Adding HP to my Caprice 4.3L V8

[Sidebinder]

Hey hey hey. I am looking to add some HP TO MY 4.3L V8 in my x-cop car.

Any suggestions. I am think about addin an intake, what should I add and what should I expect in some HP gains. I am looking to get this thing up to or around 250 to 300 from stock 200, or basicly LT1 260 without buying an LT1... I think that the intake is the best way to put my foot in the door... Also, I have already removed the muffler from the car did this add or deduct from the HP, all I know is that it sounds bad ass now.

I am going to put some Duallys on it, will this add HP as well.

Thanks for all help! Eventually after my engine dies I am going to add an LT1 so that is the further life of my car. I am putting my whole pay cheque in this thing now adays, good to be 16 with a JOB and no bils. Good ole' mom and dad to support ya. ;-)

[PeteA216]

To start, get a K&N air filter, and there'll be a very noticable difference.

[capricess]

alright where do i start? theres a lot you can do to add hp to your caprice! I have the exact same car and i'll let you in on some of the things i did to my car. First let me tell you theres some things you could do right now without spending $$$ to add some hp lil tricks i picked up at school. first thing you should do is the coolant hose bypass trick now this is considering you dont live somewhere that is constantly below 60 degrees what you do is this you know where your coolant resevoir is well there shold be two hoses one going to the radiator the other stretching across going just under your throttle body. take off the hose going to your throttle body and seal up where you took the hose off i used rounded off rubber pieces i got at kragens and secured them on with hose clamps. whatever way you choose to seal it off make sure they dont leak or wont come off or your coolant will leak out! now about the intake DO NOT waste your money and get a k&n intake system! you could put together a much better intake that'll rock a k&n!!!
or you could get it off e-bay the package comes with a rubber coupling, maf sensor extension wire, and a huge air filter. this set-up sets your air filter right in front of you grille so when your hauling ass it'll have a cold air intake effect that with the bypass trick alone will give you 20-30 horses to the wheels!

[Sidebinder]

To start thanks for the info guys. Which in take to order? this looks better than the KN and a bit cheaper:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

The one listed above or the K&N? I am ordering to night so be quik. Thanks!

[capricess]

yea thats the exact intake i was talking about!

[Sidebinder]

How much HP will that Intake add to my 4.3L YOU think capricess? I just ordered that and the Intake Sensor Mod. Hoping to add about 30HP to my car. I am getting a PCMforless governor remover in a few weeks.

[capricess]

30 hp? maybe it depends i mean it'll add the hp to your engine whether you'll feel the difference at the wheels all depends on your driveline you know if your tranny, differential rear end gears are all in good shape you should get about 30. now you want your caprice to start picking up some real hp go to summitracing.com order a free catalog they have all kinds of stuff!! or go to ftforce.com you'll like that shit 2! now as far as your exhaust goes i suggest you get what i got i converted my exhaust to a dual exhaust i got hi- flow spintech cats and mufflers put on my car sounds mean!!! it has like the perfect growl and that also added like 10-15 hp now dont make the same mistake i did that is when you get your exhaust make sure you get some headers along with it with the headers you could expect like another 25 horses on top of what you would get from the exhaust!

[Sidebinder]

Ok so intake mod: 30HP
Header & Exhaust: 25HP
Intake on ebay: + 20HP
-------------------------
So I am looking at 75HP increase on a 4.3L? It seems to easy.

[capricess]

30hp for that intake mod bullshit!!!!!!!
MAYBE 5!

[chevyorange]

yeah, I did that intake mod and 5 is more like it, if that. I actually went back to stock.

I ran across a chip that you can buy even for 4.3L V8s, can't remember where I saw it but if you google it, look for it. Can't hurt.

[86CapMan]

hey man...dont buy that intake thing...its crap.....and a rip-off...its just a capacitor that fools the cars computer. It may add a little when its cold but when its warm the advanced timing may cause pinging.

Horsepower is how FAST you hit the WALL
Torque is how HARD.

[molehole]

You do know that a 4.3 is a V6 not a V8. Right? In any event you can add some horsepower but it isn't going to scream like an LT1. Good Luck

[chevyorange]

Originally Posted by molehole

You do know that a 4.3 is a V6 not a V8. Right? In any event you can add some horsepower but it isn't going to scream like an LT1. Good Luck

We've been over this before:


While it is correct that GM made a 4.3L V6, and it was a great one, they also built a 4.3L V8, I had one in my Caprice, engine code L99. And yes, I did open the hood and count the spark plugs on the good old small block.

In fact, 4.3L is a 265CI engine - so they've actually built a 4.3L before too, in 1955 - 1957s.

[burnM]

http://www.impalassforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Take a look at this forum specifically for B-bodies. There is plenty of great info there, and the guys are friendly enough.... Do a search for adding HP, they've got just about every trick in the book for these cars.

If I can't find an answer here, I run over there, and vise-versa...

[molehole]

My bad
I didn't know that. Thats something good to know. You learn something new everyday.