hey, guys....couple of questions about my 97 LT1
what would be the best mods for me to gain more top end acceleration. the 50-100, 80-140 range
also, my Z is my daily driver until september/october so what torque converters do you guys recommend....I'm not looking for anything too extreme, maybe a 2200-2500

 

Headers and cat-back. And as far as converters, you probably should get a quality one with at least a 2800 stall rating. Please don't buy a cheap one.

 

definately a usual cold air intake kit, make sure your fuel system is clean by seafoaming the gas tank. like z-rated said get some decent headers and it'll put a smile on your face. all this is well under a grand too btw

 

Simple bolt-on mods will gain you power all through the power band. As noted, start with intake and exhaust work, get the engine breathing better. After that, if you have the funds, step up to a bigger cam, worked heads, ect.

 

Don't higher stall converters help you launch? They only multiply torque when there is a large difference between engine rpm and trans input rpm. At the moment of launch, there is zero trans input rpm, so maximum torque mulltiplicatioin.

I suspect in a 50-100 punch you'll start in 2nd at an rpm well over the stall speed and go up from there. On the 2-3 shift around 6000, revs will drop to 3700+. There won't be much multiplication there, and there will be more slippage with a "stall" converter.

The higher the stall and the more it slips at mid-high rpm the less grunt you are getting to the wheels; the slippage is converting horsepower to heat in the trans fluid. Notice chassis dyno numbers for locked-up and unlocked converters. More power to the wheels with a locked converter. Perhaps you might want to rig the trans so you can lock up the converter at wide open throttle at the higher revs.

So where do you run 80-140 punches?

 

I've already got a K&N CAI and a mufflerless exhaust witha custom y-pipe
I'd like to do the headers but I'm not sure how I would go about doing it myself and I'm not down with paying anyone else anymore of my hard earned dollars...I was also considering a light shot of NOS just for the hell of it, cheap and easy

80-140 you ask....there are a few places....I live in northwestern PA, there is a single lane highway between the city I live and the small town my gf lives that easily allows for 150mph speeds pending no traffic, and I make that commute 7-10 times per week each way. I've only seen cops on that road maybe twice and I know where they are able to sit....there aren't many places on the road to pull off in certain areas....too many guard rails
Also, I-79 can allow for some high speed because often times you'll come across a spot where you can see for a mile, you just have to slow down before you go around the next bend, haha

 

Do a search, there have been plenty of past posts going over header installs. With the cramped engine bay, it surely looks like a daunting task, but it isn't too terribly difficult or impossible.

 

when i only had headers , exhaust n cold air i had a vigilante converter and still had really good top end. gears play a part in that too. i only have 3.42's in mine tho

 

Gears, not a converter.

Rich