Now i havent been able to read as much of the forums as i would like to, to learn and gather info before i pestered you all for advice but im kind of pressed for time on this one.

as you can tell from the subject im trying to figure out what would be a good set of starting mods for an lt1 fbody. i know obd1 is easier to work with so ill probably be going for a 94 or 95. and ive heard the 93's have injector problems occationally.

first question...what was changed in 96 aside from the ecu to get the '10 hp'

secondly...i just wanted some feedback on the first set of parts ive come up with. do you think this is a good starting point? do you think im missing anything? out of the ones ive listed, are there any better alternatives?

eibach prokit springs
bmr lca's and panhard rod
lt4 knock module
1le elbow
hypertech pp3
hypertech 160 degree thermostat
slp fpr
k&n fipk
slp maf
throttle body
hooker LT's
slp y pipe
slp loudmouth exhaust

and maybe a B&M ripper shifter.

any input or advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

Regards,
Mark

 

the difference in the 96 model is in the y-pipe. It is a dual cat set-up.
You list of mods is pretty long for a first round. I would start with the cold air intake and get a good catback. Then I would look into a set of headers. Some of the mods you listed are not needed like the programmer I for one would pass over that mod I have seen people loose a couple of rwhp from it. The suspension pieces are good mods but not particularly needed this early in the game.
My order of mods was: cai and free mods, catback, headers, gears, and roller rockers. m6 by the way. I also threw on a suspension piece here and there as I found them on the board used. If you have an a4 put a stall somewhere in the list.
hope this helps.

 

i know its pretty long but ehh i like power, what can i say. i spend way too much money on cars, but you only live once.

i had no idea about the programmer, thanks for the heads up, is there anything else in my list you think would be detrimental?

i probably wont be going with gears, as im fine with 3.42s (im definitely going with a M6). i didnt know roller rockers could really give that much of a benefit in the beginning, do you need new pushrods or springs or anything when you do that? what type of an increase would you see? or is it just a smoothness/drivability mod.

thanks for the feedback, taking out the power programmer, youd still use the thermostat though correct? is there anything else youd add into my group of mods. i guess its more of a 'getting the car to a point im happy with for a while' rather than a starting step.

if you could give me any info on the free mods id welcome that too thanks a lot buddy!

Mark

 

First off the SLP maf is a waste of money. Most would agree that on f-bods, Mafs dont really give you anything at all. On the suspension side of things i would throw in a BMR torque arm. RR's give you about 5 to 10 rwhp but i would wait till you do a cam to change out your RR's, that what i did anyways. And the only free mod i know of for our cars is the throttle body bypass. SHOEBOX has a "how to" on his tech page. It is supposedly worth 7rwhp. And i think i covered everything. Everything else looks good. If you dont mind me asking, why are you getting rid of the supra??


Chris

 

As far as the Hypertech pp3 goes, it's a waste. I have one (came with car) and the only thing it's good for is reprogramming the speedo if you change gears or tire height (also good for low-temp thermo). I wouldn't buy the LT4 KM unless your car gets false knock (I assume you list this because of the roller rockers). I also wouldn't buy the 1le elbow unless the original is trashed, just cap off the resonator tube. In another post they also listed a dyno sheet that showed larger throttle bodies can make you lose horsepower (don't hold me to this), the stock one is more than adequate. The maf sensor is a waste from what I hear. And I'm not sure, but I doubt the slp y-pipe would fit the long tubes.
Personally I would go for a cat-back, headers, remove cats (if you can), thermo, and a shifter if an M6. A couple of suspension mods couldn't hurt either, especially a torque arm. Oh yeah, and if you get an A4 get a higher stall converter. Personal opinion of course.

 

thanks for the advice guys...seems like youre saving me money, thats always nice

so it seems the only thing you need on the intake side of the motor is an actual intake itself not the maf or tb or intake mani. what do you think about headers? hooker long tubes or slp's? and i think youre right blake, i dont think the slp y fits the long tubes...ill just get a custom catless y pipe (no emissions in florida)

about the supra...im not getting rid of it, i just need a daily driver. so a nice loud lt1 would suit me very nicely. also my supra is messed up at the moment cuz a f'ing civic cut me off apexing a corner in my lane sending me into a brick pillar and his little bytch@$$ drove off. so im fixing it right now, and getting the parts i want to set it up for the track (road course). once its fixed ill save for the single turbo. on race gas right now im probably about 420-440rwhp. (stock turbos)

thanks for the advice everyone, keep em coming

 

Cold air intake is all you need in that department untill you get into heads, cam territory. As for headers, if you have the money go longtubes, get a 97 so you can do the offroad pipe. I think thats it. Any more questions??


Chris

 

why would a 97 be different than say a 96? and wouldnt obd2 be harder to use an offroad pipe with because of the o2's (well youd need sim's) cant you just put in an offroad on the 94/95's without worrying about it?? so you think a good setup would be

160 thermostat, slp intake, hooker longtubes, slp loudmouth rear section, custom catless offroad y pipe, bmr torque arm, bmr lca's, bmr panhard rod, eibach springs, ripper shifter, plug the intake elbow, tb bypass, and descreen the maf.

what about an FPR would that give me anything? and i think theres also tb airfoils or something ive heard about.

are the LCA's needed (for lowering) or will they actually aid me in handling.

any info on sfc's or how good stb's are on f bodies?

oh yeah another thing...ive noticed some of the earliear z's have that 110-115mph speedo...i know theres some 200mph ones available for the 97+, but is there anything for the earlier ones....115 is pretty pathetic on a car thatll do 165. also, is there a speed limiter on the lt1's? if so how do i get rid of that?

sorry for so many questions, and thank everyone for all the help, i really appreciate it.

 

LCA's won't lower the car, they just help improve traction by pushing down harder on the rear wheels and helping cure "wheel hop". As far as airfoils, they have been dyno proven to provide around 1-2 peak rwhp (WS6.com). However, they're a little too expensive for the gain (mine came with the car), but a few more horses can't hurt.
As far as the speedo, I just learned why some came with the 115 (or whatever) speedo. Apparantly, on the Z28 there was an option for z-rated tires. If the car was bought with this option, it got the 155 speedo, if not, it got the other. The cars that came with the 155 speedo didn't have a speed limiter installed, at least according to some Camaro book I read @ Barnes & Noble. However, I do agree the 115 speedo goes look lame.

 

you might also want to consider on getting some better traction...bigger rims means fatter tires mean better hook up!
My 2 cents

 

First off here is a very basic breakdown of LT1 cars.
93 Speed Density, 275hp, single cat, non-vented OPTIs
94-95 OBD1, single cat, 94 nonvented OPTi, 95 vented opti, 275hp
96-97 OBD2, dual cat, vented opti, 285hp, optional SS and WS6 performance packages.

Here is a suggestion since you definately want a 6spd car...
I would look for a 95 Z28 or 95 Formula/Trans Am.
First 'round" of mods...
Cold Air Intake (CAI)
nice catback
shifter
1Le elbow
!CAGS (disables the factory 1st to 4th shift)
good tires (possibly drag radials)

2nd round
headers
1.6 rrs
OBD1 computer flash
4.10 gears
Now suspension pieces
I would make sure that most of the bolt ons are done by the end of this stage.

3rd round
Now comes the fun part. Here is where all the BIG power parts come in to factor.
Heads
Cam
Power adders
stroker
12 bolt rear end
The sky is the limit...

Dont waste your money on pulleys, MAFs, Hypertech POwer programmers. They just really do not net any real gains on our cars.

Good luck, and most of all have fun.

 

blake - i know lca's dont lower the car, i just thought that most people bought them when they got the car lowered for alignment purposes. also i thought they were for the front. when lowering the car, will the fronts have any negative camber? my friends z, when we lowered it on prokits had vicious neg camber. it was awesome in the corners but horrible on tire wear.

black97z - thats something im sure ill be addressing pretty soon, 285/40r17's with 275/40r17 fronts most likely. ive heard that if you put on some 17x11's with 315/35r17's that they are so strong that the rear end cant take the abuse. any input on the strength of the 7 5/8?

texas ta - thanks for the breakdown...ill be looking for a 95 though although i have to admit i dont know what the difference is in respect to a vented optispark.

do you think the 1le elbow is worth it? it seems to have varied opinions, cant you just block the baffle in the stock one somehow?

would rr's benefit me even before a cam. since this will be mostly my little daily driver with a decent amount of ***** i dont know how far im going to go with it (at least for a while) ill probably stop after boltons, if not, rr's and a cam.

about the obd1 computer flash. who does that? is it just a reprogramming for the timing and fuel curve? also would that get rid of that friggin 118 (i think it is) mph speed limiter? if i dont have the computer flashed, is there any way to get rid of that? with the supra you just take out the trac fuse and you dont have a limiter.

thanks everyone for all of the great information. also could i put in the 155mph speedo into one of the older cars without z rated tires? i dont see why it would be a problem.

regards,
Mark