Recipe options?

[esinger]

Good Luck! I really hate to think about all the money I've spent on my car and would be embarrassed to even post a casual guess as at the amount. However it was an evoluationary process that has taken years, so that time and money spent doesn't seem so bad.

My advice is to take your time and most improvements will reward you somehow along your way.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

I have a few thoughts on your question.

Better Fuel Pump & Hot Wire- Really should be done because of the inferior stock pump and poor stock wiring to the fuel pump.

Adj Fuel Pressure Regulator- If you want to fine tune your car this is needed. Otherwise no.

Adjustable Wastegate- If you want to increase boost over stock this is needed. The cost of higher boost is knock which requires an aftermarket knock guage. Your ear is not a substitute. This also raises the question of how much boost you are running. The in dash boost and tach are just decorations.

86/87 ECM- Necessary if you want to tune your car. The stock ECM is too stupid for anything else. Chip will help but is limited to all other modifications.

Wideband O2- This only helps when you have an 86/87 ECM and the wideband is hooked up to a powerlogger. Installs down on the test pipe or lower downpipe and is used to adjust A/F ratio at WOT. This makes tuning alot easier when using a 6.0 TT chip.

Better MAF- Simple-84/85 MAF and 86/87 MAF are to old/fail and the remans really are crap for the price. Either get a translator and an LT1 MAF or get a Mafless SD TT chip. This decision will be forced when the MAF fails and the car will not run.

Bigger Injectors- There is no need to go bigger injectors unless the stock ones are bad(28lbs). You can put 30lbs injectors on and keep the same 84/85 ECM. Bigger injectors come into play when you increase boost and turbo size over stock.

160 Thermostat- Optional and a matter of preference.

Tuning Arrangement- Requires adj waste gate actuator, 86/87 ECM, TT chip, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and a scantool. Scantools are for example an OTC2000, OTC4000, Scanmaster, Powerlogger, and some others as well.

Just remember one thing before you start changing anything-These cars are like drugs-once you start improving things the more you want to change. Before you know it you have spent thousands and thousands of dollars.

Brad

 

[Jnel]

Thanks for clarifying things Brad.

I'll try to work up a price list. And yes, I can see going down the rabbit hole...

 

[Jnel]

60-1 or larger turbo
340 or better fuel pump
Blue tops or better
Ported heads/oversized valves
206/206 camshaft (It works)
'87 intake (why stay with the "hot-air" intake?)
'87 style exhaust (Why? Because the larger down pipe is an instant win)

Convert it to intercooled? You wouldn't have to if you went with alternative fuels or methanol/water injection.

Nitrous (75 horses will wake up your car)

Good post!

There are many variants of combos, and this I'm sure is a good one. Just guessing, but I suspect something like this would easily rival/surpass a stock I/C car. Especially nitrous/alky. Actually, very little doubt about it.

Not sure what the cost would be, so much depends on what a person could do themselves, or have to pay for.

P.S. I'm pretty sure you would also want some sort of supporting mods for this. Tuning arrangement, and so on. Pretty sure, for all but the most basic of mods, it's pretty much mandatory.

P.P.S. Well, after thinking about it, maybe you could just shotgun things like this, without some elaborate tuning. Definitely though, from what I've gathered a knock gauge would be a minimum...

 

[fritz]

Fyi

Returning My 84 to stock config

For Sale:
2 86-87 stock ECM's 100.00 shipped
TT chip for green strips injectors 25.00 shipped
adjustable fuuel pressure reg 60.00 shipped

all this just came off my well working 84 gn
LMK

 

[Jnel]

Returning My 84 to stock config

For Sale:
2 86-87 stock ECM's 100.00 shipped
TT chip for green strips injectors 25.00 shipped
adjustable fuuel pressure reg 60.00 shipped

all this just came off my well working 84 gn
LMK

Hi!

Wish you luck with selling your parts.

Just curious, how well did your combo work? Did it really wake the car up substantially? Do you think some parts of it worked better than others?

Also curious, why you're going back to stock.

Jeff

 

[Jnel]

I've also got some information that going with a larger turbo, without using alky, or maybe nitrous, may be a problem when running on 93 pump gas. Seems one could run into knock issues when running higher boost without raising octane. It might be that just throwing a larger turbo at one of these engines by itself would be futile.

 

[charlief1]

Ok, I've been watching this thread and I have to say there's some really good advice in it. Granted I'm one of the few carb turbo guys but it all works about the same. I've been on here for 3 years now and have asked some stupid question and still got answers. Modifying any car is a process and takes time and understanding on how each modification works. Take your time and do a lot of reading as well as ask questions. I started as a completely ignorant turbo guy and have figured out how to mod the C/T system and am currently working on the car. If I've done everything right it will break the current 1/4 mile time. This has taken me 3 years and not a running car to do it with. I'm hoping to have the car running in a little over a month but it's getting tight right now so it'll probibly be later in the year. Please take your time and understand that you'll have set backs as well as change of plans like I have.

 

[Jnel]

Yes, there is some very good advice here. I can't imagine how much more difficult, and costly, it would be to take on such a project without the support of the community here.

I'm still very much in the planning stages, and haven't turned a wrench on it yet. I won't get very far this year. But over the winter I can shop around, and gather parts as good deals turn up.

I've been reading more about various recipes, some on other sites. It seems, it is not prohibitively expensive to break into the 13's with a hot air. This would put one on par with a stock IC car, and many current production stock vehicles on the street. I've stated I don't have performance goals per se; but that would make me happy

Thanks again folks, I'll have plenty of questions to follow...

Jeff

 

[boostedyards86]

check my thread called next steps... i'm running 13's with very lil mods done to it.

 

[turbonut85]

I'll let you know how the E-85 works out for me with my hot air. Granted, I have some other mods done as well, IMO, "supporting mods", but like you said yourself above, bolting a bigger turbo on a hot air, will actually slow it down, (ask me how I know ) unless you can crank the boost up into that turbo's "sweet spot". In order to do that....like you said yourself, again: you can't crank up the boost without raising the octane....i.e.: Alky, 110 race fuel, or E-85. You seem to be on the right track.....but like me...you gotta keep reading!!! .....gotta go, more reading to be done....:biggrin: ---Keith

 

[Jnel]

I'll let you know how the E-85 works out for me with my hot air. Granted, I have some other mods done as well, IMO, "supporting mods", but like you said yourself above, bolting a bigger turbo on a hot air, will actually slow it down, (ask me how I know ) unless you can crank the boost up into that turbo's "sweet spot". In order to do that....like you said yourself, again: you can't crank up the boost without raising the octane....i.e.: Alky, 110 race fuel, or E-85. You seem to be on the right track.....but like me...you gotta keep reading!!! .....gotta go, more reading to be done....:biggrin: ---Keith

Good luck with the E85! I haven't been reading too much on that section of the site. But it really seems to be one of the biggest bang for bucks type things.

I need to do some more searching, I'm wondering how much boost you can push with 93 pump gas before knock becomes an issue. It's also a matter of spark timing, A/F ratio and compression ratio too, I'm sure. I'm also not too sure of the difference between detonation and knock. Need to study some more...

 

[boostedyards86]

detonation and knock are the same thing. KR or knock retard is the amount of timing being pulled to take away detonation. You will probably only get to about 15psi with a TT chip on a hotair without injection methanol.

 

[Jnel]

check my thread called next steps... i'm running 13's with very lil mods done to it.

I've been following your thread regularly! I'm really interested in the results with a larger down pipe. Good luck with that!

Alky, injected or run, really isn't where I'm going, but I think it is a great way to go for people who want big performance gains. I am wondering, if it may even be possible to get into the 12's with a stock turbo, alky injection, E85, modified up and down pipes, headers, exhaust, intake, tuning, etc. I'm sure there is some talk of this in the alky, nitrous, E85 sections. I should read there more.

P.S. The reason I mention going into the 12's with a stock turbo, is that turbo upgrades can be a little costly. Yeah, if your engine and other mods can support it, it'll give you gains, but it will be part of the the bottom line cost. We think a lot about bang for buck, but in the end, there is a bottom line buck that we lay out... hope that makes sense

 

[boostedyards86]

we will see very soon. I would expect 12's out of this car within the month.