Need some help with HP upgrades

[rockfan0005]

Alright basically I have around $900 to play with for my car.

My car:
2001 Grand Am SE (3.4 Liter V6)

What I am looking to do is put in cold air intake, possibly a performance chip, and a possible new exhaust system.

The cold air intake I'm looking at is one off of ebay.
( something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MakeTrack=true ) I have seen the ones at doctorspeed.com but I have been told they will give almost the exact same as some random ones on ebay.

As far as the chip I want I have absolutely no idea. (I have heard jet is the best as far as they go and I would want a very high end one) (also how much HP gain can they really give?) If I was going to replace the chip I would probably want to replace the starter and plugs as well.
(I would love suggestions here big time)

Also I was told if I were to upgrade my car with my chip I would probably need to replace a few things to adjust for how much more strain I would be putting on my car. (what exactly would I need to be replacing)

Also as far as exhaust goes, do mufflers really give you a HP gain?

How much would a whole new exhaust system cost, and would it be worth to put in?

The 170 stock horsepower was fine for a while, but now I'm ready to get me up higher.
----------------------------
This is my first post here, so don't be harsh.

[xeroinfinity]

welcome rockfan0005. A cold air intake(CIA) is a great place to start, and the link you gave looks nice for $70.

The chip. Well first off it will give you MAYBE 20-30 hp gain for what, around 300-400$. a waste of good money i say. A chip is alot better if you hav other things going on like the 62mm throtle body and the ported intakes, turbos and superchargers, headers etc. When you modify the engine the chip helps customize the ingnition and timimg the fuel ratios to get the most out of your Mods. Without some serious mods you'll just waste gas.

mufflers dont give much horse power, they just keep the exhaust from puting alot of back pressure on the motor, keeping those poneys inside locked up. Now if you buy a entire exhaust kit, Borla is great by the way, with the CAI you'll gain around 30+/- Hp. thats not exact, but is close i'm sure.
You need a performace/high flow Catylitic converter with the exhaust. I think the Borla is the most expensive I've seen for around 600$, but i'm not sure if it comes with a new converter or not.

So to recap, go for the CAI and a performance exhaust. i think your $900 should cover it.

I hav a 99' SE w/3.4 and I done alot of stuff to it before i bought a chip. Also i hav an 01 SE 3.4 but i havnt done much to it just the CAI, I bought some nice big performance brakes. And i forgot the rims, they wont fit over the brakes. so i wasted a couple thousand on breaks i cant use till i get a couple more thousand for some biger rims.

and one more thing your GA is more like 175-180 HP. it veries from car to car.

[Ridenour]

Welcome to the forum, rockfan. Sorry Xero, I really have to disagree with some of the stuff you said.

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

Alright basically I have around $900 to play with for my car.

My car:
2001 Grand Am SE (3.4 Liter V6)

What I am looking to do is put in cold air intake, possibly a performance chip, and a possible new exhaust system.

The cold air intake I'm looking at is one off of ebay.
( something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MakeTrack=true ) I have seen the ones at doctorspeed.com but I have been told they will give almost the exact same as some random ones on ebay.

The intakes will generally be the same; you'll be fine going with a CAI from ebay. There's many different variants of intakes from either places, and many different tweaks / setups you can create, but without going into detail, I'll say go ahead and get the CAI from ebay.

As far as the chip I want I have absolutely no idea. (I have heard jet is the best as far as they go and I would want a very high end one) (also how much HP gain can they really give?) If I was going to replace the chip I would probably want to replace the starter and plugs as well.
(I would love suggestions here big time).

Jet doesn't make a PCM or "chip" for our car. The only relflashed PCM available for our car is made by Digital Horsepower. Here's the PCM:
http://www.pfyc.com/store/merchant.m...y_Code=GAUNDER
The PCM alone without any other mods on your car would give you a solid 5 to 7 horsepower gain.

Also I was told if I were to upgrade my car with my chip I would probably need to replace a few things to adjust for how much more strain I would be putting on my car. (what exactly would I need to be replacing)

Nothing. You don't even need to worry about extra wear on anything when adding that little of horsepower. Our entire drivetrain / trannies don't experience any issues until 250 hp. You'll be fine. Don't even worry about it until you get into more significant mods.

Also as far as exhaust goes, do mufflers really give you a HP gain?

Yes. Just upgrading the muffler with a stock exhuast should net you about 5 hp. Our stock mufflers are very restrictive. However, I would reccomend getting a full SLP exhaust system w/ muffler included rather then soley buying a muffler.

How much would a whole new exhaust system cost, and would it be worth to put in?

Going with an SLP exhaust system (muffler included); it would cost 458 $ from pfyc.com

http://www.pfyc.com/store/merchant.m...ory_Code=GAEXH

I have heard of countless guys that have installed SLP exhaust, and everyone loves it. That exhaust system, without any other mods on your car would get you about a 10 hp gain.

And as far as "needing a high-flow cat"; you don't need one. Our stock cats flow pretty nice, and paying 150 dollars to have a high-flow one installed would only bring you about 5 hp max.

So that being said, a CAI (100-ish $); a PCM (215 $) and SLP exhaust (458 $) would be a grand total of roughly 800 dollars max, and a hp gain of about 20 to 25 hp max.

[xeroinfinity]

thats fine Ridenour, i was guestamating on the Hp ratings and the costs. But anything you do, CAI or exhaust it will improve performance and little by little you will gain several ponys. And 20-25 hp for $800-900 is probley well worth it, you wont be dis-apointed i'm sure on that.

See when you think ahead you can spend your moneys wisly. I done several things without thinking it through, but in the end it was all good and well.

[rockfan0005]

Thanks for the imput guys.

I have officially ordered the ebay CAI. As far as the exhaust goes, I'll probably order it within a week or so. But for the exhaust exactly how hard is it to install? I mean on the site posted it give it a 3/5, good for hard first project. What equipment would I need?

[darthnefas]

Everyone has really said the right stuff.

You're looking at a maximum horsepower of around 230hp if you push it with timing and premium fuel.

Go here: http://www.andysautosport.com/cgi-bin/t.cgi?a=407261

They have a RSM supercharger kit for the 3.1 and 3.4 liter that can push 280hp at 10 psi which will do everything you wanted and then some and the 280 is literally the starting point.

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

Thanks for the imput guys.

I have officially ordered the ebay CAI. As far as the exhaust goes, I'll probably order it within a week or so. But for the exhaust exactly how hard is it to install? I mean on the site posted it give it a 3/5, good for hard first project. What equipment would I need?

That does look like a nice CAI from ebay rockfan0005, Esspecially for the price.

The exhaust can be a pain if the bolts are rusty. You deffenitly will need to jack up and secure the car on jack-stands or a lift. The higher you get the better it is(that didnt sound right). Most of the exhaust is just bolted together and hang from rubber mounts under the chassis. A few good wreches or socket/ratchet and some penitrating fluid(WD40) for the crusty bolts and nuts. Fairly easy to bolt on the new exhaust.

[rockfan0005]

I found a jet chip for my model:
http://www.performancecenter.com/pro...D+AM/sf4_3.4l/

As far as superchargers go, I am planning on doing it after minor upgrades and when I get the money.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Night Rider]

rockfan i take it you want a high hp car.. but its like ridenour said...
"Our entire drivetrain / trannies don't experience any issues until 250 hp"
so you might wanna up grade your drivetrain and all that before you get a supercharger... but all in all.... should be a kick ass car ... wish you the best with it

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

I found a jet chip for my model:
http://www.performancecenter.com/pro...D+AM/sf4_3.4l/

As far as superchargers go, I am planning on doing it after minor upgrades and when I get the money.

Thanks for the help guys.

The Jet chip you linked to is a plug-in module. Not an actual chip that replaces your factory one. But it should help tune any of the mods you ad to the car. I hav one simular to the jet on my 99', but i've had other alterations with software/add-ons to fine tune and keep it in tune.
Hav fun with your Mods rockfan0005, and remember safty first.

[darthnefas]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

I found a jet chip for my model:
http://www.performancecenter.com/pro...D+AM/sf4_3.4l/

As far as superchargers go, I am planning on doing it after minor upgrades and when I get the money.

Thanks for the help guys.

The supercharger comes with the ECU mod.

The base supercharger only makes 260hp so you can enjoy your mod before upgrading it later to the 300hp range.

I'm just saying be careful because those chips aren't worth the miniscule horsepower they create and the CAI and chip are pointless if you plan to supercharge it because the one I listed comes with both already.

We're actually upgrading a '99 now and this is one of the debates that came up and after much discussion he acknowledged that exhaust and supercharger were all he needed.

Later on he would upgrade the suspension.

[xeroinfinity]

Still, the supercharger cost around $3500, thats alot for a 75-80hp gain. A high milage 99' is only worth about $5k.

[phaderus]

I have the SLP exhaust on my 1999 GA 3.4 and I love the sound. I also have an aftermarket air filter. Do you need the venting from grill, that some GA have by default, for the cold air intake to be truly effective?

[rockfan0005]

Here's an update. I am going to put off the chip, if get it at all.

My CAI will be here by next friday.

I haven't bought the exhaust yet, but will soon.

When I get the money I am going to get this hood:
http://www.pfyc.com/store/merchant.m...ory_Code=GAEXT

Would good headers make a difference in HP, if so how much?

the next thing to come will be either be headers or an upgraded drivetrain to upgrade before the supercharger.

It should take me about a year before I make the money for the supercharger and drivetrain upgrades, so that the CAI will do for now.

[Ridenour]

The SD hood looks great, rockfan. I've seen a couple guys with that hood. You'll deffinately see an increase in horsepower with headers, ( here's a link to help you understand why: http://www.ssheaders.com/header.htm ) as well as an increase in mileage. It will give you a slightly beefier exhaust note as well. If you run the headers on your engine completely stock, you would get roughly a 10 to 15 hp max gain. Headers are deffinately a good compliment to your exhaust and CAI.