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Oldsmobile Aurora: Modifications
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Same for the throttle body. A bored throttle body just allows more air flow at WOT just like a K&N filter does.
To clean the TB, you need a socket wrench with extension and (if I remember right) a 7mm socket to get the mass air flow sensor off. Unclip the MAF too. The MAF has 3 screws that connect it to the TB. The bottom one is "feel only" one, but not really that bad. Just go slow. Do it with a cold car too. Once the MAF (oh yeah and the air duct of course) is off, just get some TB cleaner that's O2 sensor safe (like STP's or something). Spray it in there wherever you see the black junk. The back side of the TB plate will be covered pretty good. The surface of the TB may be a caked too. If it's thick, use a rag or maybe an old toothbrush or something. Be careful not to introduce any foreign debris into the intake manifold. I guess the black junk won't hurt anything, but don't use a dirty rag or brush.
I was reading on caddyinfo.com that it may be possible that after cleaning a very dirty TB, the idle can be temporarily goofed because the car has been automatically adjusting the idle to compensate for the dirty TB. I'm not sure about this, but one way to prevent the computer from trying to make adjustments to a TB that does not need it anymore is to disconnect the battery for 30 minutes or so. This supposedly clears the computer memory.
Also, after doing this, it's my opinion that you've introduced some crud to the engine. So I drive it around for a day and then change the oil and filter.
Hope that helps.
One of the brushed sets they had actually came with a set of Goodyear Eagle RS-A's attached. They were sized 255/55-17...but I just didn't want to deal with having to get rid of the tires, so I was just going to pick up an empty set of rims.
As I started to talk to one of the guys working, he tried to sell me on the set with the tires. I told him that they would have to be cheaper for me to be interested, to compensate for off-loading the tires myself. And he said what I always love to hear...."How much cheaper?". I told him, "200 hundred bucks". And he went for it! So I got a set of "A" condition wheels with four new tires for 700 bucks. Not bad!
As I said, I'll probably sell the Goodyears and pick up a set of Dunlops for the wheels..but that'll have to wait until I'm back from Houston. I'm leaving tomorrow and will be back on Thursday. Until then, I'll just have to post some pictures on the web to stare at while I'm down south. See you guys in a few!
-Brian
I thought at first that these were fairly well used tires...but the inside track still has the little "nibs" on them from production..these babies are practically new! Great deal.
stickking1- Im curious to see those wheels on your car. nice buy
Hey, have you thought about mounting them up with the 255's? I mean, they are already on there... You can see what it looks like. It's possible the overall tire height might not be as much bigger as it would seem. With the 255 on a 7.5" rim (I used to have 255's on a 9.5" wide rim), the sidewalls will have to bow more than a 235 would.
Plus, you could snap some picts of what it looks like. I'd love to see some tread shots of the 255's. See if they look pretty mean. The 255's on my Corvette looked like steamrollers (though they had a 9.5" rim stretching them).
Hey, did they come with center caps? My tip is to remove the caps if you ever take the car to the dealer. The first time my car went (for Virginia's idiotic annual "safety" [read robbery] inspection) they scuffed the wheel up a bit taking them off. Now I do it before heading over there. I also attached foam to the tire iron in the trunk so it won't dig into the wheel when popping the cap with it.
Check out message #553. I gave a description after I got them done. The only difference now is I got a dynomax high flow cat. It adds a little power and it makes it a little louder. If you are expecting a huge difference I definately recomend you take off the resonater also. And having your air-box modded or a cold air intake helps the sound a lot too.
-Brian
Man these wheels are great! They give a whole new look to the car. I have the Eagle's up for auction and will get the Dunlops installed next week. It's killing me not to drive it, but even worse is the AC compressor clutch that went out on me today!! Looks like I have a full day ahead of me on Sunday...nice way to spend a holiday weekend.
-Brian
EDIT: Why is it that every time I make some high-priced purchase for my car something breaks?? The AC clutch would be no big deal if I hadn't just spent a grand on wheels and tires. Its not a huge problem, maybe 150 bucks and a Sunday afternoon to fix, but still...
-Brian
When you get the new tires, I highly recommend having each one forced balanced to the best possible position. I don't care if they mount the tire and it comes up 13 or 14 lbs - which is "acceptable". In effect, they have to mount each one twice to achieve it, but it's worth it. The Aurora is susceptible to vibration from anything being out.
I had this done at Discount Tire. Not everybody has this equipment.
-Brian
Looks like there is an upgrade to the 320hp Aurora V8 in the Shelby Series 1 that adds another 50 hp. I wonder if similar principles could be applied to our Aurora?
I'd like to learn more about "blueprinting" and what that entails and exactly how much that helps. It also makes you wonder about those "first test" cars too. I'd really like to know the story about that, because if some of these cars (imports ahemm) are sending such cars to the magazines - that's really unethical, and criminal if you ask me when they run advertisements quoting the performance results "as measured by __ magazine". I wouldn't be surprised, because some of these performance numbers don't add up.
Anyway - I'd like to know more about blueprinting and how much that can help and why.
[1] Dismantling engine and reassembling it to exact specifications and tolerances. This process may help to improve engine performance, smoothness, and reliability. Sometimes called "blueprinting."
Reciprocating weight: Piston, rings, wrist pin, and small end of connecting rod.
Rotating weight: Big end of connecting rods, rod bolts & nuts, rod bearings, & oil supply to crankshaft bearings.
Blueprinting
Blueprinting an engine consists of several machine shop operations including but not limited to:
Bore & hone cylinders (usually w/Deck plates).
Re-size connecting rods (big end & sometimes small end).
Turn & Index crankshaft.(making sure it is straight)
3 angle valve job cylinder heads (to a specific width & place on valve face).
Fitting valve guides to a specific clearance.
Setting up valve springs to the right installed height & pressure, both open & closed.
Surfacing block and cylinder heads straight & with the right RMS finish.
Race engines require even more blueprinting----such as; cc'ing heads, machining for exact deck, block clearancing for crankshaft, & cam to rod clearance, porting & polishing, shot peening, heat treating,---etc.
Steve
I would find something like a lipstyle spoiler, from like a BMW ///M5, I don't know if you guys have seen one, it's flush mounted on the trunk, and it does not stick out.
It would give the Aurora a low profile look, while maintaining a sport look.
Peace.
Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
have warranty but not for most electrical (sensors, ect.)new radiator alternator a/c compress etc. Please help. Sad in calhoun. lol
Thanks John
brex4u@aol.com
Thanks
brex4u@aol.com
You can also search to find out about the autobahn package. Basically it is a 3.71:1 axle ratio instead of a 3.48:1. Plus, the speed limiter is around 140 mph instead of 118 or so.
You can get a K&N. Go to www.knfilters.com to figure out which filter is the appropriate replacement for your car.
As for the rest, read the posts here. Most of the things you are asking about have been discussed at length.
You can go to caddyinfo.com and go to the modifications stuff. I have an air-box mod w/ K&N detailed there. Same for the RSM throttle body. It's all there - pictures, dyno graphs, explanations..........
As for exhaust - check out the photos here. My 98 has a Corsa cat-back exhaust. It's made for the STS but can be modified for the Aurora. If you are interested, I can send you lots of pictures of the installation.
Oh, and before you plunge into this stuff, make sure the car has good plugs, plug wires, a clean throttle body.....
http://www.rsmracing.com/aurora.htm
Let me know what you think.
Peace.
Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
Those are closer to my measurements(tape ruler) of my stock one.
I thought the smaller the muffler the better? So could I put in a 4x9?
so i get home, tear off my airbox and what do i see? a black k&n coverd in junk. i keep beating it, stuff keeps comming off. eventually i use my k&n cleaner (its been 20k miles) and it comes out all black, had to clean it 2 times!. while im waiting i pulled off the rest of the intake and inspect the TB, what do i see when i open it? a THICK layer of carbon on everything. I spend 45 minutes with a wire brush cleaning the butterfly and inside, i know its still not to clean though. then im putting it all back together, and i decided to take off the second airbox, the one off to the side of the main on, and cap the hole. im guessing thats only there to make it quieter.
as soon as i start it, it revs way up to like 2.5k, stays for a second, drops to 1200, then drops to 600. guess this shows how much better its breathing! I let it run for 5 minutes then took it for a spin. at around....umm 50 i kick it down, O M G! the downshift took about half the time, revved up MUCH faster and kicked and pulled HARD! noticibly louder too. tried it 3 times, 1 of them at like 30, same results each time, pulls MUCH harder. and i tried it at 70, pulls harder there too!
I recomened anyone to take apart there airbox, make sure its clean and clean out the TB. btw, anyone know if i can completly remove the TB to clean it out GOOD without having to buy a new gasket? doing this has kinda given me the mod bug...again. i want to make sure its all clean in there. been thinking about that chip too, but i don't think i should becuase of the high miles on my transmission (disabling the torque management would be the biggest prob for a old trans)
sorry for the long post...wish i would have done this earlier so i coulda represented the CLASSIC! gotta find a sts tonight!
The biggest thing I noticed was that, I guess you call it the tb mount piece??? Was dirtier than the tb. It had almost a good 1/8 to 1/4" covered in grime. Also, the metal tube that goes into it, whatever that does (some help here would be great) was almost completely blocked off by deposits as was the thingy (very technical, I know) sensor type lines that are at the top of the tb.
I too felt a big improvement in overall performance. Its more responsive, downshifts freer and pulls considerable harder.
Oh yea, lol, after we removed the tb, the gasket (o-ring) was dirty and we used the throttle body cleaner to clean it. It expanded and I drove all over trying to find a new one, (PepBoys, Discount, Advance, a local type Napa) and no one had it even listed on their systems (a little FYI for ya). When I get home disappointed, my Dad has shellac gasket compound. Its really sticky gasket sealer I guess??? It held the gasket in long enough to slam the tb in place.
Worked pretty good.
Hope this helped mike...
I think ill pick up some of that gasket sealer and take off the TB to clean everything out saturday. thanks for the extra info mushroom
Im also tossing around the idea of going to wisconsin on sunday to the 1/4 drags, last ones of the season. but then id have to switch my rims back the the 16's, and is it legal to race without a passenger seat? hard to remove? I know the back just pops out, but that one isn't even heavy. not sure if i want to go, but the rora's feeling pretty peppy.
Thanks Again
WEAFROG
The 3.5 is actually probably pretty spirited. That motor has a nice torque curve, and the car weighs 3627 lbs. So that's about 300+ lbs. less than the classic. That's a fair amount lighter.
Weafrog: I'd go with the K&N and the airbox mod. Seems like that produces as much or more gain than a cone. Though, I guess a cone looks cooler (though pulls hotter). The K&N and airbox mod is also a lot cheaper.
GARNES - i was looking more at your airbox mods, what i did was take that thing that dips down into the hole and cut just the front of it off, hoping it would "scoop" the air or somthing, then did some other things like opened up the side intake. think it would help to just complete remove the bottom "scoop" thing and make the hole bigger? did you run piping into the bottom or the sides? i think the airbox is about 3" away from the side, so i was thinking of running a tube into there or somthing. i don't know what all the white stuff is in your pictures (not the weatherstriping) - my car didn't have it, maybe the last owner took it out.
Anyway - 95's didn't have the white liner on the air box top. If you don't have it - great. The plastic tubes that go into the hole under the box should just be removed. It's just part of the sound deadening. Notice the different lengths. I think it has something to do with resonations/frequency or something. There are no air currents under the box to "scoop".
I didn't put anything between the box and the side opening. Even with the stock set-up there is some space there. If you lose the horn part, you have another inch maybe of space. I just don't think hot air from the engine travels all the way around to the side of the box, and besides, the opening is right there. I have not worried about it.
That second "box" is just for sound. I left it on. I don't see how it would hurt air flow at all. If you want to get rid of it - fine. It cleans things up a little I guess.
Another small thing to do is to pull the sleeve out of the duct and file the "bump" down. Don't just remove it. There is a notch for it in front of the MAF. File or sand the bump down and make sure no little bits can come off. I used a heat gun to give it a nice finish again. That sleeve is kind of crude and creates a big annular bump in the duct. Removing it may not do anything, but you never know. It's easy and costs nothing. Anything that makes the duct smoother sounds good to me.
I'm not too into the chips and such because they just make the car "twitchier" for lack of a better word. I was set to get the throttle-body, but on the new 4.0 it would require having the water-jacket bored as well, and that's a large piece that has coolant passages and such. I'd have to remove the water pump and a lot of other stuff. But mainly, I'd have to shell out about $1,000 for the parts and the machining. That doesn't really seem worth it.
My current "big plan" is to step up to a Caddy CTS-V in about 2-3 years, (hopefully when it comes in red, and in an auto for Steve
My 1/4 mile times are posted in Aurora Owners: Acceleration on like the 3rd page. It's a bit out of order as they were moved there from the Sedan's page (most of the replies to it are before my post). That was with the K&N and no Corsa, and in stifling weather.
gotta learn to respect the 4.0
btw how do i turn off the overtype!! its annoying