I'm curious. What' gave the LT1 Firehawk's the extra 25-40hp over the regular LT1? I do know they could be ordered with the SLP cat-back which gave an extra 15hp, but what else did they get?

 

im guessing the ram air hood/intake...and exhaust

 

GM is what gave them the "extra" horsepower. Its called marketing. The cars make no more than a regular z28 or formula/trans am on the dyno on average. They have a SLP production number that makes them rare and a hood that makes them look pretty all while still performing the same as the "lowly" Formy's and Z's.

Ever wonder why the 04 GTO "makes" 350 horsepower but gets its *** whipped by lowly 305 hp Z28's at the drag strip and on the dyno??? They both have LS1's making similar power although I've seen more GTO's dyno in the 290's at the rear wheels than I've ever seen an Fbody, The fbodies are commonly in the 300's-310's, either way its just that GM rated the GTO about where the fbodies should have been rated along. Factory HP ratings are just round about figures of what those cars "should" be making. Some make higher, some lower. Its just to give you an idea per say.

 

But the GTO is also heavier then the F-Body, plus it has a IRS instead of a live axle.

 

It also makes about the same if not less on the dyno than an Fbody where weight and suspension play no role whatsoever. The point is, its all advertisment.

 

I thought IRS hurt dyno numbers...

 

it does hurt dyno numbers, more drivetrain loss


firehawks came with the ram aire and could come with 2otl. so basically they came "from the factory" with cai and catback