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Just bought a 93 Lt1 T56 car. Use to have an A4 94. Currently the car is sitting in the driveway waiting for an optispark but what are some driving & experience expectations with these cars compared to an auto?! Pretty decent at driving a stick but how about rev limiters, ticks and tricks for a better driving experience, first recommended mods, ect.
Auto to cars were 5700rpm iirc and would shift itself so I missed out on driver involvement quite a bit, great cars though.
Time behind the manual will make you better. You'll get a feel for the car and what rpm it likes to shift at. If unsure on your skills, not a great ideal to try them in rush hour or making a left turn crossing 2 lanes of traffic.
Manual allows you to determine at what RPM to shift vs automatic but it is the motor that dictates how high a RPM it can. If your LT1 has the original valve springs...that would significantly lower how high a RPM it can make before valve float.
New valve springs and a PCM tune for more HP would improve performance. Swapping to 4:10 rear gears with a T56 will really wake up its off line performance
Found some photos. Really respect the guys attention to detail in his care for the inside of the car. As for the paint. Clear coat is foggy in important places.
Does it have any mods yet? If it’s bone stock, and you want to really enjoy driving it, here would be my list of mods in order:
Skip shift eliminator ($30)
Short throw shifter, I like the B&M ripper but there are others, the stock shifter sucks
Bilstein HD shocks if you are still on the stock worn out ones
Long tube headers, ORY, and magnaflow or other straight through catback (not flowmaster)
cold air intake
tune
Better valvesprings, 1.6 NSA rockers on a 7/16 ARP stud, guideplates, and hardened pushrods
32mm front sway bar from a 99 or earlier WS6
If your ok riding a little lower, do Strano or BMR springs while you do the shocks. Just the above mods, and replacing worn out tie rods, ball joints and bushings, make a 6 speed so much fun to drive. Stock, they handle pretty bad compared to a modern car, but once the suspension is updated, it’s so much more fun to row gears on windy roads. Getting the valve train taken care of let’s you run it to 6300rpm without worry and that’s where you have to shift on a stock motor for best times at the track. 3.42 or 3.73 gears are plenty for a stock motor, 4.10s are good too but the stock 3.23s are a bit too low.
What valvesprings are recommended with stock cam? I can read other threads till I’m blue in the face. Not looking to get too surgical with it yet with a cam swap. Just bolt one to improve upon what GM built.
I swapped from auto to manual....whole different car, was thinking of selling it beforehand but now I never will! Personally i love the MGW shifter, nice positive shifts with extremly strong return spring. 2-3 shift is awesome, check out some videos...4.10s are a bit much, I ran them and didnt like my rpms being above 2k at highway speeds, I'm in the process of putting in a new rear with 3.90s...have a build thread going right now in this section (quarantine overhaul)...aside from some noob mistakes I made modding when I first got the car (not enough money and not enough time) the car has treated me great. I am surprised at the cars I was beating on the highway even when my car wasnt even running 100%...cant wait to get it back on the road! Best of luck!
What valvesprings are recommended with stock cam? I can read other threads till I’m blue in the face. Not looking to get too surgical with it yet with a cam swap. Just bolt one to improve upon what GM built.
After I get my car back running again I have a set of lunati dual valvesprings with non self aligning 1.6rr Wanted to get some springs and rockers I can grow into with heads and cam later. Not sure what mods u went with if any on ur auto but these cars seems to respond really well to mods. Or Its just all in my head!
One more thing I'd recommend. Tick performance clutch master cylinder when you get a short throw shifter. It's expensive but I was not able to consitently land high rpm fast shifts with the stock hydraulics. Also the tick unit moves the pedal closer to the floor...I have minimal clutch pedal movement, also helps with even faster shifts..
Beware when swapping gears it may bring a driveline vibration on because the driveshaft are not balanced that great, I got an aftermarket aluminum one for like 200 or 300..
The Lunati LT1 dual valve spring kit is excellent. For a stock cam motor the Crane 10308 springs are good also. To stay on the budget side you could get 1:6 SA RR...but IMHO valvetrain is no place to cheap out so go for the Comp Pro Magnums....but IMHO I would go NSA and guide plate, ISKY adjustable ONLY, and .080 thick wall hardened push rods (Trick Flo)
Tick uses the Tilton MC...better to go with the McLeod (wilwood)
4:10's are excellent gears for a T56 if you run a 27" tire. Shorter tire go 3:73. I have a 27" tire and at 80 mph I am at 19xx rpm in 6th
you can use a RPM calculator to see what rpm you will be in when you enter your tire size and rear gear and 6th gear trans ratio. My car is a 4 speed on street, 5th on hwy until I can "sustain" 65 mph then I shift into 6th. lower than 65 the motor lugs
Manual allows you to determine at what RPM to shift vs automatic but it is the motor that dictates how high a RPM it can. If your LT1 has the original valve springs...that would significantly lower how high a RPM it can make before valve float.
New valve springs and a PCM tune for more HP would improve performance. Swapping to 4:10 rear gears with a T56 will really wake up its off line performance
Being a 93, his trans has different gearing. A 4.10 would definitely be too much gear for the truck like LT1.
My wife is terrified when she needs to drive my 5 gear old Civic. This is ridiculous, she burned my clutch a several times and it cost me a lot of money every time I need to change it. I am in love with my Civic, a lot of money been invested in this car, a whole new engine(360 H.P). I thought it's going to be a great idea to buy her a new car with auto. Tell me please, what's the best idea for a woman, with a small amount of years on the wheel? I thought it would be nice to buy her a VW Polo with a small with a 1.6 petrol engine, I think this could be the best idea for her. I found a good one on the other side of the country, this is how I started to enter into the very interesting world of car shipping. It would take me a lot of time and money to drive this car cross-country on my own. This is why I was looking for a good shipping service. To be honest, I think I would never find a better option if I would not find this article about How much does it cost to ship a Car? A very good article that provide so much great information about this field. Now I am waiting for the car and I know that it will be delivered right in time
Last edited by poishishikochi; 06-29-2020 at 02:04 AM.
My wife is terrified when she needs to drive my 5 gear old Civic. This is ridiculous, she burned my clutch a several times and it cost me a lot of money every time I need to change it. I am in love with my Civic, a lot of money been invested in this car, a whole new engine(360 H.P). I thought it's going to be a great idea to buy her a new car with auto. Tell me please, what's the best idea for a woman, with a small amount of years on the wheel??
Lol don’t have her drive a stick. And don’t worry about it she gets all offended when she comes at you with some feminist rights movement when it comes to woman & sticks. but then again your on the right track letting her learn on your civic vs your camaro. So it is nice to see women knowing how to drive a stick nowadays.
04-28-2020, 11:18 PM
From Auto to 6speed new car 
