I Have a 1986 vette with only 38k on the clock. This is my first vette, and i love it, and i wondered what i could do to get some more performance out of her, i dont have much cash so im looking for some basic inexpensive mods, my budget is about 800 bucks if anyone can give me some ideas it would be much apprecciated. Thanks alot and i really enjoy the site! Happy Holidays !


Thank you all for your responses , they were all very helpfull i apprecciate all the experience and knowledge . Thanks and Happy Holidays!!!!

 

do something with the intake. The TPI is a performance killer.

Where do you live? If you live in a state without emissions testing, ditch the pre-cats ONLY. Leave the main cat.

Those will perk up the equation a bit.

 

K&N air filter with cut lid, remove screens from MAF, throtle body air foil, remove wall in plenum behind throttle body, adjustable fuel pressure regulator set at 48psi, timing set between 10-12 deg., then when you have more money gears, converter and exhaust.

 

Those mods won't do much with the stock TPI... infact, they won't do much at all. That's the sad thing...

 

Yeah save your money on that BS stuff. If you want to go fast you gotta pay.

Heads, cam, gears, converter, stroker, supercharger, and nitrous is the only way you are going to go fast. oh yeah and get rid of the TPI.

If you only have $800 i would do nitrous.

 

Did someone just recommend an airfoil?

 

I respect your opinion but I beg to differ. Those mods have been tested to save 7 tenths and gain 4 mph in the quarter on a TPI car.

 

by whom?

 

GMHTP and myself. Also, regarding airfoils, BBK/Edelbrock incorporates them into there design on their aftermarket throttle bodies.

 

I know that BBK/Edelbrock use them, and those pieces are integrated into the design of the inlet. Much more efficient than an add on piece.

As for GMHTPs testing, is that using an airfoil? or one of the TBs equiped with an airfoil?

 

L98? with that budget- buy yourself a new exhaust system...

You'll spend probably all of the 800. But if you do the work yourself You'll be able to come in under budget, and have a HUGE (anywhere from 40-60 HP i'd guess) power gain.
LT headers, true duals, and performance mufflers...

Yes you can buy all that for WELL under 800...

at least that's what I'm going to do with my '85 L98...

The filter, air foil, and smaller items mentioned above will help slightly- bit by bit.

Stay away from NOS... IMHO

 

Yes an airfoil and the other mods I listed minus the converter, gears, & exhaust.

 

I found this quote over at GMHTP. It's from a review of a car they reviewed, a Firebird:

"Next on the modification list was the addition of a Hypertech chip. This netted another two tenths and a 14.10 ET, but Hess wasn't finished. He also added a throttle body air foil, an underdrive crank pulley, installed a shift kit and a new set of plug wires. With the stock torque converter, 3.27 gears in the 9-bolt rear and still on radials, the black Poncho improved to 14.00."

All for .10?

The rest of the story:

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...ula/index.html

 

He had already installed a Super Ram, not comparing apples to apples. I just hope we can disagree and walk away friends.

 

By those numbers you're talking about a 30-40 HP improvement...there is NO WAY those mods will get those results. Wasn't there an episode of Horsepower TV (yeah, show sucks, and I don't watch it) that tested the airfoil on a dyno and got a whopping 0 HP increase?

 

One of the first things I did to my Vette was to install roller rockers. I was looking to reduce the friction in the valve train, or just make it more efficent. The next thing to consider is the "Air pump" way of looking at your engine. What ever mod you do should increase the flow into the combustion chamber and increase the flow out of the chamber. BUT, if you want your "BUTT-O-METER" to register, get some gears in that dif.

 

Welcome to the C4 Forum and congrats on your new '86 Vette.

For performance mods in your price range I suggest:
Intake - 10-15chp:
-SLP ram air intake with K&N, $120 from SLP
Exhaust - 15-20chp:
-FlowMaster Force II cat-back, $380 from Summit; or you might price out muffler elims from MAM
-2 1/2" mandrel bent front Y, $199 from MAM
-Catco cat, $55 from Summit
Cooling - 10chp:
-160det T-stat from Auto Zone & manual fan sw from Radio Shack. If your Vette has the booster fan in front of the radiator, just get a 160deg aux fan switch and use my C4 tech tip to wire it into the main fan.
-TB coolant bypass, parts from Auto Zone
Ignition - 8chp:
-cut back stock style AC Delco spark plugs gapped to .035"
Tuning - quicker throttle response:
-bump TPS base voltage to .67Vdc at base idle (450rpm)
-bump base timing to around 8-10deg BTDC
Weight Reduction: (100lbs = 10chp or 1mph & .1 sec)
-lose the spare & jack, 40-50lb saving
-cruze with 1/3-2/3 tank of fuel, 60lb saving ave.

That should eat up most of the $800, keep you occupied, teach you quite a bit about your Vette and net some nice performance gains. If you get the chance, take your Vette to a drag strip before these mods and get some time slip numbers; then you can go back after the mods to see actual gains. And these mods will give you a chance to plan where you want to go with performance and not have to undo anything.

 

What do you want to do with the car?

Bogus is right about the intake, it's cheap, but it's the least effective.

Exhaust will be huge for your engine. I'm sure you can get some nice mufflers off ebay cheap.

Nitrous is by far the best bang for the buck, your engine has so few miles on it, I would think it would hold up to nitrous fine. Just keep the shot low, 75-100. Don't get greedy, 75 hp is a lot considering you car has 265 chp (or so); especially what it would cost to add 75 hp using bolt ons. But you can't autocross with nitrous and you have to fill the bottle (the more you use, the more you pay).

Good luck.

 

I would obviously do the free stuff...cut lid, screens, no cats or at least the precats, 160 thermostat(so cheap its nearly free). Then I would consider some headers and exhaust.

I never put headers on my 85 so I don't know what they cost, but between them and your cat back you'll be outta money. I know the car will breath a lot better.

Several guys on the forum have run 13s with all the free stuff and a cat back.

 

As some have said. Clean the exhaust by removing only the pre-cats. Clean the intake by more efficient filter. Better gripping tires, lose the frisbee, keep car tuned, AFPR and learn your car will also help. I have won races at the strip by learning the way my car likes to be driven and being consistant. I first ran a 14.2 with my '90 and with MINOR upgrades and learning the "sweet spot" to launch at, dropped to a 13.8. Almost half a second and way cheap.