Hey guys, i just picked up a 1994 Trans-Am. it has borla exhaust and other than that stock. it has 68k on the clock. i paid 6500, anyway. i have heard that there are a few "free" mods that i can do...... what do u guys recommend i should do first?. i am a little new to the lt1 because i have had a mustang gt for the past year.... thanks
nick

 

I would do a throttle body bypass first, there is some link that shows step by step instructions (all 3-4 of them), but i lost it. Oh yeah, nice job on the 94, that was a good year, but im also a little bias

 

Sweet, !TB, is really about it, the same basics on modding a Mustang aplies to this car as well. Get some, Headers, is it an auto if it is get a good TC in it, get some gears......

 

does anybody have a link to instructions on how to do the throttle body bypass? is it relativly easy to do? and what kind of performance gains could i see?
thanks

 

you can also descreen the MAF. there's a honeycomb type filter in the MAF. You can simply pop that out and port it if you want to. There's also the IAT relocation mod, you more the sensor closer to the opening of the intake track and it thinks there is a cooler air coming into the car.

You can do searches for all of these mods and it'll probably pull up some instructions.

 

As far as free mods go, the throttle body bypass and porting the MAF sensor are a complete waste of time and effort. I have done both and actually lost drivability (motor wouldn't idle worth a crap) after porting the MAF and had to switch back to stock MAF ends. Even though removing the screen messes up the calibration of the MAF to some extent, my car does feel a whole lot stronger without it. I have made back to back runs with and without the screen to verify this. The motor revs up a whole lot quicker without the screen. However, remember that aftermarket ECM tuners will NOT tune your ECM for a modified MAF sensor. You will need a completely stock unit (or a Granatelli unit for that matter) to get maximum gains from aftermarket ECM tuning. To remove the MAF screen pry out the little wire ring holding the screen in place first. That way you won't butcher the screen, and you can reuse it when the time comes.

Some people claim the throttle body bypass gave them better throttle reponse, but I didn't notice any difference whatsoever. FWIW, it does make working around that area in the summer easier because you don't burn you hands when leaning on the TB for support.

With that said, you really don't need to bother with the TB bypass and ported MAF. Both are a complete waste of time and money.

The stock airbox on these cars is totally ridiculous and it can be gutted out to a great extent to help the motor breathe more efficiently. There's a little box like thing on the air filter cover. You can remove it to open up the intake tract a little bit. Every little bit of intake work on these cars helps. A cold air intake is one of the best mods you can do for these cars. Check out http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/fbody/guides.htm for homemade cold air intake instructions. Of course, aftermarket units flow even better.

Many people also gut the catalytic convertor out for freer flowing exhaust, but again IMHO it's one of those debatable things that may cause more harm than good. For one, you're guaranteed to fail emissions. It will also make the exhaust sound like ***. Once gutted, the cat itself becomes an expansion chamber where turbulence slows the exhaust flow down, negating any gains to be had from removing the substrate. Go for a high flow Random Technology cat. Still hell bent on gutting the cat? Put a straight pipe through it to reduce the turbulence.

Switching to a 160* thermostat is also a pretty popular mod depending on how hot or cold your climate is. The 160* t-stat makes my car feel slightly more responsive and powerful, but i wouldn't recommend it if the ambient temperature dips below 50*F. You will lose some fuel economy with a 160* stat. I think the 180* stat is a better all year around choice. Just remember to bleed all the air out of the system once the stat has been installed. You'll be surprised how much hotter a car will run with a little bit of air trapped inside the cooling system.