My aunt bought me a 91 Camaro RS 6 cyl...Now what mods should i do? I want some more power for as little $$ as possible...Want a nice sound to it if possible. Also whats some good lights to change to and some fogs? The lights aren't too bright

 

Congrats on getting your car.

Some power adders......
1. Catback muffler system, or cheaper, just get a performance muffler.
2. Make a cold air induction system, do a search on the v6 board, and you can find some ideas of how to make one.
3. MAJOR TUNE UP, getting a used car, you never know what your getting. While your at it, put 8mm spirol wires, and a brass cap/rotor on it. Search on TOMP MAJOR TUNE UP, and you will get some good info.
4. Get a aftermarket coil
*now you start getting into some cash*
5. Power crank pully
6. oversized TB from FDP performance.
7. Add a power chip, or learn how to custom burn one.
8. Have guy on here called CHC make you a set of headers, they go for 150-200 IF he is willing to sell to you.
9. Adjust your tranny cable, if your an automatic.

I know their are others, but them are the most popular.
Welcome to the board, hang around, have fun. For the most part, if you dont try to BS us, and don't keep asking same question over n over, we all get along great.

 

Thanks! WE have the exact same car heh

 

year end engine are same, not sure on options or colors. Hope I gave you a good start. Their are some other things for general matience to do, Like timing chain, injectors, hoses.
I don't wanna get into to much info as I don't know your mechanical knowlodge.

 

If it has some miles on it a distributor rebuild is a good idea, too.

 

yea mine is teal with teal rims as well

 

You got body colored rims? You SURE it's a 91? If I'm not mistaken, factory painted body color rims were in 92's as part of the anniversary package...but I could be wrong. I have a 91 too..light blue with louvers. I LOVE this car...it's costing me an arm and a leg though..

 

91, teal with teal rims. Was all bone stock tell I got ahold of it in june.

 

save your money...... get the exhaust to give it a nice rumble ( or as nice of a rumble that you can get out of a 6 ) The tune-up is a great idea also. Other than that save your cash and enjoy your ride.


Save up for a V8 and then let the mods begin

 

My advice...Dynomax Super Turbo catback and high flow converter with some nice 3" or bigger tips.. Then drive it slowly next to a tall fence or even better, right next to a long plaza..and then punch it and listen to the monstrous echo. Even stock exhaust sounds mean as hell bouncing off those walls!

 

How much would a exhaust such as that cost me?

 

SummitRacing.com...the Dynomax catback is $154.99 I believe...my tips were $32 each (I know, it's ridiculous!)..and the high flow cat is gonna be in the $80-$100 range I believe...I paid $100 cause my exhaust shop wouldn't put a pipe through my cat so I had to pay the extra money for a high flow and they welded it all up. So depending on who you pay to have it done, and what you buy, the price varies drastically. I only took it to a shop to have it welded instead of clamping it.

 

first get rid of the 6. go for an 8 cyl. there is no other way a camaro should be

 

Politely...get the hell out of here.

 

Uh oh. Here we go. Couldn't stand to start a flame war with the "v6????" topic you started, but now in this one too?
There have been many occasions in the past where someone has come into the V6 forum and put down the V6'ers - sometimes it doesn't turn out well.
There are advantages and disadvantages to having the 2.8/3.1 V6 in a Camaro or Firebird - that has been well established many times in this forum. What really matters is that it is a thirdgen - they are damn nice cars. You bet we would all love to have a thirdgen with a V8, and most will someday, but most in this forum are also quite happy with their current V6 (as am I with both of mine - however, I have my mind set on getting myself an IROC now and keeping at least one of the V6 Camaros).

 

I can't stand this flaming stuff. It's not that I'm anti-V8's, I couldn't be further from that, but I think our 6's deserve some respect as engines that are capable of some decent power, instead of something to be used only when necessary and then just thrown away for a V8! It's a respect issue. And saying there's no other way a Camaro should be..that's saying a V6 Camaro doesn't deserve the Camaro name, which is a direct insult to this ENTIRE board. Dumb move. I want a V8 in the future for sure, and I'd love it to be a Thirdgen Camaro...but I'm not getting rid of my sixer. It's gonna be my daily driver..can't beat it for the power and gas mileage. Sure it's not the quickest, but it runs GREAT and it's torquey as hell for the horsepower. And they can run surprisingly quick if taken good care of..I tied an 84 5.0 Z28 with a Flowmaster once! And this was when I was still running bone stock!

 

The 60 degree V6 Fbody is a great car That said....I cant emphasize the MAJOR TUNE UP suggested earlier enough. You wont believe the difference if the car hasnt had one for a while. Plus, it will cut down on future problems and the time you spend on the tune up will point you in the right direction in case of those problems.

 

"Then drive it slowly next to a tall fence or even better, right next to a long plaza..and then punch it and listen to the monstrous echo."

LOL, everytime I go through a drive-through or any bridge or what not, people SWEAR my car is a v8, and it still has the stock exhaust! Sometimes I can't believe it is so loud being stock, other people have no trouble hearing it in their cars even with the windows rolled up.

 

Yeah..the stock exhaust note on these is incredible. At least GM did ONE thing right building these cars! Of course, there are a thousand and one other things for me to bitch about, so.... Lol, speaking of...thanks to my lack of a pair of extremely long and extremely slender needle nose plyers, I was unable to do the g*d d*mn simple task of changing my spark plugs! Thanks Chevy!

 

Someone told me an open air element? Wtf is that?


Im gunna order a K&N drop in filter this week, perhaps the open air?

 

Open element..basically a conical. The filter itself is the filter element. Since you have the Camaro intake style with the arm and can, I'll tell you something simple you can do that'll work pretty good...it's what I'm doing right now, I temporarily gave up on homemade cold air. Leave the intake arm on. Know the big hulky metal lid connected to the arm and the filter can? Detach the arm from the lid. Take the big bolt out in the middle..I believe it's a 10mm. Unhook the sensor clip..there should be a sensor screwed into the side of that can...and pull the can out with the sensor still inside. Get some sort of lubricant, rust dissolver, whatever...to get the sensor screwed out of the can. Now, put the can someplace safe for when you need it again, and reconnect the sensor. Get the K&N cylinder, and lay it down on the little platform-like metal piece that the can sat on top of. Remember to watch the edges so there's no overhang, and you'll need to duct tape on or two little holes on the bottom of the metal platform so unfiltered air can't get in. Now, run the sensor wire under the side of the filter, so the sensor sits loosely INSIDE the cylinder. Put that hulky metal lid back on, put the bolt through, line it up, and bolt her down nice and tight, but not too tight. Hook the arm back up and you're in business. You'll be basically running an open-element cylindrical filter. Now, you can get more creative later and remove that arm and replace it with something less restrictive, and add a conical...whatever you want..possibilities are almost endless. My tip though: The less curves/edges, the better. Curves and such will suck MORE power than colder air will give you back.

 

Yeah, definately the straighter the intake, the better the engine will run. Think about visiting a junkyard and unbolting the dual snorkel intake, which came on 85-89 Camaro (not Firebird) 2.8's. This gives you two filters, one on each side of the hood latch, and it's a straight head-on shot to the engine, no curves like your car's intake has.

Here's a link to the major tuneup info, which you should do first, because if you just got the car, you don't know what's been done and what hasn't: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=140144

 

I have the upper half of that dual snorkle thing for sale (cheap) if anyone wants it.

 

My custom CAI with a white open element filter at the end.

 

how did u make that?
Can u list parts and where to look

 

That intake is made out of PVC tubing. The one up buy the intake would be a 90deg, then strait tubing, then the last one would be a 45deg. Then a conical filter, most people get them kinda filters at autozone. I am not sure on the size they used on that one.

Myself, I left the rubber flex hose, and got a 3" muffler pipe, cut to length, welded the IAT fiting on it, painted it to match the car, with the same kinda filter.

 

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=8339


for the exhaust, could someone provide me with a link to the high flow cat?


MMM even though this says its for 5.0 and 5.7 will it still work on my 3.1?

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=12031

 

is there any other exhaust i can get that will work thats bigger then 2 1/2 inch?

 

Also please provide links for other exhaust and tips and the high flow

 

I belive I have reda that anything above 2.5" will make you lose back pressure which these engines need some. Stick with 2.5" Sorry, I have not gotta a few flow cat, so I can't help you with that one.

 

jesse, you COULD opt for a 3 inch system but the only ones I could find are EXPENSIVE... But the Dynomax is vastly preferred on this board. Also, there's a reason not to get a 3 in. system. The freer your exhaust flows, the more the horsepower curve moves towards the higher rpms. Basically, you lose low end power and make your peak power in higher rpms...for us, that's not good. A 2 1/2 in. simply gives you more power on this setup..a lot of V8 guys even run 2 1/2...hard to believe huh? For tips, I'll try to get a picture of the rear of my car. I enjoy mine, although I wanted bigger. :P They're expensive though, about $33 each. Biggest I could find online that welded up to a 2 1/2 in. system. They're 3 1/4 Edelbrock tips..chrome, intercooled, angle cut.. Here's the link: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=26517

If you're used to looking at wimpy stock, and Honda tailpipes, the 3 1/4 in. will be plenty big for you...but when you've seen all the muscle cars around and their monstrous 4-5 in. tips, 3 1/4 seems a little sissy...lol...all a matter of perspective. Either way though, they're real high quality stuff.

 

Also jesse, your first link is for the correct system. The 2nd link is for the V8's specifically..I don't know about the kind of differences there are in the systems, but for them to be separate systems, apparently there ARE some...

 

The first link is for #17493, which is the exhaust we use...

The second link, for #17495, looks like it's meant for a dual-catalytic-convertor motor, if the picture is accurate for the part #. (Picture is accurate for #17493.)

 

Dual cats into single-pipe exhaust?? Pfff...why bother? Sounds pretty pointless to me.....lol...although I've heard it's hard/impossible to run true dual under the car on Fbodies due to...bad design? I dunno if that's true or not though.

 

Well, just did the unthinkable, and looked up #17495 on Dynomax.com's online catalog. (Gasp!) Turns out that yeah, that #17495 is for a dual-cat v8. Here's the link if anyone feels adventurous! http://www.dynomax.com/documents/pas...ral_motors.pdf

As to high-flow catalytic convertors, Jesse, you can do a <a href="search.php?s="><img src="images/top_search.gif" alt="Search" border="0"></a> on the V6 board for "catalytic convertor" ... but I'm feeling nice today, and I did the search for you, to find a message I posted on 5/16/2001, and have reposted a million times already! You might still want to do the search, to find out other part #s that other guys have put up... mostly, I just remember my own messages.

Bummer is the cat costs $96 now!! Wow, $13 in a year and a half... ouch. Still cheaper than a new aftermarket cat from a parts store (half of which are weld-in, not a bolt-in like this one) and much cheaper than an original GM cat from the dealer.

 

Gut the catalytic for a few more ponies.
The pulleys are cheap.
people usually complain about the alternator pulley
they usually buy a bigger alternator to compensate
i honestly have no problem
i have the alternator pulley and stock alternator
not counting the system that should be draing my battery
and my alarm that should be sucking it dry
yet again i have no problems

as far as intake
i got a honda intake and just fit it in myself.
looks nice too

ummm.... cheap stuff... ummm...
i'll think of more.
don't do tranny stuff unless you wanna spend a lot of money.
those are important though

Major tune up is important
rebuild distributor
rebuild tranny(thats an exception from the don't do)
rebuild motor(if high on mileage)
new spark plugs(I use NGK, i like em, others prefer diff.)
new spark wires(preferably MSDs, if not Accel)
air filter replacement
and other stuff that i can't mention cuz i gotta jump off the internet
hope i helped a little

 

Yeah, and those cats are expensive as hell... as far as I've heard, there's no bolt-in or weld-in replacement for them from the aftermarket. So if one of those dual-cat v8's blows the cat out, they've gotta spend some big bucks to fix 'em. I think most of those cars came out of California...?

 

Keoki's got a pretty good list there.. Also, to refine it...if you DON'T need to pass emissions and your local cops don't give a crap, then yes, you can get rid of the cat. It'll make a big difference over stock cat..but getting rid of the cat makes only a small difference between running no cat and running a high flow..only high flow costs money but it's legal. ALSO, running no cat makes your exhaust louder..which for most of us is a good thing. But DON'T actually gut the cat and leave it hollow..air expands in it and messes up air flow real bad. Run a pipe of the same diameter of your system through the cat...so airflow stays at a constant compression in the piping and doesn't hit an open space and expand out.

 

i'm back
ok
umm dropping weight also helps
knock the spare tire if you don't need it like me
if i get a flat i either call the tow
or fill it with my air compressor and fly to the nearest tire repair place.
usually the second
ummm....
160 degree thermostats are cheap and help
unless your in a really cold area.

but honestly the most important power you should worry
is the one you already have
what i mean by that is take care of your engine
put additives that help, constantly change oil
don't drag oil too long
treat it nicely and it'll return the favor

My 2.8L last me longer than i expected, and trust me it could've kept going. I just retired it for a 3.4 block
when i took a look at the 2.8L the poor sucker was worn out. yet it always had energy to take out the next honda. hehe


If you have money
roller rockers
camshaft
headers
shiftkit(if automatic)
Gears

only if you have a lot of money to blow
if you engine is as new as mine
put in NOS
its the most cost effective upgrade
i still won't get it though
Drug free is the way to be

take care

 

I second alllllll that... I'd run a fan switch too...but what fan and t-stat you run depends on the temps around. I'd get a switch to kick the fan on at 200 at the LATEST, instead of like 230 like stock...I've heard most people prefer the 185 degree fan kick on switch..seems to be the compromise.

 

the only reason i decided not to get the switch was cuz i heard how people forget to switch it on
so i rather get the kick
i'm planning on getting it soon

 

Ha ha..yeah, I'm not talking about a manual switch though..I'd be too afraid. I think you either just replace the original fan switch or attach the upgrade to the original switch and it works that way..it just changes the automatic kick-on time.

 

yea thats the one i wanna get
i heard funny stories of engines exceeding some really crazy temperatures with those manual ones
hehe
poor engine

 

You can rig up a fan switch that still allows the factory switch to work. On the air conditioning's high pressure hard line, bolted to the passenger side main frame rail, there's a two-wire sensor. This is the high-pressure sensor, and it opens when pressure gets too high in the line. When the switch opens, it turns the electric fan on. You can verify this by disconnecting that connector with the engine running- the fan comes on. So you can just put a switch inline with this connector to turn the fan on. And if you're not using your switch, the fan will still come on normally, via the fan switch in the back of the passenger side head.

 

.......That's a new one!

 

Yeah, found out about it in '97 when I was fixing my car up from being totalled... that's when the A/c system got pulled and thrown in the backyard. After I got the car back on the road, the fan was always on... drove me nuts... got the GM service manual out, and traced out the whole fan circuitry, and found out about the sensor and connector. So for the past 5 years, I've had a piece of wire jammed in that connector! LOL! Haven't had the time or the energy (or the desire) to run wires into the passenger compartment yet for a switch!