89 vette - performance mods ??
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
89 vette - performance mods ??
Hey all , i'd like to get a few more horses out of my 89 but without rebuilding the motor or going to extremes ... what mods can be done to improve horsepower and is there a particular business that specialize in these small mods ?? .. i've been getting some accessories to dress my car up from www. vetteracer. com .... all suggestions welcomed , thanks Ray
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 3,752
Likes: 190
From: Indiana PA
Hey all , i'd like to get a few more horses out of my 89 but without rebuilding the motor or going to extremes ... what mods can be done to improve horsepower and is there a particular business that specialize in these small mods ?? .. i've been getting some accessories to dress my car up from www. vetteracer. com .... all suggestions welcomed , thanks Ray
Getting rid of your stock restrictive exhaust would be a great place to start. Keep in mind you will never make any kind of big HP or significant gains with out tearing into the engine. Like I said, the L98 is a great torque motor but if you want more HP, you need intake, heads, cam, etc, etc...that or Nitrous or Boost.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 833
Likes: 1
In my mind, the best thing to do to these engines is to do work to the intake, and get better heads and valve train parts like cam and lifters. Changing the rear gears will make it accelerate faster, but it limits your upper speed range. But for the money, things like roller lifters, headers and cat back systems make a big SOTP difference and those are easy mods.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 12,221
Likes: 446
From: Overland Park Kansas
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (appearance mods)
C4 of Year Winner (appearance mods) 2019
By definition, staying out of the motor would mean intake/exhaust upgrades. Of course, rear end ratio's too.
If I were looking to spend the minimum amount of money, I'd do the exhaust and consider larger runners. Avoid big-name exhaust for money savings. Let your exhaust shop fit you with HP cats and 2.5" tubes. Mega-ported Siamesed SLP runners could help the most -- if ported VERY well (plenum like I'm selling to match). TPiS or AS&M runners aren't bad either. COMPLETE SuperRam, FIRST, or Miniram intakes cost more but would be the best.
1.6 roller rockers if you're willing to crack the valve covers.
Gears will, as mentioned, create faster acceleration too. I wouldn't go above 3.73 for an auto or 4:11 for a ZF car -- especially one with a stock motor. Gears may not be cheap though.
NOS if you have room for the giggle-gas tank.
If I were looking to spend the minimum amount of money, I'd do the exhaust and consider larger runners. Avoid big-name exhaust for money savings. Let your exhaust shop fit you with HP cats and 2.5" tubes. Mega-ported Siamesed SLP runners could help the most -- if ported VERY well (plenum like I'm selling to match). TPiS or AS&M runners aren't bad either. COMPLETE SuperRam, FIRST, or Miniram intakes cost more but would be the best.
1.6 roller rockers if you're willing to crack the valve covers.
Gears will, as mentioned, create faster acceleration too. I wouldn't go above 3.73 for an auto or 4:11 for a ZF car -- especially one with a stock motor. Gears may not be cheap though.
NOS if you have room for the giggle-gas tank.
