Question from a newbie

[bpjr07]

I don't understand the turbo regals got more horsepower from the year 86 to 87 want was the difference?

 

[PsYcHo GN]

I don't understand the turbo regals got more horsepower from the year 86 to 87 want was the difference?

86 and 87 were intercooled

 

[turbofish38]

The difference between the 86 and the 87 was purely on paper only. Neither the 86's 235HP or the 87's 245HP come anywhere close to the actuall power figure. Most agree that the true HP was around 275HP.

 

[turbo nasty]

Yep kinda like the 290 hp rating on the Chevy DZ302 on the first gen Camaro

 

[hrhoward]

Campaign of misinformation. There there Chevy, it will be ok...we won't tell anyone.....

 

[aminga]

The difference between the 86 and the 87 was purely on paper only. Neither the 86's 235HP or the 87's 245HP come anywhere close to the actuall power figure. Most agree that the true HP was around 275HP.

The 87's got 10 more HP because the 87 vette's got 10 more HP. :biggrin:

 

[cabech984]

Kinda like the LS1 Corvette and LS1 Camaro. Identical engines (year to year), Vettes get 345HP, F-Body gets 305. Both cars however, dyno the same typical numbers(280-330RWHP)

GM's reason the vette got more HP? Car specific exhaust and air intakes

 

[bpjr07]

kool thanks for the info guys
Is it true that they did it so the owners can have lower insurence rates?

 

[aminga]

kool thanks for the info guys
Is it true that they did it so the owners can have lower insurence rates?

Supposedly Corporate policy was no car could have more HP than the Corvette.

 

[turbofish38]

I never believed in the conspiracy theory that nothing could top the Vette in power numbers. You can go all the way back to 1953 and find plenty of examples to debunk that myth. The reason for the paper numbers wasn't for lower insurance but to get the cars built more or less. According to legend Hydramatic division could only make the 200-4R strong enough to survive the 235HP mark. The head of Buick engineering wanted the TR so bad he had to come up with a plan to get the strongest transmission he could find. He lied in other words. I dont know how he would explain to management all of the warranty claims for trannys but it looks like things worked out. Kind of like putting the cart before the horse.

 

[aminga]

I never believed in the conspiracy theory that nothing could top the Vette in power numbers. You can go all the way back to 1953 and find plenty of examples to debunk that myth. The reason for the paper numbers wasn't for lower insurance but to get the cars built more or less. According to legend Hydramatic division could only make the 200-4R strong enough to survive the 235HP mark. The head of Buick engineering wanted the TR so bad he had to come up with a plan to get the strongest transmission he could find. He lied in other words. I dont know how he would explain to management all of the warranty claims for trannys but it looks like things worked out. Kind of like putting the cart before the horse.

I've heard the tranny story as well. But I've wondered what happened in 87 to make the 200R4 stand up to 245.

 

[bpjr07]

so does this mean that i will need to do something to the trany to handle over 300 horses or what?

 

[dgoodhue]

Supposedly Corporate policy was no car could have more HP than the Corvette.

1986 Corvette had 230 hp and 1987 Corvette had 240 hp, the 1989 Corvette had 245hp (TTA was rated at 250hp) My guess is they kept the HP close to the Corvette. It probably would have looked bad to have the turbo Buicks with 30-40 more hp at the times.

Transmissions are rated in torque. I have actually seen instances where GM underrated the torque rating to match the tranmission rating. The TPI Corvettes were under rated in torque by about 30-40 ft-lbs, Syclone and Typhoon were under rated by 80-90 ft-lbs.