my friend has an 88' GTA and he was saying that if i get an LS1 Camaro over the summer, he'd be ready to race me

i know that he's totally stock for now with an automatic, and i was wondering what he would need to do to run with a completely stock LS1 Camaro?

any ideas, he claims no supercharger or nitrous

thanks for the info
-Andrew

 

Wow.....He might be ready to race, but being ready to race means you'll just walk all over him, and he probobly knows it, but wants to race anyway. He would need heads and cam work, full exhaust, headers and all, gears, stall converter, shift kit, and tuning. Im assuming he has a 350 (i know nothing about firebirds), if he has a 305, then hes going to need a 150 shot. I run low 13's in my SS, my RS is prorobly in the high 16's. and TPI is not that much better than TBI, except for looks. He needs a deep pocket of $$$ to keep up.

 

If he has the 350 it won't be that hard, possibly Vortech heads and base to match, ported plenum, headers, cat back, good suspension to hook up, cold air, and a mild cam. TPI motors are so torquey down low, the LS1 will kill them up top! don't sleep on the 305, there are somne freaks out there that will run with LT1/LS1, any car can be fast with carefully matched parts and the right amount of cash! I think a 5 speed 89 TPI 305 Formula with the right mods can paly with the big boys to a certain extent.

 

He would need heads, cam, stealthram and headers to out run the avg LS1. I have never been beat by a stock LS1. They are great engines but anything is beatable. I have raced alot of LS1 at the track that ran anywhere from 13.2 to 14.3 stock. I have a friend with just some bolt on's LS1 that is running 12.7. In the car club I am in tho there are no stock LS1 cars. There are several 9.0ET LS1 in the club. I have to go to the track to find them stock ones.

 

Cool
he definately has the 350
thanks for all the responses.. i just wanted to know if he was talking outta his *** like he sometimes does.

so basically i shouldn't be worried unless he's got major suspension, all the bolt-ons, and then heads and cam work??

 

forgot to mention, he's also the kind of guy that hates all imports no matter what and doesn't have respect for them.

personally i like all cars domestic and import and don't really have a problem with anyone as long as they don't talk a lot of trash and then end up backing out.

my friend has a WRX and i'm trying to see if the 88 GTA could race the WRX... they are both stock and automatics.

any thoughts on the turnout of that race?

 

Dont forget, he'll also need full exhaust. And the WRX will win, stock to stock, it will be close but the WRX should beat him.

 

The beauty of the TPI cars are they are cheap, and the newer parts (in particular, the Stealth Ram), have taken their performance to the next level.

Check out the latest GMHTP magazine. Theres a couple of great stories in there on the 350 and 305 TPI's. In the 350 story, the car was running a best of 12.95, with a best mph of 109.74. The combo: 3.23 gears, G2 heads, SLP runners, ported intake/plenum, and 10" converter. The kicker is that the guy wasn't even running a hyd. roller cam; he used a flat-tappet hyd. Comp cam with 218/228 duration. I'd say thats pretty good performance from a long runner TPI.

Then he added the Stealth Ram intake (this is the major part you need to be watchful for on the L98 if you run the guy with your LS1), and he ran right down into the 12.36 zone, with best MPH of 110.13. If he put a good hyd. roller cam in there, he'd no doubt be in the 11's. This is on a set of ET streets.

Stealth Ram L98's are deadly. Chevy High Performance magazine just did a story on the SR also, and on a bone stock car it picked up the performance substantially. At the higher RPM's where the TPI dies, the SR makes a huge differnce in power.

 

also another question... is there any way for an 88 GTA to reach over 400rwhp without nitrous, a turbo, or a supercharger??

 

400rwhp is completly possible if you have deep pockets. On a stock motor no, thats crazy. But on either a nice crate motor, or a good build its do-able. But I doubt your friend is driving around in a n/a LS1 eater.

 

WRX and automatic don't go together as far as I know. Kinda like 350 TPI with a 5 speed. Every WRX I've ever seen or heard of is a 5 speed. They run mid 14s stock. In a street race with a decent driver the WRX will win against a stock 350 TPI. They have AWD, think 1.9 sec 60' times on street tires w/o trying hard.

The '88 GTA won't run with the LS1 with just bolt ons, unless he has slicks or serious traction and the LS1 driver can't drive. (I've seen a Z06 and a TT supra run 14.6s at the track before w/o mechanical problems or missed shifts), so it can happen.

 

I see no reason why the GTA can't run with an ls1. My 85 trans am with a tpi305 is running with the lt1s. All i've got is headers, dual exhaust, intake, and ignition. Soon i'm going to put an lt1 cam in it and put a 100 shot on it. I'm hoping for some low 13's maybe high 12's. (ls1 what?) lol

 

i'm runnin with bolt on lt1's with my 305....

all i have are stock heads with a valve job, compucam 2030, headers, cat back and intake....

put 245hp to the wheels... 290 torque

 

I have no respect for imports either and never will! I wish GM would wake up and bring our musclecars back instead of trying to see how many SUV's they can build.