Fireformula91

ok my 91 firebird formula auto vs a 2004 mustang manual got raped by for car lengths and my car supposoley has 285 horses so im thinking wrong lol or can it b true he can beat me that bad hes only pushing 190 horses but i guess my exhaust leak transmission slipping nand hole in exhaust could b a factor why i lost so bad?

Formula350

iTrader: (3)

91 makes around 205hp to the ground from a stock 350 TPI. But you haven't shown what mods you have so I can't tell if you are assuming 285 or what, but even flywheel is only 225hp from the 350 TPI. I'd say he's either hiding NOS or something else up his sleeve.

BLK02TA

iTrader: (11)

Kinda lost but if your car is stock or ever modded the mustang should have a decent amount of power over you. Hell I beat my friends 92 Iroc in my 4.3L s10 w/ headers

KEE AUDIO

iTrader: (65)

I had a 1991 GTA with the L98 and a Magnaflow muffler and a airfoil on the TB (LOL). It made 233rwhp and 327.6rwtq. My buddy had a 94 5.0 Mustang GT 5-speed with a full Magnaflow catback, chip, underdrive pulleys, and a K&N cold air kit. His car made 212rwhp and I don't remember the tq numbers. I would put at least 2 car lengths on him from a dig and leave him from a roll start as well.
The flywheel rating on the 1991-92 5.7TPI was 245hp and the 5.0TPI was rated at 225hp.
Neither of the cars you have pictured are V-8 cars unless you swapped wheels for the shorter, narrower 15 x 7's... removed the badging, and changed your hood??? Sorry my friend but that's NOT a Formula and the Mustang is NOT a GT.
Stock V-6 vs. stock V-6...that's why you got beat. The Mustang has a more powerful V-6 than the F-body plus your Firebird weighs more and has a slipping tranny. He should have killed you.

burnzilla

iTrader: (3)

A healthy, properly driven L98 with a bolt on or two would be a good match for a 2004 GT, believe it or not.
No offense, but Ive rode in 3 305 TPI's, one of them with 40K original miles and they all seemed kind of gutless compared to the 350.

Formula350

iTrader: (3)

Ahh, I thought 225 sounded low, I haven't been in the TPI scene for a few years. Thanks for the heads up. I was getting that 205 off a show where they dynoed 3 identical 90/91 TPIs but I wonder if they were 305s then. I know after I chipped mine and upped the fuel pressure, removed the cats (dual) my car screamed. I know it's hard to believe, but I beat an LS1! I did have a heavily build 700R4 which contributed to the performance. I msis that tranny so much!!

Sorry, off topic.

You should look at getting a tune up, fuel filter, etc. Something might be wrong.

Fireformula91

my formula is a 305 v8 pushing about 285 with the bowed pistons n headers i put in it the mustang is only a v6 manual the formula is a auto but i still cant believe how he can pull away from me that bad but such the difference of horsepower i understand im heavier but i should of beat him maybe not on a start off but i should of caught up n passed him

Fireformula91

these r the engine types of stock for this type of car this year
1991 Engines

Type Displacement Horsepower Torque Induction
OHV V-6 191/3.1 140@4400 185@3600 PFI
OHV V-8 305/5.0 170@4000 255@2400 TBI
OHV V-8 305/5.0 205@4200 285@3200 TPI
OHV V-8 305/5.0 230@4400 300@3200 TPI
OHV V-8 350/5.7 240@4400 340@3200 TPI

tell me which engine is this one

Dan Stewart

That would be a 305 with TBI....170hp....RPO LO3

Can't put that kind of air cleaner on a TPI, uses a manifold that is flat on the top with a throttle body on the front. Similar to a LT1 manifold, but not quite.

What are "bowed" pistons? You mean domed pistons?

Even so, just a slight compression increase from domed pistons and some headers aren't going to net you 285hp. I'd say close to 185hp.

Not trying to get you down, the LO3 isn't the greatest engine in the world to modify. But, you can modify it. Get some Vortec heads, the GM Vortec TBI manifold, a pretty healthy sized (aka the biggest fuggin one you can find) cam, and a Powerhouse 335ci stroker kit and you'll get around 300-310hp

KEE AUDIO

iTrader: (65)

The red firebird in the picture above is NOT a Formula. It is a Firebird with a TBI 305 V-8 if that's your engine bay in the other pic. GM made quite a few of those in the 3rd gen format, however just because it had a V-8 did not mean it was a Formula. The Formula had the WS-6 handling package and either had a 5.0 TPI or 5.7 TPI motor. No TBI motor was offered in the Formula. They also had a different hood with the buldge, had the same rear spoiler as the GTA of that year, and had the larger 16 x 8 wheels/tires with the WS-6 center caps.
This would explain why you got beat badly. The V-6 in that Mustang was rated at around 190-200hp. Your V-8 is rated at around 170. Sorry my friend but I have to call BS on 285 horse from a 305...even with "bowed?" pistons and headers. Stock LT1 cars make 285 horse and theres no way a V-6 Mustang would beat a stock LT1 F-body without a serious power adder...something that would be obvious when you raced him. To put the kind of money Dan talked about into an LO3 code motor....you'd be better off buying a nice 5.7 GM crate motor. You'd end up with almost the same cubic inches anyway.
Here is a couple of pics of 1991-92 Formulas to show you what I was refering to earlier:

Dan Stewart

Your right, a little more research turned up this model list for which you could option a LO3 (edit: thanks to ThirdGen.org.....gawd I love that site):

1988 - Sport Coupe, Firebird, IROC-Z, Formula, Trans Am
1989 - RS, Firebird, Formula, IROC-Z, Trans Am
1990 - RS, Firebird
1991 - RS, Firebird
1992 - RS, Firebird

I clean forgot about the hood bulge, so I didn't even bother looking at his pic. Sorry bud, that ain't no '91 Formula. Looks like you got a base Firebird.

Dan Stewart

Quite frankly, I personally would find a junkyard LT1 to drop in it. $1000 and 300hp. Then you could go from there if you wanted more power.

KEE AUDIO

iTrader: (65)

Yeah, that would be a nice option as well!! They respond well to cam and heads. Then you'd really be 285hp+ but at the wheels if not more!! That'd be a motor worth putting a little money into. Plus like Dan said, they can be had for the cheap...I've seen them as low as $400.00 in junkyards here. Put an LT4 hotcam kit to it and you've got some fun!!

Formula350

iTrader: (3)

There's nothing wrong with going TPI either. I believe you can keep your motor and jsut swap on the intake then with a TPI. Of course you'd need the wiring and ECM, but it'd wire up much easier than the LT1. I love my LT1, but I miss my TPI. Also, and no offense, but you don't seem to know alot about cars, and having an Optispark would just be murder. Stick with the older style distributor for awhile till you get knowing about cars. Heck, even I'm scared of my Opti lol You can still get nice HP out of the TPI, it just drops off around 5000rpm where as the LT1 can do 5500 and 6000 with a little work to the intake and heads.

EASIEST thing? Carb it. Get a ZZ4 350hp crate motor and drop it in heh.

KEE AUDIO

iTrader: (65)

I loved my TPI car for burning the tires off the car when I was younger. The torque comes in really low in the rpm range and is just brutal. They just don't have anything top end unless you mod the intake a bit and put a bigger throttle body on. Even then the ride was over about 5200rpm if that. I also recall that TPIS has an intake manifold that allows for the use of vortech heads with the TPI intake system. Combinethat with a cam and you might also have a nice combination without having to do anything to the bottom end. I'd check with thirdgen.org for more info on your car!! That's where I used to get all my info.

WS6Jim

iTrader: (9)

my previous car was a 1990 formula with the 305 tbi l03 motor and I thought that in either 90 or 91 and on you could not get the tbi motor in the Trans am but you could get the tbi in the formula from 87-92 correct me if I'm wrong on that.... and just for the record the tbis were cool until you raced anything the tpis are cool until you get in the top end the lt1s are a nice motor but the ls1 is the evolutionary piece in the fbody for now

burnzilla

iTrader: (3)

Youre wrong on that.

And whats this crap about a V-6 Mustang beating an LT1?
Im not even sure a 100 shot would do it.
I have a 3.5L 24-Valve 222bhp V6 Concorde that can run a V-6 Mustang, those things are absolute turds.

Dan Stewart

Huh? Did I miss something here?

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

That car above is not a Formula, but the base motors were the LO3 305 TBI motors from 1988-1992, 1987 models used a carbed 305, believe the LG4.

Fireformula91

wow then i got screwed over big time that hella sucks based firebird i had some research on it and what it told me it was a formula i no it has diff mods as hood wheels n what not but dang also i thought it was a formula when my title tells me so ha so they lied to i just need to put or get another engine it sucks to no now that my car is slow lol