olds cutlass 3.1 L engine questions

[XGamesJ6]

Ive got a 1993 cutlass supreme SL with the 3.1L V6. and i want to get more power out of this baby, i found online it has 140 HP stock, now to me thats a little wimpy, considering the Turbo version of this engine can push out over 200HP. now so far all i've done was put a Short Ram intake on it, it makes a little difference, but i want power! so i guess what my question is...what can i do to get more power of this engine, starting from the easier stuff to more internal work and get some serious power out of this baby. i dont exactly have the means to do an engine swap, but so far on my list is some exhaust work, either get a high-flow cat, or just remove it since my car is exempt from emission control testing. and get high flow/performance mufflers. that with the intake should make some difference, but what else can i do?

[xeroinfinity]

A custom 2.5" exhaust would give you a few more hp, but hacking off the CAT wont give you many gains.
As they are not very restrictive.
And a true CAI would improve performance.

Parts are limited for the 3.1's.
You might be able to find a 62mm TB online.

Super chargers & turbo require alot of money and lots of time getting it up and running good. And finding a PCM that would help tune it could be hard to find without someone customizing a PCM , another costly upgrade.

Good Hunting

[XGamesJ6]

i think my cat is restrictive, everything inside is rattling around, and sometimes you hear it plug things up with a drain in power. as for the CAI, there isnt much room to bring it down by the bumber at all. and even so it goes past some mighty hot parts

i know the 3.1 came with a turbo back in the early 90's and if i find one i can do the swap and grab a new PCM in the process. but like you said there isnt much available for the 3.1

[xeroinfinity]

Ok if your cats rattling then I would replace it.

Most Cold air intakes just go through the drivers fender.
Thought I know the cutlass doesnt have a hole already there you'd probly need to cut one.
My daughters each have 95' cutlass' w/3.1 and its tight in thier

Those older turbo set ups are hard to find, but would be a great investment if you found one. I'm always looking for odd stuff like that.

Since they droped the Old's line and several other models parts are limited. So any 3.1 stuff would most likly work, whether its off a Olds or Pontiac.

Keep an eye on ebay too, sometimes you come acrossed some nice stuff.

[XGamesJ6]

sounds good, i'd have to take a good look and see how i could get the cold air routed. ive been checking ebay now and then. i was thinking if i find a turbo engine either do a complete swap, or just add the turbo to my engine, it really depends on what im able to do. and of course get a rebuild kit so i can rebuild the engine to get the most life and performance out of it. as for the turbo, if i do get one how would i go about using it, do i need to upgrade to PCM for it, or will it work just hooked up to the engine?

[xeroinfinity]

It might start and run realy bad,
but you would need a PCM that could be modified to acurately tune the engine so it runs properly.
If not you would damage the engine.

[XGamesJ6]

ok, now im aware the PCM controls many things not just the egine, could taking one from a pontiac and throwing it into my olds be a problem? or am i thinkin of mulitple computers here?

[xeroinfinity]

Actualy the year the turbo was used had an ECM instead of pcm(which is about the same thing).
Either way it probly would not work as just a plug-n-play device.
Since your car is an Old Cutlass, and the turbo would probly come from a Grand Prix, thier would need to be some major hacking on the Ecm to get it to work.
This would be best done by someone who's worked with Ecm/Pcm and turbo tuning.

In the long run, it would probly be cheaper to just buy a turbo'd car. Unless you were able to get the work done for real cheap, like free

Good Luck

[XGamesJ6]

maybe i should just get a new car, and keep this one as my POS car, where i can whatever i want to it and not care

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by XGamesJ6

maybe i should just get a new car, and keep this one as my POS car, where i can whatever i want to it and not care

Sometimes this is the better route.
Upgrades are always expensive.

[XGamesJ6]

well i guess i'll just do a little here, a little there, have some fun, but keep it mostly for getting from point A to B

[Ian Szgatti]

there is a web site that can teach you many things about your 3.1. Everything from the mechanical aspects to the electronic control systems.... the site is a site dedicated to 60 degree v6 engines like the 3.1.
I'm certain you might fond resources there for upgrading your computer via a chip. You may even ask who is in your area that might be able to provide a service. A lot of REAL car guys won't charge you a great deal of money because they just like the chance to do this kind of shit.

There is actually a lot you can do with the 3.1. Head on over to that site to find out.

[xeroinfinity]

Thats a good place to Look, but Ian ,
in the future I would not post links to other forums as it is laid out in the Community Participation Guidelines. So dont be suprised if it gets removed.

Next time PM the link