Buick Grand National

[tanjwarrior]

Give Hudson a cigar...beer...whatever!

Now, I'm considering putting a turbo on my 3.8 like in the GN's. It's the updated the frontwheel drive transmission that concerns me. Nothing like shelling a transmission.

Grand Nationals were rear wheel drive...

[Hudson]

Grand Nationals were rear-wheel drive and never produced more than 245hp (I'm not counting the GNX). Today's superchaged 3.8L V6 produces 240hp in front-wheel drive applications and Cadillacs routinely put out up to 300hp. The transmissions are available.

[tanjwarrior]

Yeah,

I knew that but I've got too many projects going. I'm putting my Porsche in the garage and starting a complete restoration/modification program. That should keep me out of trouble for another year or so.

The Reatta is my daily driver and it can wait. I want to fix a few little things that are going wrong and bring it back up to par too...with a mod or two under the hood.

Takes too much money to to everything at once and I like to get out my tools and do most of it myself. Might have to talk myself into buying and engine hoist this coming spring. Can't keep borrowing the neighbors all the time.

[Rens87GN]

"3.8L V6 produces 240hp in front-wheel drive applications and Cadillacs routinely put out up to 300hp."

This is true but how much axle-twisting TQ do they produce? I think that is the concern here. The HP these modern engines produce is fine.

My gn produced 282.65 HP & 390.93 ft-lbs of Torque on a dyno this summer and that is with the only modifications being a stock size K&N in the stock housing and not cat.

I doubt if the FWD cars you mention are pumping 400 ft-pounds of TQ though their trannys and drive shafts.

[prossech]

Morpheus

You could order the 3.8 turbo drive train in any rear drive Buick Regal (T Types , too) in 1986 or 1987. There are some grandma looking cars (bench seats, column shifter, fake wire wheel hub caps, and landau roofs) that can rip off a 13 second quarters out there. They are also lighter than the GN's which had power everything and extra sound insulation material.

[YellowMaranello]

They didnt make any of these bad-boys with a manual tranny did they? It sure is a shame if they didnt.

[Rens87GN]

Nope..no manuals in the turbo regals. Good thing too..it would slow them down. The 200r4 can shift quicker than any human can and there is no loss of power when you let off the gas to push in the clutch.

I don't know any TR owner who would put a manual trans in if they could.

[YellowMaranello]

I see. These cars just get better and better as I find more out about them.

[LadyBuickGS]

I recently purchased a 1998 Buick GS with a Supercharged engine. It's like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Most people on the road wouldn't expect this car to be so fast. I know, I didn't.

When I bought it off the lot, the salesperson wasn't sure what the hsp was and I guessed it might be 200 hsp. When I did more research, I found out that it was 240hsp! For some of you guys that may not seem like a lot, but I'm a young lady and drive like Grandma, so it's over the top to me. Not that I'm complaining...mind you.

When I told my husband he was a little shocked. And then we had this discussion about whether my 1999 nissan maxima w/ 190 hsp (I no longer own it) was quicker than the GS w/ 240 hsp. The first time he drove the GS he said the Maxima was quicker, but today he drove it again (by himself, so he was able to floor it without me freaking out) and it seems he has changed his mind. He now thinks the GS might be faster. I'm not sure if he's totally convinced....

Does anyone know what the quarter mile time is for the GS supercharged engine? And do you think it's quicker than a 99 maxima?

Thanks!

[Rens87GN]

From the web I have gathered the following:

Buick GS 0-60 = 6.6, 1/4 mile = 15.1

Maxima GXE 0-60 = 6.5, 1/4 mile = 15.0 I assume that is the Maxima you had as the SE is dog slow.

These figures were taken from http://car-stats.com/

I have raced a Buick GS at the track and it ran a very solid 15.1 so I think the numbers are right on.

The numbers for the Maxima were for a manual.

HTH

[LadyBuickGS]

Rens,

Thanks for looking that up for me. I didn't know that website existed...

My 99 maxima was an SE with Auto Trans, so it must be slower than the manual GXE. I didn't know that SE's were considered to be dog slow. It seemed pretty fast to me, but it's not like I go out racing in different cars anyway. So I really don't have anything to compare, except for my Buick GS.

Though my husband did have a change of heart the other day while he was trying to pull out of some bad traffic. The GS is beginning to convince him that he was wrong about the maxima being faster. I think he's really starting to like the car.

Do you know anything about K&N air filters? Do they really add more hsp? And if they do, are they safe to use?

I'm thinking of doing a few custom exterior changes to my GS. Right now it still looks like grandpa's car, but the two tone does make it a little sportier looking. I'm definately going to add tint (I live in FL & tint does save the interior of cars), a sunroof visor, and maybe some cool pinstriping.

Thanks again!

[Rens87GN]

LadyBuickGS, I use K&N filter on all my cars right down to the minivan we use for dog shows.

They will make it easier for the engine to get air into the combustion chambers and this can increase HP as well as mpg.

The thing to keep in mind is that with most stock engines there isn't that much HP to be had by just slapping in a free flowing filter.

Think of an engine as nothing more than a large air pump. Its sole purpose is to suck air in and push it out. The easier it can do this as the more it can get in the better it will perform.

If you are considering a K&N it won't hurt the engine and it will not void the warranty on the car. Just keep in mind if you have the stock exhaust on the car that is the other side of the air in-out process. You might want to look into an aftermarket exhaust to help that GS breath better.

The Maxima SE had 0-6 and 1/4 mille times much worse than the GS. Not bad compared to an SUV but not great compared to what I consider a performance car.

I like the GS a lot.

Check out Turbobuick.com and go to the 3800 supercharged Tech section. It is all devoted to your car.

[LadyBuickGS]

Rens,

Thanks for the fast reply and all the useful information. There's a good chance I'll be getting the K&N filter, just to help out the engine a little bit. Plus w/ a supercharger anything that will save me on MPG will help.

I will definately consider the new exhaust, but it won't be for a few months until I can save up some money. The down payment sort of killed me.

I'll be sure to check out that site.

Thanks again!

Lady Buick

[Chris]

Despite the million mile warranty, you will need to cleant the K&N every so often and apply oil, or it wont work right. Its easy to do, though.
A Maxima with an auto did 0-60 in 8.5 or so seconds.

If you really want to learn more about cars, I suggest Car and Driver for the newbie. You will learn a lot, plus they have some really funny/entertaining things in it. Then I suggest Road and Track and Motor Trend. Try automobile, it is a different style.

[LadyBuickGS]

Actually I have decent knowledge of autos... Compared to most gals!

I had a subsciption to Car & Driver for about 4 years, then I changed to Road & track just for something different.

Plus I've worked in the auto industry for about 8 years. I'm not a complete newbie, but I've never had a performance engine such as the 3800 supercharged. Plus I've heard good things about K&N, so I wanted everyone's opinion here. The guys at the dealership tend to be anti-aftermarket, so I usually avoid asking them questions about it.

0-60 in 8.5. That's kinda slow, especially compared to the new Maxima.


Thanks for repsonding.