i have a stock '95 LT1 and am looking to start upgrading the horsepower gain. right now i only have around $300 in my "toy" fund and i was hoping for suggestions on ways that will give me the biggest gain for the least money, or a stage 1 in upgrading idea. i was looking at cold intake systems (slp tri filter w/k&n) or is it wires, plugs, tpi's?
any thoughts?
thanks

 

Really the best you can do for that amount of money is put it in the bank and draw interest while adding more money to it. I know this is gonna sound kinda harsh, but real HP costs real money. You might could install a set of roller rockers for that kind of money, should net you about a 15 hp gain and get you acquainted with working on the car.

Serious stuff though like heads / cam / headers usually cost more than that. Even if the parts don't you've always got to add in the costs of gaskets, etc, etc.

You didn't mention if it was an auto or 6-spd. If its an auto you can look into a different rear end gear ratio, you MIGHT be able to get it completely done for $300, might not. That won't give you anymore HP but it will certainly make the car feel faster, at the cost of some top end speed (who needs 170 MPH anyway?) and possibly some gas mileage depending on your driving habits.

The one thing you absolutely want to avoid are the gimmicks like air filters, etc. They have a place but on an otherwise stock car they are worthless. You're in the right place to learn how to get real performance for your money, welcome aboard. While you're waiting for others to give you their $.02 on your question you might want to visit my LT1 performance pages and look around. http://www.wku.edu/~nathan.plemons/h...rformance.html

It's not the end all solution for LT1 performance but it gives a lot of good background information to help you understand where you want to go with the car and help you make a plan.

 

I can tell you what I initially did for my LT 1 '95..... and it is under the $300.

1. KN air filter (about $55 )
2. Open air filter lid (also about $55 unless you cut open your existing lid for $0 )
3. Installed TBI air foil (about $30)

I recommend you use some of the $$ allocated, and purchase the book, called, 101 Projects for your Corvette 1984-96 (http://www.motorbooks.com/Store/ProductDetails_394.ncm)

The above are the easiest and least costly steps towards improving air intake with about a 10-15 hp gain.....or so.

After this, I went for a cat-back exhaust (Flowmasters) which would yield in addition to a super sound, some significant hp gains. However this will cost more than the balance of the $300 you have ear-marked.

Save up for this one. good luck

 

i completely understand that if i want real HP i'm going to need a deeper well to dip from. as i'm going to keep the car for long time i was looking for a quick "punch" upgrade before i save up for more meaningful upgrades.
it's an auto, not the 6spd. had to go auto so my wife could drive as well. not that she gets much of a chance
i'll look at your link
thanks

 

this is where i was thinking of going until i started reading about people saying the stock system gives about the same results as the K&N.
i did get this book and that's what has my walett twitching

 

Look for a used nitrous system. Seriously. Best bang for the buck, new or used. You can get 50 to 100 reliable and safe HP.

As for other little $50 - $100 bolt-ons, I'd skip them and save for real performance goodies. The cat back is good for looks and sound, but not a significant increase in power. Meaning, you will not gain 15+ RWHP from a cat back, nor from any of the under $100 bolt-ons.

Or, as Nathan mentioned, maybe gears, maybe a converter. But those will not add HP, but will let you more effectively use what you have. When you get into the motor to add real HP, you need to add a 0 to you $300 budget. That is the unfortunate reality I am facing now.

I am getting pricing on head, cam, and headers on my LT-4. It WILL wake it up, but it WILL deplete most of my slush fund.

Good luck!

 

Listen to Nathan... He knows what he's talking about. Your best bet, as he said, is to sit on that money and keep adding to the kitty. Pick a mod you really want to do, and then save for it. You can save yourself a ton of bucks if you do the install yourself (depending on the mod), and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of it all in addition to the fresh kick in the pants from the increased HP/Tq.

If you want to do the K&N w/ open lid now to "quench your thirst" for a mod, it'll be the least expensive route you can go. I seriously doubt, however, that you'll feel a difference. Your best bet is to save for either gears or exhuast work (i.e., catback & headers). After that, it's time for heads/cam work.

 

Nitrous is certainly an option if you want to have a little fun with it, but usually more for track only usage. If you just want a little more kick when you press the go pedal you can empty a nitrous bottle pretty quickly on the street. The initial investment is cheap but you'll put yourself in the poorhouse refilling the bottle if you use it too much.

It's a hell of a way to drop your 1/4 mile E.T. but it's not the most practical thing on the street. Can be pretty fun though I remember the first car I rode in with nitrous, quiet neighborhood in the middle of the night.... maybe I shouldn't continue this story or it'll get locked.

 

The "problem" with our cars is they are so well engineered/balanced to begin with, there are few single things that can be done that make any real difference. And a balanced program of changes can be pretty pricey.

One thing that is fun to do and will save you a ton of $$ over the years is to buy a Quarter Jr or similar computer program, around $100. Then take your car to the drags and make several passes to get consistent performance. Then input the computer data until it produces your car's actual performance. From that point, you have a great model to try out ideas such as gears, tire sizes and traction, converter stall speeds and, of course, engine mods (estimating their impact on HP and power curve). You will be able to judge performance with its cost and at the same time discover things that do not work at all.

The next best, maybe even the first best thing, it to decide on the end result you want to achieve in the way of performance. For many of us it is a street machine that can run 12's-13's and still be a reliable daily driver. It is a lot easier to decide how you want to get to your level of performance and its cost and run it past us on these boards than just trying different things to see what your car does. There are tons of very experienced brother-Vetters here who love to give advice and are very good. And we usually don't even try to humiliate the question asker (usually)

 

Probably the cheapest mod you will find for a seat of the pants increase is as Nathan stated is a gear swap. My gear swap cost me about 1500 bucks. I went with a D44 with 3.45s and I can really tell the difference. Since you have a 95 you can program your computer for the shift points and speedo calibration if you perform a gear swap.

Good luck!!!
Mike

 

Plus this will give you some time to think about what you really want to do, because when you start it isn't easy to stop. Like that stupid pringles commercial. Once you pop, you can't stop!

But if you are as inpatient as i am, than do the gear swap to give a little seat of that pants improvement!



Oh...and welcome to the end!

 

I'd expect you'd pickup about 5 tenths with that money on a stock vette if you do it right. Nitrous is out of range I think.

 

If you must and YES you must. As mentioned two things you can start with are the roller rockers and open your air box (thats free)and get a K&N air filter and you will be heading in the rite direction. The K&N was the first thing I did on my first vette. It was cool. Be careful HP is like dope

 

$300 for 15-20 HP = $15 - $20 a horse.... not too bad considering horses aren't cheap around here!!!!

 

Maybe a suspension upgrade. With a 95 it might be time for all new poly bushings, better sway bar, shocks, tires, etc. More Hp won't do any good if you can't plant what you have.
Or brake upgrade, gotta stop when you add more power, be ready for it. or even a driving school to learn the best way to handle the car, to getthe most out of it. I thought I needed more HP til an instructor drove my car and I saw how much faster he was driving. Just some thoughts.

 

Torque converter. Probably can't get a great one for $300, but ou'll love the launch when you stab it. Trans cooler is a plus, too.
Hang in there and keep saving

 

its safe to say anyone who noticed a difference with just a K&N filter..... its all in their head.

 

Save for now

I have this feeling that 300hp is still within your learning limits.. Enjoy the car for what it is as far as power. However itchy money in small amounts are best spent on other areas. Do you have any bad weather stripping? How about a camber brace? Need new shocks? Little non motor related stuff like this will probably benefit you the most. Save the big $$$ for the motor and do it right all at once, whenever you get around to it.

 

$300? i to started with a that illusion. couple years and 10k later im fixing to buy gears and roller rockers it never ends. like the other post suggested this is the best place to learn from. whats funny if it werent for this site i could have saved 10k. how can you read the post`s and not want what every body else has and is doing? all the hp stuff aside my car would proble be parked if some member had not help me out on just the basic up keep on this car. let me tell you there are many. many thanks for all the help and suggestions!!!!! good luck to you..

 

It is a hell of a hobby.. I mean unlike stamps and yayo, this stuff is never ending.. You think you tried some aspect of it, but then there's more. Even some dude who's been drag racing for 30 years can discover handling. Or forced induction. Or a different form of forced induction. Or blah blah blah. I just wish I was rich