1995 grand prix se / wondering what to do?

Hi there, I own a 1995 grand prix se w/ almost 99,000 miles on it. I've been getting really into cars lately and was wondering what mods I could do to my car for better performance. Also, when I search various car part sites there is not many upgrades for my car, so a website with many parts for my car would be helpful. Thank you to all who respond.

Welcome to AF

Regretfully, there aren't a lot of good bang-for-the-buck mods for your car. Since 95 was a changeover year (from OBD-I diagnostics to OBD-II), your vehicle hasn't exactly been embraced by the aftermarket. There seems to be more info on the 3.1 over at the Grand AM forums, as it was the only V-6 of choice from 94-98 in them.

Yeah, my car seems pretty unpopular to most companies and I can't search for anything. Thanks for the input. I didn't know that about the change for GM.

you can get the basics... intake, headers, exhaust... the intake can be made fairly easily by doing this:

Get a piece of 3" O.D. 45*-90* bend aluminum tubing (thin wall) get a filter from AutoZone (cheapest is about $20) Get a 3"-3" silicone "intake adapter"

Remove the stock intake, completely. Remove the IAT sensor from it. Toss the rest.

Place the 3" silicon adapter on your throttle body (it's an oval, which makes it a PITA), slide the clamp on the other end, push it up and tighten it.

Push the filter onto the tubing, clamp it.

Put a clamp on the back of the tubing, push the tubing into the silicon adapter, and clamp it.

Get a 1/2" firewall grommet, drill a hole in the tubing that you just put on, and place the grommet in it, then push the IAT sensor through it.

There's your intake... short ram, anyway... cold air is much more difficult.

If you want headers, just get them for a car that has a 3.1 in it and is FWD. Consider Lumina Eurosport, or Z34 (I think that's the right number.)

Full exhaust, or catback... this is as simple as getting a muffler shop to bend you some pipe and weld it. Any universal "hi flow cat" will fit. for a "mostly stock" engine, 2.25-2.5 inch pipe is optimal. Dual or single, same size.

Crower I think makes custom cam grinds for your engine, as do many other companies... short of rebuilding, that's about all you can do.

If you wanna spend an assload of money, you can always find the Buick 3.8 Supercharger and make the adapter plates. Else, there was a STE option in 90-ish that was 4 spd auto and Turbo... you could always use that.

Best thing to start with, intake, header, exhaust, and get rid of some of the freakin weight... let's face it... these cars need a diet.

Rotating weight is the best to start with... lighter rim/tire combo, lighter axles, lighter wheel bearings, etc.

Just remember, as a general rule, 100lbs is worth .1 seconds at the strip.

Thanks for the input it was very helpful. Do you know of any websites I could search for the headers or exhaust?

to do anything to your car, you'll have to start by searching for similar cars... other cars that have the 3.1 will have the same (or similar) headers... watch out for the Chevy Lumina's 3100, it's not the same, and nothing will fit your car from it.

Exhaust, get it bent to match that of a Grand Prix GT, GTP, or STE. they have the same pipes, and it's dual exhaust.

Intake, eBay it... or make one.. you need a 45* bend of 3" pipe and a 3"-3" coupler... put it on the TB first, then slide the clamp over the open end, as the throttle body is oval, and will make it considerably difficult if you leave the clamp on.

Aside from all that, if you don't mind swapping parts, or don't need the car right away, or you have another car to drive while you're working on this one, I'm pretty sure you can change the heads to 3.4 or 3.8 heads, but check this out before you buy... get the head gasket part number, if it's not the same for both engines, go to the parts store, and compare the two... if every thing lines up, they're good to go.

If you get new heads, you can try your hand at porting and polishing, or you can send them out to have it done.

You can polish your throttle body, upgrade the size (with adapters), but first and foremost, with almost 100k, the engine could probably benefit most from a rebuild... a fresh engine is always stronger and better feeling than a worn one.

Something alot of people overlook -- lightening your car. Every 100 lbs you can take off your car shaves about .1 seconds off your 1/4 mile times.. it's free horsepower. (essentially)

There are alot of things on your car that truthfully, don't need to be there... so lighten up the things you can, replace what you can't with lighter parts.

Also, consider learning to lay fiberglass... it's much lighter than sheet metal, and it's not that difficult to lay out.

Obviously, as you can tell, just because there isn't really an aftermarket for something, doesn't mean it can't be done up a lil... it's just a lil harder without the support.