1989 Camaro Iroc Z 350

Owners: Carlos and Steph

Engine: 5.7 Liter Tuned-Port Fuel-Injected V8 350

Transmission: 4 speed AUTO

Horse Power: 240 @ 4400 Torque: 345 @ 3200

Comments:
"it could be the closest facsimile to a full-bore road racing car you'll ever drive"- Hot Rod Magazine, Jan. 1987.

Hi-Performance Additions:
Flowmaster 2 chamber cat back, B&M shift kit, K&N, Cut out air deflectors and box, Air-Foil, Hypertech chip, Y-pipe, arizona speed and marine runners, 160 low temp thermostat and Hot-Shot relay.

Curiosities:
The 5.7 liters only came with automatic transmissions (identical to a corvettes) because the five speeds were too weak to handle the added power. After 7 years of refinement, the 1989 cars were the best handling, best performing and most powerful of the third gen camaros to date. This year marked the "Pass Key" theft deterrent system, as used in the corvette. This coded ignition key effectively reduced the rate of theft of the camaro. This was the year that RS replaced the base coupe and featured similar styling to the IROCZ. The standard engine for the RS was a 173 cid MFI V6, the 305 TBI (code LO3) was optional. The standard engine in the for the IROCZ was the LO3 while the 305 cid (code LB9) and 350 (code L98), both with TPI, were optional. Also on TPI engines the 9th injector of earlier models was eliminated (This injector was to help cold engines start). This change was possible because of new recalibrations to the fuel system which allowed a greater fuel supply through the injectors. Injectors were changed to Multec Injectors, these improved fuel atomization, quicker action, and lower voltage operations. Owners grippes and praises: Anyone owning this machine should cut out the air box and deflectors that are on the nose of this car. I can not believe that a motor this big can breathe through that restrictive mess. One should expect a solid 5hp at the rear with this mod (more if you have other mods). The low temp thermostat should also be at the top of the list of mods. This piece is significant because these cars run so hot (designed that way for emissions) and at times can detonate when run hard in the summer. I have a drastic 160 degree thermostat because my hypertech chip lowers the temp the car can go into closed loop mode. If you do not have this chip, go with a 175 or 180. Damn the starter design of these cars! These cars are designed to run hot (due to emissions) and on top of that the exhaust (y-pipe) is routed right by the starter solenoid, which is mounted on the starter. This heat affects the solenoid adversely and at times it will not work. In the summer, I had to wait close to 30 minutes before the starter would cool and fire. This condition is called "heat soak". To fix this, I bought a starter relay kit, from painless wiring (Hot-Shot), and it fixed the heat soak. The relay is away from heat and acts just like the solenoid.

Why is this car rated at 240hp and not 230hp?
While there were many changes to the engine that improved reliability and derivability, a new, optional dual catalytic converter exhaust system improved horsepower. This new exhaust was available in TPI engines which were ordered with the G92 optional performance gear ratio. The reduction in backpressure, compared to the single cat, was significant enough to bump horsepower by 10. Thus horsepower increased from 230 to 240 for the 350.