Hey All. I've been toying with the idea of selling my Cavy and getting a Camaro, but it seems more and more impractical or more and more like a bad idea every time I think about it. The main factor being that, my car just runs too damn good to sell for something that could potentially be a lemon. 145k miles and counting, and still runs like a champion. Check out my profile for the mods I currently have on the car. Nothing crazy, but it basically comes down to: Intake, Muffler, and a Front Strut Brace and 1" Rear Sway Bar. I like how the car handles but I'd like a little more go without going bankrupt.
I will have a nice job working tons of hours retail this summer, giving me a chance to hopefully spend a paycheck or two on some engine upgrades for my car
I understand making my car go faster will cost me money, and I'm willing to do so, but I'm a little lost as to what I should do first.
First of all, my front brakes are nearing 30k miles on them. They feel fine right now, and stop like they should, but I'm wondering how often I should change my brakes. I heard 30k somewhere but I'd just like to make sure. As for power upgrades, I've read and gathered a few ideas, but I'm not sure what I should do first, or what would be most beneficial on an otherwise STOCK LD9. Supercharger is too expensive, and a turbo is way to much work and money, besides the fact that I wouldn't really care for a turbo. So far I've thought of these parts that don't sound too expensive,but what do I know?
- 2.3 Camshafts (Secret Cams? Right? lol)
- Lightened Crankshaft?
- 2.3 Oil Pump (Explain to me why these are better).
- High Compression Pistons?
- Headers?
I'm kind of at a loss here. No idea where I should start or what would give me the best gains.I just want a little more go, a little more acceleration. Lightened pulleys seem useless btw, please don't suggest those unless you can prove they're actually beneficial. Also one more quick question.Does removing the Air Resonator (that plastic box connected to the throttle body and my intake) do anything? What do I do with that weird crankshaft vent line thing?
Thanks In Advance,
Alcolawl
the 2.3 oil pump allows you to remove your balance shafts... its about 6 lbs rotational and 15 lbs total mass reduced. Secret cams are good if you want to go mild performance... match them with a pacesetter header, and get tuned
If you are going to go high comp pistons and the oil pump swap... i suggest clevite 77 bearings, forged rods, and knife edge 3-5 lbs off the crank. I'd also suggest a full p&p on the head as well as HO cams, and the HO Intake mani. At that point you'll want a long tube header such as Ron's header...
Of course now you're looking at around $5000 in to your motor...
Hmmm. Well they don't pay me THAT well at Nike haha. $5000 is rough, I still have food, booze, and an apartment to pay for. Anyways, The benefit of removing my balance shafts is rotational mass? Any drawbacks? And where would Secret Cams put me power wise? I've read that I have to relocate my power steering pump though. Is it just to my exhaust camshaft? Or more complicated than that? I've also heard that the exhaust end of this motor is quite.. restrictive. Headers would help with this, right?
as far as i know, there aren't drawbacks... (besides extra engine vibrations)... also the 2.3 oil pump can rev higher than 6200 rpms. the 2.4 oil pump will start cavitating the oil above 6200...
If you do secret cams correctly, you will not have to do anything with your ps pump... the 95 2.3 intake cam has the ps hex already in the cam. If you go HO cams, you'll need to modify the intake cam and the 2.4 intake cam housing. with a good tune... Secret cams could unlock up to 30 whp...
As for the restrictive exhaust, a port and polish of the head will open it up... the header is mainly designed to reduce exhaust scavenging (where exhaust gases get sucked back in to the cyls)
Hmmm. These secret cams are starting to sound perfect price and performance wise. Now the trouble is finding them for sale some where. The pump is still a maybe for me. Can anyone answer what the point is of removing the air resonator? And what to do with the crankcase ventilation line that runs into it?
my oil/air separator is still on the car... the oil side still runs to the timing chain housing, while the air side dumps to atmosphere...
or are you talking about the big black box above the throttle body?... in which, in that case, it is there to quiet intake noise...
Yep! that's the box. I grabbed a cheapo intake on ebay that attaches to that box instead of going directly into the throttle body. But I'm considering buying one that goes directly into the throttle body and removes that black air box. I noticed there's a line that's connected to that box, and when I disconnected it there was a bit of oil in the line. I assumed that it was the crankcase vent to burn off the fumes.
thats from the oil air separator... it does suck at its job... they all have a bit of oil in that line... like i said, i have it dumping to atmosphere... i rather not have oil burning in my combustion chamber
I also replaced the oil air separator many years ago... the brand new one from GM put just as much oil in to that black box as the originial
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, February 21, 2012 6:38 PM
Alright that seems pretty easy to do, This black air box, I'm guessing, is restrictive because it muffles the sound of the intake? So in theory, removing it would result in a slight gain in performance due to less restrictive airflow. Correct?
kyle is just wanna make sure i got this right..when you say you have it running to the atmosphere your just taking the hose and unhooking it or what?
the hose that is supposed to go in to the intake tube, is now faced straight down, and the oil/air mixture is dropping below the engine... its not the most EPA friendly thing, but right now, i run a filter straight off my throttle body.. .
I'm surprised noone said thus, but upgrade the fuel pump too. Especially if it is original. I say go with the Racetronix fuel pump and harness upgrade.
Currently #4 in Ecotec Forced Induction horsepower ratings. 505.8 WHP 414WTQ!!!
Currently 3rd quickest Ecotec on the .org - 10.949 @ 131.50 MPH!!!
hahahahaha this may sound funny..but.....i am still using the stock fuel pump in my cav lol
Something to add to the intake side of this is that if you upgrade to HO intakeyou will not have the intake silencer at all, you'd be going with custom piping to the bumper/stock filter location anyway. the factory "s" pipe will work if I remember correctly. I'm still waiting for a HO to show up in one of the local yards so I don't have to pay premium on here... lol
Theres a few threads here and over on Q4F to look into for the HO swaps. that could be a nice weekend job for you.
scott (section8cav) wrote:hahahahaha this may sound funny..but.....i am still using the stock fuel pump in my cav lol
im on the stock pump as well
That's what i thought you meant but i was just double checking ha
im wanting to kid rid of the annoying black box...not to mention i hate how it looks..
I spoke to a friend back in NY that happens to be getting his car tuned at the shop right now. I've heard the name of this shop tossed around a few times and it really seems like they're a good shop to go to. I told him about how I was considering camming my engine, and that I needed a tune. The next day when my friend went to check the progress of his car, he asked how much it'd cost for a tune for what I'd like to do. $600.... That's a little steep, I didnt think it'd be that much.. Does that sound right? or is this guy full of @!#$?
my tuner charged me 250... one time payment and that included licensing my pcm with HPT... he's come out and street tuned it a few times
Mystic02VA (GME Chat) wrote:my tuner charged me 250... one time payment and that included licensing my pcm with HPT... he's come out and street tuned it a few times
Yeah.. See? That's more in the ballpark of what I thought I was gonna pay. I'll have to start looking around I guess. How is the car gonna run with the 2.3 Cams in it BEFORE it gets tuned?
that i don't know... i upgraded my injectors when i put in the .430 .222 cams and the injector constant was changed before first start up...
Mystic02VA (GME Chat) wrote:scott (section8cav) wrote:hahahahaha this may sound funny..but.....i am still using the stock fuel pump in my cav lol
im on the stock pump as well
I plan on sticking with the stock pump on my turbo build as well unless afrs tell me otherwise.
