05-18-2022, 11:36 AM
(05-17-2022, 06:50 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: I'm not sure about identifying the different 400s in the Trans Ams...all I know is their value went crazy high. I always had a place in my heart for the turbo 4.9L. They were choked with emissions, but could be "opened up" and perform quite well.
Pontiac wanted to put the turbo 4.9 in the new 1982 Trans Am, but in that lighter platform, it would have made it faster than the Vette, so it got cancelled. Too bad. There is just something about "TURBO V8".
Turbo's today are so much more efficient than back in the '80's. It costs a ton of money to take an engine apart and add power with different heads, cams etc. But a turbo swap can be pretty simple and a more modern turbo can add tons of power.
With my Integra I added a supercharger to a normally aspirated engine that was already tuned for high performance. The problem with doing this is that normally aspirated performance engines have a high compression ratio and engines designed for boost have lower compression ratios.
So it is much more efficient to upgrade a turbo on an engine that was originally designed for boost.
I am not familiar with the 4.9L V8, but I have seen some crazy stuff done to that V6 that was in the Grand National.
