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Oldsmobile Aurora: Modifications

I just installed a spoiler on my 2001 aurora. It came prepainted (white diamond) from sportwing.com. The color matched perfectly and it is of very high quality. It totally changes the appearance of the car and I get numerous questions from other Aurora owners. It was relatively easy to install.
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It looks like the filter is the same as on some 3.1/3.4/3.8 liter GM motors. This would make me think better breathing would help since the 4.0 probably gulps more air than the 6-bangers. The filter is definitely the same as on the 3.5 Aurora, although perhaps the 3.5 just gets more air than it needs...
http://airlift.r-catalog.com/listparts.asp?mmid=103181&fldnum=0&prod=3
Summit Racing has it for less than the price advertised by the manufacturer.
I believe the 2001-2002 Aurora has a load-leveling rear of sorts, although I'm not sure how it works (not by air, I believe).
Campo57
Another difference between bolt-on superchargers and factory jobs is that the engine management is made to work with the charger. Most factory jobs have some means (through bleed-off or clutches on the blower) to essentially remove the boost in low-load conditions. This saves the constant stress on the engine of a boosted intake charge. If you've ever watched the boost gauge on a 3800 SC, it is usually around 0-1psi until you dig into it. Bolt-on superchargers usually have no way of doing this as the blower doesn't know if it's a light or heavy load without talking to the computer.
Another cheap way to get some extra performance would be to try replacing your platinum plugs with something better. Usually platinum plugs don't give optimal performance. If you don't mind changing/checking plugs more often, you might get a boost from some AC Delco Rapidfires or Split-fires and maybe a less restrictive air filter.
http://www.chrfab.com/index.htm
And here is another Aurora mod site
http://webhome.idirect.com/~rsm1/
Seriously, the Blizzaks are an incredible product and really did make the Probe into a very road worthy snow and ice driver. The technology of the Blizzak uses a rubber compound that is actually able to grip ice (without studs). There was one time when I had to stop on a ice covered hill, and I was able to start back up the hill easily -- while the two Chevy 4x4s in front of me slipped sideways over the shoulder.
if it turns out that my Aurora isn't good enough in the snow this year (my first winter with it), it too will feel the magic of Blizzaks!
Jim C
Anyone here replaced the shocks and springs on a classic? I'd really like to make mine handle a little better. KYB makes a set of shocks for the fronts (it looks like you can't replace the rears?) and Eibach makes a set of springs that lower the car about an inch.
It gets my goat that a friends 15 year old BMW 6-series with 180K miles can out-handle my car.
Comments or experiences, anyone?
If you are going to defeat the LLS in favor of better handleing, then ther are a number of options open to you. I was not willing to disable the LLS because it was a feature of the car that I like.
Henri
P.S. If you have other questions, talk to me on the main board, I rarly check this one.
The Eibach spring set is $248.
They don't seem to have the sway bars.
PS: Thanks for your info, Henry. I tried searching for "shocks" but didn't find anything in the main board. weird....
The sawy bars are from the Cadillac and you can get them from your delaership. I have a 95 so I upgraded to the later year sway bars for the front and the Caddie bar for the back.
I do believe if you look harder at the caddie line, you can find even thicker bars than the ones I brought for my Classic.
The Eibach springs lower the Aurora about 1.3" in front and 1.0" in the rear.
You'd have to be real careful with curbs, etc., but the extra stiffness of the springs might offset the problem of reduced clearance while driving due to eliminating some "bounce".
I guess I'm gonna have to think more about the springs.
Henry: about the Caddy sway bars -- I take it the sway bars are from the STS? How much did the dealer whack you for 'em?
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CORSA????
Was the modification ever done???????
After seeing the post on the caddyinfo.com for AURORA AIR MODIFICATION and HP gain, I looked at mine and came up with the same end result but did it differently.
I did not use the Dremmel tool because I did not want to disturb the factory set up. What I did was to remove on the top of air filter, front and back part, then on the front air intake, the plastic round piece that sticks out thru the front part of the fender where air enters the Air Intake system is removed.
Then inside the air chamber,I set off to the side the Siemens aluminum box, it just slips out and over, then I remove to the side the plastic flexible tubing that houses the wires to the Siemens unit.
Then I removed the round plastic horn looking thing that looks like a trumpet horn except it is that way on both ends. It is the path where the air goes in on the bottom side of air filter. Removing that, it clears the path.
The hole at the front of the car is 3 1/2 inches round I believe where the air enters the air filter chamber. The slot at the back of the air chamber is square in shape. I needed something that would be flexible to accomodate both shapes and handle the air flow and heat of the engine.
I decided to use(try) as an experiment- a flexible 4 inch piece of a Dryer exhaust heat hose. It is very flexible, has metal support rings that flex, it easy to manipulate and is cheap to purchase and handles heat well. I used a new piece from a 50 foot roll I used leftover from the laundry room. I had nothing to lose.
It seems to work well. At the square end of the air chamber(back) with the tube will require a little shaping with your hands, the front end you have to do a little pulling thru the front fender hole but it can be done with folding the first 5 or 6 metal winds together longways and pulling it thru the front. It did take me 3 tries at it before I got it done as the plastic hose is durable but not indestructible. It may work better with a 3 1/2 inch hose for shaping.
After I got it all in, I used Black Duct tape and wrapped all areas of the 4" dryer hose from the top as it is installed and used duct tape to seal the front and back of the supply tube and all edges for supports from all sides. Since the duct tape will not be exposed to the elements, I do not anticipate any major rot of the duct tape but will get a monthly inspection.
Then re-install the Siemens unit and plastic flex hose back. The "weep" holes in the air chamber still exist for any moisture to escape.
I know it sounds like a "rig deal" but seems to work well and it is cheap and easy to do WITHOUT DESTROYING the factory air filter chamber.
FYI, I also installed the K&N Filter in it at a cost of $40 and change.
Good Luck, good hunting and good fishing...
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However, it's a nuisance permanently "connected" to the cigarette lighter or accessory power 'jack'. (It comes with post terminals and bracket for permanent mounting, electrically and physically.) Is there a way to wire this in using one of the "Unused" fuse connections? What would be the best way of wiring this in? I've thought of affixing it to the roof of the trunk just behind the rear seat, but I don't want to be too invasive.
In summary, what's the best way to install this item, both physically and electrically. I want this to be integrated, but not invasive. (Sounds a little contradictory, doesn't it.)
-Ryan
Noticably more torque at highway speeds. I didn't try to spin the wheels cuz the Michelins are too expensive to burn like that
All I did was remove the top (white) plastic piece and pull out the insert in the bottom which has that weird bottom piece and ducts air from the fender. I might do some cutting on that and put it back in just to get a better duct from the side fender - but so far the air temps seemed to be about the same.
But, I was an idiot and forgot to hook the IAT sensor back up and my service engine light is now on. Hopefully that will clear itself in a day or so.
Also installed a K&N airfilter at the same time. Had to leave off the gasket that it came with because the lid wouldn't latch with it installed.
1980's.
Nuff said.
What you did was all inside the airbox, correct? You essentially replaced the "trumpet" with dryer hose for more direct flow? The dryer hose goes from the front of the box back to the air filter? I have to say, if this is what you did it might cause the Siemens box to overheat. It is in the air chamber to keep cool. I thought you were trying to pipe air into the airbox, but it reads like this isn't what you did (i.e. the hose doesn't protrude out of the airbox).
I am thinking of trying to run hose from the round opening in the airbox (in the front) down and in front of the A/C "radiator" (can't remeber the correct term... exchanger?) to either the driver's side "grill" by the fog light or to the open slots just below and between the headlights. This would allow air to still churn a bit in the airbox so that the PCM will get cooling, and it will allow cooler air (and possibly a little bit of force) to enter the airbox. The "trumpet" doesn't look like it would impede flow too much anyways, especially considering the airflow works on suction from the engine, not force from the outside. I'm surprised the airflow is as straight as it is considering how convoluted (and sealed) it sounds like it is on the earlier body style.
Have you gotten a new MAF or modified your current one yet? The more I listen to my car, the less I think I want Corsa's. When you punch it, or even just lean into it, it already makes a nice (if a tad subdued) growl. I think it has enough of an aggressive tone for me. Plus, the cruise is sooo quiet. I guess the Corsa is appealing because it is different. But I really like it the way it is. I think Garnes made the right move by passing on it.
As far as the Siemenns unit overheating, I did look into that and it never got hot on me. Why? I believe it is protected from the rest of the engine, it is enclosed in a cool place, and it does not have a power supply to generate heat. If it did generate a great amount of heat, it would probably have heat syncs on it to dissapate the heat.
My understanding that the reason the Siemenns unit was placed on the engine side of the car as opposed to earlier models is a problem of wires connecting thru firewall inside the car and space.(Read this on another board discussion).
At one point, I had thought of doing the Air re-routing as you have but I felt like in wet weather that would not be good so I left it as is. On other cars that I have had, air intakes external of the engine were high off the ground but what you have said has given me an idea to check into...more later..
As far as air flow, I guess you could cut out the air passage on the side closest to the Siemenns unit or make the dryer hose a two piece unit at front and back or make it one piece as the trumpet is leaving it open at both ends, or totally removing the trumpet and dryer hose and just leaving the area open.
The airflow is a straight shot. The others must be different. Probably not going to mess with MAF until I get more info.
I like a quiet sounding car too, just hoping for a little more freeflow.
Let me know how it all works out.
I took another look at the cold-air induction possibility. I have to say, it looks good. I noticed the foam pads around my radiator/ac exchanger (what's it really called??) were not lined up properly at all. It is real hard to get to them, but I found the small grills by the foglights (look at the front pic of my car) are easily removed. This made it easy to adjust the foam (if you look at the picture of the front of my car on my website, you can even see the foam on the passenger side hanging in front of the little grill, it was so out of place). The foam is important to direct air into the radiator. Anyways, the blocked off part of the small grill could easily have a hole cut in it to house CAI tubing. This could then run up to the hole in the front of the airbox. It wouldn't even interfere with the radiator or engine airflow. I need to find some ducting that is smaller than 4" dryer hose, though. something in the 2-3" range, and preferrably not aluminum. I'll see how much a new grill costs before I chop mine up. I will try to post a front picture with the foam and possible CAI locations marked.
Steve
I put a set of Dunlop SP Sport A2 tires on about 3 weeks ago and KYB GR-2 struts in the front last week.
The previous tires were Goodyear Eagle GA's and (original?) struts.
The GA's were well worn, but not dead. I never liked them though, since they would lose traction on a dry road and were a nightmare in the rain. The struts were very soft causing the car to float and bob as it went over dips and humps in the road. It had a lot of body lean in corners.
After replacing the tires (before replacing the struts) I noticed a huge difference in grip. The car feels much more sure footed when pushing it through a corner at higher speeds. Body movement is somewhat excessive, but the tires stick even so. The steering feels a little more firm due to (probably) a higher rolling resistance with the A2's, but is more easily modulated and controlled. The tires return good road feel through the steering wheel.
After adding the KYB struts, the ride has changed significantly. The body roll has been dampened as well as the disconcerting "float" of the front end over rises/dips in the road. The body stays more level and gives a greater sense of confidence while maintaining a comfortable, even ride.
I bought the tires from Tirerack.com for $88 each and the struts were $100 a piece via my mechanic. (If you can do struts yourself, you can get them for $70 each from Tirerack -- about the best price I've seen.)
Overall verdict: Well worth it. The tires are fantastic and the struts dampened the body movement enough to be sporty without losing the luxury aspects of the ride. (For what it's worth -- having not driven any other Auroras, I'm comparing to the handling of a friend's 6-series BMW as my "baseline.")
Ken
Garnes, what's holding you up with your 17" wheel swap? I meant to ask that before. Are you waiting to use up the current tires? That should look pretty nice.
Oh, from the service manual, it seems GM uses Sylvania light bulbs. So, if you used something like their Silver Star, and they show it to be brighter than their regular halogen bulb, you ought to notice a difference. This is nice because otherwise the aftermarket claims of "30% brighter" are meaningless since you don't know what the heck they use as a baseline.
Last time I was at Lowe's, they had a 4" to 2 1/2" convertor, and I thought that would be perfect for the inlet to the hose. It would help the air get pushed in more. They didn't have one anymore today when I bought the stuff, so I bought a 6"x4" attachment for vacuuming carpet or whatever. Unfortunately it is a bit too big to fit on the side grill piece. I could try to trim it some, or just look around more for the 4" to 2 1/2" thing. The only thing with the 4-2 1/2 was that it wasn't tapered at all. It was like a 4" cylinder with a 2 1/2" cylinder on it. The 6x4 is tapered, and gives the hose connection a small upturn which I thought might be good for preventing water entry.
Since I wonder if the 2 1/2" size might be too small, I have thought about just placing the hose in front of, and pointed at, the airbox entrance. This way, it would blow some cooler air around the entrance at speed (thus cooling the intake air some), but it wouldn't restrict the airbox's flow by narrowing it's entry size. Any thoughts on this? It looks like the airbox entrance is about 3", or maybe a tad bigger (like 3 1/8" or something). However, it's pretty hard to get to in order to measure. Once I get the deflector off, it will be somewhat easier to tell.
What sort of intake size does anyone think the engine would really need? I mean, the airbox itself is somewhat restrictive in the first place. I wonder if the hose would make that worse...
The retainers you are talking about, you pull the nut like end down and the whole retainer then comes out. It the retainer doesn't break you can reuse them. When you push the retainer back in it expands so it won't fall out and hold the shield in place. Anyway that's the way they work on my '95 an '97. Hope this is of some help.
If you have to remove the flaired horn on the outside of the air box, it is a real bugar to remove AND to put back on. Just a heads up. I suggest you remove your headlight assy. on that side to see what you are doing. Two bolts and it is out. My CAI is working GREAT. Good luck with your approach.
Steve
Thanks for the replies on the retainers too, though! I actually noticed in the Service Manual that there is a tool for the retainers. It isn't at the start of the air deflector procedure, but rather about three procedures closer to the front. I guess they just list it once, and then all the procedures that use it follow. I'm still going to wait until after the dealer so that 1) they don't see it and 2) I can get a few extra retainers in case they all snap... I will see how much the tool costs, and maybe buy it. It's J36346 if anyone cares...