First mod to make to an engine for performance

[xbx1120]

Ok, lets say the engine is a V6 3.8 (I'm probably getting a chevy impala soon). and yeah the car will be used (2003-).

I know the first thing to do is change the oil, and performance filters are good (oil, air).

Do you guys have any suggestions? I don't know too much about cars, so nothing too complicated or no major changes yet

Thanks

[bluevp00]

You already have the right idea with good quality oil & air filters. I would reccommend switching to synthetic motor oil when you change the oil (Mobil 1 or Castrol Syntec), that stuff works wonders.

Considering that the car is used, I'd first work on the regular mantineance. Change the trans. fluid, coolant, fuel filter, ect. Once that stuff is done, the engine is in tip top shape to run it's best. As for performance mods, a cold air intake will usually do you good, they're easy to install, and if you feel brave, you can build one yourself from scratch (for a lot cheaper too).

Even though the engine is the power center of the car, dont forget about the suspension and tires too, this is what puts the power to the pavement. If the tires are in so-so shape, consider upgrading to all season sport tires, or even summer tires if you can afford them.

[curtis73]

There is probably about 7-8 hp that can be found in your stock computer. Try www.pcmforless.com . For a little over $100 Bryan Herter might be able to lean out the fuel curve and bump up the timing. Leaning out the fuel won't change anything you do, but bumping up the timing will require the use of premium fuel. You can talk to him about what you want and he can do it all; revise shift points in the tranny, modify for performance, etc. He's a good guy and he might be able to help out.

Other than that, those v6s are in a pretty fine state of tune as they are. Not much more will be had without cracking open the engine for internal parts or bolting on a turbo or supercharger. There are several supercharger options for that car, and you could probably pretty easily adapt an older turbo onto it since we already know it was used on 3.8s in the past.... all of which would have to conform with your local smog laws of course.

Like bluevp00 said, if you really want it to "feel" faster, upgrade tires and suspension. Resist the urge to go with bling bling 22" wheels. They look good, but absolutely suck in all matters of handling and acceleration performance. Your car probably has 16" wheels stock. I'd stick with that diameter and focus on finding lightweight wheels and some sticky performance oriented rubber. Nothing off the charts, just maybe some high performance all season tires.

[xbx1120]

ya the tires were on my upgrade list too, but it really depends on what shape the guy has them in

and reprogramming the car computer is a good idea too, ill look into that

[TheSilentChamber]

Like curtis said; those cars are pretty much running out as much as they can without digging past simple external stuff. Those 3800s also came with superchargers that can be had pretty cheep (seen them sell for around 300 on ebay).

[Carbon Fibre]

Yes, tires are always the most noticeable upgrade. I like to keep stock wheels with some studded snow tires on them (if allowed in your state) and replace the wheels with no bigger than 17" with summer tires with a fairly low profile. This car is a solid rear axle, so I wouldn.t go too low on the profile. And yes, getting an engine in the proper state of maintenance is the most important and overlooked performance issue.
The 3.8 was a turbo on the Grand Nationals, and I would try to find the system from a U-pull-it yard, and get as much of it as possible (ecu, harness, and exhaust from the headers up to the cat. A turbo uses exhaust gas, "wasted" power, where a supercharger uses crank power to get power, so you'll never get as much. Plus a proper stock turbo setup has negative manifold pressure at partial load, making your engine act as if it is smaller when trying to get good gas mileage under everyday driving conditions. A little more boost may be available with replacing the wastegate spring with a slightly stiffer one, but may cause detonation unless fuel and spark delivery are also adressed.

[munna]

Get yourself a extractors and a good free flowing exhaust. Highflow air filter then a ecu tune
cheerse