Efficient Power

[86RegalLimited]

What are the most efficient modifications to get more power out of my Regal. I am a 17 year old student so cost is an issue but I am not afraid to dish out some cash if it's worth it. I am looking for modifications that get the most bang for the buck.
Thank you

 

[illregal82]

ive heard vortech heads are the way to go for cheap horse power or maybe try to find a motor out of a 91-99 chevy vortech motor out of a chevy truck , tahoe , suburban you get the idea you can use the serpitine setup others may be able to tell you more im not a expert or anything

 

[86RegalLimited]

ive heard vortech heads are the way to go for cheap horse power or maybe try to find a motor out of a 91-99 chevy vortech motor out of a chevy truck , tahoe , suburban you get the idea you can use the serpitine setup others may be able to tell you more im not a expert or anything

Aren't those engines fuel injected? I rather stick with a carbureted engine because I want to keep my car as easy for me to maintain and fix as possible.

 

[illregal82]

i believe you can use a carb edelbrock sell vortech intake manifolds

 

[86RegalLimited]

what exactly are vortech heads and what do they do? What sort of power increase do they make?

 

[82355supreme]

Vortec heads are just a more efficient flowing, smaller chamber GM head. They have larger, smoother intake runners, unshrouded valves, fast burn combustion chambers, & straighter shot exhaust ports.

NOW, the down sides. They may flow well at low lift numbers, but run out of airflow at anyting over .470 lift & 4,500-5,000 RPMS Next the valve springs are no rated for any lift over .470 Reason being that they are out of flow by then anyhow. Some places & people add springs good to .510 lift, but the point is fairly moot, 'cause of reasons already stated. Next they require a "vortec intake" & valve covers which are considerably more expensive.

Decent heads yes, usually $500-600/pr. but for $100 more aeroheadracing has Dart Iron Eagles which KICK *ss!!!!

 

[86RegalLimited]

Vortec heads are just a more efficient flowing, smaller chamber GM head. They have larger, smoother intake runners, unshrouded valves, fast burn combustion chambers, & straighter shot exhaust ports.

NOW, the down sides. They may flow well at low lift numbers, but run out of airflow at anyting over .470 lift & 4,500-5,000 RPMS Next the valve springs are no rated for any lift over .470 Reason being that they are out of flow by then anyhow. Some places & people add springs good to .510 lift, but the point is fairly moot, 'cause of reasons already stated. Next they require a "vortec intake" & valve covers which are considerably more expensive.

Decent heads yes, usually $500-600/pr. but for $100 more aeroheadracing has Dart Iron Eagles which KICK *ss!!!!

What are lift numbers? So these heads run better at lower rpm's? At what rpm do auto trannys shift at? So when you take the car above 5000 rpm's what happens? What are Dart Iron Eagles and what are their advantage?

 

[82355supreme]

Lift numbers are how far the valve opens. EXAMPLE: .500 lift =the valve being opened off the closed position 1/2".

Yes the Vortecs flow good at anything below 4,500 RPMS, but if you floor it & let the trans. shift on its own, generally it will shift at 5,500 on a typical V-8

What happens with the Vortec heads over 45-5000?? A dramatic drop in power. You'd feel it driving as the engine pulling hard then falling "flat" & not really putting you back in the seat anymore at higher RPMS On a Dyno it would show as line climbing steady up 'till about 4,500 & then dropping straight down to the bottom of the paper.

Dart heads are some of the best, if not the best cast iron heads made. Their flow numbers are thru the roof.

 

[86RegalLimited]

Lift numbers are how far the valve opens. EXAMPLE: .500 lift =the valve being opened off the closed position 1/2".

Yes the Vortecs flow good at anything below 4,500 RPMS, but if you floor it & let the trans. shift on its own, generally it will shift at 5,500 on a typical V-8

What happens with the Vortec heads over 45-5000?? A dramatic drop in power. You'd feel it driving as the engine pulling hard then falling "flat" & not really putting you back in the seat anymore at higher RPMS On a Dyno it would show as line climbing steady up 'till about 4,500 & then dropping straight down to the bottom of the paper.

I'm trying to make sure i know what you are talking about so please bare with me: If I had a car equipped with vortec heads and I floored it I would be pushed against the seat while the rpms climb, then in the amount of time it took to get from 4500rpms to 5500 and shift the car would stop accelerating and start again when the transmission shifted? Is there any way to program the transmission to shift at a maximum of 4500rpms? Is there a jerk felt when the rpms climb above 4500 or is it just that you don't feel the pull anymore? Is there anyway to stop the engine from losing power?

 

[82355supreme]

It wouldn't stop accelerating, but it would stop "pulling hard" & more slowly rev to 5,500. The only way to stop it from losing power at higher revs is to have a better set of heads than Vortecs & to have a camshaft that has a powerband of up 6,000 RPM