Getting cheap power out of my SC?

1WLD BRD

Registered User
Ok guys, doing some research and looking for cheap ways to get some power out of this thing. What are the first thigs to do and possible power gains from each? and yes I am searching too. :cool:
 
First is general maintenance.

Plugs, wires, filters.

Change tranny fluid (purge the old and go to Mercon V if it's an AOD, use Mercon V if it's a 4R70W, and use the appropriate fluid for a 5 speed).

Drain and refill the differential with the appropriate fluid (many schools of thought, I'd opt for Royal Purple 75W90 with the tracloc friction modifier myself - but then, I used to work for a family member of the family that owned RP at the time in the 90's.)

Wash and wax the car.

Fill the tires to the proper pressure.

Take a water hose and blow the radiator and A/C fins out from the engine side.

Change the coolant.

I'd do all of that BEFORE I did anything else.

Oh - double-check all the suspension parts! Excessive toe-in in the back can rob you of quite a bit of horsepower, as can bad steering up front.

While doing that, be sure to double-check or replace the U-Joints. it'd be a shame to spit out the driveshaft in the middle of testing the latest upgrade :D

RwP
 
The only thing cheap when talking supercoupe is the price you can get a worn out one for nowadays.
Alan
 
Ok guys, doing some research and looking for cheap ways to get some power out of this thing. What are the first thigs to do and possible power gains from each? and yes I am searching too. :cool:

If your up to a timmies coffee and a drive to Hagersville, we can meet up and discuss some ideas... but as mentioned,

SC's and cheap in the same sentence is like mixing oil and antifreeze....

PM me.

Fraser
 
A cold air kit will help. I picked one up on eBay for $40. Underdrive pulleys, if you can find a set cheap enough on here, will help also. From that, cutting off your cats and upgrading your injectors also help.

Ray
 
i got some power out of cleaning my intercooler out. i used carb and choke cleaner. took about 3 cans. make sure your belts are good. and a good battery and alternator.
 
not sure how correct i am here but i think for every sticker you add its another 10hp, a wing is 100+hp, neon lights are around 20hp, buzz bomb muffler is 80hp, and ground effects are around 1000hp. :D
 
not sure how correct i am here but i think for every sticker you add its another 10hp, a wing is 100+hp, neon lights are around 20hp, buzz bomb muffler is 80hp, and ground effects are around 1000hp. :D

Funny guy...yes you are!
 
A cold air kit will help. I picked one up on eBay for $40. Underdrive pulleys, if you can find a set cheap enough on here, will help also. From that, cutting off your cats and upgrading your injectors also help.

Ray

Cutting off cats ain't an option up here. Running larger injectors nets you less hp on a stock setup because you make an already rich setup even more rich, like 10.0 rich or worse..... unless you get a chip to fix that.

The best bang for the buck initially is getting a 94/95 blower for the car and getting a tune and removing the resonator.

Fraser
 
Frit is slow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, kidding:p. I agree, late model blower, supporting fuel, maybe a FMIC, tune, and gears, hello 13's. Ive seen 1500bux on a sc make over 300rwhp.
 
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Nobody else thinks you need to do general maintenance first?

New style blower won't help if the plugs are overgapped due to being originals.

Just saying ...

RwP
 
do you guys change the rear end on automatics? or just 5 speed? and if so, to what would you change them to?
 
I agree with Ralph.

Maintanance first.

Synthetic oil/gear oil, good plugs, wires. FLuch cooling system and clean IC. New Belts



We talking cheap?

1) Before doing rear ger oil..Rebuild diff. Under $100 bucks yourself and so many old SC's do one wheel partial peels
2) Remove resonator. Wont sound bad with factory cats and mufflers and is very restrictive
3) Remove air silencer under air box...Its free

Id then

4) change fuel pump....old is questionable. Just get a 255lph. DO it yourself

AFter this....Then see how much you want to really spend...My advice but this will get your car running slightly better than stock
 
To enlighten all the ones telling me to do a tune up, it has less then 20000 miles on a rebuild, and I just did a tune up on it last week. tune up isnt nessesary... car already has a CAI too thanks though.

I have been talking about a newer style blower and am definatly leaning that way to begin with. Was thinking of 4.10 gears for it, but would that be overkill with the blower? or would 3.73's be best?

been thinking about getting a brand new exhaust for it, but I dont want it loud. dont like the sounds of these things loud, unless it is a loud blower... Six bangers never sound good loud IMO
 
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removing the resonator still would be the cheap way to go. The differene between that and a full exhaust power wise at a close to stock level is minimal if at all.

Being you hav ea CAI Id make sure your belts are good get a 5% sc pulley. Id have underdrive pulleys on the list as well. A fan on your IC will help as wlil a good running cooling system. Upgrading to a Kenny wagner dual Intercooler would be a good idea.

If you can get it cheap a 94-95 blower is a great upgrade as is the S port on that blower..A 255lph fuel pump is good insurance. After all of the above a tune.

Also transmission wise a good converter and shift kit will do wonders along with some 3.73's. Those items are far from cheap however. 42lb injectors along with the approprate MAF( 76mm C&L will do) and tune and youll be safe. At this point a 75mm TB if you find used isnt a bad idea. If you get internal on the engine price goes up substantially as does power.
 
Sorry about harping on the tune up and other general maintenance - nobody at this side of the screen knows, and I've seen so many folks ignore that and want to toss CAIs (hint: The ORIGINAL intake is a cold air intake, most CAIs are hot air intakes, sucking hot air from the engine bay instead of the cooler air under the front fender) , bigger MAFs, and bigger injectors - without making sure the spark plugs work first!

You can add changing pulleys to underdrive the accessories.

Also, check the "For Sale" area for when a Ken Wagner (? sorry if I got the name wrong!) dual intercooler comes around.

Get a really good tune on that box. Lonnie at Blue Oval Chips (forum name lonnie .. ) is supposed to be the hot stuff on tunes, but there's others out there also. Just be aware that the tune isn't cheap - until you compare it to, say, the price of a transmission rebuild. Then it's dirt cheap.

Beef up the cooling - make sure that the air flows properly. Take a water hose and flush the radiator and A/C condensor fins out from the engine bay side.

Automatic or 5 speed?

If automatic, 3.73 to 4.10 won't be a bad choice. If standard, I'd stick with 3.27 (due to the stiffer first gear in the 5 speed).

The late model blower will pretty much blow the cheap upgrades at that point. Most anything else, and you're getting ready to lay some bucks down (replace tranny and converter for the automatic with, say, a DirtyD0g or SilverFox 4R70W with, say, the Baumanator to drive it - and a 3800 to 5000 stall torque converter.)

Someone who's actually run new exhaust on a SC can chime in here, but I'd also look at the Mandrel Exhaust Systems ( www.mandrelexhaustsystems ) offering for the rear true-duals exhaust and use a X-style muffler in the front, with custom exhaust to the X-muffler.

RwP
 
where do you get them? never swapped them. will i be able to get the idea so to speak? or is it challenging?

Any 8.8" Ford gear set will work. On my 93 I used lightweight Ford factory gears and had them installed by a transmission repair shop. I think the job is going to be very challenging to do in your garage. I suggest removing the pumpkin and taking it to a shop with the correct tools and experince.

You may also want to take a look in the classified section, because there are often complete pumpkins for sale with the gears already installed.

David
 
Ok guys, doing some research and looking for cheap ways to get some power out of this thing. What are the first thigs to do and possible power gains from each? and yes I am searching too. :cool:

I would start with what RalphP said and tune it up. I would not go 4.10s on the rear if you have a Auto, too steep. 3.73s will as David say make the car feel 500lbs lighter. Another change I would make is the Lentech valve body in the tranny. About 350 bucks but will turn the granny shifts in to sharp crisp shifts & you can install yourself if you have any mechanic skill at all. Car starts to shift like a performance car and not grandma's grocery getter. A better blower, usually in the parts forum are available and bolt right on. Hard to pin a HP increase number on anything you add as everyone has an opinion. You have to decide on how much you want to spend and what level of HP you will have once you are satisfied. Most gearheads here, myself included are never satisfied with what they have HP wise;) and it goes on and on.

Ken
 
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