More power from 98 GT

Removing the tornado might help.....

Seriously, a motor is a "package deal". Instead of going willy nilly with a mod here and a mod there, you need to sit down and decide what it is you want and then go there. Planning ahead will save you money in the long run ($12,000 into a 500 inch RB dodge and counting).. Ths is your wallet and you shouldn't be cavalier in how you treat it.

You may find some improvement over the stock setup with a $100 piece only to toss it later when it proves inadequate for the next stage in your motors development. Plan ahead.... 'nuff sed

Oh, I nearly forgot... I was young once upon a time and I feel your pain.... learn from mine.

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

I actually put the tornado in to improve gas mileage... which it has improved horsepower & gas mileage. It'll stay for now. It was only $55. I really do like it. But ya I know what you mean on planning it out... thanks.

-Mike

So when you put your car on the dyno what was the top HP and torque before and after and at what RPM? Also, under the same driving conditions and driving style what was your before and after MPG?

Haven't put her on a dyno yet. Before gas mileage was about 13mpg.. still waiting to finish off this tank before I can give the after. I can tell though it's a lot better.

-Mike

I definately agree with Jim on this one. I've done the deal where I put this piece on and then that piece on. While that's fun and doesn't cost a lot at any given time, having a game plan ahead of time definately helps, both your wallet and your power output.

Not commenting on the tornado... ;-)

The big power mod for the 96-98 GTs is the swap to '99-up heads. It's expensive, yes, but will provide horsepower gains that will be notable on a dyno and in your seat. Not only do these heads flow much better than the old ones (*probably* better than any stock V8 head offered in the last 15 years), but installing them increases the compression ratio slightly to give you even more power. From what I've heard, expect an increase of around 50 HPish... citing the new cars are 260 HP and the extra compression boosts you up over that a bit.. so from 225 to maybe 275 sounds reasonable.

Mind you, compression ratio increases are not the gameplan for artifically aspirated situations (supercharger, turbocharger), but will work out great on an N/A engine.

Superchargers and turbochargers provide a whole lot of bang for the buck. They'll work better with an opened up intake/exhaust system, but will work fine with a stock one as well. Some manufacturers quote a 50-55% power gain by the addition of a blower. You're looking at adding what, 110 HP? That'll be noticable too.

There are a whole lot of ways to add power, but if you have a goal, a plan, and a budget, you'll get there much easier and cheaper than if you just start throwing parts at the car.

JS

Mike, do you spend all your time at 5,000 RPM? LOL....

My '97 snake does better than that, even driving the balls off of it... stock 305 hp car. Driving it hard I get about 16ish. Take it easy, about

1. Long highway trips are around 24.

JS

If your car is basically stock and you're getting 13 mpg under normal driving conditions then something is very wrong with your car. You should be getting around 20 mpg for city driving and 25+ for highway mileage. It could ba any number of things wrong but I suggest taking it to a GOOD mechanic for a diagnostic check.

BTW, I've tried to understand how the Tornado might improve performance and mileage but what is does goes aga> Haven't put her on a dyno yet. Before gas mileage was about 13mpg.. still

LOL... ya just about. I cannot drive 4 blocks to the nearby grocery store w/out some ricer wanting to mess around.

GT-Vert-03,

1.) NO i do NOT work for tornado 2.) I do NOT appreciate you throwing accusations at me

You may know more about cars than me but what right does that give you to basically tell me I'm full of it? I can see with my own little eyes how much gas is being consumed w/ the gas gauge.. but let me guess... it's not 100% accurate so it doesn't mean squat, right? Well in the future, keep your opinions like this to yourself. I'm posting MY experience with the tornado & asked a question of getting more power out of my car... people like Jim Warman & JS I really appreciate.. they don't slam me without telling me what I should do instead. Your post was simply "You don't know shit so stop talking you idiot". I don't appreciate stuff like this. If this is how it's gonna be, keep it to yourself. Thanks.

-Mike

If indeed you are not affiliated with Tornado, then I must apologize. Did not mean to attack you personally... I guess I was just venting... there are many scams out there, it makes me angry when I see con-artists taking advantage of innocent people.

I stand my ground on this part. To say you can tell that you're getting better fuel mileage just by watching the fuel gauge in the car only, without even filling the tank a second time and doing some calculations (which would not even be very accurate anyway, unless you did so over at least several fill-ups), doesn't make sense. Nobody could determine a change in mpg based on just looking at the stock fuel gauge over a 150 mile period or whatever. There are many reasons why this could never be accurate enough to make any type of determinations or even comments at all. If the Tornado actually increased mpgs by a HUGE amount (like a 3 or 5 mpg increase), then ok, I could see maybe detecting a slight change based on the fuel gauge over a 200 mile period, but I would never even assume by the farthest stretch of the imagination that the Tornado could increase fuel mileage by more than just a few percent, if at all, or if in fact actually not hurting fuel mileage. This could NEVER be detected on the fuel gauge. If you don't understand this concept, then I do not mean to slam you at all, and I apologize for ranting before in my other post, but I have to admit, when I read your reasoning in your first post, the first thought that came to my mind was that you were a Tornado representitive just talking trash. Sorry about that.

In a more constructive light, I might offer that you actually try to conduct some tests to see if you can actually show, based on careful measuring and calculations, that the Tornado has actually improved fuel mileage in your car (or not). And I do not suggest you do this for my sake or for the sake of any other nay-sayers, but do so for your OWN sake. I think that after spending $55 or whatever, you would be curious to see if the thing actually does what it claims. And it would be a good learning experience for you to conduct a careful mpg test over several months or about 10 fill-ups so you can see how mpg measurements fluctuate per driving conditions and per other variables, and how and why you cannot use your fuel gauge to determine mpgs.... etc.

Ok, sorry once again... no more rants or slams.

I promise I'm not affiliated with Tornado... I couldn't give a damn about 'em if I wanted to. I just feel a little extra "pep" from my car & my fuel is being consumed less. About filling up.. I meant I let it run to the redline on the gas gauge, put in the tornado, and filled up on gas... it's being consumed less & i'm driving her pretty hard. I'd absolutely LOVE to put her on a dyno, but there isn't exactly one any closer than about 3.5-4 hrs away there & back. I'm not trying to persuade anybody to buy a Tornado, I'm just saying "woohoo I think it's actually WORKING for me!". I am very aware I won't be able to tell immediately for sure, but over time I should be able to. It's just a cool little thing I did ot my car & I am pleased with it so far. Anyway... I understand how you could possibly think I was a sales rep. given you haven't posted here too long & don't know me quite yet.. so I know that shit happens. No hard feelings =). I apologize too if I came off as ranting back at you.

-Mike

Never underestimate the power of the placebo effect.

As for mileage, thats pretty pitiful. My 331 stroker makes over 400 hp and I drive it hard MOST of the time.. I always get better than 13 mpg arond town.

LJH

95GT

Great advice! Also be sure to consider all the "small stuff" when contemplating the cost. My 331 ended up costing about TWICE what I originally estimated because I didn't comprehend the effect of lots of $50-$100 parts. The major parts are easy to add up but along the way there will be dozens of "other" parts that are necessary and though individually not that expensive, add up fast.

As for total cost, lets just say my wife will never know!

LJH

95GT

LOL =)

Heh, when my great grandmotehr gave me her '68 galaxie (302) which my uncle ahd been driving for 6-7 years it got ~8 MPG on the first tank of gas I put through it, and that wasn't driving it hard at all. My uncle never did anything to that car unless it literally wouldn't go anymore. He apparently wasn't too concerned about stopping though as only the back brakes worked and even tehn one of the wheel cylinders was leaking and the master cylidner wouldn't hold any pressure to the rear brakes for long.

In any case, a few hundred bucks and a few weekends later I managed 17 MPG cruising two lane blacktops all day. I was cruising around 70-75 with occasional passes and bursts up to 90+. Quite an improvement, eh?

Cory

Given the lack of mods on your engine and the poor mileage, and short of finding a good mechanic, I'd be inclined to check the wires and plugs.

Sounds simple...doesn't it.

I'm guessing you have a cylinder that's not firing and as a consequence the EGO sensor (air fuel ratio) is detecting a lean condition and this is confusing the ECA (computer). The computer responds by adding more fuel to compensate for the bogus lean condition...and in the end... you're running on 7 cylinders and sucking down fuel.

Recommendation: Do a basic service to your ignition system before you consider an upgrade of any sort.

Best regards.

Thanks! =)