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Oldsmobile Aurora: Modifications

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Comments

  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    with new exhaust, you'll definatly want a better flowing intake, they complement eachother. i noticed a slight increase with just a modded k&n and slightly bigger increase with exhaust. but i noticed a pretty big improvement with the highflow cat (done last), which is probably partialy becuase it was somewhat clogged, and the bottle neck of the whole system

    i noticed my mileage go down with the exhaust....but thats because i liked how it sounded :D
  • mike98cmike98c Member Posts: 293
    I had the sport Contact, not sure how they compare to the premier but I really liked them. I got them on sale and couldn't spend the money on them last time as I (was am) remodeled an early 1920's house. The house has had lots of interesting little discoveries uncovered. Interesting is a Chinese word for curse lol.
  • blk97aurorablk97aurora Member Posts: 573
    Robert,

    I have no experience with ContiPremierContact, but I have had and am having excellent experience with two other Continental tires. When I bought my '97 used at 37,000 miles, it had ContiTouringContact tires. I think they were new then, and were the same type as installed at the factory. To my surprise these lasted until 99,000 on the odometer with decent handling and wet traction. I replaced them with ContiExtremeContact tires this past August; these are better tires than the Touring in terms of handling and traction. No increased noise or harshness either. I'm running stock 2001+ 17x7.5 wheels.

    Les
  • hammen2hammen2 Member Posts: 1,284
    Thanks for the feedback on the Continentals... I've not had that brand before.

    My mother-in-law also has a '98 Aurora, but hers is non-Autobahn with the Goodyear Eagles (just replaced stock) on it. It's more of a luxocruiser, whereas, with first the MXV's and then the Dunlops, my car has a little more sporting pretension (as much as possible for a 4000 pound sedan :-)

    I'm wondering if going with the ContiPremierContacts will be a little more like the Eagles, and a little less like the Dunlops. The Dunlops were excellent at first, but, the longer I drove them, the less traction I had in rain/snow, and the louder they got. Factor in the almost universal complaints about treadwear, and I don't think I'll go there again.

    Looking at Tire Rack, there's another option in the similar price range: the BFGoodrich Traction TA's. They, like the Dunlops, are characterized as a High Performance All Season (unlike the Contis, which are Grand Touring All Season). Like the ContiPremier's, they're too new to get much warranty/feedback. I guess I'd better call my tire installer and get their input. One reason I'm going with them, rather than Tire Rack, is due to the roadforce issue - they've RFB'd my car twice now, and know they'll have to get me some of the best tires they have, or else have me keep coming back to RFB the tires until they're right...

    --Robert
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    I just brought a throttle body for a 1995 off of ebay. I brought it so that I could give it to RCM when I order my larger TB from them. I am hoping that this will make a performance difference for the positive. I still remeber some talk about the larger TB having a negative affect on perfomance. This time, I won't say that it was Rob or Greg that made that comment.

    Does anybody know what the torque plate is that they are selling for the 1995?

    Henri

    Henri
  • blk97aurorablk97aurora Member Posts: 573
    Henri,

    By "they" do you mean RSM Racing? I don't know why they call it a torque plate. The website listing also calls it "80mm TB adapter." I also don't know why it says "94 and 95 only." There seem to be several mistakes on the website; the photo that goes with this torque plate is obviously incorrect.

    When I bought a TB for my '97, I also bought the adapter ($100 plus core, then) from RSM. It's 1-3/4" thick, located between the TB and intake manifold. It has ports for the EGR pipe and a PCV pipe. RSM opens it up to 80mm to match the TB diameter; the machining is well done. It looks like they no longer have a core charge for the adapter. When I ordered in 2003, they charged either $100 or $150 refundable core charge; kind of high as I bought a new one from a Cadillac/Olds dealer for just $12.

    At the end of the day, I was happy with my RSM Racing transactions. However, there were a few bumps along the way. I phoned in my order on Friday, September 12; my credit card was charged on Monday, September 15. The TB and adapter were not shipped until October 1 or 2 after several additional phone calls from me. Shipping by UPS was $29, which seemed a bit high, but it was coming from Canada, so maybe OK. I shipped the cores to RSM a few days later, also by UPS, for only $10. I received refund of my $400 core charges fairly promptly.

    About a month later I received a bill from UPS CustomHouse Brokerage for $21 for "entry prep fee" for the shipment from Canada. I called RSM and was told the fee didn't apply since RSM had an exemption. I contacted UPS CustomHouse again and was told they didn't know anything about exemptions, and it was a valid fee. Then the rep told me she should would give me a courtesy write-off this time. I still don't understand what this was all about, but since I didn't have to pay anything, I dropped it.

    Due to several illnesses in my family and the cold weather, I have not installed the TB and adapter yet. Looking forward to Spring.

    Good luck.
  • rjs200240rjs200240 Member Posts: 1,277
    It is for '95s only because of OBD-II. Apparently it won't work with it on the '96 and later cars. A torque plate basically makes the intake path longer, thus helping low end torque a bit and usually hurting high-end power a bit. It's not unlike having longer runners.

    On a not unrelated, but not really related note, in 2001 the Corvette gained 5hp and 25 lb-ft of torque (the torque curve was significantly increased, even though the hp only went up 5) by only an intake manifold redesign. So it is rather tricky, scientificy stuff. I'm not sure I'd just slap the torque plate on my car (if it were OBD-II compliant). Just two cents...
  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    blk97aurora, i think you just have the adapter plate, the "torque plate" is somthing different. i thought what i read from someone, maybe even rsm, its been a while, but they said that it would slightly decrease top end pull for more tq, like loosing 5hp for 10tq.
  • hammen2hammen2 Member Posts: 1,284
    When I put my K&N panel filter in the other night, I saw the beige insert in the airbox, Googled the info at caddyinfo, and removed it.

    I also see people removing the little side chamber (someone had found a 2" PVC pipe plug at Menards for $3 which fit the hole - I'll do this as soon as I can find this part).

    I also see people cutting a hole in the bottom of the airbox. Does this really help? Wouldn't this make it more likely to get water in there? Just asking before I start hacking it (checked at the local junkyard, they want $75 for another in case I hose this one up...)

    --Robert
  • blk97aurorablk97aurora Member Posts: 573
    Has anyone installed an auxilliary transaxle oil cooler in their Classic?

    If so, where did you mount it? And how did you route the the rubber lines? On other cars, I have had room either to the side or under the radiator; but space is very limited around the Classic radiator.

    When I removed the top tie bar from the radiator this afternoon, I was surprised at how much debris was trapped around and between the radiator and a/c condenser -- leaves, insects, cigarette butts, and a plastic bag. The foam sealer strips have hardened and are crumbling apart. One of the foam seals is completely out of place -- blocking airflow through the radiator.

    Aurora is the only car I have ever owned where "normal" coolant temp often exceeds the thermostat design temperature (195). I'll be interested to see if cleaning up all this debris makes a difference.

    Les
  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    i called minekee to get a quote on lowering. first they said, umm yeah, it would about 2 hours labor = $175-200 for putting in 4 springs and 2 struts. they also went on to say that i would need a $450-$500 alignment. i was like, i thought alignments ran about $50. he said when dropping a car, it always ends up needing a very expensive alignment. anyone have any exprience with this? sounds like he's full of it, im only dropping it a inch (eibach springs). btw its a 95 aurora.
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    this topic comes up every now and then (I call it the 9 month cycle). I would recommend you search the owner's club discussions for posting related to lowering the car.

    Personally, I dont believe in lowering a Classic. the car is already low and lowering it further places the front air deflector at greater jeopardy of being damaged. If I were you I would invest in thicker sway bars for the 1995 (like I did). I think you will be happier with the improved handling from the thicker bars than lowering the car. My 2 cents.
  • kayaman420kayaman420 Member Posts: 207
    That sounds funny to me man. Is that the Minekee on Cedar in that little strip mall??? I went there for an estimate on struts once and it was insane. Dont remember how much exactly , but I walked right out the door.

    Try that goodyear right down the road. Ive used them a few times for some small repairs. Very good people, good price, good service.
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  • rjs200240rjs200240 Member Posts: 1,277
    Anyway, $500 for an alignment is insane. There is nothing different about it when the car is lowered, except that they may not be able to meet the spec anymore, but rather just get it as close as possible. Unless they are going to fabricate parts to make the alignment perfect, I can't possibly imagine paying that for an alignment. It might be more than $50, though.

    You'll need to have the rear air-ride height adjusted (not sure you even need new springs?) if you drop the car. It's pretty easy to do. I don't know if they included that, or if you'd do it yourself or what.

    If it were me, though, that would turn me off to that place (that plus it's a meineke) and I'd go somewhere that seemed a bit more competent.
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    one guy on gmforums did. i emailed him, he said he didn't have to do anything special at all, but the insides of the tires wore a little faster than usual, so he had to rotate more often.

    im lowering with kyb's. its not just for "performance handling" which i know it will help with. its also for looks, i put my rims on, and it just reminds me how this car looks like its on stilts, like most other GM cars.

    ive been thinking of doing it myself, since some people here have installed there own struts, it wouldn't be any different since you take the springs off to put in new struts.
  • javidoggjavidogg Member Posts: 366
    For Lowering the car, you can ask the people at RSM Racing since they have lowering products for the Auroras.

    click on the link below
    http://www.rsmracing.com/us/main.htm

    Peace.
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    To each his own.

    Just don't buy the "Nemesis"

    ((SMILE))
  • javidoggjavidogg Member Posts: 366
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    Would one of the "old timers" on the board like to tell Javi what car was given the name "the Nemesis"?
  • hammen2hammen2 Member Posts: 1,284
    Was that zincster's car?
  • javidoggjavidogg Member Posts: 366
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    The nemesis is from an old posting. The car was the Lexus GS 400.
  • mike98cmike98c Member Posts: 293
    HEY! I think thats the same Meineke where the blond haired guy behind th counter supposedly couldn't find my keys after I brought my Eclipse in for a alignment. This was after going in for an advertised special and then being told my front struts were shot (2 months old) and my bill would be about $350.00. They said well the cars on the lift and we thought you took the keys back (WHAAT?) so we'll take care of it for 300.00, at which point I said it sure is a good thing I carry an extra key in my wallet.

    I counted myself lucky to get out of there with only having to go to a junkyard to get the locks from a wrecked Talon to replace the ones with the missing key.

    Almost the same sales tactics as a certain one on Lake Street tried!

    Steve and Bobbys Mobil had one tech that was willing to work with me to drillout the slots on the struts on the Aurora when I had the car aligned because I wanted a little more negative camber. Even with drilling out and checking the camber several times it was only about $125.00.
  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    ok, first i did a search, and didn't find a definite awnser, so here goes my problem.

    about 6 months ago i noticed the car kinda jerked or surged at about 45-50ish mph. well, recently its happening more and more and getting worse. also, the idle is becoming more and more rough. it used to just humm at like 600rpm, now it idles a little higher, maybe 700. but it makes lunges all the way up to 900, then back down, makes a kind of click type noise when it does it too.

    i think this may be partly due to a bad tank of gas, because it just got a whole lot worse all of the sudden (i will NEVER get holiday gas again now, 2nd time) also the car is pretty doggish now, some surging. i noticed this right after a tank of 93 octane holiday gas. the road was merging into 1, and i BARELY out accelerated a 2.2 caviler, had 1 length distance between us. i don't abuse my car, but i found it odd i had to mash it to get in front, the car felt pretty slow. did a few kick downs, and noticed the same thing, huge loss in power, but im sure thats just the bad gas.

    my spark plugs are about 1.5 years old, they were ac delco's, rapid fire i think?? they were like $6 a piece, so i believe they were the platniums. my fpr is about 1 year old. any other suggestions? plug wires? i don't want to replace coil packs yet, they sound expensive. i also picked up a new fuel filter, any suggestions???

    thanks!
  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    yeah, im holding off on the springs for a month or soo, just picked up some ball joints, ill be doing those when i can talk the old man into helping out, gotta do both sides :(
  • hammen2hammen2 Member Posts: 1,284
    Might also clean your fuel injectors (I have about 78k miles on my 6 1/2 year old '98, though I bought it about 3 years ago with 27k on it), and will be cleaning the injectors, replacing the FPR, plugs, wires, cleaning the throttle body, modifying the airbox, putting in new SilverStar bulbs in the fog lamps, replacing the (hanging) front fascia, and getting an oil change and new tires on Thursday :-) Put a K&N filter in and changed the fuel filter, not to mention the headlights (SilverStars) a couple of weeks ago. Other than Zaino'ing the outside and inside, changing oil and putting in gas, I hope I'm done for awhile :-)

    --Robert
  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    well im relieved. it started driving just horrible, so i decided to let it run so the gas will go faster. i get out and the first thing i hear is clicks. first thing that comes to my mind, loose spark plug wire. so i open it up, and its obvious what it is. i turn if off, check the pack, all good, check the front 4, all good, OF course it had to be the 1 right in the middle of the coil pack under neath. so i burn my hand trying to twist it down there, finally get it and put it on

    my hand burns (yeah i know, shoulda waited till i got home to take off the pack) but its idling right at 625ish again....good thing i didn't loose to that caviler, i woulda been scared for life. it funny how much slower it runs on 7 cylinders, no power at all.
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
  • mrdubyamrdubya Member Posts: 200
    deja vu??

    its better, but it still surges....probably bad gas

    boycott holiday gas stations! its only better for the enviorment because it ruins cars, less cars, less pollution, thats there thinking!
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    My deja vu caomment is because you posted the same message to the board three times. <wink>
  • 95mushroom95mushroom Member Posts: 230
    Anyone know if the 2k1+ steering wheels will fit the classics? The South Fl. sun has revenged mine and the new ones look a ton better. I know I would need the airbag cover and wheel controls too but my current ones are trashed and I would be replacing them anyways.
  • rjs200240rjs200240 Member Posts: 1,277
    Well, it seems a lot of Regal GS owners have noticed improvements from wrapping their airboxes in reflectix. After that one time at the track when my airbox was almost too hot to touch, I think maybe this might be a benefit in hot weather.

    Greg, I know you've said that the air flows through so fast it probably doesn't matter, but I kind of wonder. The air box is fairly big, so air spends a bit of time in it, plus there are pockets and such where air probably doesn't flow as much and gets trapped a bit where they could soak up a lot of the heat.

    Anyway, I think I'm gonna give it a whirl and see how it goes. I still want to work out the CAI/ram air thing I was trying to do.

    I'd really like to get an AutoTap so I can see the intake temps and such to see if they get lowered at all, and maybe see if the timing ever gets pulled due to knock or anything.

    I guess cruising the GS boards really gets me in the mod mood. Man, would it be easy to mod the Regal into a 13 second beast...
  • 95mushroom95mushroom Member Posts: 230
    If anyone can help point me in the right direction to find a 2001 steering wheel assembly (just the wheel, air bag cover, and accessory switches) that would be great.

    Also does would 2001 steering wheel even fit the classics?
  • blk97aurorablk97aurora Member Posts: 573
    Henri,

    When you installed the 22mm Seville bar on your Classic, did you encounter any problems? I am planning on doing that modification to my '97 when I replace the rear shocks.

    Also, I'm assuming that the 22mm shaft is on the STS model only and not SLS. Can you confirm that, or not?
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    Are you sure you don't already have the thicker rear bar. I think 97 was the year they went to a thicker front bar. Not sure about the rear. In any event there was no problem other than getting new rubber pieces for the bar. Forgive me, I forget what the fubber pieces are called.
  • blk97aurorablk97aurora Member Posts: 573
    Henry,

    Thanks for the quick reply. The '97s do have larger front bar than '95-96. However, all Classics 95-99 had 17mm rear bar.
  • rjs200240rjs200240 Member Posts: 1,277
    I took my airbox apart tonight to get it ready for the reflectix. I took some pictures. I then washed my K&N and washed all the airbox components so they will be nice and clean to work with.

    I oriented all the picture so pointing up is pointing to the rear of the car, pointing down is the front, pointing right is the driver's side, etc.

    Here is the bottom of the airbox. The protrusion is about 3.5" in diameter and sticks into the frame right behind the turn-signal part of the headlights (far to the driver's side, right by the fender). You can see the two chambers. The PCM sits to the passenger side of the front chamber. Then the filter sits in the back chamber. You can see the trumpet that connects the two chambers. It lines up well with the fender port (when I washed it, the hose spray went right through one to the other with the spray pattern in-tact):

    image

    Here is the second of three main pieces that make up the airbox. This piece covers/seals the front chamber, and holds the filter in the middle of the back chamber:

    image

    Here is with the third peice on. I am holding the air duct and MAF. That runs over to the throttle body (I am holding it because it is not flat on the bottom and would have fallen over):

    image

    Here you can see where the airbox is (and this gives you an idea of scale. This stuff is pretty huge, but looks small in the picture. The PCM is the size of a book.) That's the PCM standing on end like it does normally. It's up at the front of the car. You can see the tranny (that's what that cap is) and a plastic bag over the throttle body opening:

    image

    Here you can see the big round hole the airbox sticks into. This is looking toward the front of the car, thus it's a bit upside-down-ish. Notice the hole is way over to the side:

    image

    Here you can see where the opening really is, almost to the fender of the car. You can't see the hole in this picture, but you can see better where on the headlight/body it would be:

    image

    And here's a shot of the throttle body just because I figured you might be interested. It is a pretty nice design with what looks like good flow characteristics.

    image

    This got me thinking that maybe I don't need to worry about cold air. I think just preventing the airbox from getting heat-soaked by using Reflectix will be a good start. I think that the air the box pulls would be really pretty fresh. Also, the amount of leaf bits and other fairly large debris in the box and stuck in the filter mean that fresh air must reach there fairly easily. When I had the Corvette with a CAI that stuck down in front of the radiator, it barely got that much leaf crud in it. I think the size of the crud (given that I keep my engine bay very clean and leaf-free) speaks a bit to the freshness of the air that reaches there.

    Also, is it just me that loves that clean coil-on-plug look of the throttle body picture? There are no wires or fittings or hoses or anything there. Just intake manifold and cylinder heads all nice and flush (ok, that's not really the intake manifold, but still)...
  • rjs200240rjs200240 Member Posts: 1,277
    So, I wrapped it all up in reflectix and cleaned and re-oiled my K&N. It looks pretty nice, though obviously reflectix isn't as pretty as the black plastic.

    I first cut a large sheet that would be big enough to cover the whole bottom piece. I covered one piece at a time for a nicer flush look rather than trying to cover the entire box. Plus, I can remove the filter now with no problems. Then, I slowly trimmed away to fit the sheet to the box.

    image

    image

    Gradually the sheet started to fit very well over the piece.

    image

    image

    Then I put the bottom airbox piece back in the car, bolted it back in, and put the PCM back in place. I think this shielding is what will help the most as it is the bottom that is so close to the tranny.

    image

    Then I did the same for the next two pieces one at a time. I also wrapped the flexible intake duct to help a little more (and I think it makes the use of reflectix look less strange since more stuff has it).

    image

    image

    And tada, that's it. It's all done. The stuff is fairly rigid, and the hood should hold it in place. If not, I may just run a piece of string over the top of it. The stuff is incredibly light. It's like wrapping the airbox in bubblewrap. In fact, it is bubble wrap with aluminum foil on both sides. The reflective face of the aluminum reflects heat, and the bubble wrap forms an air barrier between reflective sheets. It claims to reflect up to 97% of radiant heat. I suspect most of the heat into the box is radiant, since it only has a few small contact points with the body.

    I also used the reflectix tape. It is foil tape and is maintains the reflective surface of the wrap.

    I guess we'll see if it really does anything. It would have been good to have an AutoTap or something to compare intake air temps (does this car even have an IAT sensor? I think it just uses the MAF as there is no IAT in the airbox or duct). I imagine the difference would only be less degradation of performance after long operation, not anything that would be noticeable in a quick drive. So who knows. But it was easy, cheap (about $25 total), and has virtually no downside (maybe 1 lb of weight added to the car).
  • garnes1garnes1 Member Posts: 33
    Very nice.

    Do you wrap your Christmas presents that nice too? Wow!

    Hey - My 98 has an IAT in the air box. You must have one somewhere.
  • rjs200240rjs200240 Member Posts: 1,277
    I dunno, I pulled off the entire airbox, and the whole ducting to the throttle body. The only thing I had to disconnect was the MAF. Maybe its in the TB or something? Or maybe the MAF does both?

    What's with the new login name?
  • 95mushroom95mushroom Member Posts: 230
    where'd u get the reflex sheet? All I found was the roll of tape.
  • rjs200240rjs200240 Member Posts: 1,277
    I found it at both Lowe's and Home Depot. It was in with the big home insulation stuff, not with the ducting stuff (they had some Frost King stuff in with the ducting stuff). Get the tape, though. I had a hard time finding Reflectix tape instead of just some generic foil tape. I'm not sure it makes that much difference, but since I'm going with Reflectix I really wanted to get the tape that goes with it.

    Also, I got the 2' x 25' roll. The 2' wide was more than wide enough, and my airbox is huge. They have a 16" and 4' x 25' also. It was like $21 for the roll and $2.50 for the tape.
  • garnes1garnes1 Member Posts: 33
    Yeah, it must be somewhere else.

    Anyway, I just registered under the new system - I've been out of the loop here for some time. They said my original login name was already in use. I figured it was "me" already, but I was clueless how to get around that so just went with a variation. Feel free to let me know how clueless I was with the login name thing. Who knows - maybe it was taken by someone else.
  • hammen2hammen2 Member Posts: 1,284
    Greg, they changed over to a new registration system. Instead of logging in with your userID (i.e. hammen2) you've now got to log in using your email address that was assigned to that account. If you can remember that... might want to drop Pat HOST an email, since I've seen the hosts chastize people who have more than one account (violation of TOS)...

    I've got some questions on Classic airbox mods, if you've got the time... :-)

    --Robert
    enjoying the new sounds from his Classic
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    hammen2 is correct. If you need help signing on with your old username, let me know.
  • HenryHenry Member Posts: 1,106
    Hello Karen:
    I guess you "don't get no respect" from us Aurorians as host of this discussion. It is unintentional, its just that PAT cast such a large shadow.

    We are so used to PAT'S famous/infamous postings. -- Henri
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    I guess you can call me "the wraith". I'm here, but prefer to stay in the background and listen...and learn. :-)
  • aurora5000aurora5000 Member Posts: 168
    I thought your box wrap was a great idea even though bbob didn't care for it.

    Best Wishes,
    Steve
This discussion has been closed.