StrangeTA

Just recently switched over from a 98' Superchagred/Nitrous fed Buick Regal GS to this 2000 Trans Am. Bought it local from a friend of mine who only drove it 5 times in a 6 month period. Just lost interest in the car due to being into off-road sports.

Well the car has a mod-list a mile long with the meat of the combo being...

FAST 92mm intake/92mm TB to match
FAST fuel rails with injectors
Patriot 2.5 aluminum heads
Vengeance Racing Vindicator Cam
Wiseco forged pistons/rods/crank
Longtube headers(ceramic coated)
QTP cut-outs
Built T56 6 speed with all billet hard parts
Ford 9" rear end with 35spline Strange Axles & 4:11 gears.

And all the other mods in place that go along with all that, IE: springs, lifters, timing chain etc..

I do have one question though. The previous owner had all this work done through Weber Racing, and I wonder why the stock air-box was left in place? I've done a ton of reading/research on line and found the free mods and such, but is their a better/easier way to rid this off the car? The car runs strong but not as strong as I think it should for the mods in place. I ran pretty freakin close with a friends stock cam/stock headed c5 Vette on the freeway. And would I benefit a lot from a ram-air hood? It has a non-ramair hood on it as of now. Not sure of the tune thats on it, but I'll be having a proper tune done August 22nd at True Street Performance in Mckinney Texas. I have all the receipts and paperwork that came with the car to prove work etc.. Also it came with a dyno sheet that shows 469rwhp and 423tq..

Here's a couple pics, if anyone can point anything out to me that needs to be fixed or changed, I'd appreciate the help. I'm new to this platform. Sorry for the long post and crappy cell phone pictures.

Drew-Bot

Awesome Mod list!! The trans and rear are probably a huge stress reliever. From my experience the air lid is one of the first mods many people do, but from what I have seen adds only 5hp at the most, maybe with the bigger set up you'd see more then that, but not sure. I would get the hood on looks as well as the ram air effect. I have a fire hawk myself and I love my big nostrils lol

StrangeTA

Appreciate the info...I am looking around now on some websites for a ram-air fiberglass hood. And yeah, the trans/rear end are a big relief. When I found out it had a 9" and a built T56, I was like....ohhh yeahhhh, hahaha.

Just trying to squeeze out every single horsepower I can before I slap the turbo kit on this monster and possibly the 4L80E/4000 stall converter thats sitting in a friends shop.

homerz28

what if he has it sucking up enough air through the bottom, so that the upper ram air effect is pointless? my camaro's system was modified to be like that (not by me)

Drew-Bot

very impressive, I have a H/C/I set up on my LS1 383. 490 RWHP, thats with an LS6 intake so planning on a 92 TB and Intake for next mod. THen Rear then trans

KreeperKamaroSS

Nice pick up! What's the mileage on that beast?

It looks like you do have an aftermarket lid, the stock airbox has baffles coming out of the sides of it whereas yours is nice and smooth leading into the throttle body. Some companies sell a ram air kit that is basically a metal duct from the air dam under the car scooping it straight up into the air filter, I don't have one but I've heard they work very well.
Ram air hoods work better on Firebirds than on Camaros since the scoops lead straight into the airbox while Camaro scoops have to make a few turns, but it's mostly for appearance, although it does help a bit at high speeds.

StrangeTA

Car it self has just a tick over 100k miles. The entire car, IE: motor, rear end, trans has just a little over 3k miles and only about 1500 miles on the SPEC clutch.

And that makes me feel a bit better knowing it isn't stock. But a guy at the track last week with a TA with about the same mods as me, running 7.0's in the 1/8th told me it was a stock intake. So I do feel better knowing it isn't. It is a stock bore motor, but I've been thinking of stroking it to a 408.....maybe.

I'm just looking for guidance and advice on what is already in place. My only thing I've felt, is when I launch from a dig on slicks, it has a lull inthe power band before it really comes on strong about 60ft out of the hole. Could this be in the tune, or fouled o2 sensors? It still retains the o2's, but the cats have been removed. If she's maxed the combo out that's awesome...just means its time for power adders.

I8UR4RD

iTrader: (16)

oh i see the problem. m6. haha. take her to the track and find out. get it retuned. check the plugs and wires and throttle body. the ram air looks cool but most of the air kits do indeed pull from underneath as mentioned. i think the only thing it does is help get heat out of the engine compartment and decrease the aerodynamics. on a stock lid it makes sense tho. may also wanna ask him what the compression ratio is. i think your making great power if those numbers are true. if your like me itll always feel slow, then youll see the time slip and be amazed at how fast you must be going. its also prob hot as ***** outside.

StrangeTA

Thanks for the info. I have an appointment with TSP on the 22nd, so hopefully we'll see what they can do with it. I know it's hot as hell outside and I'm sure the IAT's are through the roof..although the car it self runs about 180-185* even after some spirited driving. I'm assuming its a 160* or 180* T-stat. It runs on the cool side which is good.

I just figure there's a little more there if my friend with his C5 Vette ran as close as we did. All he has is longtubes, intake, B&B exhaust, gears and a handheld tuner that plugs into the OBD II port, though he is an automatic car.

1BadBlkB1tch

iTrader: (1)

thats not a stock lid looks like a Fast toys performance lid minus the decal 98mm looks to me how it fits your maf is that a lingenfelter maf or a slp?

i say 98mm because i have the 104 and it has a big hump on it that looks identical to the one i was going to buy which was 98mm lid perfect for the 92mm setup as i run 104/102mm setup

StrangeTA

I'm honestly not sure..a lot of stuff on the car is SLP, as far as suspension stuff underneath...I have a ton of receipts from SLP and Texas Speed for various part and such but none for a MAF. I was told by the guy at the local track in the other TA that it isn't stock, but their are no markings on it and it looks about like all the others on my friends cars that are here local. I'm sure the guys at TSP in Mckinney will be able to tell me much much more.

I'm still learning stuff every day about the car, and it's a freaking blast to drive.

1BadBlkB1tch

iTrader: (1)

the way it looks its either a lingenfelter maf or a slp maf trust me on that one def not stock well TSP is where i buy all my parts and i bought my FTP lid from them it comes like that with the FTP decal u can either put on or leave off to make it look stock but this is a badass pickup man im glad you enjoy it well worth whatever money you paid and looks great wouldnt change much on it maybe add some spray but get ur comp checked to see how high or low it is before u start spraying...have any ideas of the comp ratio of your pistons??? im also runnin a TSP wiseco stroker kit for high comp nitrous

StrangeTA

I'll have to go back through all the paper work tomorrow. It's all in there, with all the receipts.

The car was built for nitrous but hasn't ever been equipped with any. I have a full wet NX kit on my Regal that I'll be pulling off and maybe putting on this TA...but I'm going to have the tune done first before I do any changes.

And for what I paid for the car...I stole it...but I got the brother in law special deal, lol..

1BadBlkB1tch

iTrader: (1)

always nice welcoming in the new family member while stealin his F-body for P-nuts lol

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

If this is The same Weber racing in north east Ohio....more than likely, all your parts are stolen. Before they went under, a guy that worked there was taking shelf parts and selling them out of his house.

StrangeTA

Not sure when they went under apparently? But I have all the receipts from Weber there in Ohio when they built the motor for the car showing everything paid in full. The receipts show 2009 but this car wasn't finished until late 2010 according to the previous owner. And hasn't had many miles put on since. The entire drive train only has a little over 3k miles in a year and a half, and the clutch probably about 2000 now with me driving it a bit the last couple of days to a few meets.