1.) I am a car noob, these questions will seem ridiculous perhaps. Understand I am car illiterate when it comes to more than the basics.
Here is my situation; My 86 GT is is pretty decent shape. This month I am finishing up restoring the look of it with the help of another local fiero owner who is also on these forums. New Fiero GT Floor Mats New Ash Trays Painting ash tray covers Painting mirrors black again painting decklids again buffing and waxing whole car new seat covers new shift boot new speakers fixing Pontiac light fixing fuel pump fixing headlight gear
Ok...
Next month will be more fun add ons. I want to actually get a little more HP in that car if there is a somewhat cheap way to do that. I just replaced the air filter and the engine is 25,000 miles old. I am going to get a radar detector and other odds and end for it, but one thing I was looking at for a simple looking gain of 30HP was this..
Then what is a good cheap alternative to getting some extra hp in?
For big power gain, Nitrous. Of course you will blow the engine apart but /shrug.
Good and cheap aren't compatible. HP costs.
You want extra HP your going to have to spend the money, especially working with the 2.8. You could port the exhaust manifolds, I've been told that's the cheapest way to gain a few extra HP. Then a better flowing exhaust might pick you up a little more. Other then that, I beleive it's either swap to a better engine or tare it down and build the 2.8 up for boost. Even so, if you tore down the 2.8 and built it for boost, I don't know if power levels to match your freinds 350Z will be obtainable without huge expense using the 2.8 block.
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 06-10-2011).]
Buddy is getting a 2006 350z. He has 320HP and goes 0 - 60 in 5.6 I want to at least maybe make it a race.
Buy a 2005 350z then
Seriously, the only way to compete would be to swap the engine. You are comparing '80s engine with '06 engine... apples to oranges. As mentioned, there is no way to get cheap HP, or GM would have done it. Just drive the car and enjoy it and the money you saved vs your friend.
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09:19 AM
masospaghetti Member
Posts: 2477 From: Charlotte, NC USA Registered: Dec 2009
Most "electric superchargers" are bilge pumps meant for boats, marked up 10x. They do not flow anywhere near the flowrate to make a difference in performance.
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10:45 AM
TopNotch Member
Posts: 3537 From: Lawrenceville, GA USA Registered: Feb 2009
Then what is a good cheap alternative to getting some extra hp in?
Port your exhaust manifolds and Y-pipe. If you take off a manifold and look into it, you'll right away see what needs porting. There's also a restriction in the Y-pipe that you can't see. This is the cheapest and easiest way to get more HP out of a 2.8.
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11:34 AM
nitroheadz28 Member
Posts: 4774 From: Brooklyn, NY Registered: Mar 2010
Hm well I was reading on some other forums last night about people that had tried them or knew about it etc. One guy thought it would be a scam. So he tried the theory by hooking up his 450cf leaf blower to his civic and truck. He has a dyno.
He got 10HP more out of his truck and 15 out of his civic. The "supercharger" listed here is 900cf.
Seems to dang cheap for the potential for so much hp. If I find one with a money back guarantee from somewhere I will give it a shot.
I read an article on a guy that put two leaf blowers on his corvette and gained 40 hp. Not kidding! I think it was in hot rod magazine?
So 900cf is basically 2 leaf blowers.... Just looks so nice and easy. Going to spend my day researching this thing. I see a lot of people on forums including this one saying, waste of time. Did you guys actually try one? Or know someone that did?
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01:21 PM
jaskispyder Member
Posts: 21510 From: Northern MI Registered: Jun 2002
Yes, a leaf blower could do that, as it is running from a different power source and it is building pressure. I haven't look at this fan you are wanting to buy, but boat bilge fans do not produce pressure. How about this... send me the money, your wallet will be lighter and you will gain a .0005% increase in HP.
Some of these fans actually block air flow to the engine. I think it was calculated by someone that they would need a bank of batteries to run the proper boosting unit and it could only be run for a short time. This "fan" wasn't cheap either. (a fan moves air, doesn't pressurize it like a super charger or turbo charger).
Hm well I was reading on some other forums last night about people that had tried them or knew about it etc. One guy thought it would be a scam. So he tried the theory by hooking up his 450cf leaf blower to his civic and truck. He has a dyno.
He got 10HP more out of his truck and 15 out of his civic. The "supercharger" listed here is 900cf.
Seems to dang cheap for the potential for so much hp. If I find one with a money back guarantee from somewhere I will give it a shot.
flow (cf) and pressure (psi) are 2 differnt things - you need to be able to generate pressure to "force' air into the cylinders. Seriously developing 900 cfm wouldn't be much harder to do than driving down the highway at 60 mph and having that airflow feed directly into the intake.
Did this fellow post actual dyno charts of these so called test? If not, it just becomes a he said with no actual proof. The world is full of people that make claims that yes it does work, but offer up little or no actual proof.
BTW, yeah, you might get your money back, minus restocking fee, shipping, etc... basically, you end up paying for the fan because it really doesn't cost more than $20 (probably).
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01:32 PM
jaskispyder Member
Posts: 21510 From: Northern MI Registered: Jun 2002
HUH? No... all of this is not for a Fiero. It is marketed to the F&F crowd who think that bolt on HP is just as easy and a few screws (isn't that how it works in the movie?)
You want performance, then it will cost you. You can port your exhaust manifolds to gain a few HP, remove the passenger seat, remove the A/C remove the stereo system, remove the spare tire, etc.
As for shopping at "yourhotcar.com" just close the browser and forget it and start reading up and listening and asking questions. Seriously... you would just be wasting your money otherwise.
BTW, if you click on engine parts they try to sell you a Ford transmission kit. run away...
[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 06-10-2011).]
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01:35 PM
jaskispyder Member
Posts: 21510 From: Northern MI Registered: Jun 2002
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ya electric superchargers are the best thats why all the top dogs use them and try to keep it on the down low.....(<---- thats my sarcastic voice) ya there is just no way not only your car could put out enough power to drive one to make a difference but it to be even close to what there is out there already. and you thought a normal roots supercharger was parasidic in nature.
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03:35 PM
1fatcat Member
Posts: 1519 From: Zimmerman, Mn Registered: Dec 2010
They do make an electric blower that works, but it's a roots supercharger run by a starter motor. It takes two stand alone full size car batteries and drains the batteries in about 45 seconds. Then you need to recharge them. And it costs more than a real supercharger or turbo setup.
That silly fan your looking at IS a total waste of money. You would be better off investigating leaf blowers for the budget you have.
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04:15 PM
Mickey_Moose Member
Posts: 7568 From: Edmonton, AB, Canada Registered: May 2001
Please note: NO PAINTED, CUSTOMIZED OR OTHERWISE ALTERED PARTS WILL BE ACCEPTED OR CREDITED. No returns on electronic parts.
...or in other words, they will not accept the 'electric supercharger' as a return...
Seriously though...you have read on other sites (and here) of people saying to stay away from them - only the 'ricers' say it works, but these are the same people that think installing the 'R Type' sticker on their car also makes it faster...
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04:47 PM
americasfuture2k Member
Posts: 7131 From: Edmond, Oklahoma Registered: Jan 2006
Then what is a good cheap alternative to getting some extra hp in?
i see you are from spokane. if you ever see a black loud c4 corvette rocking HID's or a 71 deuce and a half rocking HID's, give him a wave or talk to him. that is my brother and he is very knowledgeable of the fiero and a few other cars.
Then what is a good cheap alternative to getting some extra hp in?
There is nothing called "cheap horsepower" it does not exist contrary to scam artists like car parts makers say. No spark plug, not air filter, no magent, no bilge air vent handler, nothing you can do that is a 30 second thing will add even a 0.01hp
It simply does not exist contrary to what the Makers of K&N filters and E3 spark plugs claim...
for your engine, the CHEAPEST route is to remove your exhaust manifolds and have them ported and rewelded. Along with that you need to have the Y pipe ported. If you dont know how to do this, that alone will cost you about $550 at a shop that is competent enough to do it, plus cost of new gaskets and I would upgrade to studs instead of bolts while they have them off.
That's the CHEAPEST 5HP you will gain. anything else will do nothing until you fix the upper intake plenum. you can have that modified for a few hundred, or buy a truelo intake to fix that. Some claim it gives 10hp, it wont, it's about 5 solid HP. the truelo will give a real gain but ONLY above 4500 rpm. zero change below that.
for 30hp you need to spend about $1000.00 if you dont have a welder and can tig weld stainless and aluminum, and cant do all the work yourself. And that is if you know of a honest mechanic that wont rob you blind. Most mechanics are very under educated about cars and when you get into modifications they are worthless. You need to find a hotrod mechanic or a small shop where the owner still wrenches and knows what he is doing.
Another angle worth mentioning. A "supposed" electric supercharger consumes electrical power. That power must come from somewhere. The amout of Watts consumed must be made up by the vehicle's electric system which will put additional load on the alternator. You end up chasing your tail. The more electricity used to drive an electric impeller, the more HP consumed. Using electric driven impellers to compress will consume much more power than a leaf blower. That application is made to move air, not compress it. That's why you see the exit tubing reduce in diameter to artificailly increase the exit air speed.
Also, If an engine's intake system prior to the intake manifold is severely restricted, you might see a very slight gain. If the electric impeller is driven by an external source, you might see a very slight gain. All you are doing is negating a restrictive loss. You aren't gaining HP....... you are regaining lost HP from the ineffeciencies of the intake system. The bottom line is that attempting to run an electric compressor on a car is an exercise in futility. I don't care what results are claimed, I have experience in elecric impellers as well as forced induction on internal combustion engines....... their claims are fantasy when used within the application parameters that they claim.
Curious, do you have a before and after dyno sheet you could post up or is the "it works" based off of "butt dyno"?
Seriously, if it works I'd like to see it.
I could see where maybe a slight gain could "happen" but I have trouble beleiving 30 HP. Less then 5 HP, maybe. However, how much CFM is your intake already flowing? While the fan may be capable of moving 900 CFM, it will be restricted by what is available to be moved. Think of it like this, I could have a water pump that can do 2,000 GPM, but if I use a 2" supply line I'm not going to get 2,000 GPM out of it.
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 06-10-2011).]
Tell us how much money you would like to spend and I bet you get a lot more responses on ways to gain HP
My 2cents There are plenty of ways to get more power the only down side is your admitted limited mechanical skill set. I must say your 2.8 is not going to compete reliably with your buddies 350z - Ever It has been mentioned before your best option is going to be an engine swap, save up the cash and go that route
Lets do some easy power to weight calculations (these are rough figures favoring the Fiero) 06 350z = 3300 lbs - 86 Fiero = 2700 lbs
350z = 3300 / 320 = 10.3 = 1 HP for every 10.3 lbs Fiero GT = 2700 / 145 = 18.6 = 1 HP for every 18.6 lbs
So if you could get lets say 100hp from a real turbo set up 2700 / 245 = 11.0 = 1 HP for every 11.0 lbs
He will still beat you
Now if you had 280 HP (Lots of different ways to get here) 2700 / 280 = 9.6 now you would have the edge
[This message has been edited by Pappy (edited 06-10-2011).]
damn.... btw the manual on that car says it ways 3600. About 1k over me then Um.... Well this month I am basically out since I am buying interior restoration parts and rebuild parts. Next month though I could probably sink about 1200 into parts + laborr, and 1200 the month after.
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12:58 AM
masospaghetti Member
Posts: 2477 From: Charlotte, NC USA Registered: Dec 2009
As others have said, that site sells generic, non-fiero specific aftermarket parts. Nothing special.
It's obvious you really want this electric supercharger to work, but it won't. If it were that easy to add HP, the manufacturers would have already added it to every vehicle. Seriously, just enjoy the Fiero for what it is, OR swap in something like a 3800SC.
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01:02 AM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
