Performance Upgrades 2011

[Brady87GN]

I agree wish list one is what I would do with the addition of a few things that will make traction and tuning easier. The cams you are looking at are not needed or recommended at this point. I would never tell someone to use a flat tappet instead of a hydraulic roller unless I deeply despise them for some reason. If and when the flat tappet goes bad they send fine metal through the engine and end up causing a complete rebuild.

I think if you continue to read here, use the search function, read old post by respected and knowledgeable members you will have great overall experience with the car. Not to put him on the spot but member Kevin B went from a mid nine second TSM class car back to a simple stock type car and seems to be having a ball. Check him out. TurboBuRick and Dr.Boost are my local problem chasers and Bison, RUQWKNUF (Patrick Rubio) are some been there tried that guys with a lot of post. Grumpy is a mellow guy that can keep you from buying stuff you don't need but can motivate you to work with what you have so far. I have been chasing the numbers laid down by his daughter for 3 going on 4 years. Stop laughing, I'm not the only one!

Your mechanic choice is not to hard. They should be great parts changers and neat workers. You do the tuning and road testing. We need to come up with a 25 question quiz on this board to see if they qualify to touch the car. I have seen some hacks and some that could amaze you, but those are far and few.

My mechanics are great, a father and his two sons, they answer all my dumb questions with patience and are straight shooters. Perhaps I'm trying to fix something that isn't "broken", I just look at everybody's mods and upgrades and wonder if I'm missing out on something .

When I purchased the car it came safetied but still decided to take it to my mechanics and let them give it an extensive "once over". The car got "two thumbs up" and a few smiles when they talked about their test drive. One of the mechanics said it was the fastest car he's ever driven and would undoubtedly blow his dads Vette off the road.

I think my first move is going to be a change from the Red Armstong 94 octane chip to a TT 94 Street chip and a Scanmaster. I need to learn how the car fuctions before I start talking about cams and rollers. I have been reading Vortex Buicks over and over just to gain some knowledge and I'm starting to get a very basic understanding.

Turbo Nasty: I appreciate all the suggestions, especially the fuel pressure gauge. If I don't mount it on the rail as you suggest is there a preferred spot to mount it?? I dont think I want to bother with a hood mount or an interior mount. I already have an aftermarket boost gauge mounted on the A pillar and I think a knock gauge along with the Scanmaster is my best bet.

Thanks again fellas, I appreciate everyones time and suggestions.

 

[Timbuick]

I have a fuel pressure gauge mounted in my console. It's one more thing to watch, but a pretty important one

 

[Brady87GN]

I have a fuel pressure gauge mounted in my console. It's one more thing to watch, but a pretty important one

Now I'm guessing that is used to monitor fuel pressure at high boost so you dont suddenly lose pressure and run lean?? Am I even close??

I remember talking to my mechanic about a pressure gauge and he advised against it saying that you basically have to run a pressurized fuel line into the car. Is that the case or are there gauges that can work off of sensors or something similar?? Probably a dumb question but I have no clue...

I would consider a boost/knock/fuel pressure gauge combo, a reliable Tach would be nice too, those stupid LED's just don't cut it!!

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[jasjamz]

You can get electric fuel pressure gauges with isolators that keep fuel out of the cabin. They cost like $200 though. You can mount a regular gauge on the drivers side inner fender area near the washer fluid and run the line to the rail. You can also get setups that feed information to the power logger if you get one. Plenty of tachometers out there too. Autometer z-series has a 2 1/16 size on that fits the console or pillar pods too. Careful thought can't watch them all and the road. I watch my wideband and knock retard through the scanmaster. Peek at temp and oil pressure from time to time and really only use the boost gauge as an exhaust leak indicator.

 

[Timbuick]

Not sure what drives my F/P guage, it was in the car when I bought it, but yes I do check it now and again to ensure that pressure rises in line with boost.
That said, main focus is on scanmaster 02 + knock retard values. Don't have wideband yet.

 

[GullsGN]

Hmmm, if you do not have a pressure guage, does that mean you are still running the stock fuel pressure regulator? I don't know what Red's chip requires for fp, but a TT will require 43lbs. For this you will need an adjustable fuel pressure regulator with the TT chip.

 

[Brady87GN]

Hmmm, if you do not have a pressure guage, does that mean you are still running the stock fuel pressure regulator? I don't know what Red's chip requires for fp, but a TT will require 43lbs. For this you will need an adjustable fuel pressure regulator with the TT chip.

Thank you, that is good to know!! I guess I'll just add it to the list!!:biggrin:

 

["Turbo-T"]

Now I'm guessing that is used to monitor fuel pressure at high boost so you dont suddenly lose pressure and run lean?? Am I even close??

I remember talking to my mechanic about a pressure gauge and he advised against it saying that you basically have to run a pressurized fuel line into the car. Is that the case or are there gauges that can work off of sensors or something similar?? Probably a dumb question but I have no clue...

I would consider a boost/knock/fuel pressure gauge combo, a reliable Tach would be nice too, those stupid LED's just don't cut it!!

Thanks,

Andrew

Yes you are right on, a fuel pressure gauge is used to monitor fuel pressure. Yes it would be wise to have one in your car. Because as I experienced a few weeks ago, when I'd get in the boost the fuel pressure was dropping off, and not rising 1 psi of fuel pressure per boost. Loss of fuel pressure during boost = running lean = potential for blowing head gaskets/engines. Luckily I saw this and was able to get out of the boost before things got worse.

The fuel pressure gauge you were advised against were the mechanical ones; you don't have to run fuel in the car though. In fact not only is that unsafe but it's also not legal at the tracks either. Instead there's an isolator that you buy that goes under the hood. The isolator allows you to run a mechanical gauge in the cabin w/o the fuel coming in.

However if you look at my pic posted below, I went with an electric fuel pressure gauge. I have it mounted below the boost gauge so i can watch them both build up pressure together 1 psi at a time. I also have a wide band which confirms how rich or lean I am. I use all three of these in conjunction with the knock retard on the Scanmaster to tell me if everything is a go or not. I also have a knock alarm for good insurance.

 

[Brady87GN]

Yes you are right on, a fuel pressure gauge is used to monitor fuel pressure. Yes it would be wise to have one in your car. Because as I experienced a few weeks ago, when I'd get in the boost the fuel pressure was dropping off, and not rising 1 psi of fuel pressure per boost. Loss of fuel pressure during boost = running lean = potential for blowing head gaskets/engines. Luckily I saw this and was able to get out of the boost before things got worse.

The fuel pressure gauge you were advised against were the mechanical ones; you don't have to run fuel in the car though. In fact not only is that unsafe but it's also not legal at the tracks either. Instead there's an isolator that you buy that goes under the hood. The isolator allows you to run a mechanical gauge in the cabin w/o the fuel coming in.

However if you look at my pic posted below, I went with an electric fuel pressure gauge. I have it mounted below the boost gauge so i can watch them both build up pressure together 1 psi at a time. I also have a wide band which confirms how rich or lean I am. I use all three of these in conjunction with the knock retard on the Scanmaster to tell me if everything is a go or not. I also have a knock alarm for good insurance.

Thats a nice looking setup. Yet another addition to my list!! I suppose it's better then a head gasket or a rebuild!!

 

["Turbo-T"]

It's MUCH better than a head gasket or a rebuild. It would also be wise to put on a Scanmaster near where the boost/fuel psi gauges are...I think I'm going to put mine there next so i can look out the corner of my eye and keep dibs on everything.