what all can i do to make my 2.8 fuel injected engine faster... well more acceleration... i really dont care to go faster than 70 but i would love to feel a jump and be thrown back in my seat when i start off the line

 

Afraid that is not gonna happen. You would have better luck working on the suspension so when you accelerate more of the weight transferes to the rear.

 

get a V8?

 

well ive been told tat with some porting and headwork and cams i can get up to 200 horses... so what else is there?

 

I ran some numbers on desktop dyno. Not knowing exactly what your stock CFM is I used 500. With that and stock valve sizes and pocket porting you would need a cam with almost twice the lift of stock to get around 200 HP and tube headers.

Simple things you can do is free up the air going in and the gasses coming out. Also an easier upgrade than a cam with more lift is install a higher ration rocker arm. 1.6 instead of 1.5. In some cases it also helps to leave the exhaust at 1.5 and only use the 1.6 on intake valves. But that would take expirimentation.
If you find a cam you have to make sure that it is ok to use on computer controled cars as well.

 

The 2.8L is rated at 135 horse power and 160 torque. Keep in mind thats at the crank. See the other post about better gas millage on the 2.8 you may be able to bring some old life in to the old girl by doing all the things over there.

If you want faster acceleration you could always change your gears but its going to come at the cost of fuel.

If you have a little bit of money you could have it rebuilt as a 3.4 by one of the professional companies. That would give you around 180-200 horses but it will cost you around 2000-2500 bucks plus your old engine for the core charge.(note that is only for the engine)

 

You can get a 3.4 for around $1800 from the dealer depending on where you shop. But they would want a 3.4 core back. You would either pay it or try to pull one over on them.

There is not enough meat to bore out a 2.8 to a 3.4. That would be an over bore of .120. Way to much. A 3.1 is a bored 2.8 with a longer stroke. The same stroke as a 3.4.

 

Sorry about that. I was referring to buying a performance 3.4 from one of the performance shops. A stock 3.1 doesnt have that much power over the 2.8. I could be mistaken but i think its only rated at 150 horses.

 

The V-8 or 3.4 upgrade is the way to go to increase HP. I use to work for a chevy dealer 85-90. I did warranty repair. The most common engine repairs I did was 2.5 timing gears and 2.8 cranks/connecting rods. If I am remembering right one of the major upgrades of the 3.1 was a stronger bottom end. Increasing the horse power of a motor that is notorious for a weak bottom end is not a good move.

Gears might be what you are looking for. With low torque motors like the 2.8 gearing is almost the only way to make the car feel different. If you plan on doing the work yourself you could just buy a complete rear from a junk yard/parts car that came with 3:73. It will cost you in highway mileage and topend, you will need the speedo gear from that car.

 

i will tell you that i had bought a hypertec performance chip for my 89 2.8 and it made a extremely noticable differance. autozone.com. do that and open up the exaust. maybe do a cat back style? whatever suits u. cold air intake or maybe spend a little and get a forceflow turbo intake system. very many possibilitys with the 2.8.