What's wrong here??????

[Dream Car 87 GN]

I just bought my First 87 GN off E-Bay and got it at a great price i think. Mechanicly seems to be in very sound shape. Drove it over 1000 miles home when i picked it up, but it doesnt seem to have the power it should have with the upgrades that have been done. Heres what i know has been done.

TA60 Turbo with Acuator
Duttwieler IC upgrade
Performance Chip
Fuel Pump unknown but has the Hot Wire Kit
3" DP with stock Cat
Hooker Stainless Cat Back Exhaust
New 3:73 Ring and Pinion with rear diff overhaul
42.5 green top injectors
275/60/15 cooper cobras in the rear
235/60/15 " " in the front

Currently has the stock FP regulator that i am replacing with the accufab billet unit. The turbo seems to spool abit slow and really doesnt start to build boost untill 3K rpms and above. It currently runs about 10-11# of boost. My goal for the car is low 11's high 10's but right now i would be happy with low 12's. If i had to guess it might be in the low 14's right now. I know all the knowledge i need is here on this forum and any and all help- guidence you guys can offer to help me reach my current goal would be greatly appreciated. Something just dont seem right and hopefully someone can pin point the problem for me.
Thanks in Advance

 

[BADazzBUICK]

Do you have a scan tool? If so,SLOWLY turn up your boost,watch for knock.Should be around 20# or so.That should make it run a little faster.Hope that helps.

 

[jimmymopower]

Do you know if it has the stock torque converter in it? That could be why its spooling so slow...

 

[tommynos]

i bought mine in july and when i got home i could not boost too much(over 18#) without all kinds of knock...you need a scanmaster first of all,then you need to find out how to read it,after that its easy...i imediately put alky on it,which now i go to 26# all day long running perfect(ALKY thats a must)...i have a billet 911 converter,which you must need if you cant spool-up fast..you need more boost(turn it up)..post a ad looking for a good tuner in your area and have him tune it and teach you..it takes a little time,but with that bigger turbo they sometimes have more lag and need more stall...good luck with yours,mine took a few weeks,but now i drive all over and it runs great and i can boost up at any given moment with pump gas and it breaks the tires loose from a 30 mph role

 

[Brer Rabbit]

I would guess torque convertor.

I put a good 9 inch in my car and it woke up. I mean really woke up with the T63e im running.

 

[Whistle Pig]

People also go in the mid 11's or better with the stock converter !

 

[tommynos]

People also go in the mid 11's or better with the stock converter !

THATS TRUE,BUT THE BIGGER THE TURBO THE MORE (NEED) FOR MORE STALL,TO MAKE UP FOR THE TURBO LAG,HE SAID HIMSELF THAT THE TURBO SPOOLS A LITTLE SLOW AND DONT BUILD BOOST TILL AROUND 3K SO THEN THE SOLUTION WOULD BE TO GET IT TO 3K FASTER(32-3500 STALL),WHICH YOU WONT GET WITH A STOCK CONVERTER,BUT LIKE I ALREADY SAID FIRST HE NEEDS TO HAVE A SCANMASTER OR A PERSON THAT CAN LOOK OVER THE CAR AND MAKE SURE IT IS ALL IN TUNE....

 

[Lee_Burough]

VERY Nice looking car !

I've owned 250 cars and am well into my second million miles driving....Sometimes its the little things that bite me in the butt, so, its smart to check some basic things before you go throwing money at your slow spool without finding the cause first.

You'll need the information a scan tool provides in order to begin troubleshooting.

You may have a small thing to fix. Go through the systems and check each one. I'd start with the Spring Cleaning. You should do that anyway when you buy a car you don't know that well.

Many times, slow spooling is a result of being too rich (caused by exhaust or vacuum leaks....Check idle BLM values @128 plus or minus five or ten). Sometimes a chip will make a difference. Sometimes your wastegate puck can be frozen and/or not completely closing.

That is a pretty big turbo for a stock converter, take the inspection plate off the tranny and see if it has D-5 marked on it. Conventional wisdom says the stock converter is not enough for your turbo, so find out what you have.

An RJC manual boost controller will speed your spooling, but try that only after you've done the spring cleaning and confirmed normal operation of the engine with a scan tool.

Tomorrow's issue will be whether you keep the 3:73 gears or return them to stock

 

[Dream Car 87 GN]

I hear everyone on here talking about Direct Scan and the others, i dont have any of these but i do have the use of a Snap-On Modis unit, will this unit do the same thing as the other scan tools that everyone on here is using? The car does still have the stock convertor, can anyone recommend a stall convertor and where should i get it from?
Thanks For everyone's Help

 

[tommynos]

I hear everyone on here talking about Direct Scan and the others, i dont have any of these but i do have the use of a Snap-On Modis unit, will this unit do the same thing as the other scan tools that everyone on here is using? The car does still have the stock convertor, can anyone recommend a stall convertor and where should i get it from?
Thanks For everyone's Help

a scanmaster is what you need(as it always is on and in front of you)..it wires into your computer and stays mounted in your car,usually on the dash or above the radio..when you buy one it tells you how to install it and read it...this will tell you everything you need to know about how your car is running...vacuum leaks,rich or lean,knocks in your motor,tempature,o2 readings,tps setting,iac setting and more...and once you have all your numbers where they need to be,then see how it runs..as far as converters,mine was in it when i got my car and was built by ck transmissions which i heard was a great place...find a tuner asap for your car,there could be problems that are minor that could hurt your car if not fixed...go into the tranny room and ask questions about torque converters..heres a pic of the scanmaster,which there is a new version out now..

 

[Lee_Burough]

....Snip.... The car does still have the stock convertor, can anyone recommend a stall convertor and where should i get it from?
Thanks For everyone's Help

Try an RJC boost controller before you spend money on another converter....Race Jace has spooled larger turbos than yours using his manual boost controller and the D-5 converter.

Scan tool discussions divide our community like political or religious discussisons. Do a search. I'm not sure what that scan tool can offer you at WOT....? You need to be able to monitor the basic ECM outputs, including O-2 voltage, BLM's, IAC, TPS, MAF readings, and most important of all, Knock Retard.

Personally, I'm using Turbolink with an audible knock detector. An audible knock detector is there to warn you of Knock retard (your engine's enemy) whether you are using a scan tool or not. Scanmaster is very popular. Directscan is very popular. Turbolink offers a GUI, unlimited recording capability and a lot of information, but provides less tuning/performance data in a given moment than directscan....Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages, you'll find our boardmembers polarized about which is 'Best'.