I am new here and so far what I have read has been great! My question is that I was looking at an SLP cold air induction to put on my '93 and was wondering if it is worth it. Its a tri-flo part #21028 from SLP also if I should change my throttle body up to 52mm. Any help would be awesome. Im looking to get a little extra ponies and snap out of the car. Thanks!

 

no such animal as "cold air induction" on a car with a wet intake manifold.

Do a search on the subject for some truth regarding the marketing hype that sells these "performance" bolt ons that do little more than lighten your wallet.

If you want to do a worthwhile mod to the air filtration....do a nice job of opening the lid, buy a $50 K&N filter and call it a day.
Pocket about $300 that you can spend on something that really works.

 

The SLP intake is effective and I have it but some don't like the cost of it the cheaper solution is to do what was suggested as far as cutting the lid and getting a K&N fiter.

Check out this article they do both and found the SLP made 3whp more than the stock cut lid mod
http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/vemp_06...ngine_buildup/

 

Hey guys - thanks for all the info - at this time I wont be putting on that cold air intake. The next question I have is what about changing out the actually throttle body from the 48mm stock to a 52mm. I will be changing out to the K&N filter and maybe some new Magnaflo mufflers. I think this will be a better way to go. Any opinions or suggestions would be great - Looking to make it a little more responsive without major alterations.

 

remember, this is a computer controlled engine that operates based on a program that uses fixed parameters as the guide to manage the data that sensors provide...
so when you make changes, you often degrade the performance IF you do not update the "tune" of the ECM.
Going to a 52 won;t hurt anything as long as you open the exhaust a bit. many people experience a reduction in power or a flatter power band when they stick a big TB on a stock engine,. its the old school habit of bolting a big 4 bbl carb onto your 70's engine and it just does NOT work with EFI engines.
In EFI, the performance is in the program as well as the hard parts. Do one, you must do the other.

 

OK so new 52mm throttle body and new magnaflow mufflers - got it - it has to breathe in and out of the system. What route should I take when "tuning" the ECM to balance it and make it a worth while venture. Is there a certain brand/model I should be looking in to for set up? - Thanks!

 

IMHO, the TB is not the first thing you should be modding. Start with exhaust -- eliminate the resonator, add shorty headers and your magnaflows, and then decide how much more you want to do. Also look into replacing your stock injectors with Bosch III units from FIC.

 

You guys need to do some more homework.

On an otherwise STOCK LT1 "cold air intakes" "shorty headers" "52mm TB" do not do enough to be worth while for the money, IMHO.

Same goes for 160 t-stats, and tunes on otherwise STOCK engines. Not much to be found.

The LT1 induction/exhuast system is NOT a restriction on the engine at all. They are VERY free flowing. Mufflers would really only get you sound.

@leesvet, last I checked OP stated his car is a 1993. Which is LT1 (or LT5) which does NOT have a wet intake manifold unlike the earlier L98 and L83. Just, FYI.

What does work for making HP in a LT1 or increasing speed/response.

1. Have good running car in the first place. Maintenance, Maintenance, and Maintenance. Your car is 20 years old, you need to be on top of wear items, hoses, belts, plugs, wires,FRESH valve springs, etc...

How is 13.38@105 in the 1/4 mile for response? My 93 LT1 ZF6 runs this with MORE in it. Driver needs work. Only mods that MIGHT affect 1/4 mile time, manual fan switch, x-pipe in place of resonator, muffler eliminators.

2.Gears
3.Long Tube Headers
4.Heads or Head Work
5.Camshaft
6.Bigger engine, 383, 396, 402,etc....
7.Taller Stall if Auto
8.1.6 Roller Rockers do add a bit (maybe 10hp, on otherwise stock LT1) easy upgrade. Will need better valve springs with this one. LT4 springs should work ok.

 

You are correct, however, the system STILL does little to actually get any "cool" air to the combustion chamber to do any real good. It still has to travel past a mile of hot parts and a hot 'dry' intake...so wet or dry, 200+ degrees is going to warm the air enough to undo ANY effect of fresh/cool air charge intake. It just ain;t happenin.

I agree with you 100% on the list of mods. I keep saying that its not yer daddys oldsmobile ! These EFI engines take a lot of work to make real improvements. Most of what these bolt on mods will do is change the way it runs, NOT make any more power. Its a fools game with the aftermarket sellers the ONLY winners.

To the OP, again, I agree that the exhaust is the place to start. You will spend $1000 there as a start,. headers, bigger y pipes, better muffs if you must. Be warned though, its going to do more to change the sound than the power. Rubie is right...these exhaust systems are very good flowing for stock. A system that builds as much as 3 psi is considered to be clogged. Thats not much.
Do the exhaust first, THEN buy a name brand 52mm if you want. It will help a little, mostly in the butt-dyno placebo effect. But it will change things.
FYI, there are guys here that run strokers or big bore that STILL run the stock TB (48mm?) and make 400+hp and run good ets at the track.
Like I stated before, its the tune and YOU do not get to make the decisions there...the hard parts do. The tune (or programming) is based on whats been done to the engine. You don't get to ask the tuner to add more hp here or there...you do that with hard parts then the tune allows it to work. Do one do the other for either to work.

I've spent $10,000 on an engine build and did good to see 400hp at the wheels. Based on that,. I est that hp cost about $1000 per 10hp added. Unless you spray it with a bottle..then you risk blowing it...period Nitrous kits are cheap hp but you trade engine life if you like the feel of it too much...

 

Wow - tons of info there and thanks! My 1993 does have an LT1 and has new belt, plugs wires, optispark, GM ECM, battery, starter, and idler wheels as they were getting noisy. Other than than she runs awesome. I might just dress her up a bit and enjoy the hell out of her without all the deep mods inorder to get a few extra ponies.

 

I have a 93' and the only mods I made are, Bosch Injectors from FIC, K&N air filter, new opti, plugs, wires, and bypass of the coolant hoses going thru my throttle body. My cars runs awesome and I'm very happy with the power it produces. And I didn't spend alot of money !

 

The Corvette addiction is universal. Once you have one parked in the garage, nobody is able to resist the urge to get 'more' out of these awesome machines. Its truely an addiction and the aftermarket folks are the crack dealers !

If they claim their product will make it go faster or quicker...its sold before they can even make the piece. And sold by the millions to those of us that are on Corvette-crack.
But, alot like drugs, its a false sense of reality. People spend BIG money on this "stuff" and because they spent so much, of course the car runs better, faster or quicker.

"I spent $1859 on that, hell yeah its fast !"
Whos gonna tell the truth and say it lost low end power (where the fun is) but it does pull better at 6000 rpm where I NEED that on my commute each morning ? Nobody.

Bottom line, GM did most of the work. If you want some real, and reliable HP you have to build it. Takes $$$. The simple things that have been mentioned are more than enough for a crisp, responsive quick street car that WILL stay with pretty much anything on the road if challenged...and handle better than most. If you want that glued to the seat feel...buy a spare block, build it over a winter where you can still enjoy the car and drop it in next spring. BUT do your homework and get your checkbook out...ex: a good block with forged rotating assy...$5K..then to build and blow it...another 5k when its all said & done. Thats NOT including any inj, intakes, and other misc goodies that you;d want under the hood...coolers, nice hoses etc. It adds up.

Its like this...MY Corvette may not be the fastest on the block. In fact I know its not, BUT, when someone points that out to me, my usual response is ...

"ok, maybe. Wheres YOURS"?

The ONLY people that critique Corvettes are those that WISH they had one !

I can say that I've spent most of my adult life with a Vette in the driveway. How many so called gearheads get to say that? Even though mine is not the fastest around, its STILL and always will be, a Corvette. Owning one is a source of pride all by itself.

Enjoy your car !

 

Fast, Cheap, Reliable=Pick Two

I picked Cheap and Reliable. The car is plenty fast enough for me. I'm more interested in working on the driving. If I can run consistent 13.2's at my home 1/4 mile track. That is plenty fast for a basically stock 20 year old sports car.

That and I auto-x a lot, HP does not necessarily help you. Especially on street tires.

 

If your car is an automatic tranny you need to see what rear end ratio you have. If it is the 2.59 a change to a 3.07 or 3.52 will make a big change in the acceleration. If a manual tranny car a rear end change will also make a big difference. My experience is with a 1992 automatic.
Also, if the injectors are the originals it could be a very good idea to replace them with new ones from Jon at FIC. They are not expensive and take about 1 hour or less to change all 8.
Do not fall for the chips that will give you 60 HP for only $ 39.95, or the airfoils that will get you 10 HP for $ 19.95. On an LT1 engine increasing the HP by an appreciable amount is costly and involves real work. Long tube headers, heads, cam, rockers, etc. will increase HP but are not cheap or easy. Then when you do a bunch and supercharge it you need to do things like the tranny, rear end, brakes, suspension, etc. to have a reliable and safe car. When you get that much in it you may say "Why didn't I buy a C5 Z06?" That is what I bought.