zephyr07

iTrader: (2)

I see alot of members' signatures with porting listed as one of the mods. How much power difernece would this make and about how much would a shop charge to do it? My 84 FB has 74k miles stock intake stock manifold, bonez exhaust system from the manifold to the catback, while the catback is stock. The car also has ngk plugwires and 4 point plugs that I bought it with, (not sure if they would offer any performance gain). Just wondering what the most effective way to make more power would be on a budget, the car could use a little more low-end power and just more all-around is always nice. Thanks for advice

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

Porting is the next step in the budget field behind the basic stuff, carb, ignition, exhaust, rasts nest removal, e-fan, front mount oil cooler. Depending on what type of port and the size of the port, the power and powerband will differ greatly. A shop can charge a good price or be really expensive depending on who you go to. Where at in WV are you?

zephyr07

iTrader: (2)

I'm in Wheeling, WV. What improvements do you usually make to the carb and ignition? Also I'm not exactly sure what the rat's nest is and the benefit of removing it. By e-fan do you mean switching the pulley-driven fan to one using electricity? Could be totally wrong there. And if the oil cooler is already mounted up front as your post seems to say, what place could be better for maximum air flow?

rOtAryIsbEttEr

dis some good stuff ahahaha!
read everything twice. when i did i wasnt high and i think it madke my brain grew

http://www.yawpower.com/techindx.html

zephyr07

iTrader: (2)

That was a good article rotaryisbetter, interesting how at low rpm some fuel is pulled back into the intake, and at high the inertia pushes more in.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

Well assuming you still have the old beehive oil cooler(sits right under the oil filter) going with a 2nd Gen front mount oil cooler will be greatly beneficial. The rats nest is the clutter of vacuum hoses and solenoids that mainly function for emissions purposes. If you don't need to run emissions you can toss all this as well as the air pump and catyletic converter. Running a better ignition like the 2nd Gen Direct Fire ignition is alot better than the standard FB ignition. Much smoother and better fuel economy are also good benefits. Running a modified Nikki or even going with a Webber or Holly carburetor with give better performance with adequite fuel system mods. Freeing up the exhaust is very crutial as the FB exhaust is very restrictive. An e-fan is an electric fan as opposed to the clutch fan. Wheeling is a quite a few hours from me. I'm in Hagerstown, MD. If you're ever in the area, Send a PM we can meet up

PaulFitzwarryne

Porting certainly increases power. Starting with the stock 12A 100hp you can add bolt-on modifications to give up to 150hp. The restriction then is the size of the intake and exhaust ports. These can be increased by various steps. Streetport gives you 180hp, half bridge 220hp, full bridge 240, PP 300hp.

Each increase in port size gives you more power but less useability for normal driving plus increased fuel, noise and pollution. The cost of cutting the ports is cheap say $300 to $500 but to do it requires a full engine stripdown with high labor costs. Plus each step requires more expensive components to take advantage of the available power.

Going down the first step, just using bolt-on modifications, is relatively cheap. I suggest the progression in bang for bucks, is performance header, upgraded exhaust/ muffler, modified carb[at this stage a modified Nikki is adequate]. The rats nest is the pollution equipment sitting on the top of the housing. Taking it off and getting rid of the air pump will give you around 5hp gain.

If the engine is in good condition another option is to add a turbo.A rough estimate is $1,000 using the existing Nikki carb, more if you add a high performance carb. You will still need an improved header/exhaust but around $2,000 all-up budget will double your power.

The two first steps are to decide what use you want from the car, than how much money you can afford to spend. The next step is go search on this forum as there are volumes of good advice available at the touch of the search button.

zephyr07

iTrader: (2)

There's an FC a couple houses up the street that hasn't run for years, maybe the guy would sell me the oil cooler or maybe even the whole car? Could be a cool restoration. Of the modifications you've mentioned, which do you think make the biggest diffrence, though I know they'd work best all together. I've never been to MD, but I'll take you up on the offer if I ever drive the 7 through. Also, does your 7 really slay firebirds, and if so, 8 cylinder firebirds or only 6? Just wondering

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

The story behind the name is my buddy had a V-6 Firebird a while back and thought he was all big and bad about it so I smoked him like he wa sstanding still. Once it's done though, there wont be many, if any, Firebirds, V-8 or V-6, that will be able to keep up with me