How much

[DanRHeller]

Can the stock shortblock handle, boost wise?

 

[bison]

My sig has a hard running stock block. Boost was 24.5 psi. Ambient air was 80*. I wouldnt want to run much over 125mph with a 3600 lb car and stock bottom end.

 

[DanRHeller]

So how fast can I get my car without changing out pistons or rods or anything(I do want a mean ass sounding cam though!)

 

[bison]

You dont want a mean ass sounding cam if you want to fly. My cam has a little noticeable difference form a stocker but not a heck of a lot. Mine has a little more cam than it needs actually. I just used it because i had it and didnt have to spend extra $. Over cam and the power band will be so high and narrow that you will have a dog. A much higher stall would be needed also. Driveability will come way down. I shift at 5800 and it goes through the traps at a little over 6000. I could realisticly get this combo to go high 10.50's if i launched at 12-14 psi. I only ran a 1.669 60' on the 10.88 pass, 7-8 psi launch in 80* air. I might even hit 10.40's if the air was like it was last night at 55*. I have not changed pistons rods or anything but the cam in my shortblock. I did use a thinner than stock steel shim head gasket setup form RJC that has bumped the compression up to around 8.4:1. It had 134k on it and i purchased it from another member on here. You can not detonate and engine like this at all or the stock main caps will break. You need a scan tool and a data logger to tune with. I dialed this thing in in a few passes adding fuel and increasing boost till i hit 24.5psi. I am out of fuel with the 50's and 95% duty cycle on top of the methnol. My engine has seen zero detonation since i started running it. Its been through third at 24.5 psi at least 150 times since early August. I raced a DSM with it last night and whipped his ass good. His car was no slouch though and had the power to lay down et's under 11.50. I f i detonated this thing one time it would be all over. Rods bent and main caps cracked, or even worse the crank could exit the block. Do more reading on combos and tuning tools and find a TR owner that has sdone this before to get a handle on your tuning. You cant lean out or detonate these.

 

[87we410877]

If your getting that 30K mile GN that was garage kept, i think you should leave it alone for the most part. Chip, hot wire kit, injectors, K&N, boost controller and leave it at basically that and some tires will get you going 12's all day.

 

[DanRHeller]

If your getting that 30K mile GN that was garage kept, i think you should leave it alone for the most part. Chip, hot wire kit, injectors, K&N, boost controller and leave it at basically that and some tires will get you going 12's all day.

I'm stepping out of a low 11, high 10 second Trans Am.....I can't not have a 11 second car now haha.

 

[bison]

Plan on spending another $10k if you want a reliable setup. Add up my sig. Some of the items are not needed but a quick add up will give you an idea.

 

[DanRHeller]

I have no problem running a large stall. My TA now has a .600+ lift cam and 244+ duration, and has a 4,000 stall, it's my daily car. Drive it 20 miles to school every day aha.

 

[top gun]

Back in 96 before I cracked into my 30k mile motor I was running 11.20's with 72 lb injectors, upgraded fuel pump, old school DFI, fmic, te 60 turbo, 118 octane and 30 + boost and it lived.


Tune+Race Gas+ Boost= Big Power:biggrin:

 

[86brick]

I've seen a few guys down here run big boost (30-34lbs) on stock shortblocks with success.. As Dave said it's really all in the tune and making sure it sees no detonation! The guys I seen run big boost #'s were always on C16 and also they made sure there IAT #'s were low (below ambient) by running air-water ICs.. Keep in mind when the temps are kept low and stable it is much easier to tune then when using an air-air where the ambient air temps can change.

 

[DanRHeller]

SO basically, with an air-water cooler, some tuning practice, and race gas...I can see low 11's possibly?

 

[86brick]

SO basically, with an air-water cooler, some tuning practice, and race gas...I can see low 11's possibly?

You don't need an air-water IC for low 11's, a good air-air whether it be a stock location or a FM can easily get the job done. Just make sure your IATs aren't too high in which case if you're using an air-air IC I would suggest possibly adding an alky kit to cool down the charge temps. It's also important to make sure your fuel system is up to the task.. For low 11's I would go with a single hotwired 340 Walbro pump and the 60lb High-Z Mototron injectors..

 

[DanRHeller]

OKay, so I will get a front mount, an alcohol kit, a fuel pump, and injectors....No need to upgrade the turbo for the low 11's?

 

[bison]

You will need a turbo for low 11's also. A TE62 minimum. Dont forget about the transmission and rear upgrades that you will need.

 

[86brick]

OKay, so I will get a front mount, an alcohol kit, a fuel pump, and injectors....No need to upgrade the turbo for the low 11's?

For low 11's I would personally go with the GT6152 turbo from Precision and if you don't already have one get yourself a 3" DP

 

[DanRHeller]

For low 11's I would personally go with the GT6152 turbo from Precision and if you don't already have one get yourself a 3" DP

If I get this car, I personally will be making my own 3" stainless steel exhaust all the way back.

 

[bison]

Back in 96 before I cracked into my 30k mile motor I was running 11.20's with 72 lb injectors, upgraded fuel pump, old school DFI, fmic, te 60 turbo, 118 octane and 30 + boost and it lived.


Tune+Race Gas+ Boost= Big Power:biggrin:

At what point did it break? I broke one when i was going 124mph repeatedly back in 99 or 00. I detonated it a little a couple times and the block cracked as well as one main cap. I was probably running on 3 mains for a while . Im more and more afraid of the stocker in my sig. Its like a grenade with the pin pulled. Hasnt seen any detonation at all though so it SHOULD live.

 

[bison]

For low 11's I would personally go with the GT6152 turbo from Precision and if you don't already have one get yourself a 3" DP

Agreed. This guy sounds like he has some $ to spend and should consider a BB turbo. If hes not afraid of throwing stall at it id go big and build a forged girdled engine for the future.

 

[top gun]

At what point did it break? I broke one when i was going 124mph repeatedly back in 99 or 00. I detonated it a little a couple times and the block cracked as well as one main cap. I was probably running on 3 mains for a while . Im more and more afraid of the stocker in my sig. Its like a grenade with the pin pulled. Hasnt seen any detonation at all though so it SHOULD live.

It never broke, I pulled it after that season and started creating the monster that I now have between the frame rails.:biggrin:

 

[need boost]

a 30k gn, leave it alone and keep it garage kept! By the time you are 30 you can sell it and buy a nice little house cash!!! Find a higher milage car to hot rod. Thats my advice to you. As far as a mean sounding cam , don't. This is not your trans am man, these motors are totally diffrent animals and that big lumpy camshaft does not work in these. A regular motor needs the extra lift from that lumpy cam to get the air in it. These motors FORCE air in with the turbo. I am running a 210 210 roller cam from DLS and it has a pretty good amount of lift but you will never know it from the way the motor idles. These cars are all about walk softly and carry a BIG stick. Getting in the 12s is easy with these cars but the faster you go the more money you are going to spend. A well built motor for one of these cars can easily set you back 5-11,000 bucks or more depending on how wild you want it to be. These cars are not for the light of pocket book if you really want to push them as the parts are expensive for buicks. I am not trying to discouage you , just real world facts. These cars are not for a daily driver in my eyes, they are toys to play with. Some guys do but not me personally, a stock gn yes but the more you put on them the more finicky they get like any other hot rod in the world. You are in for a HUGE learning experiance also on these! I know I sure was and I still learn more about them all the time. Another thing you may want to think about is getting it and swapping it with someone that has a built gn or T-type. I would almost be temted myself just to put it up if its still perfect with 30k on it to keep for a while and keep the miles low on it. These cars are going up in value quick and a low mile car is worth its weight in gold on the market. Also the price will keep going up if the miles are kept down on it. Ok enough soap box lol Daniel Ray