Help me Spend my Money on a SuperCoupe Not a Ricer

DTS

Registered User
Heres the Deal,

I am considering a few cars. The other two are Japanease cars, and would require swaps. I have always liked the XR7, and Supercoupe and I have one question.

My main concern is speed, I am farily familer with the technical aspects of the supercoupe, and a nice clean looking car. in the 1989-1993 Style.

I would have around $5000 dollars to spend on the swap on the other cars,

If i were to spend that cash (not including the price of the car) what am i going to be Running in 1/4 mile times. And what parts am i going to be buying. :confused:

Thanks
Scott
 
well

The basis for all power modification on these cars starts with an exhaust system. They have a unique aspect which makes some peticular mods on this car produce more than on a similar N/A vehicle; and thats the supercharged forced air induction. I think for around that price, your best bet would be bolt ons improvind air flow in and out of the engine, in addition to the necessary fuel system upgrades to support it. The stock bottom end of the engine has been known to handle up to 300 horsepower, and I believe thats enough to put a good driver into the low 13s high 12s. Because of the supercharger & ohv engine, these cars also have ample torque, even as you reduce backpressure.

As for how far 5k will go, this will depend greatly on you. If you are capable of buying the parts and doing all work yourself (this forum goes a long way to help with that); it will obviously be much cheaper than if you had to pay for labor. It also depends on which parts you buy & in what order. As I stated previously, an exhaust (resonator, cats, catback) should always be your first power mod in this car.

Others will be able to give you estimates of power increase for 5k based on the most efficient path of modification. I suspect it will deal mostly with exhaust, intake, fuel system, blower upgrades, cooling system, and bolt ons for that price.

A 5 speed w/ stock clutch can handle the advancement if you avoid power or speed shifting; an auto will likely require upgrades to realize the most potential.

Sometimes if you look long enough you can find very nice cars for sale at good prices with a significant investment already made.

They are very fun cars :)
 
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Thankyou for your reply,

Yes I am mechanically inclined and I would plan on doing all of the work my self. As far as the tranny goes...definatly a 5 speed.
 
Hmmmm.......Spend your money wisely and completely research all performance items you are considering fully before purchasing and you could have a pretty stout SC. All depends on your goals for the car.
What did you have in mind?
What kind of expectations do you have for the motor?
 
Like i said I have been cruising the forums for over a year now, It needs to be in the Mid-Low 13's
 
well

If you buy a 5 speed SC and drop 5 grand into souping it up you can have a pretty damned fun car....for 5 grand ill bet you could add 50 horsepower or more, and put a set of 3.27 rear end gears in it...in which case it would beat stock mustangs in a drag race,(prolly run 13's) and there arent many cars around thatll keep with an SC in a corner....not in stock trim anyways.

Keith
89 5 speed, 3.27 gears, exaust and intake done....most addictive car ive ever driven:)
 
The SC does take corners good for a BIG car but you cant honestly beleive that there arent several STOCK cars that will hang a turn as well as the SC. I mean come on. Whats a stock SC pull on a G pad?
 
Everyone has said "pretty damn fast" well the thing is...i need to know how fast, from my understanding these cars are good till 13.5 then they cost big bucks the go any quicker?
 
I would look at the Fastest SC list and PM those guys asking some very specific questions.

When you talk 5K, most people are thinking only driveline.

But you also have to consider the age of the vehicle and the things that might need to be done to keep the car running. And stopping.

If you are thinking road course at all you will want new brakes. That can be $1k right there.

Good exhaust is $600 or more. Not including headers.

Then Heads reworked, intercooler (ka ching) .

It all adds up. The biggest issue holding you down in the 1/4 mile is weight and traction. The power is available at such low RPM's that keeping the tires planted when trying to move this weight is a major issue.

And while some can help you build what you want for 5K, keep in mind that there are other cars out there that can be purpose built for drag racing that would be cheaper. So make sure you are not looking for an easy road before choosing a MN12.
 
Recipe for mid-low 13's for $5K or less.

Stieg ported heads. Might as well do the headgaskets and get some good heads on it before anything else. $2100

Mild cam. You could do it without a cam, but the cam is soooo much fun. No more than 210 duration. $150

Port your stock collectors and put on a 2.25"-3"mid-2.25" exhaust system. Pick your own parts. Resonator, and two mufflers, all straight through design. $600

Fabricate a 3" intake with a cone filter that extends into the fenderwell, select a 75MM MAF. $300

Get a late model blower, or have yours ported. $400

Get UD pullies and a 5% OD for the blower. $260

42lb injectors and a 255lph fuel pump. $350

Some good tires and some 3.27 gears. $500

This combination in the right hands will run 13.0. You might find you need a better clutch though. :)
 
you can probably spend a tad less for headwork and still hit that 13.5-13.0 mark..Someone on here was selling some decent heads for around $1000.....(ANYONE>??)Headers are an extra $500 or so..Dont bother at that level...Definately get magnum powers inlet and your SC ported by MP or get a late model blower and magnum inlet and get ESM to port it....with a 5 speed definately 3.27's and rebuild that differential..that be like $60 in clutches..definately a fuel pump 190-255lph..Also upgrade injectors mass air and Tb along with 3-3.5 inch intake..Regardless you can definately hit that number//13.5..Exhaust just listen to what people are saying..

Keep in mind with the SC you wll have 300 times the car you would doing a vtech in a civic type swap..Good luck
 
I recommend the Stieg heads because speed is addicting and heads are one thing you don't want to have to do over again. Better to spend a little more there so that after you have your $5K into it and you decide that you want to run 12's......
 
well i skimmed through all of the replies here and the thing about the handling is that you have to drop the supercoupe 2 inches and the sc will outhandle beamers and almost any other nice car thats out there. (well as long as you know how to keep the car on the road.) As for power on the SC, i dont think that you can beat em. They are comfortable, quick cars. If you want to talk to someone about power, what you should do is talk to Coy Miller. I think that he would be able to help you. The first couple of things you should do with the SC though is exhaust, a raised top, 5 % pulley, ummmm....trying to think off the top of my head. And always redo the headgaskets when you get one. I believe it is the 4.2 headgeasket is the one you should put in, but always do that. The 4.2 gasket is thicker and will withstand it a little better. You generally will get like 10-13lbs of boost from it. AND HERE IS THE BEST ADVICE BEFORE YOU GET A 5 SPEED SUPERCOUPE. DO NOT DO 120 IN 3RD GEAR OR YOU WILL BLOW THE HEADGASKET. I wish that someone had told me, but i seen a lot of people go down that same tube. Good luck.
 
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