First the facts.
86 vert (alum. cyl heads), Automatic. Corsa cat-back system.

Now assume I have the money to spend. I'm trying to angle this question toward the theory behind a build up rather than just getting specific parts to look at.

I know I have alot of questions here so the short version of this post is...
"What order should upgrades be made?"



Now on to the specifics... When I finally get around to installing long tube headers and a high flow cat...
1. Will this improve top end power more than bottom end?

After that...
2. Is it worthwhile to change any of the components in the intake forward of the throttle body?

Here is where it gets really sticky for me. I need the most help here.
3. Is there a direct swap intake manifold that can be put on?
4. Is there direct swap cylinder heads that can be put on?
5. Can I put a different camshaft in without changing either of the above or is it not worth the effort?
6. What part of the car, in other words, is most restrictive at this point?

I hear the term "roller rockers" being tossed about.
7. Does my car have roller rockers?
Assuming I don't have them...
8. Are they something I can/should put on my car?

9. What does "siamesed" mean and is it good for me?
10. At what point does it become necessary to "get a performance chip and a custom tune"?

Now to change gears just a little.... (that was an awesome pun btw)
11. Would it be easier to just swap in a different set of gears than to do the motor work?
12. How hard would it be to improve my cars brakes?
13. Can cross drilled rotors be turned?!?


I know it's alot of questions, and I'm not ready to do anything to my car just yet (have repairs to attend to first) but I'm a little restless today and I would like to have a better understanding of what I can look forward to when I finally start making some money.

 

1. Yes, it'll allow the engine to breathe out better at high rpm, so it'll improve the top end and midrange a good bit more.
2. No, not unless youre building a monster.
3. Accel, TPiS, Edelbrock will all bolt in, as will the Miniram if you choose that route.
4. Its just a regular SBC, there are dozens of manufacturers.
5. If you change the heads, then change the cam while you have it all off. Yes its worth it, but you will need a chip reprogram.
6. On the L98, its the intake.
7/8. Yes you can put RR in, 1.6s.
9. Means what it says, you join the runner tubes together with a drill bit. So theres a crossover, allows better breathing if done right.
10. Definitely after any cam change.
11. You dont need gears on the L98. If it has 3.07s, only change to something lower if you cant find 3.07s in a D44 (manual rear end cars). If it has 2.59s in the automatic, then go to a D44 3.07.
12. I have C5 Brakes, adapter from edsalinas here, parts from Superior Chevrolet.
13. As far as I know, they cant, perhaps someone will know for sure.

 

wow thats a lot of specifics..

1. longtubes will help all around.
2.there are some things that help. cut air lid and good filter, or a forced air system
3. miniram, superram, ported tpi setup.
4.tpis makes nice heads that are direct swap.
5.if you change the cam you "should" at least compliment it with a nice ported intake. but the whole package is best.
6.are you asking what the most restricive part is? or after the cam.
the most restrictive is the intake.
7.no, and they can gain you about 15hp on a stock setup.
8.yes can. should, it cant hurt.
9. siamesed refers to the runner setup. it is really not a big deal. a regular aftermarket setup is fine. but siamesed can gain a few extra hp.
10. an after market chip will help even on a stock motor. but you will need one when you change to a larger cam.
11. gears will definatly help, but i would have to lean toward motor mods first. some will argue this point, im sure. but a gear swap will cost around 1k.
12 easy. good pads and rotors will help a lot. but the best way for the money is to buy a c5 conversion kit.
13. i dont think so, but i could be wrong.

there is no right order, but here how i did it.
headers and exhaust
intake, tb and roller rockers
ignition upgrades.
nos
sticky tires.

then the next year.
cam, heads, new intake(not sure if that was the right move) the intake i mean.went to miniram
gears.
drag shocks
there is other stuff i did, but forgot.

 

Good lord! Thanks for comin through guys, it's hard to learn all of this stuff sometimes and the learning curve can be steep but you are really helping me out.

You did kinda spur on some new questions though....
First Roller rockers. Is the roller rocker swap as simple as replacing my stock lifters with 1.6 rockers? There is massive potential that Im mangling the issue here. The way I understand it, the camshaft spins and pushes on the push-rods, the push-rods push on the lifters, and the lifters lift the valves. Is that right? Lifter = roller rocker?

Second is the camshaft issue. I found this quote...

"A different camshaft with .050 duration in the area of 212/218 or 218/224 (max) on 112 + Lobe Separation Angle would be a nice move to increase upper RPM power."
and then I also found an explanation about LSA. I have concluded that I would prefer a narrower LSA than stock, but not so narrow that the engine stumbles. The other numbers mean very little to me however. I assume that they are lift and duration, but without any kind of perspective on the numbers they don't mean much to me. I see that the LPE 219 comes up a lot, for example. Is that an "aggressive" camshaft that wouldnt be very streetable? or a good compromise for someone who drives their car daily? My service manual lists:
Lobe lift +/- .002
Intake .2733
Exhaust .2820
Journal Diameter 1.8682 - 1.8692

I cannot make heads nor tails out of any of those numbers. What are they talking about?!?

 

roller rockers, not to be confused with lifters, are fairly easy to install. i but it is not soething you should do yourself if you dont know engines a little. they need to be adjusted properly and you can do damage if not done correctly.

regarding the cam.. focus more on duration @.050, lift and lsa. dont play guessing games on the right cam for your car. follow others and see the combos that work. the lpe 219 cam is very nice, and it is faily mild, but it is made to work with upgraded heads and a superram intake. it would probaly work well with an after market tpi setup also.

i would say your cam choice is dependant on you hp goals and how you like you hp and torque curve.

just remember. a larger cam will operate at a higher rpm, and you will need components to compliment that new rpm range.

an example is if you install a cam with a duration @.050 that is around 230/230 your operating rpm range may be from 2000 to 6000 rpms if you still use your stock intake, which is not good over 5200 rpms, you will have defeated the purpose of that cam.


Lobe lift +/- .002 = amount of variation from lobe to lobe
Intake .2733 = net lift . just take you rocker arm ratio and multiply for gross lift # ex. 1.5 rockers x .2733 =.409 valve lift
Exhaust .2820 = net lift. 1.5 x .2820= .423 valve lift
Journal Diameter 1.8682 - 1.8692 = size of the lobe that rides on the cam bearings

your car has a 1.5 ratio rocker so those numbers would be your total valve lift.

 

Cam pushes on lifters, lifters push the pushrods. 86 has a hydraulic flat tappet cam, not a roller cam. This will impact the cam choice, although you can convert to roller.

The cam you'll need depends entirely on what power you want, and what intake setup youre going with. Superram, Miniram, Modded TPI, you must choose. RUN A SEARCH on them, this comes up every week. I only look at .050" duration, basically.

 

I'm sorry if I seem needy. I've been running searches most of the day and those names come up alot, but often the level of discussion is over my head. Flat tappet and picking your cam to switch to roller rockers. Those concepts are both new to me, and that's the kind of stuff I need to brush up on. Thanks for you help though.

 

Close. The cam pushes the lifter, which pushes the pushrod, the pushrod moves the rocker, and the rocker moves the valve. What "1.5 ratio" rockers mean is that the distance the cam pushes the lifter, will be multiplied by 1.5 through the rocker. So a cam that has a gross lift of .300 of an inch will actually open the valve .450 of an inch with a 1.5 ratio rocker. The same applies with 1.6 ratio rockers, only the multiplier is 1.6 insteads of 1.5. So in our example, gross cam lift is .300 of an inch. With 1.6 rockers actual valve lift will be .300 x 1.6, or .480 of an inch. The more you open the valve the more air and fuel can pass by it, putting more air and fuel into the cylinder, creating a more powerful explosion, hence accelerating you faster. Clear as mud?

Anyway, 1.6 rockers are a good mod, but don't expect any huge gains from them.

The LPE 219 cam is sort of a "middle of the road" kind of cam IMO. Some people are making great power with it, but it's first and foremost a daily driver cam.

Your service manual is telling you that the gross lift on your cam is .2733 of an inch on the intake side, and .2820 on the exhaust side. Plus or minus .002 of an inch. Take those numbers and multiply by your stock 1.5 ratio rockers and you come up with the factory lift numbers the valve see's. in your case .401 on the intake and .423 on the exhaust side. Multiply the numbers in your service manual by 1.6 and you'll get the actual valve lift you'll see if you swap to 1.6 rockers.

Good luck.

 

In terms of the RR swap. There is something else you need be aware of/careful about. I believe on your 86 the pushrod is kept in the cup of the rocker arm (what you have, its a roller rocker (arm) that just has no rollers just a cup for the pushrod to push up into and a tip which pushed down on the valve stem (the round thing that you can see in the middle of your spring)). Well how does this pushrod stay in the cup and not fall out? Two things, obviously there is a lifter pushing on the pushrod which itself is being pushed on by the camshaft thus keeping pressure betweent he rocker arm and the pushrod. But 2nd, there is a slot in your cylinder head which the pushrod goes through. This slot is only big enough for the pushrod and restricts side-to-side movement. Sort of like an integral guide-plate. So depending on what style RR you get, (this is where I am not sure about your heads) you may need to clearance out that hole. Infact you may have to do it for either self-aligning style RRs (have little tabs on them next to the cup so the pushrod can't move out of the cup) or non-self aligning with guide plates. Those little plates that the pushrod sits in and these are held in by the rocker arm studs.


Moral of the story:
Thats the difference between self-aligning and non self-aligning and you need to make sure you do or do not need to do clearancing work on your heads and then get the appropriate type of roller rocker arms and accessories (i.e. guide plates) if necessary. Also, there are mods (grinding down the drip tabs inside the top of the valve covers) that must be done to the valve covers for RR to clear.