Recently Purchased A 91 Coupe (l98) 6 Spd...looking To Do Some Basic Mods To Wake It Up A Little Bit. Without Going Too Deep Into The Motor, What Can Be Done On A Limited Budget? Thanks In Advance For Your Suggestions...

 

Exhaust mods. are good, headers and freer flowing system, however everyone has a different idea of "limited budget".

 

Easy:
-remove the "frisbee" from in front of the water pump pulley, 10chp
-install a 160deg F T-stat & fan switch, 10chp
-install cut-back stock AC Delco spark plugs, 8chp
-remove the spare & jack, 40-50lbs, == 5chp
-cut open the air filter lid & install a K&N filter, 10chp

If you are prepared to spend some $$, replace the front Y with a 2 1/2" mandrel-bent unit, install a hi-flow cat and hi-flow mufflers, about 15-20chp. For more boost, install FL headers for 15-20chp more gain.

Check out my site for info on some of those mods; enjoy your new '90 Vette...

 

read my website (click my name)

 

I dont think removing the frisbee gives 10 crank horsepower. A 160 thermo and fan swtich more ten?? When does weight reduction make horsepower? I was just wondering how you got all these claims. If they are true, I should be pushing out alot of extra ponies I didnt think I had.

 

My mods are listed below, as mentioned before what is your budget. I would like to install a mini ram and different cam. That would pretty much be the extent of my mods....but I've said that before too.
Once the mod bug bites, it's game over...

 

 

Try a set of 1.6 ratio rockers. You don't have to go very far "into" the motor and it makes your engine think it has a new cam for $300.00 or less . Exhaust headers and anything else to improve flow , this is where you can blow any budget or not , do research . Rear axle ratio , This will improve acceleration may also be hard on a budget.....$800-1500.00..... Intake mods ? ....do research...can also be pricey. Good Luck !

 

Gee! You forgot Throttle Body Air Foil, 10chp

 

Back a few years ago when I got my '91, I went to Vader's site and got all the tips I wanted to start out with.
He's got it covered on the free/low cost stuff.

 

65Zo1, while your plan seems pretty sound, maybe some objectivity is in order. I'm not trying to be mean, but here's some of the negatives associated with the mods you mentioned:

I don't know about 10 CHP, but it should free up a little. The downside is a possible vibration. Most don't experience, or don't notice it. On my car, with the AC on, at about 2200 RPMs I get very slight vibration that I never got with the Frisbee installed.

Cooling the car at the track will probably improve times, but for everyday street use this is pretty pointless. If your cooling system is good/great condition this mod can lead to the oil never reaching optimum temperature. Without the internal components and oil at the proper operating temperature, it's possible to shorten the life of the engine. By how much is speculation, but the added wear is there. This mod will also make the heater considerably less effective in cold weather.

Great mod for the cash, no downside here. I think you should index them as well.

Other than the possibility of being stranded, the spare tire acts as a brace in case of a rear collision. It's a personal choice on whether or not the gains are worth it. I removed mine, but my car spends the majority of it's time at the race track, I don't drive it in too many situations where I may be rear ended.

I think this is another one with no downside. If you don't want to cut into the factory assembly an SLP claw intake is a nice option. I don't think there is anywhere near 10 HP to be had here though. My car picked up 0 HP on a dyno with a K&N filter and cut lid.

Headers, mufflers, and cats will definitely free up HP. This is a very popular mod, but again I think the gains are over rated. I installed long tube headers, deleted the cats entirely, installed an X pipe, and used 2 Magnaflow mufflers. The car only gained 21 RWHP with all that. I also have a bit of an annoying drone on the freeway now, but like I said, I don't drive it much.

It's a 91, not a 90.

Just beware of advice on the Internet, lots of people will recommend things that they have and only list the positives. Try to read between the lines a little bit, and take all the advice with a grain of salt.

Vader's site is a good, objective, place to learn about your car.

I'm pretty partial to nitrous, and I think the easiest thing to do is for you to slap a kit on it and call it a day. You can wrench all day with small bolt ons, and you'll never come close to gaining the 100+ RWHP nitrous can offer. Nitrous is also easier to install than a lot of the common bolt ons. It has it downsides like everything else, but I really like the bottle. That's just my opinion, and yours may vary.

 

Thank you for clearing that up. I new that I had done most of those mods and not expreinced that much drastic measures in power. I wish though.

 

Nitrous simple and easy

 

Yes but if installed improperly, it can destroy the car. The thing is once the bottle goes dry, your outta ponies. Also it hits the car hard each time you do it so wear is greater but not as frequent say if you had a blower, turbo ect. Just depends on what your cars built for and if you have the time/money/resources to keep putting it together.

 

Absolutely true. There are more failures attributed to nitrous than probably any other mod. Almost all of those failures are due to driver error, not running the proper safe guards, or improperly installed systems. In my opinion, a properly functioning nitrous system is just as reliable and safe as any other means of producing power. Again though, that's my opinion, and yours may vary.

I agree, an empty bottle sucks. Especially when you catch that chump on the street, or that cocky Cobra driver at the track.

400 HP on nitrous VS 400 HP on blower should be the same amount of wear. The sudden hit of nitrous can increase wear, but I really don't think that's an issue with the HP level we are talking about. The great thing about nitrous is that he can go out and pound on his car all night, and only put the stock amount of wear and tear on things. Then, when the time is right, he can open the bottle and really lay the smack down. With a blower or turbo, every time you lay in the throttle that extra power is there, taking it's toll on the engine and drive train. N20 is only causing wear and tear when you want it to.

Building an engine for a specific type of power adder is most definitely the way to go. I can't afford that, so I am forced to work with what I have. I've probably ran 200 bottles through my motor with no ill effects. In fact, the car dyno's within 1 RWHP of what it did 2 years ago when I bought the car.

In the end mdlcrfss, its YOUR car, YOUR time, and YOUR money. Don't let anyone talk you into using nitrous, or any other mod. Do your own research and decide for yourself what you want to do.

 

Our opinions are pretty much the same here. If you know what your doing **which I dont** install NOS**wish I could**. Any idiot can put in a bottle and a NOS line to the motor. I like seeing the face on the cocky cobra drivers face when I push that famous red button.

 

Removing weight does not add chp

 

Just removing the stock TPI intake and slapping on a Miniram will give your car an extra boost on top end. It works surprisingly well with a stock cam and stock tune.

 

thats not what he's trying to tell you

65Z01 goes by track ETs, where 0.1 = roughly 10hp at our power levels.
Removing weight effected his ET, which he's showing you is equivalent to adding power.

The number that really matters for any car is power/weight ratio.

 

That's what this board is about opinoins, and "how to" that's what is so great about it. But it's still cheaper with rev limiters,retarders and jets that any other large horsre power gain.
Randy