Need some idea's for more power

[White Out]

Alrighty, I have owned my '87 GN since 2000. I have done a little bit of power mods to the car, but mostly suspension and brakes. I am looking for a set up that will make my car a killer from a roll. With my tire/suspension set up I am not gonna be good outta the hole. I love the highway rolls and am looking for the most power (reasonably priced) with an un-opend motor with 71,000 miles on it.
My modifications are as followes...
Poston 3" downpipe
Poston two piece crossover
Cottons 3" test pipe
Flowmasater dual cbe
40lb injectors
adj. fuel press reg.
walbro pump, hotwired
ta-49
buickgn.com big mouth intake with LS1 MAF
SMC alky
poston's 93 chip
2800 stall converter
Hotchkis TVS w/ tubular uppers
17 TTII's w/ BFG g-force KDWs
Baers at all 4

Now the current problems with the car are listed below and I am going to be fixing them before the car comes out of storage.
cracked headers - getting welded and coated up this spring
bad maf - gotta get a new one from full throttle
bad battery - going with optima
old plugs - need input on brand/model
slipping trans - going to have rebuilt and an orange stripe thrown in
160 thermostat - car is starting to run warm

I am going to have some extra cash laying around in the next few months for the GN, on top of the parts above being replaced. I was going to get a new downpipe that bolts to the turbo and gets rid of the elbow and have it coated. I was thinking about a 70mm tb/plenum with rjc spacer, but have read that it might be a waste to do the 70mm at this stage in my car's life. Would the bigger tb/plenum/space make a difference for my top end power? I was thinking about going with the GT6131 turbo, but it seems that it isn't that much better than the 49 peformance wise. What turbo should I go with? I was going to put on an alluminum driveshaft to kill some rotating mass. After all of that I was going to have the car tuned and a chip burned for it (if that is possible). Some other things that I was goning to put on the car would be harder motor mounts and trans mount.
This is just what I have been thinking to do with my car. If you guys have any suggestions of what I should change up to make more power and what turbo/converter I should go with for some great top end with as little lag as possible (I can live with lag, but want as much boost as possible ) please let me know what I should do.

Nick

 

[turbo2nr]

Hey Nick.

Skip the Aluminum DS.
You should be ready to shred some tires as it is. Wait untill you get your headers fixed.

Downpipe is a great idea.
Fix that tranny and get a better converter and you should be done. You should be running low 11s with that set-up and 30PSI of boost.

Did you sell your Subaru? I sold one of mine, the STi. I still have a WRX for drag, and an 05 legacy GT.

I just bought a Lotus Elise. OMG what a fun car! Nathen from TXS also bought one. I see him on elisetalk.com

Don't you know we are itching for a turbo on the little Elise. Soon...

 

[turbo2nr]

From the 49 turbo, a good step forward would be a BB turbo, maybe in the high 60s or even a 70. Jack Cotton sells great Turbonetics BBs. I have tried a 49, PT52, TE60, TE62, TE67, and T70 BB.

The 70 still spools up just fine on a stock engine. I have a P-trim and a fairly loose Art Carr non-Lockup.

I've been scared to open my stock engine. It's been so good to me, I don't want to jinx it. I have a FAST system, GN1 heads, roller cam, etc. just sitting in the box. Maybe one day.....


How did you mess up your LS1 MAF?

Scott Hudson
Richmond VA

 

[White Out]

That's sweet you got an Elise. A turbo one would be frickin nuts. I saw Nathan's when I got my car tuned at TXS (nice guys, but can't tune a car worth sh1t).

I actually wrecked my STi over labor day weekend. I picked up a 2004 WRB STi with a superzilla 55 in the middle of december. It is much nicer than my old car.

My LS1 MAF just went out last october. It was two years old. I sent the translator to Full Throttle to see if that was the problem, it wasn't. Slapped a GN MAF on the car and it ran perfect.

Thanks for the info, I am going to go check out Jack's site.

I know what you mean about not wanting to open up the motor. It has been so good to me. I don't want to start a domino effect of things breaking to upgrade somthing that is in fine condition.


Nick

 

[JDSfastGN]

A 3" DP if you can find one, along with a PT6131e, turbotweak chip, poly mounts for motor and a nice tranny rebuild/converter will do wonders. I'm not a big fan of orange or red stripes, i know some have had good luck but ive blown a few to pieces in the past. I would spend the money on a good one (you can get a pats 3000 stall for a good price) anyways along with your current mods it should be a pretty fast car. If you really want to do something with the throttlebody send it to Steve Monroe and have him port the stock one to 62mm. Its very affordable and his work is top notch.

 

[TurboTnZ06]

On the battery. Get an odessey dry cell battery. They are dry cell, light weight and can crank anything. I have a 925 in my Z06 and it weighs like ten pounds less than a comparable lead/acid battery. Some guys even use the 545 sized motorcycle batteries from them on their cars for even less weight. They weigh like 12 pounds.

http://www.batterystore.com/Odyssey/OdysseyProducts.htm

 

[White Out]

Thanks for the info guys.

Nick

 

[turbopete]

If it is running hot...

In addition to the 160 thermostat, look into a 4 core radiator. I'd bet yours is clogged after all these years.

 

[turbo2nr]

Yup. Mine sucks.

I drive around with the heat on during the summer just so I can run more boost. I need a better rad.

 

[DMan]

More power?

HEADS.

 

[justabuickv6]

Replace the FlowMasters for a straight thru design. Hooker Aero's or something similiar. I bet you pick up 2 MPH in the 1/4.

 

[bison]

Spend the money on a good wide band data logger like the LM1. It will allow you to dial in the car with high boost and make a lot more power safer. You will be able to tune up to 30psi and pick up a lot of mph with the methanol. Maybe a dual nozzle will be needed. If you want to spend a little more go with a bigger turbo, heads, and a cam. I would go for a 9" or 9 1/2" converter instead of the orange stripe if you go with a bigger turbo than the 49. Replace the radiator and get the trans fixed. I like AC R42TS or preferably CR42TS(only going to find these at the dealer), or autolite 23's. Close the gap down to .030-.035 for over 25psi boost.

 

[GNsnake]

orange stripe converter

Hey man, don't waste your money on an orange stripe. Get yourself one from Precision ind, Pats or Pro-torque. I had an orange stripe, it was just like the stock D5 to me. I have a PI 3000 LU in the car now. It made a big difference to my combo. The car launches much better and definitely puts more torque to the ground. They are not cheap though.

 

[turbo2nr]

Never tried the fruit, but I have tried both lock-up percision converters and a non-lock up Art Carr. The Art Carr is faster everywhere. Lock-up is good for driving out of town.

 

[White Out]

Great info. Thanks alot. Would the Art converter be good for the highway?
My coolant temps didn't start going up untill this summer. I did a highway run to over 150mph (according to rpm's, etc) and the car was HOT. Otherwise it would only run about 20 deg. over what it used to. If the thermo dosn't help than I will go for teh alluminum rad.
My motor has treated me well over the years. I don't want to open it up untill somthing breaks.
Are there any suggestions for the type of plug that I should use?

Nick

 

[turbo2nr]

The non-lock up conv. needs a good tranny cooler (which you really should have anyway). Other than worse gas milage and a little more tranny heat, it's fine.

I could not see how a non-lock up could be over $800, but this thing rocks. I like mine much better than the vigilante. Better 60', quicker spooling, faster all around but you may see a couple of MPH missing on your slip. ET with the Art Carr will be better.

 

[bison]

Great info. Thanks alot. Would the Art converter be good for the highway?
My coolant temps didn't start going up untill this summer. I did a highway run to over 150mph (according to rpm's, etc) and the car was HOT. Otherwise it would only run about 20 deg. over what it used to. If the thermo dosn't help than I will go for teh alluminum rad. My motor has treated me well over the years. I don't want to open it up untill somthing breaks.
Are there any suggestions for the type of plug that I should use?



Nick

I like AC R42TS or preferably CR42TS(only going to find these at the dealer), or autolite 23's. Close the gap down to .030-.035 for over 25psi boost.
Cut and pasted from my previous reply.

 

[White Out]

Thanks, this is all being written down right now. I gotta get the buick up and running great this spring/summer. Anyone know of a good place around MI to get the car tuned and a custom chip burned?

Nick