1stVetteFinally

So I want to do a few inexpensive performance upgrades to my '92 LT1. Right now it is completely stock.Plugs/wires Cold air intake, MSD high energy distributor/coil, and computer tuning (I want 3 profiles, one for the best gas mileage possible, one for the most power possible, and one a even balance between the two) are what I'm planning. Any other suggestions that would actually make a difference in how the car performs? I'm looking to up my HP about 50-60 HP and keep it under $1k total.

1stVetteFinally

Also, recommendations for specific parts would be appreciated.

Tom400CFI

Plugs/wires, MSD anything, and an aftermarket HOT air intake, won't do squat for power. SPend your money elsewhere.

CAM. <$300 for the part, and if you do the install yourself, add another $100 for gaskets, etc.

T. Wayne Nelson

Tom, I rebooted my phone, lost your phone number..Call me. Wayne

1stVetteFinally

Really? So you're telling me this article is wrong?

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/eng...modifications/

I fully realize not one of those single upgrades are going to give me a noticeable performance boost by it's self, but shouldn't all of them combined give me the boost I'm looking for(around 50 HP)?

c4_4ya

^^^ This. If DIY, you might even be able to throw in some bigger rockers and/or LT headers. Or the easy button may be a 50 shot.

Keep in mind those magazines sell ad space to these vendors such as TPIS, MSD etc and while they may have some great products to support large builds, these "inexpensive" upgrades yield very little. Read the forum tech tips stickies and spend some more time searching this forum and you'll come to the same conclusions- I did with my c4's.

Silver96ce

If you do those mods your car may get faster but for only one reason - your wallet got much lighter. Read the last paragraph of the article which is actually provides some of the real info. you need. Air in, air out is what matters. Intake, cam, heads, exhaust will provide the real gains not some gimmicks. And please don't waste your money on an airfoil - somebody got paid for that part of the article. There is no way a little piece of metal that supposedly smooths airflow is going to provide a 20% power gain. Or a 2% per cent gain for that matter on a stock engine.

You want 50-60 horsepower. Sit down and think about it for awhile, read the old posts on this and other forums, do some searches here and on the internet and then post back. You can only install a mild cam at this moment. For some, like me, that is probably enough. But you probably won't get 50-60 hp for that one change. And don't forget you'll need better valve springs and you should replace the valve seals. Plus maybe you'll need a timing chain, pushrods, lifters depending on their condition (I don't know how much mileage your engine has). If you go bigger than a mild cam with the cam along with the springs, etc. then you will need a higher stall torque converter (if you have an auto), tune, probably bigger heads and intake and the exhaust to fully realize the potential of the cam, valve springs, better pushrods, lifters, etc. And what about rear gears to get the power to the ground? This all costs money. It adds up fast. So think about what you want before you start spending and potentially wasting money. There are a lot of knowledgeable guys on here that have made some serious horsepower gains - they have posted in the past about this subject. So do some searches and then post. Good luck.

illenema

Save up some $ bolt on a good used supercharger. or a matched head/cam package. http://www.advancedinduction.com/LTX...inderHeads.php

Tom400CFI

Yes!


No. NO WAY, will those mods give you 50 hp....UNLESS you have faulty, ill performaing parts on there, in which case, ANY "tune-up" parts would rectify that....and for far le$$ than the parts they used. I think that you need to go back and re-read that article; they spent $765.00 and they got 20 hp. *I* gave you a recommendation that can give you way more than 20 hp and it costs about 1/2 the money that they spent. And lets examine the items more closely;
1. Plug wires. Plug wires don't "make power". Bad plug wires hurt power, but power won't be "made" in plug wires of any brand. The 4 hp they gained was w/in margin of error on a dyno anyway.
2. MSD Box. It is an on/off switch, just like your stock ICM...functionally. It also, doesn't "make power". $270 that thing costs and they "gained 4 hp"...again, w/in the margin of error on the dyno.
3. Air foil. See two posts above; Silver96ce
4. Air filter; Stock air filter housing (and filter element size) was sufficient for a 405 hp ZR-1....so how is it going to be restrictive on a 300 hp LT1? It's not, and the results of their test proved it. (A cheaper way to prove the same thing is run a pull w/the paper filter, then one w/no filter.
5. MAF housing...Your car doesn't have a MAF.
6. Lastly, Waterpump; another $270 for 4 more hp (article said 5, but 336-332=4 by my math).
See where I'm going here? You're not going to get 50 hp (as you said) from these parts. you're not...unless there is something wrong w/your basic parts now.


You know, you come on here and ask for advice....right? Then when GOOD advice is given, you respond with "Really? So you're telling me this article is wrong?"...as if I'm completely FOS. So what gives? Do you want good advice? Or do you want your conscience stroked so you can buy the parts that you obviously want to go buy?? Which do you want?

cudamax

How about just changing the Fluids for a 10 hp gain and some more torque
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...ventional_oil/

cudamax

But really research is the ultimate advantage in gaining horsepower.

Tom400CFI

3 horse, regular oil to synthetic of the same weights, the way I read the article...

we found that the engine gained nearly 7 hp with the thinner conventional oil, and was up nearly 10 hp with the synthetic.

cudamax

Here is a bunch of ways to get 5hp gain here or 10hp there. Cheep and easy
http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=503683

cudamax

How about some Free Horsepower
http://www.badasscars.com/index.cfm/...rod/prd101.htm

cudamax

The new E3 Plugs get ya more horsepower to

http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/sh...hp?tid/190360/

Tom400CFI

LOLs....those were funny reads.

Silver96ce

Good advice - Now its his choice whether to follow it.

1stVetteFinally

It's not that I think you don't know what you're talking about. That's why I asked the question here. Here is a little bit about where I'm coming from. For a good while, my focus on upgrades and performance have been in the building and upgrading of computers (I'm talking about PC's). In that field, I found that articles about gaining performance posted on computer tech web sites to be the best place to get information, and using tech forums to find out exactly how to implement those upgrades with the best efficiency. So in changing back over to auto performance upgrades, I'm trying to use the same tactics that have served me very well in the past in performing computer tech upgrades. So when you tell me that the articles I have read(that one I posted wasn't the only one I read) are not correct, a simple "No" is not good enough. I want to know why it won't work, which your last post did.

Ok, so I won't be doing those upgrades. Well not all of them at least.

I will do the plugs and wires. The car is leaking oil from the water pump drive gear in the timing chain cover, and the wires are, and have been for a while, completely covered in oil. Besides, the car came with a set of high-end wires so I may as well use them, and I have no idea how long the plugs have been in the car. As far as I know, they may be the original plugs that came from the factory. And I'll also be doing a computer tuning job on it, if for no other reason than getting a decent fuel conservation profile to use when making long distance trips. Right now, best I've mileage I seen from the car has been about 18 mpg highway. I want something better than that for the +5 hour trips I make several times a year, even if that means reducing my LT1 horse power down to '84 C4 L83 levels.

I do truly appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

ANTI VENOM

The only way that I can think of to "tune your computer" for a fuel efficient profile would be to run in open loop and tune for a specific rpm and map range. If you are running closed loop the ECM will do all it can to keep you at stoich. Maybe someone else can shed more light on that subject.

1stVetteFinally

Something like this is what I'm referring to when I say "computer tune".

http://www.lt1pcmtuning.com/tips/