Kerry Chadderton

Gentlemen...Ladies....

My new 84 is coming along nicely. I have only a couple things left and she is a stock daily driver. Once I get to that point I will start tweaking and getting ready for PCA/SCCA events in the coming spring.

I want to know what tweaks work on the engine. I just finished reading that 15 page thread on N/A horsepower. Let's not go there. I KNOW that this will not be a powerhouse.

That being said, I have a stock 84 2.5L N/A in very good condition. What things can I do for the engine to shake out an extra HP or two and make this a better event car?

roman944

not necessarily power mods

but, update to late AFM and chip it (should be cheap with used parts - just make sure its off the running car, and FRWilk chip is $100 or so)
get a weltmeister throttle cam ( is only like $20 even used)
get a nice short shifter (depending on which one you go with ... I like Lindsey Racing one ... figure about $200 for a good shifter)

if you want to spend some more money:

exhaust header (MSDS or Bursch - under $300)
cat back (Street Force Racing or Lindsey Racing, or custom - should be under $500 depending on the mufler)
maybe a cam (Web Cam - I think its around $500 - you will need to take off cam tower and tension the timing belt again)

it won't be "fast" fast, but it will make the car a little ... "sportier" ... more responsive

this is of course, not knowing what you have done to the car already ... if you are going to make a race car out of it, the cheapest and the best mod would be to strip the interior form door panels -> back

even better then spending $$$ on mods, is to get a proper set of wheels and matched summer/r-compound/race tires and seat time

I'm doing this to my 1983 right now, started with the "easiest" (or ... cheapest) - gutted it ... still have some things that can be done though ...

M758

Dump the Cat, Get a good tune (adjust the AFM on a dyno to ensure the mixture is good) and Good head job. Most of the time a stock head is not perfect due to age.

Otherwise in a track car lighten the car and work the suspension.

Mike C.

In order to update to a late AFM, I believe you need the later DME to go with it. Is all of the wiring plug & play?

roman944

supposedly, I haven't done/tried it yet

would be interesting to know if those MAF setups that turbo guys get would work on the N/A as well or not ... some of those can be had for a decent deal ...

V2Rocket

the afm/dme combo is plug and play.

a decent cam is advertised as giving 12-18hp depending on the condition of the motor with no tuning necessary but it is expensive..

ritzblitz

I got my webcam for $150 in the cam box.

V2Rocket

details? what cam?

roman944

pretty sure its this one http://www.webcamshafts.com/index_bl...le_search.html just put in your 944's year etc

ritzblitz

Correct, webcam #274

V2Rocket

wow, those guys are literally down the street from me, maybe ill go check them out in person

cb944

crikey, I've been looking at what I could do with my '85 NA.. hadn't realised this sort of stuff was available.

What about a Fidanza lightened flywheel? Any good?

Looking a potential mods - camshaft, ECU, flywheel, improved induction.. could an extra 20bhp be achieved, or is that pushing it?

I might start putting a shopping list together now...

roman944

yeah it is worth the $$$, but you probably won't be doing that - without doing the clutch - which is really not cheap ... and will take time/patience to do

and yeah, you can get a little more power out of the car by doing these things - just don't expect the car to be a rocket

1 by 1 they may not do much, combined together they will make your car a little peppier and much more fun to drive ... reason why a lot of these things don't get done is because there really isn't a lot of gain per $$$ spent (or so can be derived from other people's experiences)

I think every bit helps ... just decide what you plan to do with the car in short and in the long run ... keep in mind that this is the money you will never get back ...

figure all these things will run around $2k altogether ... all for what ... 20hp maybe? compare that to dropping $2k on a 951 ...

Mike C.

As a recent post pointed out, shedding weight is the most effective way to 'gain' power. IIRC, the European (incl. UK) models had higher compression pistons and more hp from der factory.
V2, did I miss the story behind that chunk of frame rail?

V2Rocket

it turns out you cannot actually park a 944 in the back seat of a toyota suv.

thats both frame rails...notice one is shorter than the other; the difference was crushed completely.

repairs underway.