first performance measures?

[Crows89RS]

Hey guys. I just want to say that this is a great site, I've been looking for a long time for a site for V6's. I was referred here by someone at fbody.com. Anyways, I have about $1500 dollars saved up and I want my 1989 2.8L Camaro RS to get a little beefier. I've been debating over the past weeks whether or not I should sell it and go for a V8 LT1 or just to stick with it and get it movin'. I've decided I'm going to keep my V6 and attempt to mod it a little. What do you all think would be good ideas for mods? I've already got 2.5" Dynomax Duals (Not true dual, but it's got the Y pipe), basically about to order headers, but what else would be a good idea? I've been looking at cold air intake systems, and I trashed the turbocharger idea since there are no kits made for me and I don't know shit about fabricating pipes and stuff, if that is what it would take to get one to work in my car. Should I get forged pistons to give me a little room for HP addage? Intake manifold? Just a little help guys. Thanks a lot. Have a good day.

Brett

[geoffinbc]

What are your goals in the end? Do you want something to just move you through the city and along the highway. Or do you need something to really haul ass?

If you need a driver then keep the 660 mod it and have fun with whatever you do.

If you really need to move then sell it and go for the V8. Not only is it a bigger starting point but the support and aftermarket for a V8 is overwhelming.

I know the guys here might piss and moan at me but what im saying is reality. For the dollar the V8 will win.

[Crows89RS]

Ok thanks man. I'm looking to get her in at least the high 14's by the end of highschool. Is this even feasible for my car without major adjustements to the drivetrain and transmission? Thanks man. I personally think it'd be a pretty cool car if it was only a 2.8 and running high 14's. Thanks a lot

[Doubt_Incarnate]

you can get the crank and pistons (on the rods) used for a 3.1 camaro in a yard cheap im guessing, that would swap right in for a nice displacement increase. longer stroke better torgue. but if your not wanting to pull the motor out, that may be dificult.

[geoffinbc]

Nitrous will put that thing into the 14's

But anything short of forced induction wont get you into the 14's.

[Crows89RS]

Well . . . wouldn't I have to get new pistons and stuff because the nitrous would blow that shit apart since they're so weak?

About the pistons, it's not possible to get to them without taking the engine out, eh?

And finally, would anyone know anything about fabricating something that involved a turbo so it would be able to fit my engine. I'm thinking that after I get all my original shit upgraded, I'll put some nitrous in there, although the thought of spraying scares teh shit out of me, like, wondering if it will blow up my engine or something. Thanks guys.

[SappySE107]

so weak? guess again. as long as your fueling is good and your spark advance is in order, you can run a 100 shot easily.

[Crows89RS]

I'm sort of a nitrous "noob." I'm still going to build up on it a little bit I suppose. I think the pistons/rods sounds like a good jumping off point if I can get some from a yard for cheap.

[Doubt_Incarnate]

i dont know how dificult it would be to do an in car rebuild on the motor, the biggest problem would be to get the clutch/flywheel off while the tranny is still there. or the torque converter if its an auto. if you can swap the crank for a 3.1 crank, you'd need the 3.1 pistons for the camaro as well, you'd end up with a 3.1L with an 8.5:CR which is fine for boost in the future if you read up and go that way. but like stated above, without boost of some sort 14's are sort of hard to obtain, maybe if you found a 3.4 motor to swap, but your not interested in swapping a v6 in. maximizing your displacement is about the biggest thing you can do right off, then a cam, and the headers would do some good. maybe if you swapped in the upper intake from a 3.4 camaro, youd get a little more power in the upper part of the tach. a lighter flywheel if you can find one, and under drive pulleys if availible. and your probably gonna have to do some gears in the rear end to get 14's. over all the work to make a 660 camaro perofrm like a v8 would be a lot of work, better of doing the v8 thing.

[geoffinbc]

Why is he ending up with 8.5 compression with 3.1L crank and pistons?

[Doubt_Incarnate]

i thought that rwd 3.1 applications had 8.5:1. im not 100% sure, im not even certian of the ground i walk on anymore. if i'm wrong make fun of me, they do it at work.

[geoffinbc]

Its 9:1

[Doubt_Incarnate]

9:1 didnt calculate out in ddk2, it gave me 8.39. if you use the 12cc from the family tree with the 50cc chamber it gives you less.

[Crows89RS]

labor for an engine swap would be overwhelming. i don't have the garage, tools nor knowledge to do an engine swap. If i was to do an engine swap though I'd just go for a 350 LT1 or LS1, depending on price, if V6 3.8L was cheaper, I'd for for that. 3.4L is my last choice right now I suppose. I've found a bunch of cheap 350 blocks and I have thought of building one up, but I don't have that kind of money.

Yeah, so I suppose I'll just go down to a couple of salvage yards after school tomorrow and see what I can find. Hopefully a complete 3.1 that I can just pull parts from. thanks for the help guys. and to end, would any of you happen to know if anyone could or if it is even possible to fabricate a way for a turbocharger to fit on my car? thanksss

[Doubt_Incarnate]

for a turbo setup your better off cruising around the f-body forums, if you cant find any help there you can search here if i remember somone has done it and wanted to try and put kits together. if i can find the thread i'll post a link.