Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question

Sean221A · 04-07-2008, 06:20 PM

I have a 94 Camaro that i have been running in stock this year in division 2 races. I have all of the best parts from ECU, headers, engine, tranny, suspension yet the car does not seem to have any bottom end power. Could it be possible the stock opti-spark could be messed up but would still alow the car to go down the track??? really need to get this figure out thanks!!

Also car's ECU is plugged directly into stock opti-spark could it def be affecting bottom end power??

Woodro Josey · 04-07-2008, 07:13 PM

Sean, i am not going to say this is your problem but i have seen Optisparks slow down a car 25 hundereths and never miss a lick, so that is a good place to look! The Rotors are bad about the probe turning! Go ahead while you have it down and change it over to the MSD Cap and Rotor! That is if they have it for the 94 model, i always change them over to the 95 and later!

Sean221A · 04-07-2008, 08:04 PM

Thanks Woodro thats what i was hoping to hear. I bought one from msd at the gators but haven't put it on yet. Was way too hectic running the rounds with two cars. Thanks again def will be posting some more questions soon.

Tommy Gaynor · 04-07-2008, 08:42 PM

Woodro you are right they have have caused real problems at time. I would also inspect cam timing, with the limited valve to piston clearance I am not sure it could be off much. Where does the convertor flash to?

Sean221A · 04-07-2008, 09:26 PM

We thought it was converter so put one in that flashed 400 rpm higher right in the range were it should be as too talkin to some people. Did not help the 60 foot at all. Still no help bottom end. Another questionable factor i was thinking about as far as cam timing on the dyno the headers would turn cherry red as indicating lean but tune wasnt. Could this be in cam timing? Thanks for the input Tommy hope all is well.

Darrin Christen · 04-07-2008, 10:45 PM

The few times that I have seen the headers turn cherry red was because the ignition timing was too low. This was at an idle, and they were cherry red right next to the cylinder heads.

Sean221A · 04-08-2008, 12:48 PM

We checked the timing after the dyno and it was exactly what it should be. Plus this cherry red glow was at higher rpms like each time we made a pull.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darrin Christen

The few times that I have seen the headers turn cherry red was because the ignition timing was too low. This was at an idle, and they were cherry red right next to the cylinder heads.

csjta · 04-08-2008, 01:46 PM

How are you checking the timing?

Hope it's not a dumb question but the LT1's have no timing marks

Rich Biebel · 04-08-2008, 02:07 PM

You have to make a timing pointer of some kind for an LT-1. I welded a piece onto the water pump housing and then down to the balancer. The housing is doweled to the block so it should be in the same place everytime you take the housing on and off. A crank trigger would allow you to either run locked timing seperate from the ECU or feed the signal to the ECU and plot a timing curve. I ran it locked out mostly. I used an MSD crank trigger and also their cap and rotor.

Sean221A · 04-08-2008, 09:58 PM

Yeah we had somethin rigged up on there to check the timing. Thanks for the info Rich ill def see what i can with that. thanks everyone

04-07-2008, 06:20 PM	#1
Sean221A Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 23 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question I have a 94 Camaro that i have been running in stock this year in division 2 races. I have all of the best parts from ECU, headers, engine, tranny, suspension yet the car does not seem to have any bottom end power. Could it be possible the stock opti-spark could be messed up but would still alow the car to go down the track??? really need to get this figure out thanks!! Also car's ECU is plugged directly into stock opti-spark could it def be affecting bottom end power??

04-07-2008, 07:13 PM	#2
Woodro Josey Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 805 Likes: 0 Liked 3 Times in 1 Post	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question Sean, i am not going to say this is your problem but i have seen Optisparks slow down a car 25 hundereths and never miss a lick, so that is a good place to look! The Rotors are bad about the probe turning! Go ahead while you have it down and change it over to the MSD Cap and Rotor! That is if they have it for the 94 model, i always change them over to the 95 and later! __________________ Woodro Josey 2002 STK

04-07-2008, 08:04 PM	#3
Sean221A Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 23 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question Thanks Woodro thats what i was hoping to hear. I bought one from msd at the gators but haven't put it on yet. Was way too hectic running the rounds with two cars. Thanks again def will be posting some more questions soon.

04-07-2008, 08:42 PM	#4
Tommy Gaynor Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Vancouver WA Posts: 253 Likes: 2 Liked 5 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question Woodro you are right they have have caused real problems at time. I would also inspect cam timing, with the limited valve to piston clearance I am not sure it could be off much. Where does the convertor flash to?

04-07-2008, 09:26 PM	#5
Sean221A Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 23 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question We thought it was converter so put one in that flashed 400 rpm higher right in the range were it should be as too talkin to some people. Did not help the 60 foot at all. Still no help bottom end. Another questionable factor i was thinking about as far as cam timing on the dyno the headers would turn cherry red as indicating lean but tune wasnt. Could this be in cam timing? Thanks for the input Tommy hope all is well.

04-07-2008, 10:45 PM	#6
Darrin Christen Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Des Allemands, LA Posts: 365 Likes: 8 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question The few times that I have seen the headers turn cherry red was because the ignition timing was too low. This was at an idle, and they were cherry red right next to the cylinder heads. __________________ 4878 SS/GA 66CHEVY II

04-08-2008, 01:46 PM	#8
csjta Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 66 Likes: 35 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question How are you checking the timing? Hope it's not a dumb question but the LT1's have no timing marks

04-08-2008, 02:07 PM	#9
Rich Biebel VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern New Jersey suburbs Posts: 2,314 Likes: 25 Liked 544 Times in 213 Posts	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question You have to make a timing pointer of some kind for an LT-1. I welded a piece onto the water pump housing and then down to the balancer. The housing is doweled to the block so it should be in the same place everytime you take the housing on and off. A crank trigger would allow you to either run locked timing seperate from the ECU or feed the signal to the ECU and plot a timing curve. I ran it locked out mostly. I used an MSD crank trigger and also their cap and rotor. __________________ Rich Biebel S/C 1479 Stock 147R

04-08-2008, 09:58 PM	#10
Sean221A Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 23 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Lt1 Stock Opti-spark Question Yeah we had somethin rigged up on there to check the timing. Thanks for the info Rich ill def see what i can with that. thanks everyone