 

[GN Ben]

Thanks for the great information. I have a question about scan tools. It seems that the scanmaster2 would be the best tool for me to use. The car will be mostly streer driven. I don't plan on changing the ECM to 87 or upgrading the coil pack at this time. From what I have read, I would not get the full benefit of theTurboLink software using the 85 ECM since it is not capable of providing the more in-depth information like the 87 ECM. Any one else have a different view? Thanks

 

[6SENSE]

If I remember correctly, Scanmaster wont work with the 84-85 ecm.

 

[turbo6x2]

turbo link is the only that works with 84/85 ecm

 

[GN Ben]

Thanks 6SENSE and turbo6x2, I did not know that scanmaster did not work with an 85 ECM. I was about to make a big mistake. 6SENSE I see that you have a TA-33 turbo on your car. How do you like it? My car will be for the most part street driven with occasional trips to the track. I use 93 octane gas and around 18-20 psi of boost. Is the turbo upgrade worth it?

 

[WH1]

Hey Ben, sent you a PM.

 

[6SENSE]

6SENSE I see that you have a TA-33 turbo on your car. How do you like it? My car will be for the most part street driven with occasional trips to the track. I use 93 octane gas and around 18-20 psi of boost. Is the turbo upgrade worth it?

For me personally, I think so. After porting everything I think it was a logical step. The car needed it to push the extra air. With my bad cam and other problems the car still gained .3 and 3 mph (approx.) in the 1/4. Now that most of my engine problems are worked out I cant wait to put the car to the test when the track opens. The much louder turbo whistle is also a plus .
I think it would definately be a good upgrade. On a mostly stock car the only possible weak link that I can think of would be the injectors (watch that scantool !). Just from memory I believe the TA 33 flows 700 cfm while the stock flows 395 cfm (#s should be close).

 

[GN Ben]

On a mostly stock car the only possible weak link that I can think of would be the injectors

What injectors would be a good match for the TA-33 with a stock cam and intake, 36 or 42.5? Any particular manufacturer you like?

 

[6SENSE]

Either of those would be good choices. From what Ive heard, alot of the guys like to just go with the bigger injectors and not worry about changing in the future. Most of them seemed to have more mods though, including added intercoolers which may be a big factor in their decision. Ive heard of alot of guys going with the MSD 50s which is what I might go with in the future if needed.
I think that the 36ers would be perfect for your car but maybe we could get some other opinions.

P.S. 36# injectors is what I ordered for my car from Postons. The injectors they actually sent me are Delphi 37#, which I was told by Joe Lubrandt (PTE) were good injectors, and that he sells them.

 

[GN Ben]

Thanks for all of the GREAT information. But remember, your not off the hook yet. I will have more questions!!! Thanks again