Gain more horse power

[blmkjm]

I owned my 87 conquest 19 years recently was changing plugs and broke one off in head. Now have to remove head so was knocking around use of after market items to up horse power. Can do mechanic work on stock motors so wondering if cost, finding parts, information on how to do, what to do and project itself to get 300 or better HP would be worth the trouble. Edited October 15, 2011 by blmkjm

[gerwulf]

its possible, and do able, theres a few300+ dyno queens on here that can tell ya what ya need

[Lance_S]

Welcome to the board. Owned the same quest for 19 years. Nice. There is a ton of information. Spend some time in the FAQ section. That will answer quite a few questions for you.

 

L

[Metric-man]

Ah the age old question: "Can I make more horsepower?"

 

But with a twist: "Is it worth it?"

 

I'm sure if you already like the car it is going to be worth it, but as gas prices are, any improvment in horsepower is going to be met with better fuel economy,( if you can keep your foot out of it) by not mashing the gas pedal for the exhilaration of the added power.

[holeysocks]

Horsepower is a matter of Money.How fast do you want to go?$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Starfighterpilot]

Congratulations on owning your Conquest for 19 years!!! :)

 

Ya might want to take a look at this Starquest FAQ for things to do to check/rebuild/replace in the entire 24 year old drive train before you start jacking up the HP & torque. http://www.starquest...showtopic=66449

 

It even has some easy to do mods that don't take much money to up the HP, by at least 30 - 60 HP, by eliminating/overcoming the excessive smog restrictions that the MITSU engineers over designed into the Starquests to meet the CA 1980's restrictive smog requirements.

 

Keep on having fun with your Old Lady.

 

For What It's Worth.

 

KEN

[Fuze]

If you're just asking about making power with the head, porting, larger valves, and heavier springs are options, but none by themselves will be a big difference.

 

The obvious easy upgrade in the head is to eliminate the jet valves, the small valves next to the intake rockers. You can just take the adjuster screws out of the rockers so they will no longer open, or you can buy a Jet Valve Elimination Kit that is basically four big bolts to replace the valves with.

 

If you want to get some work done in there with the head off that will pay off later, I suggest porting the head and manifolds to match, especially the exhaust manifold, and the turbo exhaust housing inlet and outlet. If you are running the stock exhaust, gut the pre-cat (downpipe) as after all this time it's likely part clogged and inefficient. If you still have the stock downpipe, also eliminate the metal hose that comes off the back of it by cutting the metal line and putting a quarter under the cap on the downpipe to seal it back up. You can now lose the black box on the driver side of the valve cover and plug the vac line.

 

Beyond those options, cam upgrades, turbo upgrades, etc are always there.

 

In a nutshell, power just comes from airflow. If you open up the exhaust to a 3" pipe, open up the aircan or go to a less restrictive intake, and make better airflow through the ports by porting, you'll get results. Turbo upgrades are obvious, but doing the other upgrades first makes sense.

Edited October 24, 2011 by Fuze