Tell me about the L98

[Adict2Speed]

I'm probably going to pick up an L98 C4 sometime this week. Currently looking at a Black 91 targa with 64K miles and the 6spd.

How easy is it to mod the L98? Are there an abundance of heads available for them? How bad is the TPI manifold? Does it totally kill top end power like everyone says? Thanks

[BowTieBear]

L98 is the tried and true Small Block Chevrolet...there are literally millions of hi-perf parts on sale for them. yes the TPI can be limiting above 5500rpm but if its a street car you wont notice

[Mdformula350]

high torque, low horsepower, awesome street car from light to light.

my thirdgen was rated 245 hp and 345 tq. they tend to die out in the 1/4 at least my does, mostly due to the tranny not shifting right, but still u can feel it dropping some.


now for c4's my one friend has his running very low 13s in the 1/4 track and also his gears are like 2.93's or something and he kills on the highway runs!! tha thing is a monster like 80 in second gear!! plus those vettes tend to weight about 200 pounds less than the thirdgens.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/428980 thats his website to see his mods and such.

pretty easy to mod, yeah they peak around 4,800 after that ur just revving it.

they have loads of torque so if u can get alot of traction with like drag radials and a decent exhaust its a fun ride!

[Johnny_Pappis]

Freind had the same exact type of vette your looking at in an a4 what fun car!

[Johnny_Pappis]

Freind had the same exact type of vette your looking at in an a4 what fun car! Oh and the top end problem can be fixed a verity of ways

[Iroc-Z89]

There are millions of parts, the L98 is a 350.. Nothing special.

These engines leave Big Block owners and LS1 owners surprised when it comes to rearwheel torque. Advance your ignition timing to 12-15 degrees and you will find more noticeable power. The engine loses its power around 4800.

They are great for low end power and with a 6 speed they really take off. The automatics are slower and TPI305 cars can keep up with them.. The Tuned Port Injection system was designed for the 305 camaro.. When the vette took the system, they toned down the camaros for awhile.

You can opt for larger intake runners, which are abut $500. A holley stealth ram which is similar to a LT1 manifold, and costs about $500. Generally, the best yet most expensive route is either a new engine or to race prep the engine..

To build the 350 and make it fast a Mini Ram Intake, MSD ignition, your choice of heads and a larger camshaft are usually used.

[Rottluver]

Originally posted by Iroc-Z89
The Tuned Port Injection system was designed for the 305 camaro.. When the vette took the system, they toned down the camaros for awhile. Not trying to be a jerk here or anything, but you do realize that the TPI motors in both the Vettes and the F-Bodies came out in the same year, right? 1985? 350 (L98 auto or 4+3 speed manual) for the Vette and 305 (automatic only until 1987) for the F-Body.

[Iroc-Z89]

yes i do. But the injection system was designed for the 305. The idea was to get 305 cars on par with 350's as far as low end torque. Now, the crossfire system failed horribly. The only great new thing Genral Motors had was the Tuned Port Injection System. If you take notice of the 350 engine loosing power around 4800rpms, yet the cam was designed to push to about 5200-5500rpm. Hence why the runners are smaller than they should be for a 350. Every other engine or injection system prior and after that appeared on the vette one year prior.

GM messed up and they dropped the only thing they had into the corvette. The TPI system is in no way tuned for a 350. I gotta go