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Technical Advice for Mods andTuning

Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,142
edited March 2014 in Chevrolet
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  • kurtamaxxguykurtamaxxguy Member Posts: 677
    would like to know how I might be able to make a 2004 Malibu engine more "efficient"? I.e. some more power without guzzling more gas.

    Suggestions, thoughts?
  • lilvwdudelilvwdude Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2004 Dakota. I am limited to Poweraid and Helix Power for my options for a throttle body spacer. Any suggestions for which one may be better? Two totally different designs.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Why are you using a throttle body spacer?
  • driftracerdriftracer Member Posts: 2,448
    other than slamming the warranty, I mean. I've tested lots of gadgets like TB spaces, velocity stacks, etc, and only MINOR gains have showed at ridiculous rpms (like 2 hp at 8,000 prm)....hardly worth the cost, and the warranty hassles.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Also spacers suggest to me that something is not actually made to fit and work properly. The spacers can create obstruction or other flow problems into the manifold.
  • dharttdhartt Member Posts: 1
    how can you check the fuel system on a 94 gmc 4.3L engine? It isnt getting fuel.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Wrong Board. Post that question here:

    Technnical Questions, Repair & Maintenance Boad

    MrShiftright
    Co-Host
  • wampa1wampa1 Member Posts: 2
    I drive a 94 Toyota Paseo, and its hard if not downright impossible to find any aftermarket parts for it. Recently I saw a Tercel of the same generation (1991 to 1995) with euro tailights. I would like to switch out the trunk and tailight assemblyon my car in favor of the tercel so i could have the euros, but i was wondering if anyone knows offhand or has the measurements for the trunk on a tercel of that yearso I can see if that is a feasible solution.
  • chevy11chevy11 Member Posts: 1
    I need to know how to down stroke a 350 with a 305 crank? any help would be apprieciated
  • eaglemtneaglemtn Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1988 Toyota Corolla SR5 Sll-trac with the 1.6L 4A-FE engine. I want to rip that engine out and put in a bigger one from a different toyota from about the same year, something more powerful, but I'm not sure what would fit. Of course when you ask Toyota themselves they say "we don't reccomend modifying our cars... blah blah blah." Do any of you have any idea, or know where I can go to find out?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You need to take a trip to the wrecking yard I think (maybe a Pick a Part type operation) and bring some brown wrapping paper and a magic marker and make a pattern of the tercel taillights (which will probably be removed from the wreck anyway, so it'll be easy). If the Tercel assembly is larger than maybe you can get away with some careful cutting to make them fit the Paseo (a handy tool for this might be a "nibbler") but if the Tercel assembly is smaller that sounds like a lot of work, as in welding.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You might check to see if Toyota actually upgraded the All-Trac engine at any point; if they didn't, I don't think such a conversion is worth the trouble--you'd be better off modifying your engine or at least doing an overhaul on it and then a turbo kit if you can find one. But trying to stuff an engine that was never meant for that car could be a hell of a lot of work on an AWD car especially.
  • eriknoxeriknox Member Posts: 1
    Me and my wife just decided on buying a crysler crossfire and I am looking for more speed and not wanting to pay the extra $15000 for the srt. I have looked and looked on the web and found nothing. Any suggestions apreciated.
    Thanks
  • mikesmobilemikesmobile Member Posts: 2
    I recently purchased a 1989 GMC R2500 Suburban with a 454. Most of my experience is with classic Mopar vehicles. That said, I would like to get some suggestions on what I can do to get this bad boy running at its best. I noticed that it only has a 2 barrel (fuel injected) carburetor. Is this the best way to go (again, bear with my in-experience)? I also noticed that it has single exhaust... what an injustice :-) What type of manifolds/exhaust performs best with this type of engine?

    Oh, any other performance enhancing suggestions would be greatly welcomed.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I always like to think of the intake/engine/exhaust as "one long tube". So if you do something to one end, you need to be thinking about the other end. I think dual exhausts (with the proper exhaust headers) would be a good idea on the "back end", and you might check and see if intake vendors like Edelbrock make anything that would work on your '89. You have the TBI injection type, I think and I don't know how much you can do with them. Also you don't want to run into smog hassles or do you care?

    How fast you want to go depends on how much you want to spend. Simplest mods are getting more air into the engine (such as cold air intakes or short ram intakes) and a free flowing exhaust. Probably the stock ignition is good enough for your needs.

    Here are some good books on seriously modifying the 454:

    http://lib1.store.vip.sc5.yahoo.com/lib/rodi/guide.hpbooks.app1.html

    But I think a custom air filter system and dual exhausts would be a good first step for you.
  • tallpaul56tallpaul56 Member Posts: 1
    runs great.when warm/hot after sits,won't start.engine turns over seems to be getting fuel.help
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You should post this question in our Maintenance & Repair Board. Look for the topics called "Technical Questions" or "No Starts".

    MrShiftright
    Co-Host
  • solorspunksolorspunk Member Posts: 1
    350 chevy with headers and flowmaster's. what all could i change out to give it HP or just better preformence? like the coil distributor, wires, alt. really i dont wana make a hotrod but i just wana fix it up better than stock. I wana change parts that it has just to newer and better ones. like a 45 amp Alt. to a 55 Alt. i need ideas!! anyting will be helpfull. Elderblock carb. intake. headers , flows, hot plugsnew oil and filters, i have done thus far. Thank you
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    this is a big subject....I think if you are fishing for ideas you'd find these books very helpful---they'll give you some gameplan.

    Small Block Chevy Books from Amazon
  • simonfromozsimonfromoz Member Posts: 1
    I just bought one and have the same problem. Cant find anything on the net.. there is however an option with Powerchip. They can chip the engine which gets your about 15 more Kw and 40ish more Nm. If you find anything else, please let me know

    Simon
  • bigjoe1bigjoe1 Member Posts: 2
    I need any and all help modifying my 2002 3.4L Impala. NO matter where i turn, i can't find parts to make it faster or anything. it seems they only make parts for the 3.8L. if anyone can help, please do.
  • bjs77bjs77 Member Posts: 2
    I got new tires (taller) and need to recalibrate speedo. Are there any pprogrammable modules that have preset programs? I want to improve mpg before taking long road trip. Any suggestions. Thanks
  • warhawk85twarhawk85t Member Posts: 2
    Hey there folks! Just got my 2005 Victory Red 2500HD Crew Cab 8100/Allison today. And im already looking for aftermarket things for it. Im planning on putting two 26 in Hadley and two 24 in Hadley airhorns on it, true dual exhaust and maybe a superchip.

    First off, what exhaust system should i use? I'm thinking about getting two flowmaster series 40's (I want a very deep and loud sound coming from my big block monster) I hope to announce my coming with those, and then to reinforce it with the 4 air horns.

    I have been looking at Superchips, but im not sure if i should do something like that. Will it damage my engine any, and what kind of power gains should i get. 330 hp to maybe 360? 450 torque to 500? Tranny damage doing something like that? (i wouldnt think so since the Duramax makes 605 torque but im not sure)

    and also my truck has the towing package which puts option k47, the high capacity air cleaner on. I have always used drop in K7N filters before this truck... should i with this one?

    Thank you
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I think Flowmasters do a good job but keep in mind that you could grow very very tired of the noise if you pick a system that is too non-restrictive. But maybe given what you are driving you are fairly noise tolerant? Anyway, it would be great if you could take a spin in a truck similar to yours that has already done this. I wish I could give you a heads up but I don't know anyone who's done this on the Duramax.

    You want 10% horsepower increase from a chip? I don't think that's realistic. Have you seen such claims? Let us know with a URL and we'll check it out.

    As for air filters I personally think simple "drop in" filters are useless---you'd need to consider a ram effect or cold air intake to get anywhere I think.

    Anyway, the air horns sound like a great idea (I wish I had some for my Porsche) and the exhaust setup may work out really great for you---wish I knew more about that particular application. We need to do some homework, right? But I'd wave you off the K&N and as for the superchip, this needs research--there's a lot of stuff out there that just doesn't deliver as advertised.

    Maybe you could work out a deal where you buy the chip and dyno it yourself, and if it doesn't show what it's supposed to, then return it and get your money back. You may lose the dyno fee but at least you haven't blown $300 for nothing and maybe even a LOSS of power or fuel economy.
  • tankdogc27tankdogc27 Member Posts: 1
    i recently purchased a 2005 celica gts, and i really love the car. i plan to turn it into a street racer but i have a few questions first. it is a real chore to find parts for a 05. are parts like a cold air intake, cat back exhaust, coil overs, and turbo kits interchangable with the 03-04 celicas and the 05 model. all of the companies only sell parts for up to the 04 model. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanx. jc
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Have you checked with TRD yet?
  • warhawk85twarhawk85t Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the input... im very tolerant of the reverberation so i think i will be ok with that. (i had a 79 ford 351 with no exhaust on it... that was loud, but it didnt bother me) (that truck also had two 26 inch hadley air horns on it... they were really dern loud... so 4 should be even better!)

    On the old superchips page they claim that the 8.1 liter V8 should... or maybe they should say could get about 30 extra hp, and 40 extra ft. lb. of torque. I called them to speak person to person and he told me the same thing. (i think expected gains would be hard to really concretely say, but i like the idea of 30 hp and 40 ft. lb, for that. what do you think?)
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well what's the guarantee. Will they guarantee the truck will dyno out an extra 30 HP? do they mean at the flywheel or the wheels by the way.
  • mmoyermmoyer Member Posts: 5
    I have a 99 Sebring convertible and would love to get 20 or 30 more horsepower. Any suggestions? Including things other than an aftermarket chip.
  • mmoyermmoyer Member Posts: 5
    By the way, the 99 is a 2.5liter, 168 hp
  • tukoo1tukoo1 Member Posts: 1
    CAN ANYONE TELL ME THE CORRECT FIRING ORDER FOR A 1999 DODGE RAM 1500 PICKUP? MY BUDDY IS HAVING PROBLEMS AND DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE ORDER IS. THE MOTOR IS A 318. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT!!! :cry:
  • fredmcmurrayfredmcmurray Member Posts: 215
    I haven't found anything specific to the 1999 318, but every Chrysler V-8 I have seen is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 .
  • jared850jared850 Member Posts: 3
    I have a 1998 tacoma super charged w/ K&N cold air intake, w/ the chip, and I guess a cat back exaust. what else can I do to make my truck fast.?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You mean you have a supercharger on it ???
  • jared850jared850 Member Posts: 3
    yes
  • pgrpgr Member Posts: 1
    HELP! Last week I took my 01 Cadillac STS to a mechanic friend for a new exhaust system. My car ran great before I took it in, now it is having problems.He assured me that he could use a magna-flow catalytic conv., and mufflers. I think that I should not have removed the cat. My service engine light stays on, gas cap indicator light comes on, not to mention that I had to replace the fuel pump,idlemotor for surging,the oxy sensors said that gas/air mix was too lean??? I have to take it back tomorrow, feels like it is missing! What do I do?
  • bobbyh1bobbyh1 Member Posts: 1
    i have a 86 pontiac grand prix V6 3.8. I want to increase the power without replacing the engine. I need some ideas. I would like to see more of an increase in take offs.
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,863
    There's gotta be more to this. I am assuming at this point that he replaced components which originally had oxygen sensors in them ... not sure why you'd get the gas cap light, though.

    Well, if nothing else, sounds like you should consider going back to stock ... at least with the cat.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • cannibal1cannibal1 Member Posts: 2
    back into 12a &13b but in the water.the oil pressure does not work the 5 doller switch or relayis new with this system working proper the relay allows the gas pump to throw the gas .can i bypass this 4 now.
  • cannibal1cannibal1 Member Posts: 2
    my 13b marine is in a 22 ft boss marine boat if i bypass that to run my boat will i blow my motor it has oil i removed the relay and blew air at low pressure .it entered and , i think escaped out the rear sounded like. lee
  • spyder7spyder7 Member Posts: 1
    Found a 96 Neon and the only down fall its a Auto and i need a Manuel for what i want to do.. so if you have done it could you tell me how much it will cost.. thx for the help
  • hitsuhitsu Member Posts: 1
    im a beginning at moding cars...and i was wondering if anyone can give me any ideas for moding my celica96 GT.

    thanks
  • packmule2packmule2 Member Posts: 1
    My 429 c.i. Ford with "2" 650 c.f.m. Center squarters in Straight linkage on a Tunnel Ram ` Cam: .561" Lift & 310 Deg. Duration. / 10:1 Pistons. ( Converted From Points to Electronic.) [ I need to get a Vacuum Can for the Power Brakes.]
  • mytoycorollamytoycorolla Member Posts: 1
    I'm looking for a performance cam and timing belt for my 94 corolla 1.8 motor. Do you have any suggestion where to look.
  • redlancer02redlancer02 Member Posts: 7
    i got a 2002 mitsubishi lancer es. i am wanting to add about 25 to 50 horse power to it. is there any way that i can do that..??
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    turbo kit's the only way if you want that much HP (50). For 25 HP you *might* get away with CAI, larger diameter throttle body, header pipe and cat-back exhaust.
  • jerdmengerjerdmenger Member Posts: 3
    HI I NEED HELP I HAVE A 2005 2.SLOW GOLF LOL 2.0 AND I WANNA MODIFY IT BECAUSE HONESTLY THE CAR IS JUST BORING TO DRIVE.

    DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS?
  • bfennbfenn Member Posts: 4
    My car has a garetts T25 Turbo and a heavy duty clutch on it. It is 3 years old. Whenever I floor it(or really get on) the gas, around 3.5 rpm where the turbo kicks in, my car briefly looses power in a big THUD that shakes the car. It does it in 2, 3, and 4th the most. Does anyone have an idea if its the clutch or turbo?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    No need to make multiple posts of the same question. We are already answering you in your first post, which I think was in technical questions?
  • jensaroojensaroo Member Posts: 4
    the engine swap forum isnt being very helpful for this.

    im thinking about putting a 2.0L block on my 1.8L head in my 1990 jetta 8valve

    im wondering if I will need to change the wiring harness and computer.

    thanks!
    JensAroo
This discussion has been closed.