Originally I was thinking I wanted to do forced induction, but now I'm thinking I'd rather have controllable power for daily driver and power at strip. I don't want to kill mileage but want more power. So this sounded like nos to me. But then I started thinking, I don't even have heads yet. My question is, with price in mind, what order would you upgrade the engine? It has cam, intake, headers, carb... Or maybe I can get some junkyard heads that would be a big step up and do nos too? If anyone has ideas about cost numbers and concerns with any (like nos) please make those comments known as well.
you need to look at the whole car not just the motor for power. if you makes lots of power but cant put it to the ground its only good for tire smoke. i like to prepare the car for power first. a limited slip differential in the rear end makes a huge difference in traction. having higher stall speed torque converter really helps get the car accelerating out of the hole. also the trans needs to be i good shape or even up graded to be able to take the power. as for the motor, a nitrous system is a fun way to go but filling bottles gets old and expensive fast. the first thing i would do is get a decent set of cylinder heads on the motor. a 4bbl intake and exhaust system will help allot.
Id go with Bryant on this. But ....How many miles on the motor? What motor is it? What kind of money can you spend? Gears in the rear. good trans. Good heads. Good intake and carb. Headers? What size tubes? If you were going to NOS the motor without doing some work elsewhere it will just wear out our Frag. All of the things I have learned from the Guys here will not go up in flames. But then again whats a little fun without some heat?
i am just goin to piggyback on the question. i have a 1992 5.0 engine with efi and mild cam. I am looking to add heads also seeing how that is the best bang for my buck. which heads are a good upgrade iron or aluminum?
Personally I would think that iron GT40 heads are good for a street car. They flow well comparatively speaking at a low cost depending on the market in your area. My car U can see in my signature. Its not much over stock really, but its a lot of fun on the street. Cant see why I would want anymore power in a street car at the cost of drivability. It really does depend on your budget though. If your going to the work of swapping heads is it worth it to stick with iron or spend the bucks and go to a better flowing and lighter alum head? Its a personal choice. OF course the rest of teh car has to make use of the heads you install.
I plan on going with boost. I considered nitros but with a blower or turbo the bottle never runs dry and it's there when you want it. It can be built to make good power and still be very drivable.
By any chance do you know how much horsepower you are putting out and what are your quarter mile times?
No idea on HP. Cant be much with ported E7 heads. Seat of the pants though its fun. 4:11's work really well in this car for me. I do know the car ran a best of 11:89 on a 125 shot for svopro that built the drivetrain originally before I bought the car. IT ran a 13.20 with wheel spin and no bottle when I bought it. I would think its a 13 even car if it hooks. MAybe bust into the 12's if I get lucky or find a better driver.LOL. It really doesnt matter to me anyhow. Its a great driving street car that sounds a lot faster than it really is to the untrained ear. ITs no slouch mind you and was built to take a bottle for street racing in Detroit originally. It has a neat history this car. You dont need a ton of power in these little cars. Dont over do it would be my advice. I did that with my first Mav and got sick of it pretty quick on the street. I find this car to be a happy median for me.
I ran a 150 shot on a stock motor like yours, worse thing that happened was blown head gaskets. But I got greedy with the timing. If you'll stud the heads & make sure they're true the bottom end will live just fine under occational use. Main rule of nitrous use- follow the directions for fuel and timing! Those heads should be E7s, they work well with some port work on the exhaust side. My car went from 14.33 to 12.40 w/ a 150 shot. And it ran fine on 87 octane when just riding around although I did run 93 when on the bottle. Like was said earlier, work the car over too. I had a 3500 stalled fresh c4, headers w 2.25" dual exhaust and a 3.55 rear. BTW, this was in a 3300 lb '75 4dr car.
i would go with a good set of aluminum heads. the afr's have had great results lately. the 185s seem to be perfect for a performance street strip motor. just doing heads will hold you back from allot power with the stock efi intake and cam. i would find an explorer intake, cobra intake, or gt40 intake. also you would want a 65mm or larger throttlebody. also a larger mass air meter. i only use pro-m meters. lastly you will need bigger fuel injectors most like 42lb ones will be best. this combo should get you close to 400hp. a few other things to do are a cam and roller rockers.
thanks bryant this is the best info i've heard. close to 400h will be more then enough and super fun to drive. just waiting on the mail man with my tax check now. lol
dont forget the little things like gaskets, oil and coolant. also its a good idea to get new head bolts at the same time.
