I have a 94 Z28, 3:73's, custom tune, hooker cat back, HF cats, SLP cold air, what can I do to get more grunt?

I don't want to go on the bottle and I really don't want to make the car "unstreetable" since its my daily driver (and VERY suprisingly streetable) like stall converters ect.

is a throttle body or headers a good bang for the buck on these cars?

any other ideas?

Thanks

 

Sounds like headers are in your future.

 

Headers would be nice, but a quality made torque converter will really help too. You already have the gears, so that will make the converter much more driver friendly. If you don't know of the other GOOD converters that are out there, stick with either a Vig. or Yank. Just remember a Vig. stalls a little higher than advertised. Don't be afraid to put a Vig. 3200 or Yank 3600 in the car for daily driving.

 

im not really up on stall converters so sorry for the dumb question but what will actually happen after I install one? (I mostly own stick shifts other then this car so I never really looked into one)

 

Headers would be a great upgrade right now, the throttle body not so much.

 

how "fun" are headers to install on these cars?

 

no ones install em LOL? everyone pays to have the work done?

 

You'll pay a good buck to have them professionally done, I've heard of quotes as high as 650-700 bucks. To be honest, they are not the most enjoyable thing to do, but then again, with the cramped up engine bay, there really isn't any free lunch when working on these. Plenty of people though with limited mechanical experience have been able to pull off successful installations.

 

Depends which headers you install. They are not "easy", but some are more difficult than others. What emissions regulations (if any) do you need to meet?

Headers, moderate stall and moderate cam would produce a major increase in responsiveness, with minimal impact on driveability. With the right stall, you won't notice the difference until you put the pedal to the floor.

 

I have an old header install writeup I did about 10 years ago. Might give you some idea of what's involved.

http://members.aol.com/InjuneerZZ/JBAHeadr.htm

 

in CT we have strict emissions

I was told a stall converter makes your car "free rev" to a specific RPM THEN it lets the car free thats not true?

 

No, that's not true. The amount of slip is proportional to the torque..... press the throttle lightly, and it will not be very noticeable. Put the pedal to the floor, and it will flash near the stall. Hold your foot on the brake and push down on the accel pedal, and you can get the revs up to the stall speed before you let go of the brake. I have a converter that flashes to 5,000rpm on a 300-shot of nitrous (800 lb-ft), but it drives fairly normally at part throttle.

 

With sticky tires, you will drop more et than a set of headers, although I would do those after the converter.

 

My stall is a 3200 and it feels almost exactly like a stock car in daily driving. But when I mash the gas I have no traction. And this is with MINIMAL mods.

Headers you will feel more topend than anything.
Converter is all down low.

So if you want to pull harder off the line, then go converter. More up top? Long Tubes.

 

long tube headers would be the next thing on my list