What can I do?

[01Fbody]

Hey guys and gals, Im kinda new to the whole V6 Fbody scene and I was wondering what all can be done to my car performance wise. I've already got a flowmaster exhaust and K&N, but my car is still VERY slow. Its a 5 speed, and I dont want to run nitrous. I know someone is "supposedly" coming out with a turbo kit soon, and there is a Powedyne/Rk Sport supercharger out there somewhere that I cant find. Do the cams and rocker arms that comp cams produce make much difference? I know a few companies make headers as well, anyone know how hard installation is? This is my daily driver and she cant be off her feet for too long. Any help you all could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[Ed Blown Vert]

I ran the RKSport Blower kit on my V6.

http://rksport.com/product/p_010910287/view_detail

[01Fbody]

you dont still have it do you?? 4 grand is a lil steep for a my pocketbook. I could do a v8 swap for that kinda cash..

[Ed Blown Vert]

Nope, got rid of it when I bought my Vert. But still some info on it on my web site.

[01Fbody]

Ever heard of someone fabricating their own supercharger kit?

[dreaded_hope]

Yea, I've heard of a few people modifying supercharger kits (like brackets/piping ect.) to fit their cars, however if you are talking about your car being your daily driver and not being able to be off it's feet for too long, I dont think modifying a kit designed for another car would be the way to go. I had the powerdyne S/C you're talking about also, but sold it and switched to nitrous. I agree the price for it new is crazy, but I bought mine used, and for the price I got it for, it was a good deal for the performance potential.

As far as headers if you want top of the line, crazy expensive try Clear Image Automotive headers. However the best bang for your buck as far as quality/cost go would be Pacesetter. And yes there are lots of people running heads/cam packages on their 3.8s, as well as just more aggressive cams. Check out www.intense-racing.com for just a brief idea of what's out there.

SLP makes intakes/lids for your 6, and you might want to look at upgrading your gears to 3.73's for more performance.

Making your 3.8 fast isn't that difficult, and there is many ways to get you there, you just have to decide which route you'd like to take. :yup:

[Hotrod]

If your looking into a supercharger/turbo, you might as well go with nitrous. Same results for cheaper. There used to be a company on E-Bay that sold Pacesetter headers for cheap. Just search for V-6 camaro headers. A cam can be found on www.zzperformance.com and you can buy all the gaskets at your local dealership. I bought the VS-Cam and it made a huge difference. Other parts can be found on www.supersixmotorsports.com. As far as installation goes, it's a big pain in the butt!!!!

[Demon_Speeding]

Forgot to mention...If you want even more 3800 info check this site out. 3800pro.com

www.3800pro.com/forum/

[12secondv6]

Well.... what do you want out of your car?

Straight line accel?
Top end?
Handling?

Let us know :)

See sig ;)

[01Fbody]

The car is my everyday driver. Im just looking for fairly cheap reliable performace. Im not familiar with nitrous and fuel injection, but I have thought about a Zex dry system. I wanted to go with a supercharger because of the ease in installation compared to a turbo, with all the piping and manifolds and tapping the oil pan, tuning, yada yada.. Nitrous is easy but I'd really like to have the power all the time without having to refill a bottle and worry about burning up pistons. I could shoot myself now for not buying a RKSport supercharger kit on ebay for 700 about 6 months ago. Anyhow, Im exploring my options. Let me know what you think is the best bang for the buck. Should I hold out for another supercharger, go with nitrous and hope the motor stays together, or do the cam and rockers?

[Loochy88]

a rk kit for 700?! did it meet the reserve? im jealous now

[Zboner]

The car is my everyday driver. Im just looking for fairly cheap reliable performace. Im not familiar with nitrous and fuel injection, but I have thought about a Zex dry system. I wanted to go with a supercharger because of the ease in installation compared to a turbo, with all the piping and manifolds and tapping the oil pan, tuning, yada yada.. Nitrous is easy but I'd really like to have the power all the time without having to refill a bottle and worry about burning up pistons. I could shoot myself now for not buying a RKSport supercharger kit on ebay for 700 about 6 months ago. Anyhow, Im exploring my options. Let me know what you think is the best bang for the buck. Should I hold out for another supercharger, go with nitrous and hope the motor stays together, or do the cam and rockers?



save your money and buuy gas, thats my thought :mad:

[dreaded_hope]

If you're spraying a reasonable shot of nitrous there should be no reason why you should damage your motor. There are so many terrible misconseptions with nitrous it's not even funny. I've heard from a mechanic I know who said, "oh, you shouldn't use nitrous, it will fry pistons". To which I said, "alright, what kind of kit do I have? What kind of shot am I running? How big of a shot size do I have to run before upgrading my fuel system? What all have I added to compensate for nitrous on my car? You have no idea, you just heard the word nitrous and instantly concluded that somehow magically my pistons would be fried. Do you honestly think that companies like NOS, Zex, NX ect, could do such huge buisness if every kit they sold just blew up every engine it was installed on? Think about it."

The thing with nitrous is the same with everything, moderation is key. You can run around an 85 shot on a stock motor, with a stock fuel pump and have no problems and good reliability. When you move up to a 100 shot, you should upgrade your fuel pump. It's like any other major modification, just make sure your engine is in top shape before you put it on, and you shouldn't have any problems. :)

[01Fbody]

Well I've ran nitrous on my 377 motored pickup for about 3 years. But its a whole different story when you can retard your own timing, adjust fuel pressure and re jet your carb to make it all come together. I know several guys that have leaned out their motors making a pass and fried pistons. I guess nitrous with fuel injection is safer? I've just never dabbled in the two. Thanks for the info.

[01Fbody]

yes the rk kit met reserve. The guy had installed it and the car was slammed in the rear by a truck a week after. I asked a few questions but I never bid because I figured it would go for at least 2k. I bet he was bummed..

[01Fbody]

save your money and buuy gas, thats my thought :mad:
haha, gas here isnt THAT bad yet, I mean its horrible but I think we have it better than the rest of the nation. Thank god I have an emissions car from cali that will run on 87 :)

[Zboner]

i live in kentucky and its 3.09 for the cheep crap

[dreaded_hope]

i live in kentucky and its 3.09 for the cheep crap
It's worse here in Canada, even though we supply 88% of our own oil used for gasoline. Right now it's at 1.02 a liter for 87, however in many parts of the country it's already up to 1.24 a liter for gas because of the hurricane. To give you an idea there are 3.785 liters in one gallon. :cry:


Well I've ran nitrous on my 377 motored pickup for about 3 years. But its a whole different story when you can retard your own timing, adjust fuel pressure and re jet your carb to make it all come together. I know several guys that have leaned out their motors making a pass and fried pistons. I guess nitrous with fuel injection is safer? I've just never dabbled in the two. Thanks for the info.

On my setup it's really very simple(I have a dry setup), the computer adjusts for extra fuel, and increases your fuel pressure with this kit on it's own. I just have a fuel pressure safety switch incase my fuel pump dies or pressure drops for some reason. Other than that, you dont have to play around with it at all, especially with as small a shot as I'm running. 12secv6 reccomended the kit I got (NOS 5175), for simplicity, good reliability and safety which is one of the main reasons I decided to get it.

[Zboner]

[QUOTE=dreaded_hope]It's worse here in Canada, even though we supply 88% of our own oil used for gasoline. Right now it's at 1.02 a liter for 87, however in many parts of the country it's already up to 1.24 a liter for gas because of the hurricane. To give you an idea there are 3.785 liters in one gallon. :cry: QUOTE]

thats way to much

[quicky06]

US has the cheapest gas in the world (major country) everyone else's is so over taxed, i mean almost have is tax

[dreaded_hope]

I know, off hand I think there is an 8% tax on gas, and then a 7% govt sales tax on top of that. Nice hey? Tax on tax. Makes me sick.

[12secondv6]

Hopefully you are auto... may I suggest a high stall converter?

I saw 33 MPG with my ProYank 3200 and 3:23's

[dreaded_hope]

Hopefully you are auto... may I suggest a high stall converter?

I saw 33 MPG with my ProYank 3200 and 3:23's


I can't believe you were getting that kind of milage with your mods!! But then again, I guess with all the weight reduction it probably helped a bit.

[12secondv6]

Most definately! I was around 3100-3150 then?

Now.... 4:10's and 4200 stall = HORRIBLE gas mileage!!!!

I'll deal with it though ;)