bogus wrote:
Looks do not = performance.

You need to take a deep breath and reassess what you are doing. If CFI-EFI was around, and he might chime in, I suspect he would discourage it.

Those cute little air breathers will only suck in warm engine air. The Xfire airbox is sealed to the hood to get cold air.

If I owned an xfire engine, this is what I would do:

1. machine/hone out the intake to open up the ports to 100% and not their current 55%! That will liberate a ton of power.

2. Aluminum heads... Alcee1 has Edelbrock heads on his 84 and it really runs well with them. Also need cam and roller rockers.

3. Get your current injectors rebuilt and honed out. There are folks that can build them up to increase air flow.

4. Upgrade the computer. Others will chime in with the exact 411 (and I might find it online elsewhere). However, the idea is to update the computer with one from a pickup, c1987. The newer ECU has a better CPU for better tuning. Another option would be an entire ECU upgrade to LS1 specs with a modern sequential injection system...

5. Headers and better exhaust.

I would estimate, without even getting into the guts of the engine (beyond cam), that you are looking at a motor making well over 300 RWHP. I would estimate this upgrade would cost about $3500.00. The charm is if you plan it right, it can be done over a couple of years and won't hurt as much.

That is all if you want to keep the L83... as an alternative, update the entire driveline... LSx, TKO 5spd, D44. That upgrade would cost about $10k, tho... Again, this upgrade can be done over time. At least the accumulation of parts. Then take a winter to put them all in. Figure a used LS1, with harness and ECM is about $2500 (no trans) the TKO is another $3k, and the D44 another $2k. Figure another $2500 in bits and pieces.