The Fastest stock 3rd Gen?

[Musclemaniac]

Allright, In the market for perferably a late 80s early 90s Z28. What was the fastest 3rd gen though camaro/bird? Now If I were to buy a Z28 Tpi 350 what would be the best mods for the car? Also is it true u can swap out the tpi intake with the lt1, whats the best way? thanxs guys.

[Commando]

i think the last models should be the fastest "latest technology", and about swaping if u want to go through the trouble don't swap into an LT1 get an LS1 engine there and it will be awesome.. there's a link about this kinda swap can be found at LS1tech site.. http://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=411887

[Red Devil]

The fastest? 1989 Turbo GTA easily, good luck finding an affordable one though. After that, the SD cars (90-up) seem to have been better and offer a wider platform for mods if you get into burning your own chips.

First changes for a TPI? That's tough. I always say subframe connectors then full exhaust. After that it depends on what you want.

I don't particularly like any of the top end so I'd go for base and runners and then port the stock heads or get some good ones, then cam and by then you'll be fully over the cool looking TPI LTR set up and then go for a miniram or converted victor jr. or something.

[Musclemaniac]

Like what Im looking for is a affordable quick car that I can put basic bolt-ons, How hard would it be to get a like 90 Z28 with auto 350 TPI into the low 14s high 13s, thats all I would need really. And can u guys just tell me some basic experience with these cars liek what problems u had or something like that, Im just trying to learn as much as i can before I go shoping. I think a all black Z28 with 3inch cowl hood all black interior and chrome 3inch tips out the back cut on 45 look sweet. I personally like the duck tail spoiler over the 3 pillar spoiler put thats me. Thanxs for replys. And one last thing is it true that the 92 and 93 Z28 had a 6-spd 350 Tpi option? This one 0-60,qrt mile site showed there was, they were doing mid 14s so thats a start, lol.

[Musclemaniac]

305 TPI 5-spd Vs. 350 TPI auto

[Red Devil]

Pick a SD 350 and toss in a vig or yank converter, add exhaust and with a decent car and tires you should get into those low 14s right off the bat.

Personally I stuck with the GTAs mostly, and I mostly went for the stock sleeper type look. I think my exhaust was the only thing apparently not stock on most of my cars. As for problems I've had/know... I'd probably have to write a service manual/ comedy to cover it all.

And no, no 92 350 6 speed cars that I know of, and 93 was the start of the dead fish. :D

[96lt1m6]

the firehawk had the vette zf-6speed!
if you have a 90-92 z28 5.7 it should run 13.9-14.1 at sea level with the proper free mods the biggest mod on a tpi car is the driver mod you have to learn these cars,no joke!the runners absolutely suck for drag racing the best mods i know is;
1.cut out the air boxes and cut the snout off the end and put the vette air tube on it
2.pulleys with 1.6 sa rockers
3.headers(heddman 1-5/8x3" col.)WORK!
4.2600-3000 STALL
5.crane afpr
6.slp runners (port the crap out of them)or go Lt1 intake www.lt1intake.com (http://www.lt1intake.com)
7.wc 5spd or t-56
8.3.42-3.73 gear
9.lca,sfc
10.custom chip from performance resources
11.drag radials stock size 245/50/16
this set up will scare the crap out of most of the silent competition cause this car will be very quiet and will run in the 12s at sea level

[Transamman25]

There was a 90's model firehawk on slp's site - dont remember how much but i remember it was affordable -

[Musclemaniac]

k, i like this feedback, the z28 1le? And heres the info I was refering too.
1993 Chevrolet Camaro Paxton GSS 350 6 spd 3.73 414@5800est n/a 5.1 13.2@111mph MT 12/94
1993 Chevrolet Camaro Paxton GSS 350 6 spd 3.73 414@5800est n/a n/a 13.08@111.84mph Car Craft 8/94
1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 350 6 spd 3.42 275@5000 325@2400 5.8 14.4@97.9mph MT 6/93
1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Callaway C8 383 6 spd 3.23 404@5750 412@4500 4.6 13.2@106.4mph MT 3/94
1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Callaway C8 383 6 spd 3.23 404@5750 412@4500 5.1 13.3@109mph C&D 3/97
1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Morrision 350 6 spd 3.73 375 est n/a n/a 13.0@109.3mph MT 2/94

Heres the site http://userweb.suscom.net/~jasonrogers/musclecarstats.htm

[Musclemaniac]

Y dident they throw in a 6-spd with the 3rd gens? Look at those numbers for the 93 that would have been nice in 92

[96lt1m6]

:werd:

[Musclemaniac]

Can u guys give me a basic idea of what is mechanically different between a 89 350tpi and a 92 350tpi in the Z28's, I see that in 89 they had like 230hp and 92 they had 245, were that 15hp come from and are these cars MAF? I know a shit load of stuff on 5.0 mustangs but idk shit on tpi's. What would be the benefits if any to buying a 92 over a late 80's? Id rather have a late 80's becuase I want the duck tail spoiler,lol.

[davesLT1]

I say 92, 350 tpi. Fastest 3rd gen( except the turbo gta ) that was made.
Could probally pick up a nice one for like 2500-4500, and a tpi car is not as complicated as a lt1 car. Rather dependable too, except the 700r.

[96lt1m6]

Can u guys give me a basic idea of what is mechanically different between a 89 350tpi and a 92 350tpi in the Z28's, I see that in 89 they had like 230hp and 92 they had 245, were that 15hp come from and are these cars MAF? I know a shit load of stuff on 5.0 mustangs but idk shit on tpi's. What would be the benefits if any to buying a 92 over a late 80's? Id rather have a late 80's becuase I want the duck tail spoiler,lol.
87/89 were the more powerful MAF cars 88 gm tried a different cam and heads(bad idea)90-92 were all Speed Density and like the previous years responded very well to mods i miss my 3rd gens,we were severly held back performance wise then the Lt1 came out etc.

[Musclemaniac]

Ok in the world of 5.o mustangs Maf is what u want speed density is something u dont want, How is this with the tpi's?

[96lt1m6]

speed density (imo) is better,the only drawback on a gm car w/sd is if you change the cam,you have to get the chip burned.MAF cars accept cam swaps a little better,should still have a custom prom but it will idle

[Musclemaniac]

Allright, now has anyone use this on there tpi's?
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&catalogIdentifier=Jegs_Direct&categoryId=15499&parentCategoryId=11175

Does that attach to the throttle body? And It prob wouldent get that cold air it would with a stock set up but what if u had a cowl hood would it then get the cold air?

[96lt1m6]

no good,that should have been sold only to street rodders with open engine bays.360* of hot air!
the best air source is to cut the factory air box where the filters sit all that area needs to go,then the neck at the boot needs to be cut about 2.5" back use the SpeedDensity corvette boot:thumbsup:
make your own cai from 1 3" u-bend and route it to the passenger fender with a good size K&N

[89gta383]

The 90-92 speed density cars were up 10hp on the 87-89 maf cars. It all depends on what you want to do with it. I would start with the 90-92 cars, but they made less of them compared to the 87-89 maf cars.

The ford maf is better because it is bigger and caught on with the aftermarket vs the gm maf. Nobody makes a non-stock maf sensor for the gm cars of that year range, and it is 2.75" in diameter stock and flows about 600 cfm. A ported maf flows about 750cfm's.

If you want high 13's, then any tpi 350 car(maf or sd) with a 2800 stall converter, homemade cold air with a k/n filter and free mods(knock down wall behind throttle body, throttle body bypass, ported maf) can get you there. Add headers, cat-back exhaust and a stealthram intake with tuning and you should run high 12's.

[Musclemaniac]

Sounds good to me, thanxs bunch guys. And how much hp is made from porting and polishing the runners and plenum on the 350 tpi cars?

[96lt1m6]

it depends on how much is done to the plenum,stock runners are not even worth the time to port all you can port is the opening about 1/2" in then you get into the thin runner itself,they are like dr.pepper cans very thin..

[Musclemaniac]

Lmao, so what to due with the runners? SLP runners ported and polished, what other options are there?

[89gta383]

I love tpi and am a diehard on the system, but it has it's limits/dollar spent.

If you don't want to get a stealthram, find some used runners on ebay, thirdgen.org or corvetteforum's c4 for sale section and port the hell out of them. I don't think they make the arizona speed and marine big tube runners anymore, and the ones from tpis and accel cost too much(around 350-400).

After you pay $400 for some big tube runners, then have them ported and have the base ported(if you aren't doing the work yourself) then you are at about $600-$700 bucks and they flow about 250-260 cfm's. The stealthram is around $600 total and they are supposed to flow 275.

If you are keeping a low gear, like a 2.73-3.23 and don't plan to rev past 5500, then stick with the stock-type runners or the superram. The key to a successful tpi combo is keeping everything below 5500 rpms.:coffee:

[Musclemaniac]

Should u set the red limiter too 5500 to make sure u stay at peak performance at wot, or would it really matter? And when u say go on ebay for runners are u talking about aftermarket runners? And is there any gains at all to porting the stock runners if there thin as it is? And one last thing I keep seeing these tpi intake foils say they're good for 10 hp, and its pretty cheap.

[Musclemaniac]

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&catalogIdentifier=Jegs_Direct&categoryId=15505&parentCategoryId=11175

[89gta383]

Look on ebay or the classifieds for used aftermarket runners, not stock ones. Like it was mentioned before, they are thin and can't take alot of porting. There is a gain to porting the stock runners in opening the mouth up to match the plenum and base if the plenum and base have been ported.

The 5500 rpm limit is the rpm limit of the longer runners. The power will flatline(stay steady) and not increase because of the runner length. If you are putting togther a combo of parts, then you need to keep this in mind so you don't pick a cam that peaks at 6500 rpm and a steep gear.

The air foils are worth maybe 5-10 horse on a stock throttle body but if you ever plan on buying an aftermarket throttle body(execept the accel one) it will already have it casted into the mouth. Go on summits website and look at the picture of a bbk 52 or 58mm throttle body and you will see what I am talking about. If you plan on keeping the stock throttle body, then get an air foil, if not, then don't. They have way cheaper air floils on ebay, do a search, I think they are like $25. Don't pay that price for that one at jegs. You can also find used ones around.

[Musclemaniac]

K, I use jegs to show the product ebay is 10 times cheaper when it comes to anything really,lol. Thanks for the info, for all I know Ill end up buying the car with all these things allready done to it, lol. And if not ill know what to due and have a plan, thanxs.

[Musclemaniac]

Is there anyway to get a duck tail spoiler on a 91-92 Z28 Im no fan of the spoilers they come with and Im shooting for a 90 cuase arnt they SD and have the duck tail spoiler I like the look and there faster stock to stock then the MAF cars so whats my options?

[burnzilla]

The fastest? 1989 Turbo GTA easily,

They where quick, but needed the boost turned up to beat a L98.
I believe the quickest third gens where the 91's and 92's, where they had around 240hp/340 tq...

Im not 100% sure...
______
Nope I just looked it up... im wrong.


The rest of the '89 Turbo Trans Am is nearly identical to the GTA in which it was based. Aluminum 16x8 wheels along with a good set of Goodyear rubber were standard equipment. The Australian Borg-Warner 9-bolt with a limited-slip differential and 3.27 gears, as well as the suspension, were also shared equipment with the GTA. However, unlike the portly GTA, the GN powertrain kept the TTA around 3,350 pounds. The superior weight distribution lent itself to increased handling, which in no way detracted from its impressive acceleration. Turbo T/As have been known to run the quarter in as fast as 13.4 seconds bone stock. That's pretty damn quick even today, but for 1989? What a rocket.

[96lt1m6]

the fastest virgin TTA i have ever seen was in 90/91 the car ran 100% stock it ran a 13.5@106 the only other f-body that was doing that was the firehawk(limited production so in my eyes the win goes to the TTA:thumbsup:

[stealthram92Z]

I have a 92 350 tpi Z28 , in stock form it ran 14.4 with 65 degree day on street tires. I put a cam , heads, stealthram on a new shortblock, 3.70 nine bolt, 2200 stahl, aluminum driveshaft , 24lb injectors , new chip, subframe connecters , headers and no cat. I haven't been to the track yet, But it pulls hard and I raced a friend of mine who has a 93 Z28 with lots of mods and I beat him pretty good. Good lick with your quest.

Les

[Firebirdjones]

I have both an 88 Iroc 350 tpi and a 97 Z-28 with the LT-1 and 6 speed. I really favor the TPI just for it's snappy response.
Mine is a low mileage original, with Hooker shorty headers and Y-pipe, and an Edelbrock cat back system, (with cat deleted) my Iroc has went a best of 13.92 at 99 mph,,,doing this with the automatic and stock 2.77 gears. Not too shabby for what it is. I ran this with a DA of 3900 feet and had stock street rubber. My 60 foot times were in the 2.10 range, very hard to launch the car without wheel spin, but I duplicated that time on several passes, and the slowest of the day was 14.02, all runs were 99 mph. TPI's get no respect but mine will run circles around my 97 Z-28, and it has the 6 speed with 3.42 gears,,,lol, and it has a few bolts ons of it's own.

I figure with more gear in the Iroc, some tuning, sticky tires, loose converter, etc...I could get it in the mid 13's or even quicker,,,,and I haven't played with the intake and runners yet. They are fun cars on the street,,,Larry.