Alright so I'm trading my first car in(a 2000 Dodge neon 2.0L 4cyl,190hp x 140torque) for a 1991 Firebird. It has a 3.1L V6 with Multi-port fuel injection. My main issue is that it has 140hp x 180 torque. Im a 16 year old and just want more so is there any basic things I can do besides engine swap,turbo,Supercharger or nos.
Looking at doing:
Dual exhaust
Headers
Injectors
CAI
40hp chip-Is this any good?-Hp Chip
Cant remember anything else right now so Thanks in advance for any help.

 

The sad fact is that there just is almost NO aftermarket offerings for these cars so any upgrades that really matter are either home done or are really expensive. if you hang around for a while you will notice people with 6s putting out good power but it cost them lots of money. so if you have a lot of money go for it but it still wont help with the lack of parts.

Dual's dont give much advantage on Big V8s and they would probably actually hurt the V6s performance. read some posts in the exhaust forums to find out why. main reson is the 2.8/3.1s these cars came with barely need the stock exhaust size.

pacesetter has some for about $200 uncoated

you wont need different than stock injectors till you have a lot of mods needing more fuel. dont touch them.

CAI go for it.

those chips never give you that much power gain plus ill make a good bet that this is a worn out car with a worn out engine. the chip will do more harm than good.

dont want to be saying it cant be done just that its not cheep and it is really hard to find parts for these. reason being that 99% of people that have a V8 capable chassis and are looking for more power switch to V8s so companys find it hard to validate making performance parts for such a little demand.

 

I'm sure the chip wouldn't be worth the money.

Do you have a budget to begin with? If you're sticking with the V-6, a catback and air intake would be the best things to start out with. I'm not sure of who makes headers for your car.

 

Well I tried that chip in my neon and it really did help, it felt like it burned a little too much gas,but overall it changed my shifting points,gave me better accel. Thanks and I kinda have a budget but not really, and personally I would do a V8 but my parents dont trust me with any v8,they think ill wrap it around a tree so v8 is outa the question.

 

custom bore up is a good one,
but good luck finding somebody to do that..

im currently looking for one but i cant find any

 

My dad and uncle know a whole lot cars, a whole lot, and about performance so i can probably talk my uncle into that,thanks

P.S.-My dad has a 9.8 second 69 Satellite with a 383 police interceptor(now sitting in Wyoming) and he wont let me have a v8

 

Give it a few years, he'll come around
Until then, have fun in the bird. It's not fast, but it isnt incapable either. If you really want better performance, read up on the 3.4 liter swap. You can also get into PROM burning, and put on a turbo.

 

Your neon has more power, and is lighter then a 305 TBI camaro. So it makes no sense that they wont let you have a v8.

Anyway. I'll x2 the first response. I have almost every over the counter bolt on part for these engines, and I have noticed a performance difference. Is it worth the money....... I doubt it. I do it for fun and something to tinker on and keep me outta trouble.

 

Cant I also Put a camshaft from a v8 in it? Plus not true dual exhaust, but I do like the look so ill look into exhausts. What about throttle bodies, can I put a bigger one on or bore it?

 

WHOA!!! Please put your tools down, and step away from the car!!!!!!!


A v6 has 6 cylinders, and v8 has 8. there for, the block is about 3-5" longer. So there is NO WAY IN HELL a v8 cam will fit in a 6, even the 4.3(based off same block design), it wont fit. Even if it did, the lobe angles, duration, lift and all that are designed for a completely different engine.


The car should have came with dual looking exhaust.

Only one company made TB's, they are no longer in biz. Even if they still did, untill you put a cam, headers, and some other crap on there, a TB will do no good.

If your dad has such a kick *** car, why are you not getting his advice?

 

He wants me to learn and he'll help me but to a limit and I would ask him what all I can do and He'll just say nope. So I have to figure it out. I meant to say one from a v6 but a performance one?

 

He's telling you no for a reason then. Might want to find out what that no is for, first.

One from what other v6?

 

The no is for help in finding what to put in the car, he just wont let me swap engines,turbo,Supercharge or nos it. Any thing else is good. I was looking at ones like this, Summit Racing Link

 

What about Gear Ratios too? Uping my gear ratio would give me more acceleration but drop my rop end speed right?

 

The cam is the same one I have in my car, its streetable and about a midrange cam.

Gears help in low end, hurt top end. Build for your use.

 

Did the cam help you with performance,etc?

 

Also does anyone know where I can find some performance headers?

 

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...chItemId=25903

is a cam you can look at it looks to be a little hotter then the mtc 5, not sure though havnt heard much about it

 

ive gotta step in here, no offense to you, but theres been a ton of newbie posts on "how can i make my car faster". please do a search. youll find a ton of what you need. everything thats been posted in here so far has been covered quite a bit lately. just scroll through the last couple pages and youll find most of these questions.

 

Well I know alot of things I can do, I just haven't with a v6 before,so I just thought I might ask to make sure.

 

i just meant new to the boards. we get a lot of new people on here w/ the same question, at least once or twice a week lately. i dont mean anything against anyone new on the boards, but at the top is the FAQ, and it says please search before posting. this answers a lot of common questions and saves repeated posts. just some advise, i used to do it too. i searched some of my old posts and got the same advise, lol.

 

That "chip" you're looking at is anything but. It's just a resistor that feeds your ECM false information. It says your intake air temp is like -40° so the ECM richens up the mixture to compensate. Eventually the ECM will wise up and realize it is running too rich, adjust the mixture again, and it evens back out. Don't waste you're money. Your old car felt like it burned too much gas beacause that's exactly what it did. Anything else you felt was in your head or a result of the ECM being temporarily confused. As far as dual exhaust goes, I wouldn't bother on a 3.1L V6.

 

well there isnt too much you can to to a V6 but there are a few things out there that you can get. What im about to list are things that i have put in my 3.1 camaro.
1. Flowmaster exhaust w/headers (it'll make your car sound better, i havent tried the headers cause im restoring a firebird)
2. ASP underdrive pulley kit (alot of people say these lower the rpms and power to the acessoreis, it does but it KEEPS its charge..i looked into this alot and debated reather to get them or not..its worth a bit of hp)
3. Cold Air Intake (its cheap to make one i have one i made on mine, it makes a nice sucking/whistle sound, you'll lk it!)
4. Major Tune up...MSD 6AL box, MSD distributor cap/ignition rotor kit, MSD 48,000 Volt coil pack, Taylor 8.2mm Thundervolt (there is also Accel 8.8mm) wires, and AC Delco Rapid fire plugs (these are made by the people who make gm parts so i strongly reccomend you get these. i tried the bosh platinum 2 they didnt work too well).
5. If you have lower milage try to put a new camshaft in it.

I know this might be a bit expensive, but you'll feel an increase in power. Dont expect to beat V8's with this but it'll look good under the hood and it'll make it move a bit faster! I just graduated and i know what youre going through, do these mods. If you have the money you can go for the more expensive stuff but try out what i've done to mine it'll be worth it. Summitracing has all of the parts i listed, if you know how to search for specific parts you'll have no problem finding them. good luck.

 

Well I am eventually going to throw a v8 in it. As for now thanks for the advice.

 

If you plan to put a v8 in it, I wouldnt do anything more then a coil and tuneup. And start with the suspension.

 

Ya I was looking at getting Sub-Frame Connectors, Lower Control Arms, Panhard Rod, Aluminum Drive Shaft, Strut Tower Brace, Underdrive Pulley, Exhaust System, Camshaft, CAI

 

I'd skip the camshaft, and question the pully.

 

Personally I think I'd just get a muffler and do lots fo suspension work to make it handle good. Save cash for the V8.

 

Well I was talking to my dad and hes going to help me supe it up so,yay, he said we can bore and stroke it among other things,hes just gonna do stuff and not tell me?lol

 

3.1 is stroked as much as this one can go. If your going to bore it out, just go to a 3.4 block.

Still, if your gonna go v8 later, skip all this shizzle on the v6, dont waist the cash.

 

Well my dad knows his stuff and I guess hes going to make it at least put out 250hp. and hell if hes does that why through a v8 in it when it will be a school,work and running around car that I can still have fun in?

 

well something you should know, the base block for gms 60deg, v6 for the firebird was the 2.8l then in 90 or 91 (forget which was first) they went to a 3.1l which is a stroked 2.8l, then in 94/95 they had the RWD 3.4l which is a bored 3.1 or a bored and stroked 2.8l.

Also as a N/A motor i havnt seen one putting out 250, but maybe i havnt looked hard enough, their just arnt many aftermarket parts,but you can do head work and such. cam, roller rockers stuff like that.

 

Ya I dont know what he has planned but he used to race cars and its not about aftermarket parts, its custom jobs. My dad is mainly the mechanic, he can fix or tune and do almost anything to the engine, tranny, axles, other mechanical parts... he doesnt like electronics or body work but he can do them. I have faith and as it goes ill tell you what he does. Thanks