Smfran , my CAI has added a much different sound to my car , the unmistakable sound of a blower doing it's job , sort of a whine that people on the street or in cars next to you can't help but notice . With the 3.25 pulley and CAI that noise comes on very easily , you don't have to push the gas down too far . But it is not that throaty sound you get from a muffler modification and if that is too loud like my co-worker's GTP it would drown out that whine of the supercharger . My first car was a 64 Corvair Monza Spyder with a 180 HP 164 inch turbo charged motor and it had a sound all its own , sorta a mix between two Volkswagons running glasspacks and a Hoover vacuum cleaner on steriods ! So I guess I'm partial to hearing that blower .
Doug, It looks great. I must of installed it a little different than you. I have a bigger gap between the lid and the front of the car. This gets addicting. I'm ready for the next mod. I'm anxious to see how the intercooler works on intense's car.
Can you almost hear what that guy was thinkin as you were entering the expressway ," look at that fat butted Bonnie , big an slow , what did he spend all that money on when the GTP is way faster ,HE ,were is it going ,WHAT THE HECK IS HE GOT IN THAT SSEi" . After I told my friend with GTP that my fuel shuts of at 124 mph , he said " he he , mine shuts off at 126" so you got to beat quick before top end becomes an issue . Coarse round here if the New York State troopers catch you at those speeds who won the race wouldn't be the most important thing , best lawyer I'm thinkin I also think your ready for the three twenty five and a cold air induction , even bigger fun !
The exhuast will be high on the list for me , but the reprogrammed PCM sounds great also . Trying to find a nitrous set up ready for the L67 but nothing so far . I figure for 95% of my driving my cars performance is great , and for the other 5% a 75 to 100 hp nitrous setup would be the cheapest most effective way to go
About the time this cold weather leaves us, I'll need something to make up for the dense air mixture. I'll order the 3.25 and have it ready. Is there that big of a difference? I'm ready for an intake mod, but I feel there is another unexplored option out there. I used to work on big (really big) diesel engines and saw some incredible air filtration units. Some smaller marine applications might flow better and have numerous templates for receiving outside air. I would really like to have a more aggressive exhaust note as well...less the drone. I'm waiting for you high rollers to take the plunge and report back to this under paid teacher.
The gap between radiator support lip and front opening of CAI air box is actually going to be helpful in a cost effective cooling modification. The mod I'm talking about is the RAT composite Throttle Body spacer, used too keep aluminum TB away and insulated from hot supercharger body. Under $100 but it would move CAI unit forward slightly. Ezrapon, I ran a 3.50 pulley and a slip in K.&N before going to the 3.25 and modified CAI and it made more of a diff. in perf. from the 3.50 to the 3.25 - CAI then stock to 3.50 - slip in did. I'm sure your 3.40 is slightly better then my 3.50 was but no way is it going to run with a 3.25 , you will notice the diff. but you should do the CAI at the same time , the 3.25 needs AIR! And you own the install tool so you could easily get $100 or more for your old pulley installed on someones GTP,SSEi or Regal GS .
Seems as if its only 3 or 4 of us left at this site so today I e'mailed snickle , intense and phildo . I heard back from intense and snickle and they promised to post soon as they can , snickle is busy with his new baby and of coarse intense is busy driving his 2000 SSEi (over 40k) But after 2 attemts too make contact with phildo I have yet to hear back from him . Smfran , was there an earthquake out your way and Road Island fell in the sea , I haven't watched CNN lately so I may have missed it . Come on back guys !
hello guys. Have not been around for a while. Busy with work and my 15 year old's varsity basketball schedule. I've got a 3.5" pulley w/ tool sitting in it's box on my work bench. Been there for over a month. Have not had the chance to install it. But after reading all your posts about the 3.25's, I wonder if I should bother? My will it make much of a difference from stock? Also got a K&N air filter that was mentioned here... it is a flat, rectangle. Is it the right one? Why do I see mentions of a "cone" filter? My around town mileage with a little highway thrown in never goes above 14 MPG( even when I keep my foot out of it!). I think this sucks. But is it normal for these cars? My 94' bonny with the 175 HP 3.8 consistently returned 18.5 around town, and 27 on the highway. And will there be a subsequent drop in mpg after performance mod? What about the Tranny? Shifts seem to be very loose. Any fixes there? Happy new year!
I hope the boys aren't missing due to the change in this site. You and I seem to have mastered it, and I even like it better. It has some great features, but like anything it takes some getting used to. I'm still getting a "springing" noise coming from under my console when it is below 30 outside. It seems that it is tied to the transmission as I can make it happen by pushing and releasing the gas pedal quickly. When it's very cold it will happen when shifting. The dealer has tried to eliminate it by adding insulation between the cables running underneath and the body. This hasn't helped. Has anyone else experienced this or have any ideas? Bonnie goes back in the shop next Friday.
How do you like the new site? I have the flat replacement K+N air filter which is the only one if your intake is stock. I'm sure dmckeown will explain about the mod with the cone type. My transmission is loose also; sometimes if you catch it right it will actually bang in to gear. My dealer says this is the way it is. My mileage in combined driving is 20-22; about the same as I got with my previous 3.8 3800 engines. Unless you are always stomping on it I think your 14MPG is way low. With all city driving I would estimate mine would be at least 17.
Paul , the 3.50 and slip in K&N should give you about 30 more HP and acceleration will come on with slightly less lag or delay then stock. You will break the tires loose easier then stock but not to the point that the car requires a light foot in cold wet conditions or hot rodding from a stop light. You also will never consider going back to the stock 3.80 pulley unless your Grandma needs to use the car. The 3.25 and the modified Thrasher Cold Air Induction kit is more like 60 HP with even less lag in start of acceleration from the time you floor it. And it will accelerate! My shifts seem much better with this level of mod. The car is more difficult to bring out of the hole , use as much gas as you can without spinning front wheel till your above 20mph in hot weather and above 30 in cold , then go WOT , but after that pure fun ! This mod requires a shorter Supercharger belt and should have a 180 deg. thermostat , no big deal . Belt is off any way for pulley change and thermostat is 2 screws , about 10-15 minutes max. 3 of us SSEi'rs have gone from 3.50 pulleys to the 3.25's and none have gone back , many thousand miles on these three cars with the 3.25's and all are running great! I highly recommend this level mod. if you enjoy performance cars and thought that was what you were buying in the SSEi One tip that I posted during the summer when I installed my CA . When I removed the stock air box I made a discovery , there is a foam donut that acts as a air duct from the hole in radiator support wall and the opening in factory air box , but on my car it was folded over and blocking some of the opening into air box , not good . So anyone running a stock air box should check this.
Hey, all, I am still checking on a daily basis, but haven't been posting. Removed the SLE badges and had a pro black limo tint on the back five windows, put a K&N filter in and I drive it without the big 3800 series II shourd installed. Seems to drive cooler, temp gauge down a bit. Just like reading the "blow aways". I was driving up the I15 here in socal and came across a camaro. Tricked out. Had "cat back" muffler system, lowered, etc. 3.8, but tricked out a bit. Custom paint, white with blue SS looking stripes, lowered, looked like about a 96. Pretty sharp car. Anyway, I was in a fowl mood, so I went past him in the 2 lane, got in front of him in the 1 lane and slowed a bit just to see if he'd try to blast me in the two lane. Sure nuff, soon as I seen him dive to the two lane, to the floor the throttle went. We were doing around 70. Big Bonnie V dropped two gears, and did not disappoint. I looked down eventually and 105 was lookin back at me. Camaro no where around (back about 5 car lenghts). Slowed to around 75, he eventually caught me, went past me in the 2 lane with attitude, but damage was obviously done. Was a lot of fun. Tends to brighten the day. Ed
Thanks for the input. I am going to get that damn pulley on sooner or later! What about the suspension mods I've read about? The 1" sway in rear? And the bushing upgrades? Are they worth it? Any hints about why my mileage is so poor? Things to look for?
Any news on the audio performance front. The best place in St. Louis said the last Bonneville sat in the bay 3 weeks while they tried to get it to quit blowing the radio after the amp mods... important note: it was not the Bose. They said they would not touch a bonnie with a 10 foot VOM. My car has blown out its second amp for the sub, must be a nasty impedence mismatch or voltage problem... get a system in, slap on the pulley and exhaust and fill me in.
I test drove a 2000 and a 2001 SSEi Bonny w/Sunroof and my head was barely touching the ceiling with the seat at the lowest setting possible. This particular dealer did not have any without a sunroof which he thinks is the problem (more headroom without a sunroof).
The seat doesn't seem to go down as far as my older '93 bonneville. I had to adjust it for a tilt going back to avoid hitting the ceiling which was not the greatest position driving.
I own a 93 without a sunroof and have plenty of headroom. For 30k+, i don't get it. My only other complaint on this car is that it resembles somewhat a Grand Prix on the exterior, in fact, it's hard to tell the difference from a distance.
Any comments or insight on this please of owners of the 2000 or 2001 sunroof owners. By the way, i'm 5'10", so i'm know giant.
Did you know you can 'reset' your average mileage indicator? Scroll through the selections until average mileage is displayed. Then press and hold the reset button for about five seconds, until you see it reset. Try this when you fill up, and you'll get a better feel for your actual mileage with each successive tank of 94 or higher octane fuel!
I have a 2001 without the sunroof. I also have power passenger seat. My buddy is 6' 4" and his head does not touch the headliner with the seat at the lowest setting. I ordered mind as the dealer only had sunroofs in all his cars.
whogault - What is your highway mileage? If you aren't getting close to 24 in highway mileage at steady speed, something is wrong. I also reset my average mileage at each fill up and always drive mixed highway/city. I've never got less than 20 even when I've used 87 octane. marlae - You definitely gain headroom without the sunroof. I've owned 5 Bonnevilles; the first two with sunroof. My 2000 gives me ample headroom but not as much as I had in my '97.
If you have removed Bonnie's vanity shield off the engine for cooling reasons (for more performance), have you put in a 180 deg. thermostat ? About five bucks and ten minutes work , you already got the shroud off , for 15 degrees cooler runing . I will tell you that you might not see much diff. in the reading on the factory guage , but itense has autotap readings that say it is running 15 cooler and I did notice a performance difference in my SSEi. Doug
JUST STARTED READING YOUR MESSAGES. I NEED TO START AT GROUND ZERO ABOUT PERFORMANCE MOD, SMALL IA. BLOWER PULLEYS, I&N AIR FILTERS AND SUCH. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT IN LAY MAN'S TERMS. DOES MY 2400 MILE 2001 Sri HAVE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT? THANKS
Has anyone found urethane anti-sway bar frame bushing that would work on this car? Because the bracket ends are on two different heights of the frame member, a universal bushing bracket will not work. I found that Addco has a 7/8" rear bar and bushings, but nothing for the front. I can get urethane end links for the front, but so far no luck on front frame bushings. Thanks.
Bernie , if you have a 2001 SSEi then you can do the small pulley modification on your super charger , I can't tell from your post if you have an SSEi . If so you can definatley improve your performance and I would suggest you read through the earlier posts on this site to come up to speed on what we are doing . If your car is a SLE or SE with the non supercharged 3800 your limited to air filter modifications , and maybe a exhaust system mod. Post again and I can answer specific ? . Doug
Yes, I've tried Saner. Haven't come up with a solution yet. Originally, we thought that we could add a block under the lower half of the bracket and then use a universal bracket and bushing, but it looks as if that would not allow enough clearance where the bar passes by the exhaust. So, I am still looking for a way to get urethane frame bushings. I am going to drop the front bar this weekend and measure the existing bushing to determine whether I can find a universal bushing that will work with the stock bracket. Has anyone else had any success in getting front urethane bushing to work? Has anyone changed the rear bar to a larger size with urethane bushing? Is it worth the time and dollars? Thanks.
The 2001 Bonneville service manuals are now available from www.Helminc.com . They are expensive ($120), but may be worth the investment for those of you making mods.
O.K. Bernie , I started modifying my 2000 SSEi at about 3k miles . I put a 3.50 diameter supercharger pulley on it and a K&N replacement air filter . This is good for about 30 more HP then stock with slightly less lag time from time you floor it till car starts to accelerate , a noticeable improvement in performance and drive ability . Second level of mod was a 3.25 diameter pulley ( stock is 3.80) , 1 " shorter S.C. drive belt , a Thrasher Cold Air Induction (CAI) Kit modified to fit the SSEi and a 180 degree thermostat (stock is 195) . This level of mod is good for about 60-65 HP and much less lag time and a very noticeable performance improvement. Any pulley change will void your warranty if they find out . Go to www.thrasher-ep.com for purchase info on pulley and install tool and CAI kit (meant for Grand Prix) Any other ?
It appears that most of us are back plus some new folks. Where's Snickle? I would think that his wife and new baby would nap some of the time, freeing him up a little bit to check in with us! I'm still getting that "springy" noise from under the front of the console. The dealer just can't isolate it. They've insulated all the cables underneath which seems to have helped a bit; but it still makes the noise when cold out (below 30F). The noise happens when lifting up on the accelerator and when the transmission shifts. Any ideas?
I am thinking of buying a 2001 Bonneville SLE using the GM Supplier price. I already have the paperwork from GM. But as I have been doing some searching of the dealerships I am getting confused as to what is the "GM Spplier price". I understand that on each invoice there is a "GMS" price and that 4% is added to that price to establish the price I would pay excluding incentives, trade in, taxes etc.. One dealership said, in essence, with the 4% added in, I would end up paying $100 below invoice (including Destination Charge). Another showed me a price (and a bunch of mumbo jumbo) that is $1300 above invoice.
Suggestions anyone? (other then don't go back to the "Mumbo Jumbo" dealership). Does anyone know what the GMS price is as a function (%) of the MSRP for the SLE?
I am also leaning towards a Oldmobile Intrigue GLS or even possibly an Aurora.
When I bought my 2000 SSEi I ran into same thing you are . GM supplier should be a little under invoice , like the one dealer who said $100 under ,thats about right . The dealer I got my car from went an additional $100 under GMS ,plus all incentives . I also looked at SLE and Aurora V8 , but went with SSEi . I'm am sooo glad I did cause doing the mods and the performance gains make the car very special
Sounds like your G-Tech is fun, any G-force on cornering on those big 18's? In the summer right after I did the 3.25 ,CAI and 180 term. I did some stop watch runs , kinda crude but I got under 6.7 in 70 deg temps , so sounds pretty close to you all considered. $2000 you say , wow! $850 for the headers, $300 for mufflers , maybe a 100 for some straight pipe for the resonator and the MIA cat . What am I missing ? I so want those headers on my exhaust setup , but I'll have to come up with some more "untraceable cash" or little Queenie is goina give me "THE LOOK"
Good to hear your alive and well, I was worried Road Island ran out of beer and you were chose to make the run for more cause you had the supercharged car!
Glad to see h101 back at the site. Once you get used to this new software, you forget about the old. An analogy might be like when you get a new car. At first you think you'll never be as comfortable in it, but after about 200 miles, you feel right at home. By the way Bill, go for the K+N air filter, it is a good investment.
Doug, Does your little queenie know my little queenie? I got "the look" just for spending money on the K+N. Funny, she had no problem with the expense of the AAA headrest for her crown!
I'm ready for the (a) exhaust mod. I have diverted some funds for the first phase... cat back. The little woman wants to know why my mufflers have worn out in 5000 miles. I was able to sneak into the house with the quiet factory system. My Trans AM always gives me away as it resonates the garage wall and sets the dog off. I better hope my mods are rather subduded. With the mods and cold ambient temps, I believe the SSEi would smoke the 6.6 T/A... maybe not on a 100 degree July day.
I just noticed that the Kaleco site changed its format... The site was brand new three days ago and I thought it was very funny. The format changed last night, it is still amusing but now looks too much like it is trying to be serious for my taste. Hope any of you who looked at it understood that I thought it was funny and that I was not poking fun at anyone.
Smfran- I've been here all the time, the new format didn't scare me off, I just didn't have anything to offer. As far as mods for the SSEi... I already get the "look" for mods on the Vette. So I think the Bonnie is gonna stay stock. Besides one car that only gets 30,000 miles on a set of tires is 'enuf
Also, ay gotta understand, Carolyn's idea of a car is a grey 4 cylinder GranAm with crankup windows (that is her car, thank goodness). So, it is politic to behave myself with the SSEi.
Hello, This is my first post, and I hope not to be the last. I could never find any good Bonneville message boards, or web pages, until I found this one. I am 19, and I own a 1995 Pontiac Bonneville. I bought it used in October. What a great car. All of my freinds tell me that I bought a "old man's" car. All my freinds are the ones who drive Honda Civics and Accords. I never really got into those little cars before. I have always liked the Bonneville ever since I purchased my first car. A 1990 Pontiac Bonneville in December of 98. IT was a great car, but I sold it in October because it was racking up too many miles. I have read so much about the newwer models that I just HAD to buy a newwer one. I found a great deal on a 1995 Pontiac bonneville. I wanted at least, a 95 model year because that is when they introduced the 3800 series II engine. Stardard 205 HP engineI can feel the difference between the old model engine and the new one. I really wanted to get teh SSEI 225 HP engine but I couldnt fine a good deal on one. Everyone asks me what a 19 year-old is so into a Bonneville. I mean its just such a great looking sedan. Its got Plenty of power. I mean I can kill pretty much all of my freinds little hondas and Toyotas. Its fully loaded, Leather and all, and is comfortable to drive. I think Im the only teenager in the united states that loves Bonnevilles. Ive always loved the Luxury with attitude. It really defines me.
Jeff: My last Pontiac was a '93 Bonneville SSE. I put 230,000 miles on it before passing it on to my sister. You'll need a few alternators, but other than that, it's a great car!
By the way, Superchips offers a chip for your car. They claim 20 horsepower and 27 foot-pounds of torque with application #2995025. They can be found at http://www.superchips.com/domestic.htm.
I have one of those too, in ruby red. Have 74,900 miles on it as of now. It was bought for my mother, but she recently passed away (2 weeks ago) and it's my car now. It has gone through a brake master cylinder, a bunch of sensors (throttle & mass air flow to name 2), alternator, battery, brake rotors, rear wheel cylinders (whatever they are), water pump, and a front power window motor. Before this, we had a 1994 Bonneville that went to 150K with 4 batteries and 7 alternators, plus 2 sets of brake rotors and 3 ignitions. Whew! Well on this 1993, I have an extended warranty (thank god), so it's all covered to 103,000 miles.
My questions: How is the reliability of the newer Bonnevilles, say from 1997-99 and the 2000 models everyone has already? Also, what fuel economy does everyone get? I drive alot of highway, and usually get 20-22 mpg, which is better on 89 octane than 87 for some reason. Love all the "toys" in the SSE, but wish it was SCed. Like I really need that, right? For someone my age (22), everyone wonders why I like Bonnevilles because of their size and the fact that not many people in my age group drive them. They are classy and comfortable to me. I will keep this 1993 until I either get something else or it dies. We shall see what comes first.
BTW, how much do you all think trade-in value would be on my 1993? I estimate something like $5000 or so.
Oh, and how does everyone's 2000 models compare to their older ones? I read here awhile back, and know at least one person replaced a 1996 model with a 2000, so please advise. Thanks again.
I got my first Bonneville when I was 28. I've now had five. The reliability has been good as I always maintained them to factory specs. I expect my 2000 to treat me the same way. I put a minimum of 90,000 miles on each one. My highway mileage is 24 and I'm still not convinced it changes with different octane. I keep experimenting but it is not an exact science as you have different experiences with each tank. When I was 19 I had a '75 Buick Electra Limited with a 455 4-barrel carburetor. Talk about luxury with attitude! Unfortunately, I went broke filling the tank and traded it for a '80 Toyota Celica.
My kids gave me the GM Shop Manuals for the 2000 Bonneville as a Christmas present. These are two big books and are probably similar to those published by Helms... 'cept they are published by GM.
I find them really useful for getting things apart and back together without breaking anything (haven't had to use 'em yet on the Bonneville... but have used similar manuals a lot on my other/past cars).
Anyway, if any of you have a question about how to get something apart... or would like to see a diagnostic table (could be lots of pages) for a particular problem... drop me a note and I'll scan some stuff and EMail it back.
My normal EMail address is WEShelton@home.com. Home.com's servers have been having problems of late, so a copy to WEShelton@aol.com might be a good safety measure.
What does 'ssei' mean? I just bought a Bonneville SSEI, and realized I don't know what it stands for. There are a lot of bells and whistles, has anyone had trouble with this model? It is a 2000 model. Thanks for your help.
Comments
I also think your ready for the three twenty five and a cold air induction , even bigger fun !
Ezrapon, I ran a 3.50 pulley and a slip in K.&N before going to the 3.25 and modified CAI and it made more of a diff. in perf. from the 3.50 to the 3.25 - CAI then stock to 3.50 - slip in did. I'm sure your 3.40 is slightly better then my 3.50 was but no way is it going to run with a 3.25 , you will notice the diff. but you should do the CAI at the same time , the 3.25 needs AIR! And you own the install tool so you could easily get $100 or more for your old pulley installed on someones GTP,SSEi or Regal GS .
But after 2 attemts too make contact with phildo I have yet to hear back from him . Smfran , was there an earthquake out your way and Road Island fell in the sea , I haven't watched CNN lately so I may have missed it . Come on back guys !
I'm still getting a "springing" noise coming from under my console when it is below 30 outside. It seems that it is tied to the transmission as I can make it happen by pushing and releasing the gas pedal quickly. When it's very cold it will happen when shifting. The dealer has tried to eliminate it by adding insulation between the cables running underneath and the body. This hasn't helped. Has anyone else experienced this or have any ideas? Bonnie goes back in the shop next Friday.
The 3.25 and the modified Thrasher Cold Air Induction kit is more like 60 HP with even less lag in start of acceleration from the time you floor it. And it will accelerate! My shifts seem much better with this level of mod. The car is more difficult to bring out of the hole , use as much gas as you can without spinning front wheel till your above 20mph in hot weather and above 30 in cold , then go WOT , but after that pure fun !
This mod requires a shorter Supercharger belt and should have a 180 deg. thermostat , no big deal . Belt is off any way for pulley change and thermostat is 2 screws , about 10-15 minutes max. 3 of us SSEi'rs have gone from 3.50 pulleys to the 3.25's and none have gone back , many thousand miles on these three cars with the 3.25's and all are running great! I highly recommend this level mod. if you enjoy performance cars and thought that was what you were buying in the SSEi
One tip that I posted during the summer when I installed my CA . When I removed the stock air box I made a discovery , there is a foam donut that acts as a air duct from the hole in radiator support wall and the opening in factory air box , but on my car it was folded over and blocking some of the opening into air box , not good . So anyone running a stock air box should check this.
Ed
My car has blown out its second amp for the sub, must be a nasty impedence mismatch or voltage problem... get a system in, slap on the pulley and exhaust and fill me in.
The seat doesn't seem to go down as far as my older '93 bonneville. I had to adjust it for a tilt going back to avoid hitting the ceiling which was not the greatest position driving.
I own a 93 without a sunroof and have plenty of headroom. For 30k+, i don't get it. My only other complaint on this car is that it resembles somewhat a Grand Prix on the exterior, in fact, it's hard to tell the difference from a distance.
Any comments or insight on this please of owners of the 2000 or 2001 sunroof owners. By the way, i'm 5'10", so i'm know giant.
Mark
marlae - You definitely gain headroom without the sunroof. I've owned 5 Bonnevilles; the first two with sunroof. My 2000 gives me ample headroom but not as much as I had in my '97.
ABOUT PERFORMANCE MOD, SMALL IA. BLOWER PULLEYS, I&N AIR FILTERS AND SUCH. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT IN LAY MAN'S TERMS.
DOES MY 2400 MILE 2001 Sri HAVE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT? THANKS
YES IT IS AN SSEi, 2001 WITH 2400 MILES ON IT.
CAN YOU GIVE ME SPECIFICS?
THANKS, BERNIE
Has anyone changed the rear bar to a larger size with urethane bushing? Is it worth the time and dollars? Thanks.
Second level of mod was a 3.25 diameter pulley ( stock is 3.80) , 1 " shorter S.C. drive belt , a Thrasher Cold Air Induction (CAI) Kit modified to fit the SSEi and a 180 degree thermostat (stock is 195) . This level of mod is good for about 60-65 HP and much less lag time and a very noticeable performance improvement.
Any pulley change will void your warranty if they find out . Go to www.thrasher-ep.com for purchase info on pulley and install tool and CAI kit (meant for Grand Prix)
Any other ?
Preliminary results for my first two runs: 0 - 60 mph: 6.41 and 6.34 seconds. This is with outside air at 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
If my math is good, this puts the car around 14.9 - 15.0 in the quarter mile. What do you guys think?
Looks like my total parts cost will be ~ $1,700. Add in tax, shipping, and a little labor, and I'm right at $2,000.
I sure hope to see some major gains after spending this much on a custom setup...
I'm still getting that "springy" noise from under the front of the console. The dealer just can't isolate it. They've insulated all the cables underneath which seems to have helped a bit; but it still makes the noise when cold out (below 30F). The noise happens when lifting up on the accelerator and when the transmission shifts. Any ideas?
Anyways, now that I have some spare time I was able to assemble an Excel spreadsheet listing all of us, the mods we've made, etc.
I think there are at least seven of us with pulleys now.
If any of you want to peruse the spreadsheet, and help me fill in the blanks, just let me know and I'll email it right out.
My address is AdvGauging@aol.com.
Suggestions anyone? (other then don't go back to the "Mumbo Jumbo" dealership). Does anyone know what the GMS price is as a function (%) of the MSRP for the SLE?
I am also leaning towards a Oldmobile Intrigue GLS or even possibly an Aurora.
Thanks
BTW First time here and posting.
I also looked at SLE and Aurora V8 , but went with SSEi . I'm am sooo glad I did cause doing the mods and the performance gains make the car very special
$2000 you say , wow! $850 for the headers, $300 for mufflers , maybe a 100 for some straight pipe for the resonator and the MIA cat . What am I missing ? I so want those headers on my exhaust setup , but I'll have to come up with some more "untraceable cash" or little Queenie is goina give me "THE LOOK"
The snow is melting (December set a record here in Madison, WI) and it has been hard keeping the black machine clean (but it has been kept clean!).
As you may know, the mods on my machine have been limited to painting the exhaust tips and rubber floor mats for the winter
However... knowing you guys... here is a site you might like. http://www.84to96.net/kaleco/
Bill
$ 21 Manifold Gaskets
$ 750 Headers
$ 39 Crossover Wrap Kit
$ 50 Rear O2 Sensor Simulator
$ 240 Stainless Steel Tubing (3" and 2 1/2")
$ 200 Mufflers
$ 244 Tips
$ 47 Clamps
$ 28 Hangers
______
$1,619
All these prices were without tax and shipping. Still need to add some labor for welding and expanding some of the pipes.
This is going to be fun project!
He had a few mods a while back, and then seemingly disappeared...
I just noticed that the Kaleco site changed its format... The site was brand new three days ago and I thought it was very funny. The format changed last night, it is still amusing but now looks too much like it is trying to be serious for my taste. Hope any of you who looked at it understood that I thought it was funny and that I was not poking fun at anyone.
Smfran- I've been here all the time, the new format didn't scare me off, I just didn't have anything to offer. As far as mods for the SSEi... I already get the "look" for mods on the Vette. So I think the Bonnie is gonna stay stock. Besides one car that only gets 30,000 miles on a set of tires is 'enuf
Also, ay gotta understand, Carolyn's idea of a car is a grey 4 cylinder GranAm with crankup windows (that is her car, thank goodness). So, it is politic to behave myself with the SSEi.
Have fun everyone... and I will keep reading.
Bill
By the way, Superchips offers a chip for your car. They claim 20 horsepower and 27 foot-pounds of torque with application #2995025. They can be found at http://www.superchips.com/domestic.htm.
Good luck with your new Bonneville!
My questions: How is the reliability of the newer Bonnevilles, say from 1997-99 and the 2000 models everyone has already? Also, what fuel economy does everyone get? I drive alot of highway, and usually get 20-22 mpg, which is better on 89 octane than 87 for some reason. Love all the "toys" in the SSE, but wish it was SCed.
BTW, how much do you all think trade-in value would be on my 1993? I estimate something like $5000 or so.
Oh, and how does everyone's 2000 models compare to their older ones? I read here awhile back, and know at least one person replaced a 1996 model with a 2000, so please advise. Thanks again.
When I was 19 I had a '75 Buick Electra Limited with a 455 4-barrel carburetor. Talk about luxury with attitude! Unfortunately, I went broke filling the tank and traded it for a '80 Toyota Celica.
I find them really useful for getting things apart and back together without breaking anything (haven't had to use 'em yet on the Bonneville... but have used similar manuals a lot on my other/past cars).
Anyway, if any of you have a question about how to get something apart... or would like to see a diagnostic table (could be lots of pages) for a particular problem... drop me a note and I'll scan some stuff and EMail it back.
My normal EMail address is WEShelton@home.com. Home.com's servers have been having problems of late, so a copy to WEShelton@aol.com might be a good safety measure.
Have fun,
Bill