gio.cortes89

i recently bought a 92 firebird and looking to add somethings to add a lil power and sound to it...i was wondering where, if possible, could i get a cold air intake for this car or is the only thing to do to the intake is just switch out the air filter? if it is just switching out the airfilter could i just take out the intake part and hook up the filter to where the intake would go (ive seen the filter on the v8 tpi's have this done so was wondering if i could do the same to this v6 mpi) what exhaust system would sound and give better performance to this car? what else would anyone recommend to get the best out of this car?

any info would be greatly appreciated

thanks

K-slice

iTrader: (2)

Be sure to read through the sticky at the top for preformance upgrades and parts.

For the exhaust, some Pacesetter headers and a Dynomax super turbo 2.5" would open it up nicely.
On the Firebirds intake is a little harder since we cant use the dual snorkel. But what I did was get a K&N filter, take off the bottleneck canister, and cut out a piece os sheet metal to close the filter area off from the rest of the engine bay with some weatherstrip on top tp seal against the hood. It flows much better while keeping the air outside temp rather than engine bay temp.

Other N/A possibilities would be a better cam, UDP, 1.6 roller rockers....
Or just put a turbo on it, or both!

K-slice

iTrader: (2)

And welcome to TGO!

gio.cortes89

thanks for the welcoming =D..also ill def be doing that to the air filter..i wasnt sure if putting heads and a cam be worth it on a v6? ive brought up the idea and pple just tell me to just drop a v8 instead..honestly i was just looking to do exhaust and intake at most..i was thinking of either flowmaster or borla, what i would like is a growl sound when being floored but quite enough when at low rpms ya know..whats the diff between those two and the dyno just out of curiousity? and if im going to get an exhaust im assuming i might as well do the heads as well?

ex-x-fire

Try bumping up the igntion timing.

ItstillaV6

Well, grab any decent turbo muffler, and if you can, remove your catalytic converter. That'll keep the engine comfortably quiet, during part throttle cruise, and give you a statement making growl, when you floor it.

Remeber, our V6's make between 115-140 HP, stock, around 4000-4400 rpm. Adding a huge flowing exhaust can be a huge waste of $$$. The stock 2 1/2" single exhaust is perfect, for our tiny, torque-throwing powerplants.

ItstillaV6

As far as maximizing your performance, well how much money do you want to spend? There are a ton of amazing builds, for the 60* platform, and guys on here pushing 300-500 HP.

I can give you some basic advice and tips. First, determine WHERE you want the engine to make its torque and HP. The reason being? Well, once you install a cam, or any other parts, you will change how the air flows, dynamically, at all rpm ranges.

Building the engine for high-RPM power output will reduce your low-end RPM torque and off-the-line throttle response.

Select parts, that match your application, and the proper ECM PROM, if needed. (i.e. Installing a high-lift, high-duration camshaft w/out installing the correct PROM will cause a laundry list of problems.)

A lot of guys on here have learned to burn their own PROM chips, and have managed to get their V6 pushing out 35+ mpg, combined city/highway.

If you want maximum power, research the 3.9L opt "LZ9" engine swap. The LZ9, 3900 V6 is a FWD 60* powerplant, currently in production for many GM vehicles. It requires some custom engine mounts and a lot of work, BUT remember a universal rule of racing: THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT!

Engines operate on sucking in air, mixing it with a volatile fuel, and adding an electronic DC spark. Larger engines have the luxury of larger bore/stroke and can suck in more air. More air requires more fuel, hence more potential power.

Example: I have a '92 Camaro RS, with the 3.1L V6. I would likely have to turbocharge my engine, to pull as many CFM, as a 3.9L LZ9 engine pulls under natural, stock aspiration.

Pay attention to bore diameter as well. Smaller bores aren't as friendly with large valves, combined with high lift cams. The valve travels into the cylinder and "shrouds" the cylinder. In this case, the parts are not matched for the engine, and power is actually restricted.

The LH0 3.1L has a 3.5" bore, which means the stock valves already push the limits of shrouding the cylinder. A 93-95 3.4L has a 3.625" bore, and uses the exact same heads and crank. The engine produces 20 more HP and 15 more ft-lbs. of torque, stock, over a stock 3.1L.

So, the choice is completely up to you.

My opinion, go with a RWD 3.4, out of a 93-95 Camaro/Firebird. The block, heads, and internals are identical, to the 3.1L. The swap is a direct bolt-up and is compatible with your stock wiring harness. You only need to save the 3.4L injectors, and all your stock brackets/accessories.

Our RWD V6's featur factory-forged connecting rods, with a cast crankshaft. However, you can easlily get a forged crank, in fact the block can be machined to fit the FWD 3500 V6 crank(which is factory-forged).

There are turbo/supercharger kits availible, which works well with our stock 8.2:1 compression.

gio.cortes89

wow i was not expecting this type of response or information, i really do appreciate you taking the time to type all that stuff out...i honestly had no idea about a lot of this stuff..when it comes to engines and mechanical stuff i have very basic knowledge of this..so i guess my next question would be since you know a lot of what youre talking about, what would you recommend? i would def like to get 35+ mpg on my car but would also like to get some good torque off the line(when i floor it it doesnt respond the way i would like it too ya know?) but i also dont want to sacrafice torque at high rpms, anyway of balancing the two? def dont want to do a swap--so what would be the best combo, in your opinion, for engine and exhaust for sound and performance? this will be an ongoing project for me so whatever money i have/be making will be going into the car lol

gio.cortes89

just saw the exhaust response..i would like to change the pipes on my exhaust but keep the same size...so what kind of new pipes and turbo muff should i get? i dk if ican remove the cat but if i can i will..ill have to check if its legal to do so here by me lol...but in terms of what i want it to sound u nailed it..quite during cruise and idle but a growl and make a statement when rev'd or floored =D

Stewie

I've got a '92 bird V6. I've done a few minor mods for more power. If you want to start with a quick boost that costs $0, check the air filter canister. The rubber snorkel on the side restricts air intake down to about an inch. I drilled out the snorkel rivets & to get it off the canister. Took all of 15 minutes. This allowed much more air intake and made a noticeable increase in power.

I like K-Slice's simple design to increase lower temperature air intake. I'll probably do the same in a future mod.

I also put on a flowmaster muffler (don't like the sharp popping sound) and a free flow catalytic converter. But opening up the filter canister air intake made the most difference. However, my first step was to do a tune up. No sense pay $$$ for power mods with a crappy running engine.

I know you have high interest in adding power, but you don't want to neglect the suspension. You may need new struts and rear shocks. I also suggest you add a wonder bar (steering brace) and larger front and rear sway bars. Makes a huge difference in stability and handling. And, is more fun to drive. I installed 36 mm front and 23 mm rear sway bars which seems to be the right balance. Made a radical improvement in handling.

Enjoy your Firebird. It's a fun drive. And, the teenagers shouting "nice car" as you drive by is an added pleasure.

gio.cortes89

i already did a tune up-thinking of changing the air filter, and front shocks needs to be replaced..i got new struts and bushings and wheel alignment...since im getting shocks which ones should i get for the rear and front that you would recommend? also what does a steering brace do? and what brand should i go for sway bars?

as for the exhaust i was told to remove the cat converter and if i do a free flow it would be a waste of money? whats the diff between the turbo dyno muff and a flowmaster muff? could you upload a vid so i can hear what your car sounds like?

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

Welcome to TGO!!

K-slice

iTrader: (2)

Look for the thread "best muffler for v6" It is full of sound clips and i believe some flowbench measurements.

The thicker swaybars aren't really necacary IMO unless you're really increasing power or weight. If you want some though V8 cars came with thicker ones. The wonderbar (steering brace) basicly holds the ends of the stubframe together. The frames have been known to develop cracks since without the wonderbar nothing holds the frame together that far forward. I got one for cheap from a Z28, didn't notice any difference in handling but it's peace of mind.

I ran no cat for a while, after removing it the difference was obvious, but it's likley because the old cat was original and clogged over the years. I got a new high flow cat for it and noticed no drop it power, but it made my exhaust smell much better. If you can't afford a cat ($50 or so) and your state has no emissions, you can go without it. Otherwise I'd say just spend the money and get a new high flow one.

gio.cortes89

wow so much overwhelming information here LOL..im not much of a gear head so some of the terminology im not familiar with and I'm sorry for being a "newbie" but when it comes to mechanical stuff I am stupid for..so when it comes to exhaust i should remove the cat converter and run a high flow cat? which company should i get it from? as for the sway bars i was thinking of switching them out and getting new ones since my looked old and rusted anyway, any brand i should look for for the sway bars? also im doing the front and rear shocks, does anyone know if i could put the ws6 shocks and sway bars on my car? if not then what brand should i look for for the shocks? also since i have a single exhaust with dual at the back which pipe should i replace this with and what muffler should i get with this pipe? and if im doing all of this should i really get headers and a cam? if so which brand would be good and what type of cam and headers? these would only be the mods i would be doing or look into with possibly changing the brakes(rotors and calipers) but any guidance or even some teaching would be greatly appreciated..this is the first time ill be doing mods to my own car that involved under the car/hood so i want to do it right

thanks!

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

As for the cam. If you get one I sugest Delta cams. deltacam.com is the web site. There are a few V6 members running those cams including me. There low in price, durable, and work great IMO. Delta 260 grind cam is a nice tame cam. for about 120 bucks you'll get the cam and lifter set to your door.

As for shocks, kyb makes some nice shocks for a nice price. Look for mono tube shocks. If your just daily driving the car you can pick some up for pretty cheep. Even there adjustable rear shocks are pretty reasonable as thats what I have. Cost 55 bucks or so a piece.

As for the exhuast... Headers are a nice addition but they are pricey. I personally never got headers for my car. Just because they cost almost 300 dollars. I think pacesetter still makes headers for the 2.8L which is what youll have to get. IIRC they dont make headers specifically for the 3.1L thirdgen f-body. They only make them for the 2.8L fbody but they will still fit our 3.1L cars.

Back in the day I had a magnaflow cat converter. It was one of there high flow models. It was a nice addition. A tad costly but at the time I was all about getting some power anywhere I could. Now I dont run a cat conv. If you have emmisions to pass you dont have this choice. And personally I think a V6 without a cat converter sounds too raspy. I dont run one because the turbo takes alot of the rasp out anyways.

Stewie

I'm also a newbie. Started DIY on my bird in January 2011. If you are not experienced doing mechanical repair, I suggest you start out slow and try doing the easier stuff first. Learn how to remove rust welded parts and cutting or breaking off bolts. Figure out how to make modifications to brand new parts that don't quite fit.

There are lots of opinions & suggestions on which brands work best. For my suspension mods, I just bought good brands that were on sale.

Here is a link to my suspension mod newbie experience: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...-handling.html

As I newbie, I also found I had to buy a lot of extra tools including power tools (love my electric impact wrench). I am blessed with a couple of mechanic friends who are willing to bale me out when I get in over my head or do a 2 man job. Most every job takes 3 to 5 times longer or more than it should. My inexperience makes me much slower than the pros. Most every repair/mod has unexpected problems that suck time and my patience and require I buy other items (bolts, nuts, special tool, another part, etc.). Parts, especially performance parts are expensive.

When I finally finish a repair or mod, I feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. However, this never lasts too long because there are always lots of things an old car needs or something else stops working and I got to figure what broke and how to fix it.

But, I love my Third Generation and can't imagine being without one.