Questions from newcomer

[darb]

Just purchased my first turbo Buick yesterday. Never owned a turbo car before but when I saw this one and drove it, I had to have it, simply amazing. Purchased a 1987 Grand National with 35000 original miles. The car is immaculate, inside and out. The previous owner did a few modifications to the car that I will tell you guys about. K & N filter, 3" downpipe, Superchip chip, flowmaster exhasust, adjustable wastegate, GNX wheels. Since I dont know what a stock setup feels like, what should this car be running the 1/4 in and at what traps? Also what should my horsepower and torque be, generally? Next, what changes to these mods should I make, if any, and what mods should I start with next? Thanks, this car rocks!

I had a 99 Camaro SS which was fast, but this thing here, holy sh_t!!! Totally different feel, which I like much better, the acceleration is "violent" so to speak. Thanks guys.

 

[TT/Ameasap]

Welcome
before you mod anymore, see what your exact mods are so far. Find out what chip you have and what boost level you are at . Do you have a scan tool? boost gauge? make sure you are running with no Knock Retard, that will kill your precious GN's motor. You will learn alot here, trust me!

 

[turbo buicks]

i would check the boost levels and get all the diagnostic equipment needed i.e. scantool, boost guage, etc. any pics? sounds like a nice car to me. i have been considering getting some GNX wheels also. with the adjustable WG you dont know what the boost is set at. make sure its at a safe level. no Knock Retard as previously mentioned. w/those mods and stock boost on a perfect running GN i would guess you are running in the mid 13's, IMO some on this board would tell you the flowmaster exhaust is holding you back b/c their mufflers are chambered and produce more backpressure than other straight through mufflers which is bad on a turbo car but good on a N/A car. im going to put dual flowmasters on my car b/c i want to see the results for myself and i already have them so i can just put them on. its my little experiment a good exhaust to get, i hear, is the hooker cat back. its cheap and flows good and sounds good. some say its kinda quiet tho. some other good exhausts are the ATR or any other mandrel bent system w/straight through mufflers.
HTH

 

[darb]

I have the stock boost gauge. I have no idea what boost I am running. The chip is a superchip. Guy said he got it from superchips.com What is a scan tool and what does it do? I am brand new, so if I seem dumb, that's why. Thanks

 

[darb]

Also, how will I know if I have knock retard?

 

[striker_29]

Hey bud, you are doing the right thing by asking questions, it will save you MANY headaches. The FIRST thing you need is: Adj fuel pressure regulator, hotwired 340 walbro fuel pump, and a scantool. A scantool reads the signals from the various sensors to the ecm. It will measure knock retard, o2's, blm's, iac's, tps and so forth. The main scantool is scanmaster II, or if you have a laptop it would be turbolink or directscan. Get your FP right with good octane gas, a good chip, etc. Stay on the board, do your research, and ask a lot of questions! Welcome aboard, and good luck!!

Mark

 

[turbo buicks]

chances are the stock boost guages is broken and is horribly inaccurate. they are crummy. i would get a VDO or autometer. they are more accurate. my stock boost guage says i make 15 psi @ at idle. a scantool is available from one of the many vendors. go to www.gnttype.org it is the literal guide to TR's. it has a whole list of vendors and contact info for each one a scanmaster 2 is a good scantool b/c it sits in the car and is always on where you can see it and its small. another type of scantool is a turbo link. www.turbo-link.com or www.turbolink.com i can remember which address it is. it does basically the same thing as the scanmaster2 but its a bit more informative. but it needs a laptop to work which makes the scanmaster2 a better choice for daily driving and keeping tabs on things. another type of laptop based scantool is called Direct Scan. i dont know the site for it tho. i have heard of a superchip but i usually dont hear much about them here. it might be a good chip though but there are many other choices out there for you to choose from. look in the Chip Talk forum for more info. finally, knock reatard is displayed on the scantool as KR.
HTH

 

[Racetronix]

Did someone say fuel pumps?

http://www.racetronix.com/Racetronix-Buick_Single_Fuel_Pump_Kit.html

Jack
Racetronix

 

[ALBERTAN]

Everything everyone says is 100%. Personally, I think you can never be too cautious with the fuel system. Run out of fuel and you'll have no end to your headaches. Racetronix pump and hotwire harness, new fuel filter, adjustable fuel pressure regulator (needed for performance chips eventually anyways), and an injector cleaning. That's where I'd start myself. That and the Spring Cleaning list at gnttype.org. Congrats on your purchase.

 

[Mr URL]

http://midwestracing.hostin.com/newownertips.htm

 

[ALBERTAN]

Thanks for the link Chad. I liked the tip about relocating the fuel vapor canister. Gotta go out and do that now.