A cat-back exhaust system will not affect any smog regulated stuff. It's 50 states legal. It doesn't mess with the catalytic converter at all.
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.
Well guys, I had to do it. Picked up a set of 17" wheels from a 2001 for my classic. My local junkyard, which seems to be Aurora heaven (benefit of living in Lansing, I guess), had 3 sets of wheels. I went with the aluminum because it looks better with the "Light Antelope" color of my car.
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.
Thanks- I wanted to have sort of a Corsa look without the Corsa payment. Incase anyone is interested the size of the tips are 9" long and each hole is 3". It fits the Aurora cutout perfectly.
stickking1- Im curious to see those wheels on your car. nice buy
SWEET! Those look real nice. Thanks for posting up the pictures. I notice one wheel has double weights... That's pretty odd. Maybe it's just a bad tire.
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.
I shouldnt tell you since your knocking Mustangs. Thats my favorite automobile. LOL , but thats cool.
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.
Well, the new tires should be here tomorrow. I'll get a couple of pics of the Goodyear 255's on there before I take the rims over to have the Dunlops installed. I sure like how big they are, but I am not a fan of the Eagle's. So I'm selling the GY's, which actually makes the rims an even better deal. I'll be back with pics next time!! -Brian
Okay guys, I got the tires via UPS this afternoon, but the soonest I will get the new tires on the new rims will be Tuesday next week. My tire guy is on vacation and I don't mind waiting to get him, so to tide myself over I threw the new rims with the Eagle's on my car for some pics...here they are.
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.
Hey, those really look good. I really like the way they look on your's and Greg's car. Very natural. Definitely a nice upgrade to it. I think you made a good choice with the silver vs. chrome. The chromes look awesome on Greg's black car, but the natural look is more fitting on yours. Some Klasse AIO/SG on there and they will look even neater.
Hey...I forgot to mention that these guys had Klasse AIOx1 and SGx5!! I've had these rims sitting around for week and a half at my apartment and every day or two I'd lay on another coat of SG...same with the center caps. The pics were taken late evening and it was pretty dim, so you don't get as good an idea of how bright they actually are. When I get the AC fixed and get her running again, I'll get a pic or two in the broad daylight. By then I'll have the Dunlops on as well...can't wait.
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
Those do look good. I but the chrome 01+ Aurora's on my Black 98 like RJS said. I like the look a lot.
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.
You're preaching to the choir here, I don't think a single car in the family has gone without this. I agree, it's well worth finding someone near that does the job...that's why I have to wait for my tire guy to get back from vacation. All my cars go down to the local Chevy dealer to have this done. They do mounting, force balance, stems and disposal of my old tires all for 50 bucks even. The service manager cuts us a break on pricing 'cause my brother works in a shop locally. I honestly don't know how they make money off that deal...not just the service but the labor for 50 dollars? Oh well, I won't argue with him.
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'll bet they could take our Aurora engine and significantly add some power. But maybe what they do in this package helps most with the Shelby 320 HP Aurora V8. Perhaps the standard engine wouldn't benefit as much. It's probably a fortune (rolling pin across the head), but still interesting. My guess is 20k+.
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.
balancing: [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."
Balancing a v-8 engine requires 50% of reciprocating weight plus 100% of rotating weight, for a v-8 engine.
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.
as best I can remember( I can't find my hard copies) had very specific acceptable tolerances in a lot of areas that GM said it was a superior engine (Northstar)and did not need this done to the engine.
You mean that one that's part of the aero package? The one that sticks out too far on the sides? It doesn't even look good on the G35... I seriously doubt it would look better on the Aurora. Plus, unlike the G35, the Aurora is attractive. Why mess with that?
If I were to buy a spoiler for my Aurora it would be something that's not screaming "look at me",
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.
Wife and i got a great 96 auora but o2 and oil level sensors where giving readings of needing replacement because low oil, service engine soon lights where coming on. had dealer fix it love the car do great pre maint. left dealer next day same thing. also had to replace flasher have warranty but not for most electrical (sensors, ect.)new radiator alternator a/c compress etc. Please help. Sad in calhoun. lol Thanks John
Hi All, need some help. Want to play with my 95, can't find stuff! What must be done to put KN on, outlets tell me no kit for this car? What about exhaust, flowmasters or what? Where to get a performance chip? Oh, just put on a set of Yokahama 430s 245x50s. Car thinks it is reborn in corners! Where can I get a shop manual? brex4u@aol.com
You can get a manual from Ebay or from www.helminc.com or from searching through the posts here...
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.
The K&N panel filter for the older Aurora will show up only for a "97". It fits all 95's to 99's though. K&N only "officially" tested the fit of a 97. They are almost too careful or into the CYA mode.
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.....
What size mufflers would fit? The only center/center ones I found were Magnaflow's SS 4"x9" and 4" and 6" round mufflers. Kayaman, what super turbos did u use?
95mushroom - I had the Dynomax SuperTurbos installed on my '95 by the local muffler shop that sold them. They fit great. I don't know if there is more than one type of SuperTurbo. The shop sold me the mufflers and chrome (stainless?) tips that look just like the '03 aurora's installed for $300. I probably should have had larger pipes installed too, but I can do that later.
I believe they are just 2.5 inch superturbos. I will take another look tonight to see if there are any markings on them I can give you. have you looked at the dynomax website?
Yea, I d/led the whole big pdf from their site, took forever on my crappy comp. The only center/center ones I remember were 5x11s. I think it was 3" dia. I'll check when I get home. Other sites call 5x11s for trucks/large displacement engines?
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?
i was driving home last night and a 2001+ aurora pulls up next to me on the highway, i gas it then he does the same and we let off, so were even and i gas it, he does the same. but im a little baffled because the rora isn't pulling to hard, and i THINK he's starting to catch me, not sure though, but traffic was comming so we slowed, and i had to take me exit. im a little dissapointed. I know my 18's are slowing me down, but ive got catback exhaust (+highflow cat) and a k&n, not sure if he's 3.5 or 4.0. Ive been noticing for a while that my 70mph WOT is sluggish, around 45-50 seemed good though, any time the car didn't downshift, it just didn't pull very hard
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 honestly think i freed up at least 20+ lost HP, put a big ol grin on my face!. even when it doesn't downshift, it pulls ALOT harder, and its louder and deeper, i can hear the engine more, the exhaust doesn't seem louder
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!
My dad and I completely took off the tb. It was actually much easier then we thought. The hardest part was dealing the throttle cables and getting the rear screw out.
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.
rjs...i didn't get owned! lol, but honestly i think he was catching up slowly, and to be even more honest there arn't too many 4.0 2001+'s, probably a 3.5 too but from driving today, i know i could walk all over it now, even more when i put the 16's on for the winter (you can notice a difference between the oem and chrome 18x8's, a big diff). the car pulls wicked hard now when it kicks down, even without downshifted it just flies, and it wasn't real cold today, like 70f. and the engine is much louder and throatier, sounds SWEET! probably because i took off that second airbox thing. and the k&n was just filthy, so i got alot of lost power back, and some extra
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.
it would be soooo sweet if it ran like a 14.999, not sure how realistic that is, but the rora just doesn't have the low end torque. at the same time, it feels faster than that 96 sts i test drove a few weeks ago, so maybe it is reasonable, my goal either 14.999 1/4 or 6.99 0-60 . and the track has a elevation of 980, so its KINDA low... dont know if ill go
Hi all, want to thank you for your help in getting started on my 95. Found lots and ordered some parts. Not sure which way to go on intake, K&N, or RSM package. What is a source for a cold air package? What do you guys think? Still have not found a source for a chip either, looked on EBAY, but did not find what I wanted yet. I have put new wires and plugs in, had EGR replaced, injectors cleaned, throttle body cleaned, but I still need to put a new FPR in, hard starting from cold. If anyone wants to get me directly hit my e-mail at brex4u@aol.com Thanks Again WEAFROG
under 1000' isn't too high. The track I went to was like 500'. Though, I'd prefer a lower one... They won't give you a 0-60 time. The traps work on distance, not speed. A sub 7 second 0-60 would be cool, but I wouldn't really count on it. I need to go back some day when it isn't 102 degrees...
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.
Yep - the RSM cone is going to pull hot air off the engine. It needs a heat shield. It's more work. The RSM uses K&N media as well. Just get a K&N panel and perhaps gut the box a little. At least remove the liner from the top and get rid of the "horn" that drops into the box bottom. It's cheap, easy and works very well. It's mostly top end power help though. You're not going to feel a huge difference. Do the TB and it gets better. Add the exhaust and it's one very cool car.
rjs200240, is your 2002 4.0 stock? what did you run? im hoping since the track is in wisconsin, it will be COOOOLD, not sure what the weather will be like, racing starts at like 9am i think. honestly im thinking somewere around 15.3-15.5, low 7's. Im not going there because I think the aurora is some kinda sports car, i think it would be fun.
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.
GARNES - oh yeah, one last thing, in your instructions you didn't say anything about removing that second aibox thats attatched to the hose, seems like another airbox to reduce sound. i took that off and capped it, much louder , not sure of the gains because i did it at the same time as a bunch of other stuff
High 15's for this car is pretty good. I believe RJS's car has a K&N panel and a Corsa cat-back exhaust. But if you run on a 100+ day, I think that's going to make a big difference in power compared to a 60 degree day. There is just so much more air (density) per cfm at the cooler temps. I guess with a better intake, TB, and exhaust AND the car is tuned like new with perfect plugs, wires and clean TB, it may run a low or mid 15-something on a cool day. Oh yeah, new tires help a lot IMHO. My new MXV's are still good, but after 12k or 13k miles there is a little less grip at a WOT launch. There's no avoiding it. Maybe grip is just as important as all the mods.
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.
Greg's right. I have a K&N and a Corsa. That may be all I do to the car. I'd still like to work out a CAI into the stock airbox, though. That little side grill with the block-off is just so damn tempting...
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 ). The wife'll then drive the 'Roara and we'll be set for cars for a long time (her's is getting old and up there in miles, and she only wants an Aurora to replace it...) So I wouldn't want to make the car trickier to drive with overheating problems on hot summer days with the A/C blasting from a super-advancing chip or anything like that. I also have a pretty long GM warranty on the car, with about 3 more years and 40,000 more miles still on it.
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.
neither of you have a highflow cat!?! trust me... get one, get a carsounds cat off evay for like $60 new, pay 50 to have it put on... it will flatten out the torque curve ALOT, mine used to feel like a dog till around 3500, after just the cat (already had K&N and exhaust) it took off at like 3200, but before 3200 is much better, faster reving etc etc
well i didn't make it to the tracks, i guess you need a race helmet to race a 15 second car......okay??? that and my girfriend got really sick, so i spent all weekend with her (arn't i a nice guy??). but im driving home and i pass a PRE 97 gtp, it had the hood thingy's so i know it had the 3.4 dohc. so he comes flying by me, and were comming up on cars so i fly by him. he hit the gas but i had alot of momentum going, so i passed him. were driving through the cars (only going like 65 in a 55) once i clear the last car, he's behind me and i had my window cracked, so i hear his car kick down. i wait till he's in the other lane, and maybe 2 seconds later i kick down. so i had a car length on him, but he floored it first, so he had a definite advantage going. by maybe 80 he's not gaining any more and by 115 he's slowly dropped back to maybe 2.5engths between us (3.5otal), then i tapped my brakes, it was dark and no other cars, but i was already 60 above the limit.
gotta learn to respect the 4.0 i pulled up to the next light, but i guess he had to turn.
Comments
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