First off, please excuse my ignorance. I just bought my first vette a month ago. I was wondering what kinds of inexpensive performance options I could install to bump up the HP some. My car specs are in my sig. Right now, mechanically, it's bone stock.

From my breif reading, I see using a 160°C thermostat and a new computer chip gives decent gains. Also, a K&N air filter seems like a good idea. Is there anything one can do to "beef-up" the cross-fire injection system? Is there a high performance set of plugs, wires, distributor cap, whatever that would give noticable improvment?

I called a place about a cam upgrade but I don't buy that I can upgrade the cam without doing something in the lifter area. What do you think?

I'm trying to keep the costs down because just buying this vette put the hurt to my wallet, lol.

Also, I was wondering how it's possible to get this car to top speed. I finally got the opportunity to open it up on the highway but I was afraid of blowing it up. With the 4+3, when I nailed it, it dropped to 4th low as expected. Then the revs climbed to the red line but it wouldn't shift into 4th high without me letting off the gas. Then, when I nailed it again, it freaking dropped down to 4th low spinning the electronic tach into the red. (It's a position sensor, right?) The only way I could get decent top end was to take my foot out of it and ease it up to speed...which is BS. I only got it up to 125 before I started worrying about Johnny Law. I didn't want to cruise at high speed for freaking 10 miles to see the top end.

From my little experience with this car, I don't trust this electronic tach at all. When it hits red it seems as if it has more. This tach also seems "jumpy" to me. Man, I hate electronic gauges with a passion.

Long thread, LOL....but I appreciate input into any of these areas. Thanks.

 

There are a host of bolt on performance options, none of them seem worth the trouble to me, but for any real perf. gains you have to major work, heads, headers, intake, cam, etc. etc. etc. $$$$
I have an 87 L98 4+3 and I've been looking into the same thing. I have it running good and I'm just not going to mess with it for now. Down the road I may build a whole differant engine and then swap it in. I wouldn't feel good about any major changes without going through the whole thing anyhow. As far as your tranny is concerned, my OD is dead soIcouldn't tell you and a 700R4 auto will be replacing it soon enough. I can't imagine your situation is normal, but I can't tell you the problem, these tranny's are junk as far as I'm concerned, and because it was in my car I got a good deal! So I guess it was good for something.