anks106

This is what i propose (Naturally Aspirated only)
Assuming it is a mid 15 second car bone stock

DIY Head Porting - free
Nitto Drag Radials - 200
BFI - free
cutout after the cats - about 100 installed (50 dollars on each side of the dual exhaust)
Jbrady Muffler Delete Mod - free
EGR blockoff - 5
Lextreme Torque Converter (2800 rpm stall) - 500 installed
Automatic Supra Turbo Limited Slip Differential - 500 installed
throttle body coolant bypass mod - 5
Apexi SAFC - 400 with tuning

total cost - 1700 dollars

Anyone think that this wouldnt be enough? Or that there is a cheaper way to do it?

Rice

There definnately is a cheaper way to do it.
Buy a 95 Trans Am!

lspower

thats a real good way to get it started, you could put it on a small diet, spare tire, jack etc, put in a can of fix a flat, also take off ur stock manifolds and you could fix those a little w/ a hand tool or dremel, also put in an electric fan/trd thermostat, rad cap, take a run and you should def. be really close if not there


hey rice, he wants it to not fall apart after 20k miles

good luck man you can do it

Rice

lspower,
Love your avatar!
I caould stare at it for hours

anks106

you find me a 95 trans am that will cost me less than 1,700 dollars and i am your best friend lol

JBrady

Leave the heads alone... they are NOT your bottleneck and any work on them will likely cost you power.

I highly doubt you will find a functioning Supra TT LSD differential for $500 let alone installed (unless you do it yourself).

The exhaust manifolds suck... 98+ are slightly better but will not work with the cats or Y pip you have. The headers I am having built would really help but cannot make any fitment promises until they have actually been built and tested.

A full flow exhaust system should be very helpful. Cutouts will probably kill your low-mid range torque and slow your off the line response.

A converter is a must. The higher the stall the quicker but also the more compromise on drive quality.

Nittos or BFG drag radials are highly recommended.

Computer tuning could be helpful but no experience to quote.

Remove as much weight as possible.

Practice.

I know you want to stay NA but maybe the ZEX nitrous system would be easier/cheaper.

lspower

now im pissed ur telling me that a supra tt lsd diff fits on my ls????

please respond

anks106

I am pretty sure that from the Turbo Auto transmission it would bolt up.. but I would test fit a junkyard one before spending the cash on a real one.

JPI Racing

the supra rear diff won't fit on the Ls400!
JPI

anks106

I know it wouldnt be the ebst for the bottom end.. but much of racing is done on the top end anyway, plus i can close it for everyday driving and open it up when i am racing.. also gotta love the sound of quasi-open cats. Also, iwth all the "problems" in the LS exhaust.. wouldnt it be worth the sacrifice?

As for nitrous, i know it would be the easy way to break 13s (or even 12s) but i prefer to do it N/A

Anyone have any suggestions as to what other mods would be more cost efficient?

JBrady

As JPI stated the carrier housing will not fit. The earlier LS has a 3 bolt housing and the Supra TTs are 4 bolt. My LS400 has the same 4 bolt housing as the Supra Auto TT but the rear covers must be swapped. The TRD limited slip carrier may fit inside the stock housing and use the same or different gears but I cannot say for certain.

JBrady

Ok, first of all it depends on the track you go to. The closer to sea level the better. Here in Houston that is not a problem but as elevation goes up the air pressure goes down and with it power.

So, assuming a sea level track... my 96 LS400 went a best of 15.4 @ 91mph with a 2.35 60ft. With a 2800rpm torque converter and some sticky drag radials I feel that a 1.9 - 2.0 60ft is doable otherwise bone stock. That translates to a .45 to .90 seconds quicker 1/4. So, that could be a 14.5. You need BOTH more torque and power to better that time. My 99 has 300ft pounds at 4000rpm vs your 270 at 4400rpm. This gives me more torque earlier and total. So yes, torque is IMPORTANT in drag racing because off the line is where most of your gains will come from. Typically I run a 96mph trap speed so that is nearly 50hp more than my 96 even though it is only rated 30 more peak. Good exhaust including manifolds could get you close. Unfortunately, there is not a buy and install exhaust available so you are left experimenting. Again, the cut outs will cost you power. Definitely do the air box mod.