# I'm not getting the performance(HP) I want - help



## ddigital99 (May 3, 2005)

after doin the intake, CM 3in exhaust, BC, Plugging the POV, full tune up, and I'm still not getting the performance i want. im runnin 14.9 at best I believe.

I dont know where to go from here.

the logical steps would be:

1. intercooler 1000
2. internals - pistons, rings, etc. 500+
3. turbo upgrade 1000
4. injector upgrade 1000
5. ECU upgrade 1000

thats big cash that i dont have right now.

does anyone (especially the cats runnin 12 - 14.75 1/4 miles) have any recommendation you could give me to get a little more Power and Speed?


----------



## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

84z31 said:


> :cheers: weld you wastegate closed! If he wants to blow his engine up, sure.
> 
> until you do other expensive things your kind of stuck.
> 
> ...


Just to put this in perspective, I ran a 13.9 with a metal tube intake, cheap ricer open-style filter, and a homemade boost controller. No exhaust system behind the downpipe. Some very cheap no brand street tires. And a mix of about 60/40 of 91 octane and 104 race gas. Boost was around 16 psi. I also bogged it very hard off the line to get any traction, the open diff can really kill any times you get if you get any tire spin. I had a run of like 17 seconds at 107, just to show you how wheel spin can affect times, but the trap speed was nice.....


----------



## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

ddigital99 said:


> after doin the intake, CM 3in exhaust, BC, Plugging the POV, full tune up, and I'm still not getting the performance i want. im runnin 14.9 at best I believe.
> 
> I dont know where to go from here.
> 
> ...



Possible driver error? How many miles do you have on your car? It may be ready for a rebuild...


----------



## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

ddigital99 said:


> 1. intercooler 1000
> 2. internals - pistons, rings, etc. 500+
> 3. turbo upgrade 1000
> 4. injector upgrade 1000
> 5. ECU upgrade 1000


Intercooler is more like 400 if you buy a core and have pipes made. 
Internals are more like 1500+++ 
Turbo is tricky you could get a good T3/T4 for around 400-500 bucks.
Injectors are more like 600
Ecu depends. If you get the JWT pos or a standalone. My SDS will end up being around 1200. 

If you can't run faster then a 14.9 something is wrong. I remember you said your car was a high mileage Z so your engine may be well over do for a rebuild. Have a compression check done ASAP. You can get mid to low 13s farily cheap, after that it is going to cost you.

I could of bought a used C5 vette or 03/04 Cobra at this point to put it in perspective and my Z still isn't done.


----------



## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

JAMESZ said:


> Intercooler is more like 400 if you buy a core and have pipes made.
> Internals are more like 1500+++
> Turbo is tricky you could get a good T3/T4 for around 400-500 bucks.
> Injectors are more like 600
> ...



Well then you better be able to lay down 10s at the 1/4 and take 90 degree hairpins at 100


----------



## AZ-ZBum (Nov 21, 2004)

asleepz said:


> Possible driver error?


Exactly what I'm thinking.


asleepz said:


> How many miles do you have on your car? It may be ready for a rebuild...


BullS***. How many miles has NOTHING to do with whether an engine is in good shape or not.

I'm gonna have to go with option 1 in this case.

My 21 year old turbo. 155,000 miles on the original motor and turbo. Boost controller set to 12psi. And basically all the same mods ran a 14.04.

Do a compression test and put it on a dyno. If you aren't making at least 230hp or your compression test results are low, you have some work to do.


----------



## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Alright you tell me how a all original equipment turbo Z does at 350K miles and tell me it doesn't effect anything.


----------



## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

AZ-ZBum said:


> BullS***. How many miles has NOTHING to do with whether an engine is in good shape or not.


It is not because of the miles that I would say it is needing a rebuild. Previous posts and threads show that the car is pretty worn out. Yes driver error is probably a big part of it, but if he is well over 200k miles (I believe he has said in the past atleast) his T25 is probably not seeing its best days.


----------



## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

asleepz said:


> Well then you better be able to lay down 10s at the 1/4 and take 90 degree hairpins at 100


Why? I hope for 11s if I get 10s that would be nice. I will still have stock halfshafts so we will see what happens when I put slicks on the car. As for cornering ability we will see. I invested alot into the suspension/chasis so we will see what happens. I will probably run it at Barber some, and the infield at the Nashville Super speedway the majority of the time.


----------



## ddigital99 (May 3, 2005)

"My 21 year old turbo. 155,000 miles on the original motor and turbo. Boost controller set to 12psi. And basically all the same mods ran a 14.04"

AZ-ZBum - I envy you man. I wish the Z Gods would shine on me with a 14.04

fvck fellas!

I'll take her to Moroso this Wednesday or Friday weather permitting. My Z is an A/T. I know, I know, but prefer an A/T. So there's really not too much room for driver error.

For an A/T would you guys shift it manually (1 - 2 - Drive) or just stomp the gas when the light turns green?

my Z has 169,000 miles. The oil is clean and it's always been taken care of. When the head gaskets were replaced, the valves and oil looked good. She's not burning oil or smoking in any way either.

I was really hoping to be around 14.00 - 14.50 by this stage.

My Turbo(POV plugged) starts to make that noise(wastegate I guess) around 9 or 10psi. Is the turbo still producing good boost after it starts making noise?

The dyno and compression test sound like a good way to go. I'll see if I can get that done 911.

I'll take into consideration everything you guys have said so far. I do have a heavy sub box, I'll leave it home before running the 1/4 mile next ime. Maybe I'll look to get a lighter seat on the driver's side as well. It probably is time for a rebuild, but when I have the money, I would of course get the forged pistons, rings, etc and really reinforce her real good in order to handle 20psi+ and maybe 50 - 75 nos. That way I won't be playing any fvckin games like I am now tryin to break a pathetic 14.75

any feedback or opinions are greatly appreciated.


----------



## ddigital99 (May 3, 2005)

JAMESZ said:


> It is not because of the miles that I would say it is needing a rebuild. Previous posts and threads show that the car is pretty worn out. Yes driver error is probably a big part of it, but if he is well over 200k miles (I believe he has said in the past atleast).


"his T25 is probably not seeing its best days"

ur probably right. 

any idea where I can get a good t3/t4 turbo i'm not going to have to get an intercooler for to hold me over till I can get the next few phases done? (meaning - intercooler, internals, nice new powerful turbo, ECU, injectors)


----------



## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Ah, it's a T25. Did not see what year the car was. The T25 terribly limits the performance potential, and throwing an A/T in the mix makes it even worse. I'd still expect mid 14s from you, given you can power brake on the line and thus possibly launch better than I could.......

Just for the record, that 13.9 run was at 167,000 miles.


----------



## ddigital99 (May 3, 2005)

Zen31ZR said:


> Ah, it's a T25. Did not see what year the car was. The T25 terribly limits the performance potential, and throwing an A/T in the mix makes it even worse. I'd still expect mid 14s from you, given you can power brake on the line and thus possibly launch better than I could.......
> 
> Just for the record, that 13.9 run was at 167,000 miles.


it's a stock turbo from a 1988 Z31 Turbo.

"Just for the record, that 13.9 run was at 167,000 miles."

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! Nice! Touche! Must be nice. I wish I rolled like that.

yeah the A/T always get a bad rap. Maybe duly so.

I hope I dont have a lame duck!


----------



## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

I didn't see what boost your controller is set at. The T25 is structurally limited to 16 psi. However, that boost figure is also on a 4 cylinder engine (95+ 4G63). A 1 liter bigger V6 means you'll hit the maximum flow potential of that tiny turbo at a lower psi. Maybe 12-13 psi. 

Has a lot to do with the driver too. I don't know your drag racing background, but you're probably not launching at the full potential. And the A/T has a tendency to short-shift, as I recall. 

As far as the turbo conversion, look around the junkyards, and carpart.com. Don't get anything from an 84, the turbo was not water cooled that year.


----------



## AZ-ZBum (Nov 21, 2004)

asleepz said:


> Alright you tell me how a all original equipment turbo Z does at 350K miles and tell me it doesn't effect anything.


If the car has been well taken care of as far as routine maint, it should do just fine.

My NA with 225k miles when I ran it did a 16.5 at 83 mph. Only mod is a K&N air filter. The motor has NEVER been opened up. The valve covers haven't even been off it in the last 120k miles.

Originally tested by Road & Track: 16.4 @ 84









Which would you rather have:
1. car with 150,000 and regular maint not leaking anything
2. same car with 50,000 and no maint with leaks everywhere


----------



## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

They claim the top speed to be 128? WTF? Or is that for the NAs


----------



## AZ-ZBum (Nov 21, 2004)

That was just the NAs. Not sure what they're problems were though. Maybe they didn't let it run long enough? I've seen 138 indicated on the speedo (5800 rpms in 5th gear). Flat road.

The turbos were electronically limited to 137. The NAs are just drag limited.


----------



## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Yeah because I forgot who it was but someone posted their NA at 137 or so... But they said it had limited there for some reason. There was a big discussion over it.


----------

