Most for the Money

[#1stunner]

i got 1400 laying around and am curious, what is the most Hp I can get for It?
The vette is a 1988 auto L98 coupe. If you could list some $ w/ the products website it would nice. I know Tpis make quality stuff. Thanks.

 

[garycr14]

$1400

I would think for $1400 you may want to look at a cat back exhaust, long tube headers if legal in your state, K&N air filter, and open air cleaner lid, larger throtle body & MAF. That should wipe that out, asssuming you do the install yourself. Another direction would be to change your rear end gears to maybe 3.73. It depends on what type of driving you want to do with your car.

 

[Tuna]

Without going into the motor, the biggest single HP improvement seems to be the exhaust. Too bad CORSA doesn't make an L98 system.

 

[kenwa]

1.6 roller rockers will get you 15 horses for $300. You should probably change the valve springs too. That's another $100.

Ken

 

[Mad-Mic]

read my website here http://www.cardomain.com/id/madmic and you can see what i've done but i have only maybe 500 in mods and bout ready to dip into the 12's

before you start throwing money into your car ask yourself these questions:

is it a daily driver?

do i want to mod it for drag racing or just for street?

then make a plan of action and do your homework!

BTW 3.73's are WAY too much gear for a L98 vette. most you want is 3.33's. our max torque is below 3000 rpm and HP dives off at 4400 rpm. if you had a LT1 car 3.73's would be optimal.

my suggestion would be ZZ9 cam, 1.6 RR's, new springs, port your plenum, AS&M runners with a big mouth base. that should wipe your 1400 out. if you got some extra cash long tube headers, 3000 stall, and muffler elims.

cheap mods would be K&N filter, cut lid, MAF descreened, TB Bypass, Accel Super Coil with added timing, Muffler Eliminator's, and gutted cat depending if you need to smog the car. you can get the above cheap mods for less than 300 bucks.

 

[-=Jeff=-]

BTW 3.73's are WAY too much gear for a L98 vette. most you want is 3.33's. our max torque is below 3000 rpm and HP dives off at 4400 rpm. if you had a LT1 car 3.73's would be optimal.
.

Actually I think 3.54s would work well in the L98 as well.

 

[BigRed]

I think

TPiS Miniram
Computer Chip
Hack out the Cat Converters and add a resonator
K&N Filter
Cut-Out Filter box
Descreen Maf
Adjustable Fuel Pressure Reg

Or

MSD Ignition
Computer Chip
(The Intake stuff)
Cat Converters
New High flow Cat back system

 

[Skant]

*Darth Vader voice impression* Do not underestimate the power of the Dark..rrrr... gearing.

The tradeoff in gearing is an obvious one... you're trading freeway revs, freeway gas mileage, and (in most cases) top speed for harder acceleration. The conversion is very direct.

If you go for (for instance) a 20% lower gear ratio than you have now, your car will pull 20% harder in 1st gear. Your gears will be 20% closer to eachother (RPM ranges won't be altered, but distance between the gears in mph will be).

Compare the cost of the gear change against the cost of 20% more horsepower.

And you can choose ratio changes greater than 20%... doesn't cost any more.

The main limit on this is that gearing can easily cause your acceleration in 1st gear to exceed the limits of traction. Which is more of a problem on the L98 than the LT1/LT4 as I understand it.

Most people are surprised by how much difference gearing will make... it's a little weird to feel so much more power in the car even though the power plant itself hasn't improved. However, the tradeoffs you're paying for it are also rather obvious.

- Skant

 

[Mad-Mic]

*Darth Vader voice impression* Do not underestimate the power of the Dark..rrrr... gearing.

The tradeoff in gearing is an obvious one... you're trading freeway revs, freeway gas mileage, and (in most cases) top speed for harder acceleration. The conversion is very direct.

If you go for (for instance) a 20% lower gear ratio than you have now, your car will pull 20% harder in 1st gear. Your gears will be 20% closer to eachother (RPM ranges won't be altered, but distance between the gears in mph will be).

Compare the cost of the gear change against the cost of 20% more horsepower.

And you can choose ratio changes greater than 20%... doesn't cost any more.

The main limit on this is that gearing can easily cause your acceleration in 1st gear to exceed the limits of traction. Which is more of a problem on the L98 than the LT1/LT4 as I understand it.

Most people are surprised by how much difference gearing will make... it's a little weird to feel so much more power in the car even though the power plant itself hasn't improved. However, the tradeoffs you're paying for it are also rather obvious.

- Skant

yes thats true but i can attest to my 2.59 geared car that i can't get ANY traction on the street stalled up or flashing the stall. i gotta baby her out of the hole 1/4 throttle then roll on her and i'm still spinning out of the hole. at the track, depending on track prep, i usually don't spin at all. i took rrubel for a ride once and he said after i launched on the street "You don't need anymore gear you can't hook up now!" and that was before my long tube header install

 

[CKA_Racing]

Mad-Mic,
I hear ya on the gear thing. Had the same issue on my 91 L98 2.59 rear. The L98 and LT1/4 have different characteristics. I would not go beyond 3.54 gears for a mostly stock L98 TPI.