Testing the Chevy waters!

[mixtape]

I've been heavily into manual transmission Fords for years. I've owned quite a few and I've been pretty happy so far.

Though a few weeks ago I decided to change things up and sold one of my '99 Contours to go looking for a 5.0 Mustang or a 5.7 Camaro/Trans Am. I stumbled across this car and made the purchase . Let me tell you, I've never driven a car that I've actually been scared of before . I don't think any of my previous cars topped 180hp/torque to the wheels. Not to mention that my Fords were all FWD!

The z28 is stock as far as the motor, intake, transmission goes. I don't see any current need to gain more power with mods at the moment , but I was hoping to start getting a list together of what I could do with the car. First would be headers, high flow cat, exhaust, intake, and other small little things. I noticed slight loss of low end power on my Contour with those mods, but it freed up some hp up top. What will the effect be on the Camaro regarding its low end torque? Then I was thinking about looking into cams (sounds nasty at idle ), heads, and more serious upgrades once I learn how to tame a LT1 6spd RWD monster . I would love suggestions on parts, upgrades, tires, rims, info, etc.

Below are a few more questions I have:

1) How restrictive is an '94 Z28's catback? Will I be fine with headers and a high flow cat? Or should I consider a catback as well? I like the rectangle stock tips.

2) I am used to FWD cars, what should I learn/know prior to hitting the road in the Camaro? I know the overall handling and driving is quite different. I want to be prepared and keep my Camaro out of a tree .

3) What fuel grade is a stock LT1 rated for? Super, plus, or regular? Will I notice any benefit/con to one vs another?

Well it's 11:30 at night so I'll rap up the post. Hope to hear from ya' guys.

[mixtape]

I heard that K&N filters aren't as good as it would seem. I read that a study was done showing that they weren't that fantastic. I definantly want to allow more air into the engine, but not if it means sacrafising dirt into the engine .

Any opinions/suggestions?

[MasterZ]

Welcome to the forum...


I have to say you have earned my respect instantly.. I think you are the first person here to have admited you needed to time to get use to the power and difference from FWD to RWD. Smart choice.

I recommend just doing some general maintance on the car for a while to get your hand dirty under the hood and learn where things are. You will hate the first spark plug change but it will come easier after time..lol that is if you do it yourself. Headers will make it ALOT easier.

Then take some time and drive the car as you said and get a good feel of her handling especially if you havent driven a RWD car much. In the rain and on wet roads it is going to be alot different that the FWD setup. When taking off at a light and making a turn the rear tires can break loose pretty easy. This will take some time to get use to and get a feel for the power vrs RWD...

A good idea if you are nervous, is find a large EMPTY parking lot when the road is wet. Dont go out there acting a fool doing dougnuts cause that will simply spell trouble. But get a feel for the car in a safe area away from traffic and others objects if ya know what I mean.

Once you are ready for some mods, people usually start off with a cold air intake, headers, exhaust, tune, etc... then work up from there.

[We're Not Worthy]

The K&N are fine you're looking at studys from offroaders. They have to deal with crap tons of dust being everywhere. It's good that that you are actually asking the questions though and welcome to the forums.

[WartHog]

Welcome and enjoy your new Z!

[brianswimmer23]

welcome to the site! im glad you chose this site, you will learn alot about how to fix, work and take car of your Camaro!!!

[FANTA-Z]

You will not lose much of the low end grunt from the LT1 with the mods your wanting to do. At the very least if you dont decide to change out the catback go with an exhaust cutout and I would recommend an electric one if you do it. Yeah its a little more pricey but hey you can open and close it from your seat So if you want the car to be a little louder and gain about 10hp you can open it up and if you want it to be nice and quiet and just cruising you can leave it closed.

As Jason stated just take it easy driving the car for a little bit and get use to the light backend It is very easy to swing it around and although a lot of time its fun to do so its not fun to lose control and hurt yourself, other innocent people, and finally the car

Have fun with the car and also as said if you have any questions at all about the car or anything else dont hesitate to post them up.

[jnm2003]

My friend took his 94 firebird LT1 350ci and made it an LT4 355. I will ask him how he started his mods and the order he did it. It runs 10.7 1/4 mile now. I know u prob arent looking for that type of speed YET.. but hes done put different motors in it and different rear ends/gears just trying to see what the best set up is so he could probably give you some good pointers! The headers he has have proven to be the best hes found yet. Ill get some scoop from him and let you know!

[Bowtie_Racer]

Welcome to the site!

[mixtape]

Thank you guys! I will defiantly follow the help and suggestions. I was surprised to see so many tips! RWD will defiantly take some getting used to coming from all FWD. Every car has a different feeling and that takes time to become accustom to. Plus of course, my questions aren't over yet ha.

Is there a certain setup that proves "best" in our LT1 cars? A certain brand/model of intake? Short ram versus COI? Or even a K&N drop into the stock box if it was proven to help. Which headers sound/flow the best? Which catback gets the best/deepest muscle sound with optimal flow? Borla, SLP, Bassani, Dynomax, Magnaflow, Flowmaster, other? I'm probably leaning towards GMMG or Borla at the moment. Found a used Borla for the LT1 for under $300. Not a bad deal. Any suggestions for an ORY? Do I need a tune/chip after basic upgrades like intake/exhaust? While we're at it, any suggestions for cams/heads/etc/tires/rims? Hopefully someone's past trial and errors can steer me in the ideal direction .

I will only be driving the car on nice weekends so emissions shouldn't be a big concern since it's not a daily driver. As long as it's not pouring boat loads of black carbon monoxide everywhere, I should be fine lol. How big of a difference is there between a high flow cat versus a testpipe/no cat?

I will do my research but I am very much open to opinions!

[SmokinWS-6]

Hello and Welcome to the site

[chvybeatsford]

welcome

[shadesusf]

hi and welcome! i know the front to rear wheel drive conversion very well... i've had multiple front and rear wheel drive cars, i find it fun to test your skills with everything you can get your hands on!