i have an 85 gsl-se can anyone tell me a good place to start adding horse power?
08-06-09, 10:38 PM
#2
Actin Like I'm Drunk
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08-06-09, 10:44 PM
#3
so helpful...jesus...
Look man it all depends on what you want to do to the car and how far you want to go...
Do you want to go mild with some bolt on's? or do you want to go wild? or do you want to do a complete extreme make over???
Give us more feed back
Look man it all depends on what you want to do to the car and how far you want to go...
Do you want to go mild with some bolt on's? or do you want to go wild? or do you want to do a complete extreme make over???
Give us more feed back
08-11-09, 03:17 PM
#6
84SE-EGI helpy-helperton
Here are some starting points, and these are going in order of cost/benefit;
Diet - ($0) - Weight on you and your car has to be sped up, slowed down, and turned around corners. Take out your boombox, your tool chest, your girlfriend, and your 80's collection of cassette tapes; we all know your stock Clarion stereo doesn't work anymore, anyway...
Intake system cleaning ($10) - SeaFoam; live it. Put it in your fuel, spray it in your intake vacuum lines and learn to love the smell. It will clean up your fuel injectors, the air paths, and even might free up your '6'-ports. If you're handy, get in there with a 10mm wrench and remove your Upper Intake Manifold and clean out those '6'-ports yourself, that's worth a few HP if they're working correctly, the same few if they're wired open or closed.
Gear oil ($20) - when was the last time you changed your transmission gear oil? When it gets old, it doesn't lubricate as well, and can cause frictional losses in the tranny and rear end. If you do the LSD diff, be sure to get the GM slip additive or you'll toast your LSD (another $5).
Intake Air Filter ($40) - Get yourself a K&N or similar free-flowing air filter. The stock ones work great at keeping stuff out, including air. Keep it clean and oiled.
Plugs, Cap, Rotor ($50) - this is a tune-up. Replace plugs for better/hotter spark, Cap and Rotor to carry the current.
Plug Wires ($20-50+) - these carry the current, so worth replacing old ones for higher quality. Get the ones with electrical suppressors installed, unless you like the sound of radio tachometer buzz.
E-fan ($50 or parts yard - look for 1st Gen MR2 fans) - removes friction from the eccentric shaft and frees up rotational energy to go to the transmission and tires.
Alignment ($40) - with a bad alignment, the tires are scraping sideways for every mile you drive - convert that energy into straight line performance and free up horsepower.
Now you're past the simple, easy stuff, and onto more expensive 'projects';
Tires/Wheels ($300+ for rubber, sky's the limit) - Tires are where the rubber meets the road, literally. Your car will only be as fast as your tires can maintain traction, so get good ones.
Exhaust ($400, recommend Racing Beat header, presilencer, and muffler) - This is likely the single biggest performance improvement you can see and feel, and the most bang for the buck. It's not cheap, but will free up 25-30 HP in one fell swoop. Not worth doing, until you've done all the other stuff, above.
MSD 6A electronic ignition ($300+)- Again, not worth doing until you have your car running REALLY well. This will get the spark even hotter and for a longer duration for better performance and fuel economy. Small improvement in HP, but the exhaust note will change because it's more efficient.
MSD Blaster Coils (x2) $60, as part of the improvement, above (MSD 6A) - Hotter spark. Your stock coils will work with the MSD 6A box for awhile, but if you want max performance, upgrade coils at the same time.
Intake swaps (S5 from 86+ FC's) ($$$) - You'll need the wiring harness, the ECU for fuel, and now you're up to 4 fuel injectors instead of just 2. The complete intake will be a bolt-on installation, but the wiring will give you fits. Performance is worth about another 15 HP or so...
Turbo (TII swap) - ($$$$$$$$$$) - Front Mount Intercooler, big *** vanes and a whine that would make Paris Hilton jealous. If you get to this point, you don't need my advice anymore.
Much more beyond that, but you're getting into serious money, time, and effort. This should be a good enough start that you can get a feel for how far you want to get into it. HTH, and welcome aboard,
Diet - ($0) - Weight on you and your car has to be sped up, slowed down, and turned around corners. Take out your boombox, your tool chest, your girlfriend, and your 80's collection of cassette tapes; we all know your stock Clarion stereo doesn't work anymore, anyway...
Intake system cleaning ($10) - SeaFoam; live it. Put it in your fuel, spray it in your intake vacuum lines and learn to love the smell. It will clean up your fuel injectors, the air paths, and even might free up your '6'-ports. If you're handy, get in there with a 10mm wrench and remove your Upper Intake Manifold and clean out those '6'-ports yourself, that's worth a few HP if they're working correctly, the same few if they're wired open or closed.
Gear oil ($20) - when was the last time you changed your transmission gear oil? When it gets old, it doesn't lubricate as well, and can cause frictional losses in the tranny and rear end. If you do the LSD diff, be sure to get the GM slip additive or you'll toast your LSD (another $5).
Intake Air Filter ($40) - Get yourself a K&N or similar free-flowing air filter. The stock ones work great at keeping stuff out, including air. Keep it clean and oiled.
Plugs, Cap, Rotor ($50) - this is a tune-up. Replace plugs for better/hotter spark, Cap and Rotor to carry the current.
Plug Wires ($20-50+) - these carry the current, so worth replacing old ones for higher quality. Get the ones with electrical suppressors installed, unless you like the sound of radio tachometer buzz.
E-fan ($50 or parts yard - look for 1st Gen MR2 fans) - removes friction from the eccentric shaft and frees up rotational energy to go to the transmission and tires.
Alignment ($40) - with a bad alignment, the tires are scraping sideways for every mile you drive - convert that energy into straight line performance and free up horsepower.
Now you're past the simple, easy stuff, and onto more expensive 'projects';
Tires/Wheels ($300+ for rubber, sky's the limit) - Tires are where the rubber meets the road, literally. Your car will only be as fast as your tires can maintain traction, so get good ones.
Exhaust ($400, recommend Racing Beat header, presilencer, and muffler) - This is likely the single biggest performance improvement you can see and feel, and the most bang for the buck. It's not cheap, but will free up 25-30 HP in one fell swoop. Not worth doing, until you've done all the other stuff, above.
MSD 6A electronic ignition ($300+)- Again, not worth doing until you have your car running REALLY well. This will get the spark even hotter and for a longer duration for better performance and fuel economy. Small improvement in HP, but the exhaust note will change because it's more efficient.
MSD Blaster Coils (x2) $60, as part of the improvement, above (MSD 6A) - Hotter spark. Your stock coils will work with the MSD 6A box for awhile, but if you want max performance, upgrade coils at the same time.
Intake swaps (S5 from 86+ FC's) ($$$) - You'll need the wiring harness, the ECU for fuel, and now you're up to 4 fuel injectors instead of just 2. The complete intake will be a bolt-on installation, but the wiring will give you fits. Performance is worth about another 15 HP or so...
Turbo (TII swap) - ($$$$$$$$$$) - Front Mount Intercooler, big *** vanes and a whine that would make Paris Hilton jealous. If you get to this point, you don't need my advice anymore.
Much more beyond that, but you're getting into serious money, time, and effort. This should be a good enough start that you can get a feel for how far you want to get into it. HTH, and welcome aboard,
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08-11-09, 05:05 PM
#8
FB=OS Giken LSD
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1). What is your overall goal?
2). What is your budget?
3). What are you going to be doing with the car?
Without that info I would say get a 20b, a T-88, standalone ECU, and go insane!
2). What is your budget?
3). What are you going to be doing with the car?
Without that info I would say get a 20b, a T-88, standalone ECU, and go insane!
08-12-09, 11:27 AM
#11
84SE-EGI helpy-helperton
thunkrd - is that *all* you have to add to this thread?
How about offering up some constructive and useful suggestions to the OP instead?
Yeah, thanks for your contribution.
How about offering up some constructive and useful suggestions to the OP instead?
Yeah, thanks for your contribution.
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