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Oldsmobile Aurora: Modifications
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Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
I emailed him back (I still can't call. It must be something with my long-distance) and asked if he thought the water crossover could be bored if it were removed (I'd just buy a new one). So I'll see what he says. Now that I know the intake is around 74mm, I want to get it enlarged.
I agree it's not worth it if the crossover can't be done because it sounds like it's not the stock 78 like the classic. The classic benefits from just a TB because this piece is already bigger. In your case, you might have a really big bump from doing just the TB.
Good luck.
He also said they have a cone intake for the new Aurora, and it has a box to relocate the ECM to. Here's the picture he sent:
$199.99 US.
He said this weekend they lowered the '02 also. They have a rear-tower brace and are working on a front one. Actually, I wonder if those help much. The Aurora is pretty solid. Most of the roll comes from soft suspension settings, not from body flex. Plus, it's extra weight. But for other new owners, they offer them.
Good news, only $150 for install if Jim's guys remembers right. So I'll email Jim over at Corsa and see how much for the kit and some extra pipe. Thinking 1-2 feet ought to do it, huh?
Now the next dilemma is that the shop I took it to is having a special on dyno runs (this is where I went B4) two runs for $50. So It's a baseline and a re-confirm. Before and after would only be $100 bucks to see what a Corsa cat-back adds to the Aurora. Need to think about this. Hum. I also gave Alex a disk to download my previous runs for me, I'll get it by the end of the week.
I need to start cracking down and find me a TB plate to port match to my TB. If I get this done B4 the exhaust, I would have my final HP rating. Don't plan on doing anything else. I have been eyeing that TPS Enhancer though, then that's it. I bet the guys at APG would let me get I few extra runs in for no charge. They no my name when I walk in the joint. This last weekend I went there for a fog light install on my girlfriends 96 Accord. Turns out that they took off the front bumper to mount them, they didn't want a chincy mounting in the grill. Now no bouncing bright lights and almost impossible to steal since there recessed so far back. Anyways they did I really nice job, the extra lights are SUPER BRIGHT (hella's FF50's) and my girlfriend was amazed that they knew my name when I walked in the Import shop. Sad to say that her lights are WAY brighter than my Silver stars. Sigh. But I earned some major brownie points. She loves me. Now she want's a Cold Air induction for X-mas. sigh. Look what I created.
Looking forward to my CORSA BABY!!!!
Taylor
RJS is getting me measurements on his stock 2002 exhaust to compare (since it's apparently the same as the Corsa STS system). It it's the same from the Y to the tips, then it is indeed just the piping from the resonator to the Y.
As for the dyno, it has been my experience that you get the best results after the car is up to full temp. If it cools off a little, that first run may be a tad lower. Anyway, just one run before or after the mod with the engine a little cool may not be as accurate.
If the Corsa system does 20 HP at the wheels for the STS (Jim said it was +22) then the Aurora should do 17? 15? (250/300, 270/300 4/4.6) Who knows. I guess you should also consider that the STS gets it's max power and max gain from the Corsa system at 6000 rpm where the flow is even more. My guess would be (5600rpm/6000rpm)X 250HP/300HP X 20 = 15.5 HP at wheels. If you use 270/300 you get 16.8, if you use 4.0/4.6 you get 16.2. Using the 270 may help take into account you are charging the cylinders with a little bit denser air than a stock car. Then again, this all assumes that the stock exhaust for the Aurora is just as restrictive for the 4.0 as the stock STS system is for the 4.6. I have no idea on that, but I would not be surprised if the Aurora is a little more free breathing to begin with (remember the TB).
Even if it did +10, with the TB and intake you should be well over 280. Right now I'm thinking that at 280+ That's just a lot of power and if it's more - great, but heck 280 is bragging rights by itself.
After looking at one of the dyno graphs on Corsa's site, I kind of expect the torque gains to perhaps be less than HP. The exhaust may not help as much down low, but you never know. I think I was looking at a Camaro with the 5.7. I'm sure the stock exhaust set up is much different for these cars.
On last thought - would it be worth putting on one of those 3 inch "high flow" catalytic converters? I don't think the media in them is any less restrictive, but if it's bigger on the inlet and exit, maybe it would help a little.
"Maybe sometime in December....We will be shut down around Christmas/New Year Holiday. That may work for us then...The shop is closed and a few guys will be working in the back.
Jim"
Too far for me. That would be great if RJS will measure the middle straight piece and the bend in there. I'm going to write Jim and ask for the whole STS kit and a couple of extra feet of pipe. How much more you think? two feet should be plenty right? I'll have my ricer dyno shop install it I think. If it needs to be cut up they'll do it. why should I Corsa cut out the 45's if only the length between two needs changing. They can just put it together and see where the need to go from there.
Dyno, I was just saying that they have a deal going on for 2 runs for $50. Don't know if I'll Dyno it though. Do I really need to tack on and extra $100 for that. As for the engine temp thing, I could go drive around the block before I stip in. It will difently be in the 280's from my current 272hp. IF corsa got +22 @6000rpms, we should get A little less than that. But then on the other hand, was that caddy stock as far as intake mods? With Our induction mods and larger TB's we should get some extra over the claimed #'s since intake and exhaust work together. You'll never know though on less one of us dyno's it. Are you thinking about Greg? Mr. 5 dyno visits later ijn the Aurora. Why not go for 6? Would the dyno shop install it for you, you think?
How much extra pipe to ask for?
Taylor
http://www.cardomain.com/id/800wattaurora
Taylor
I don't think I'll have RSM bore my throttle-body/crossover. It just looks like too much difficulty. Plus, for almost $1000, it isn't much of a gain. After talking with Garnes some, it just doesn't seem worth it. The water pump has to be removed, and coolant passages into the heads have to be resealed, fuel lines have to be removed, and a bunch of other stuff. Heck, RSM didn't want to tackle it so why the heck would I?
Interesting that the Y-pipe dimensions seem different. I figure they would be since I know that the Corsa mufflers are different lenghts then our Aurora's. Plus I wandered under a STS on a lift last dealer visit and the STS mufflers aren't even cansister shaped, there L-shaped. Odd I thought. So, I'm just going to assume that the center piece needs to be changed, (including the placement of the 4-45's)
RJS, I'll have to agree with you about RSM and the next gen Aurora. The intake looks a little chessey, there's no big whole under the filter like the Classics. You could probably gut out your air box like Garnes some way and that would be safe and free. Too bad about the TB/H2O Crossover. I looked at those pictures of yours and thought that could be tough. Don't think that's worth a thousand plus. On the other hand the Corsa's going to be cool. I can't wait for the dual rolled quad-tip look. Not to mention the nice growling sound and extra +HP's. I figure it's gotta be at lest +15hp on stock if +22 on stock STS( I feel my # is conservative). I'm convienced it will be a little more with the intake work done I/we have done.
Debating, Should I dyno It? Do I care enough for $100 more?
Taylor
Garnes are you ready to buy?
"Taylor,
These guys really do not remember how that made that one system...it has been a good 10 month since we did that car.
It would be tough to figure out the correct parts to ship. The customer took the car to his house in GA, so it is no longer available for me to even look at.
Christmas will be here before you know it...
Jim"
ERRR, that's not what I asked. I guess Jim want's to make sure everything will be right for us. I re-call him saying that it would be $200 for install/modifications. I don't really want to wait for him. Greg?
Taylor
In December, there is no telling what the road conditions will be like between Chicago or Indy and Cleveland. It could be a no-go because of snow.
I don't feel to compelled to dyno the exhaust. I basically know it's going to work and add power. This is one mod where there is more information. The other stuff was less certain. If it adds 10 at the wheels - great, if it adds 15 or more that's even better, but I'm going to be really happy either way. It doesn't matter. The exhaust just puts the performance over the top no matter what. There are too many variable to figure exactly, but I think +10 (at wheels) is for sure (assuming Corsa's numbers are right)no matter what, perhaps 12 is a more realistic yet still conservative number and 15 is certainly possible too. The numbers tell me it should be around 15 or so, but I don't know if the stock exhaust for the Aurora was equally restrictive for the 4.6 as it was the 4.0. That's the unknown. I guess they should be about the same given the same factory quiet ride for both.
Yes I think the Corsa will help a bit more on your car given you are exhausting a greater mass of air than stock and that greater mass of air may be having an increasingly debilitating effect on power (perhaps an exponential relationship).
I agree about the RSM induction for the new Aurora. There isn't much open space for the cone to breath from. I'd stick with the stock box and get the panel filter.
I'm still interested in just doing this here though. I'll talk to my dyno garage guy. December can be brutal and it's a long drive.
Just a thought.
How about you? Are you ready to buy now and have it shipped? I think I am.
Taylor
Taylor
While looking at the RSM website I noticed their picture of the exhaust system on a classic car. It made me wonder, do the mufflers on the stock exhaust on the classic run straight back like that, or are they at an angle like on the new Aurora? On my car, the mufflers run like 45-degrees to the car. Here's the RSM picture:
Here is a shot of the new Aurora with the Corsa exhaust. The regular mufflers sit in a similar angled configuration:
So, if the stock classic mufflers are angled, then the fact that RSM can turn them out like that must mean there is a fair amount of space to work with. So, if there is room to work with, then your local shops really shouldn't have any difficulty fitting up the Corsas to your cars. Just my thoughts, though.
If you dyno it, great. Maybe I'm just way to cynical, but I can't believe nobody remembers the 98 they did some time back. Somebody must be killing brain cells real good at quittin' time.
BTW - I think it's pretty funny that the Uncle Ben's shop's mandrel bender isn't big enough. They don't know what a V8 looks like.
Good idea about getting the Corsa and RSM guys to coordinate - but GOOD LUCK. For some reason, none of these guys seems very open to suggestion - that's just been my experience.
Ha ha!! That's pretty funny. I didn't really think about it when Taylor mentioned it.
Taylor,
I think the biggest problem will be routing the exhaust out of the stock
center muffler, because the exhaust if I remember turns towards the pass.
side an does a big arc. That will use I think more than 2 extra feet of
tubing. May have these guys put your car up on the lift a take a better look
at what they have to do. I think there guess of 2 hrs is off. I would
probably take us in the 3-4 hr time frame to do this again, and that's with
having any tubing we need here and not having to cut a weld things to make
it work...
I will ask again here...to see if it can be done sooner.
Jim
I wrote him again, see what the man says.
Taylor
So, there does seem to be some problem getting things to line up right at the rear. This may be no big deal, but it's something. I'll have to discuss this with the local garage that can at least weld the 304 SS.
So, I just pulled it out, filed the edges down with a round file so it's tapered. I then sanded it and hit it with a heat-gun to consolidate any "fuzzies", and slipped it back in. The heat gun is probably overkill as it was nice and smooth after sanding and washing it off. Looking down the intake duct there is now a smooth transition from the first half of the duct to the second half with the liner. No more bump. The original liner ID measured 3.5 inches at the end, now it's 3.75 inches and smoothly tapers to the 3.5. So I've removed a large 1/4 inch (6 mm) bump (1/8 inch all around)in the intake duct. This costs $0, and takes no more than an hour. One might think "just leave the liner out", but the back end of the duct has a notch were the liner fits in (right before the MAF) so leaving it out just moves the bump further down in front of the MAF.
I'm pretty happy with the intake duct now. It's basically smooth throughout and very large. The expandable ribs are really tight and I highly doubt they cause a problem. The surface is essentially smooth across them.
This should help a little. 1 HP? Fractional HP? More? Who knows, but it has to help. When I removed all the notches and "ribs" from inside the air box, it did not add anything, but that's probably because the cross sectional area of the flow path was so huge that the velocity was very low compared to the velocity in the intake duct or the TB. Any bumps in the flow path as big as the top of your air box probably don't amount to anything. I think the TB results may give more of an idea of how much this might help, however if I had to guess it's not a lot. But still, every restriction along the flow path results in less available intake pressure = less air.
Also, for those who don't know, the Aurora competed in IMSA World SportsCar racing (and also GTS-1) where they took overall wins at the Rolex 24 hrs of Daytona, and the 12 hours of Sebring. They even mounted an attack at LeMans in 1996 (I didn't know that, did you?) where they unfortunately went out with tranny problems after about 12 hrs (they had just passed the pits, and you aren't allowed to push cars at LeMans, and it's over 7 miles around the circuit). They would have been the first manufacturer to win Daytona, Sebring, and LeMans in the same year with the same drivers, team, and car if they'd pulled it off. Anyway, you can commemmorate that with these BBS racing-style wheels that are just like those used on the IMSA Auroras. They were of this split-spoke style, except the spokes were gold and they didn't have the big red lettering (and on a car you wouldn't have that thick outer circle).
This LeMans-style passenger car wheel looks like their closest thing:
This way, in addition to giving your car whatever custom look or larger tire size you are going for, you will also be paying tribute to the Aurora's racing heritage. And you will have a story to tell about the wheels when someone comments on them. You can help create "awarness of Aurora".
Henri
(smile)
RJS- Those rims are nice, but not my taste. At least not on an Aurora. Now on my girlfriends Accord, look great. I like the black rim the best myself.
Taylor
Taylor
http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
But I wouldn't just start slapping stuff on the car. You have to know the original ride height of the stock set-up and see how your proposed set-up compares. I don't have the numbers for the height right now.
If you change the height too much, I think you need to have the computer reprogrammed for those wheels.
I have the new Aurora 17's on my 98 with stock 2001 tires - 235/55/17 and the ride height is about the same. Hence no problems.
Here is a picture of the Extra Bright LED bulb, just click here http://209.87.151.155/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=194-LED-White-4
I just order a set of the Extra Bright Blue ones. If you look at autodynamic.com they have pictures of them.
I placed one inside of the shift console that normally lights up green, It now looks bluish, way better, plus it matches my Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X817 CD Player, and they are brighter than stock 194 incandecent bulbs.
Also since they don't make white face gauges for the Aurora, I'm going to get behind my gauges and change the stock 194 bulbs with some Extra Bright White LED bulbs, which there is probably like six of them in there.
I did this mod to my 1999 Intrigue that I used to own, and it gave it a way better look. I found several websites that carry the white face gauges but, only for the Alero's, after taking a close look at the Alero's gauges, I noticed that the gauges on the Alero are the same as on the Intrigue, but I don't own the Intrigue any more.
I will let you all know how at the end the new LED light up gauge on my Aurora looks and if possible I will take pictures for you all to see.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
Try it out and you'll see the difference. Peace.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
Then you remove using a flathead screwdriver, the U-style pin behind the leather shifter, slow, then I mean very slowly remove upward the shifter, you don't want to yank it up real fast, it will pull apart the thin blue & black wire from the transmission button on the shifter.
Then take out 2 small screws using a phillips screwdriver in the ash tray, also remove the small ash tray, just pop it out.
By now you should have every screw out of the center console, including the leather shifter.
Now just pull up the center console exposing the goodies underneath the console, look for the lightbulb (size 194) unplug it, insert your 194 LED or incandescent bulb and your done.
Now just put everything back together.
Hope this helps, let me know.
Also if you have to replace the red light for the shifter, just look for the plug, remove the burned out bulb (really small bulb, smaller the a 194)
Peace.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
javidogg posted a good description of getting at the shifter illumination. It isn't hard, but takes some time and patience. I'll just add that the lamp for the shifter light guide is 161/194/168 size with a blue covering. I could not tell the exact number; the three bulbs are 1, 2, and 3 candlepower, respectively.
The bulb for the shifter itself is a clear # 73 -- much smaller as javi points out. Also, you may find broken wiring instead of a burnt out lamp. The wiring for my '97 was small gauge and solid -- not what you want for something that moves frequently.
The ash tray illumination is clear # 161.
It's just way cool with this small mod, I tryed to put back the stock 194 bulb with the green cover and it looked dull. If you guys think about it inside of the center console has 2 194 bulbs.
One for the lighting of the console and the other one for the lighting of the ashtray, and yeah the smaller #73 tiny bulb that lights up the red light of the shifter.
You can take a look at this picture of an LED bright white bulb just
click here --> http://209.87.151.155/transfer/image-anime/WHITE-4.gif. Peace.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
I want to familyrize myself with the screws and taking apart of my dash first.
I'll let you all know how it turns out.
I know it's going to look real nice once I get those LED bulbs behind the dash.
Here is the LED bulbs I will be using http://209.87.151.155/transfer/image-anime/WHITE-4.gif
http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg