Top HP upgrades for under $1,000

[GSpreeman]

Give me some ideas. K&N air filter? Modified chip? What else?

I'd like to keep this little project under $1,000 if possible.

Unrelated to the former question, where can I find a nice little 356 project car? I would like something that is restorable but not necessarily a basket case. How much should I be looking to spend on a project car?

[Mike Feinstein]

I think most would say exhaust. SSI's if you don't have to pass a smog test. Otherwise, sport muffler, reversible catbypass (europremuff is supposed to be better), chip, etc.

I'll be watching this post. I think the terms "modest cost" and "horsepower gain" are mutually exclusive...at least with a NA 3.2. Of course, you could just spend the $1k on DE's, but that's not what you asked.

[Chuck Moreland]

With the $1000 limit there are only a couple of worthwhile changes I know about that can boost HP -

1) SSI
2) Chip
3) One size larger fan belt

Your best bang for buck to increase acceleration however is a weight loss program. It's not too hard to knock 100-200 lbs off an 89 without stripping the car.



Hey, this is post #1000 for me.

[don911]

A fabspeed euro pre-muffler ($225) and remove the AC belt.
You'll get around 8 HP with the pre-muffler. Not sure on the AC as it was removed for both of my dyno runs.
Agree with the lose some weight comment above.

SSI's, chip and a new muffler might get you a couple more HP but you'd spend a lot of $$ for the HP.

[rcwaldo]

Buy a HUGE 650HP NOS kit with nozzles everywhere and a big red button on the shifter.......Just kidding. Seriously, spend the money getting the car track worthy and enjoy some good instruction and dont apex late. Have fun!

Chris

[Wayne 962]

Would that be $1K parts, or including labor?

-Wayne

[LeRoux Strydom]

Originally posted by Chuck Moreland
With the $1000 limit there are only a couple of worthwhile changes I know about that can boost HP -

1) SSI
2) Chip
3) One size larger fan belt

Your best bang for buck to increase acceleration however is a weight loss program. It's not too hard to knock 100-200 lbs off an 89 without stripping the car.



Hey, this is post #1000 for me.

Sorry, I may be dumb, but one size larger fanbelt??

LeRoux

[Steve W]

With a thousand bucks, chip it, put in a Euro premuffler, and perhaps a billet style intake such as from broadfoot-racing or powerhaus. Total, about $600. Should be good for 20+ hp. Any more than that will a lot of bucks for incremental gains. With external mods we are talking about maybe another 20 hp more, and that will cost you at least $4-5k in parts alone. Add another $1-2k if you don't do the labor yourself

[Typical Fish]

Originally posted by LeRoux Strydom
Sorry, I may be dumb, but one size larger fanbelt??

LeRoux

Huh? Fanbelt?

[Zendalar]

It reduces the fanspeed and therefore the power needed to rotate the fan diminishes -> More power to engine.

Side-effect is that it might cause engine to overheat (because the fan rotates more slowly)

EDIT:Wider fanbelt that is

[stlrj]

I repaced my injectors with a set of multecs. Made a big difference off the line, top end and smoothed out my lumpy idle.

Surprised nobody mentions injector replacement on this board since it's a very common upgrade in almost all other venues from GM to Honda.

Cheers,

Joe

[gr8fl4porsche]

I would like to hear more about injector replacements and the billet style intake such as from broadfoot-racing or powerhaus.

Steve, can you elaborate on the intake change?

[Chuck Moreland]

Originally posted by Zendalar
It reduces the fanspeed and therefore the power needed to rotate the fan diminishes -> More power to engine.

Side-effect is that it might cause engine to overheat (because the fan rotates more slowly)

EDIT:Wider fanbelt that is

It's actually a longer belt, not wider. Due to the split pulley design on our fans, a longer belt rides higher in the groove creating a larger diameter pulley.

An early thread on this topic claimed a 7 hp increase based on dyno testing at Jerry Woods' place if memory serves.

Yes, heat could be an issue. So it may not be the best choice for everyone.

[GSpreeman]

Wayne, that $1K includes parts and my doing the labor.

Since my car revs well past redline, the PO may have modified the chip already. How easy is it to check the chip to see if it's original or not?

Wayne, do you sell the mufflers these guys are talking about?

[old_skul]

C'mon, folks! Cool Collar!

Uh, ok, seriously: $1000 in seat time at a driver's ed.

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by stlrj
I repaced my injectors with a set of multecs. Made a big difference off the line, top end and smoothed out my lumpy idle.

Surprised nobody mentions injector replacement on this board since it's a very common upgrade in almost all other venues from GM to Honda.

Cheers,

Joe

Any quantifiable HP differences or just seat of the pants? Porsche injectors (Bosch) have more than enough fuel delivery. Getting enough fuel is not an issue with these cars.
-Chris (3.2->3.4 w/stock injectors)

[Eric86Red911]

Unless I'm missing something, neither a wider nor a longer belt will change the fan speed. Don't you need to change pulley sizes to do that?

[Chuck Moreland]

No you don't. Re-read my last post.

[MAS956]

i would think that the fan belt riding higher in the pulley grooves (effectively increasing diameter of both pullies) for both crank and fan pullies would tend to cancel each other out.

Using a 10 speed bike as an analogy, if you shift to a lower gear (larger sprocket) on the freewheel, for the same number of pedal revolutions, the rear wheel will turn fewer times. If, however, you also shift to a larger chain ring on the front at the same time, that increases the # of revolutions of the rear wheel per pedal stroke....

I think a wider fan belt would likely have a negligible impact on fan speed.

Just my $.02 ....

[Rick Lee]

Can't you get a set of Webcams or 964 cams for around $800? Well, install would be a b!tch.