I just bought an M6 96 TA with an S-Trim on a 9.42:1 cr 355 LT1. It has a 218/230 cam blower cam and ported lt1 heads, stock intake and TB, no intercooler setup, great tune and 3.42's. At 6 psi it makes 482/434. I'm very content with the power and the original owner's buildup. However, for possible not-so-nearfuture considerations, what would be the better choice for reliable and safe boost and hp?

I have ported trickflow heads and lt4 intake by Lloyd Elliott plus a 58 mm TB from my old setup that I'm trying to sell but before I do so, I want to know if it would be wiser to keep for this car. If the heads flow:
.2 136/112
.3 200/155
.4 251/184
.5 278/199
.6 291/214
.650 296/221
.7 298/225
would it be too much for the size cam I have? I don't want my car to feel like crap since it'll be mostly for street driving on weekends. I don't want to swap cams, I like what's in there now. I figure this would be pricey, need more tuning, but be powerful (?)

Or, is an aftercooler and 7" crank pulley a better option? I figure this might be a less costly and safe (cooler) upgrade.

Or, is a T-trim head unit upgrade the better choice? (this could be costly, yet easy to install, but require tuning

I'm new to the boost world and nothing will likely be done to this car soon, but for future considerations and with me considering selling the heads now, I'd like to know.

 

I think the t-trim may be too much for your motor without any form of aftercooling. when you step the boost up youll be heating the air up pretty good. youre making very good power already but unless youre looking to step up the boost considerably, the s-trim seems to be working fine. Ive got an aftercooler setup for sale if youre interested pretty cheap, just make an offer. The aftercooler is nice as it will allow you to run alot more timing and in your setup will probably take you to about the 550 rwhp mark which should take care of anything on the street, while keeping you reliable.

my suggestion, get the aftercooler first and see where it takes you as youll need it in the future anyway, then down the line, sell the s-trim headunit and bolt in a t-trim as the cost difference between them isnt usually that much

 

I'd put a water/meth kit on there and call it a day. It's not that costly and using the smaller jet in the meth kit, it should work well and be safe, expecially since your only running 6psi. You'll also be able to run a little more timing depending on where your running your timing now. It's a clean install also and probably your least expensive option. The S-Trim is still a nice match to your current setup. If you were to put the LT4 setup on there that you have, you won't see 6psi anymore because that stuff will flow so well, it just won't build that kind of boost anymore. You'll still make the same power, probably more though. But.... then the S-Trim might not be enough to feed that setup. It would probably hang, but i would guess the S will be past it's efficency range to keep up. With that setup, a T-Trim would be the better fit. Like they say, boost is addictive, so i'm sure you'll be looking to run double digits soon enough...

Ken R.

 

I would have to say my custom 7" pulley and dampner would be perfect! Oh, and the aftercooler.

 

If its a black Harley Davidson TA edition with a 6 point roll bar in it we don't need to discuss making more power..... we need to discuss waxing.

-B

P.S. Welcome to the world of boost.... be prepared to lose your wallet. =(

 

So, would i lose boost though with the aftercooler, leading to loss in hp? Is the cooler that you're selling an inter- or aftercooler?

Blown383, I take it you've seen the car before and know that the original owner was a zaino person? You are def. right though, I know I'll have to learn about the whole waxing trade.

Where else do you guys go to learn about FI for our lt1's?

 

I helped Paul build your ride I'm running the same heads and cam and have only a slightly higher compression ratio 9.7 to 1. I went the 7" pulley and aftercooler route on my S Trim. With the same tuner (thanks Jeff Creech!) mine made 542 rwhp/489 ft-lbs (M6 through a 9" Moser) on blower only. I saw 10# of boost at 6,000 rpm with the Brad Brand solid intake tube (which you have). The upside to the aftercooler is the lower intake temps to reduce the risk of detonation. The downside is all the extra bulk under the hood.

 

There ya have it. Buy CJMATT's aftercooler and my 7" crank pulley setup and you will be set!

Jerry

 

Well, you guys did a good job. I don't want to mess it up and I want to do things right or not at all. How much more tuning would be involved with a larger pulley and aftercooler? The aftercooler being bulky under the hood wouldn't bother me too much if it means more power and safer conditions. I don't know if you're the friend Paul mentioned that had JBA headers like him. I was wondering if an aftercooler will sit fine above the driver's side header primary that bends upward on the JBA's??

Jerry, I definitely would like to pick up those parts, but I'm in no rush. I've spent enough to keep me grounded for a while, my fiancee would kill me if she hears about me wanting more parts, and I really need to learn with what I have in the car now.

 

No worries. Good luck with your car.

Jerry

 

I have the 95 JBA headers which have a lower profile as it's the single cat design. Your primary header bend could be an issue; not just for clearance but also for heating up the aftercooler.

As far as tuning, I would suggest having it retuned as the larger pulley will allow the engine to make boost sooner. You could email Jeff Creech at Carolina Auto Masters and discuss details with him.

 

Instead of the aftercooler I would suggest going with a front mounted intecooler which could easily be done for under $500.

-B

 

Thanks B, do you have pics of your setup and when will you be finished? I still remember that thread you made of your motor sitting in your Honda's passanger seat .

Would it be necessary to cut the front bumper up on a Trans Am for an FMIC because I'm just not willing to ever do that??

Thanks OBE1, I was worried about the header primary on mine.

 

If all goes according to plan I hope to have my motor in the car by the end of the month and running by middle of May. But we'll see how that goes.

As for the FMIC here are some old pictures.






The intercooler is now tucked up and I'm going to remove the rest of the black area where the red bow tie sits. For the Trans Am you could ditch your fog lamps and that would be more than enough air flow to the intercooler.


-B

P.S. The 14 cylinder Honda Accord pics are classic!

 

[QUOTE=blown383;For the Trans Am you could ditch your fog lamps and that would be more than enough air flow to the intercooler.


-B

P.S. The 14 cylinder Honda Accord pics are classic![/QUOTE]

that is completely false. I still havent even seen and intercooler wide enough to completley cover the foglight areas, and the intercooler on the trans ams forces down the back of the bumper that is used to make the tunnel, that the radiator gets its air from stock...i tried it on my t/a before i cut the bumper just to see, and my air temps were maybe 3 degrees cooler at 50mph while my car almost overheated from the lack of air. I had to pull over in a parking lot, remove the bumper and drive back with it in my backseat.