00 v6 firebird performance mods

There are some mods to wake the V-6 up:

But, sorry to say. Performance and cheap aren't synonymous.

Refinish King

sorry i didn't mean to come off as a cheap skate... i just refuse to pay around $700 for a borla exhaust when a magnaflow is half the price... so i don't really mean cheap i just mean relatively inexpensive as opposed to other name brands.

jack

then that's OK!

But there are turbo kits, custom made and I think Paxton makes a supercharger kit. A larger throttle body, rerouted air inlets, but stay from K&N and other free flowing air filters. They'll mess up your Mass Air Flow Sensor.

Larger MAF's, if it's automatic, there are shift improvement kits and a lot of other things that would surprise you. A lot of the True Blues around here, that refuse rice. Have modded Camaros and Firebirds with V-6's and they tear up the asphalt nicer than ricers.

As an added plus, if you have a minor accident, you can repair the car, rather than pick it up with a broom and a dust pan, then shitcan it!

Good luck, and I hope this helps?

Refinish King

PS Rice makes me constipated!

Probably the cheapest way to improve performance of the V6 is to sell it, then put the money towards a V8. Dollar for dollar anyway. That's what I have seen a lot of guys say who's opinion I respect.

** To email a reply, please remove everything up to and including the underscore in my email reply header.

Just remember, EVEN ROACHES EAT RICE! On a side note... hey Refinish King... I have a K&N air filter. Did I do a bad thing? Prior to buying it I heard so many people recommend them (not parts salesmen either). You are the second person I have seen warn against them. Anyway, should I rip it out and put crusty old paper back in there, or can the mass air sensor be cleaned up without too much trouble if it gets oily? I see Holly makes a filter similar to the K&N but I'm sure it has the same issues?

I guess what I'm looking for is the answer to these questions:

1. Do the K&N (presumably Holly Powershot too) air filters provide a more free flowing intake while filtering as well or better as compared to the stock Delco paper?
2. If using a K & N, how great is the risk of fouling up the MAF really?
3. If the MAF would by chance get fouled up, how easy is it to detect or "see it coming" (without disassembly and actual physical inspection)?
4. If the MAF is fouled up, is it easy to clean off the contaminants (filter oil)?

** To email a reply, please remove everything up to and including the underscore in my email reply header.

would have to agree!

But then you get into the higher insurance rates with the V-8 and some people just don't want the premiums.

But I agree, there is no excuse for cubic inches!

Refinish King

Ian showed the TSB that GM released:

The MAF signal controls a lot of parameters of the PCM, so if you notice a bit of a decrease in performance. I would clean the MAF immediately.

The K&N and all the wannabes don't filter as well, that's not the main issue as is the oil contamination.

The MAF's are cleanable as long as not sealed by a handful of clear Silicone sealer, but extreme care and diligence would be advised here. I would use CRC Electrical cleaner on this, because it would also help with the electrolysis issue at the connector that happens at times. Get the small can, not the bigger can they just came out with that says: "CD Cleaner"

An AC/Delco or Wix Would filter much better, and I'm sure the restriction would be negligible?

Remember the roar of the old iron?

But pulling it out is up to you! If you get a low air signal and overheat the transmission, and it becomes a Tostitos. Your warranty won't cover it, and with the minimal performance gain of the K&N filter alone. It's a hard pill to swallow. I do believe however, that their redesigned air tubing systems, with a more straightened route are helpful.

Refinish King

Thanks for responding RFK. I guess putting in a K&N lays out like this:

- filtering is not improved (may be less)

- flow restriction is likely lessened, but by how much?

- risk contaminating MAF, but how risky?

- is a stock filter the wrong match if a free flowing exhaust (with out without headers) is installed?

So.... I'm thinking maybe I should put a Delco or Wix in. Which is better Wix or Delco? Wix is sold at Nappa right? Who usually carries Delco besides dealer parts departments? Best question, if you were me and have already purchased the K&N and have been using it with no problems so far for almost 2 years, would you take it out or leave it in? Also, any of the rest of you I am inviting to comment as well, not just RFK.

Of course, K & N claims that both filtering and flow restriction is improved but you know, they might just be biased.

** To email a reply, please remove everything up to and including the underscore in my email reply header.

Just put in a Delco or Wix:

Wix is made by DANA which owns NAPA, and sells WIX as a different labeled brand than NAPA.

So WIX, NAPA = same. I would say the lessened filtering is not worth the flow gain. Delco is most likely made by NAPA/WIX, so it would be better to shop. Some department stores have great prices on AC/Delco!

Air filters and headers, look before fuel injection, we ran headers with air filters to keep the shit the car staging in front of us, from kicking pieces of bolt, gouged out slick/burnout area into our carbs. We ran in the 9's.

So, is an air filter really that restrictive, when we put the 398, a destroked 427 Chevy from in a Chevelle, running 9.20's into a Pro Stock body Camaro, it went 8.50's, with an air filter. Go figure, the air filter always made the car a 10th faster and Bill Jenkins used to scratch his head when he came over to out pits!

Refinish King

Refinish King

Thanks Refinish King! I respect your opinion and also the bit about the big breathing engine doing just fine on stock convinces me. I am going to put in a Wix or Delco (or maybe the Napa version). I will probably just go with Delco. It seems like everywhere you turn they always have Fram, among others, but Fram seems to be the one brand that everyone caries. I will not get the fram though don't worry.

Thanks again.

** To email a reply, please remove everything up to and including the underscore in my email reply header.

Borla sounds the best but is pricey. Their Borla Pro-xs muffler is

109.00 and will sound real good flowmaster makes a complete exhaust for the v-6 popularhotrodding.com got a 11hp increase with it I have the webpage for that if you want it I can send it to you. or you can get a Ws6 take-off exhaust from SLP for 100.00 and that will sound nice also. But the teaxas rumbler will sound REAL nice on the 6 go to you can hear what flowmaster borla ect soundslike on a V-6 here: They have some good stuff for V-6 if you get their supersix package itwill have you running with the Lt1's not beating but running with them. 2002 Trans-Am Ws6 2002 Firebird Coupe traded in for 2001 Firehawk Vert 1998 Ford Mustang Cobra sold for spending money!$!$!

Cut out the baffles on the underside of the air filter box to match the size of the air filter. Remove the baffles in the lid with a Dremel. Throw in a K&N (no affect on MAF sensor, had one for 2 years). Go to Home Depot or Lowes and pick up some washers with a 1/4 hole and put 3 of them underneath the two inside bolts holding the air box to the engine bay, raising the airbox will allow more air in through all that aurface area you created with the above cuts. You could buy a Whisper lid for about $100 instead of working the Dremel on the lid, but in either case you should still cut the bottom of the box. 2000&up have also shown some slight improvement from removing the MAF screen on the throttle body. Use a paper clip or couple toothpicks to remove the retaining ring and then gently pry it out. Thats about it for the free stuff. Definitely a noticeable SOTP difference.

Next thing is SLP Cold Air Intake (slponline.com) or Fast Toys Ram Air (fasttoys.net) for about $180-200.

Then dump some money into an exhaust, get a high flow cat converter from Carsound, or Catco (summitracing.com) and a full 3" cat back. I used a U- pipe from Jegs cut in half and rewelded for the S-pipe after the cat. Muffler depends on your choice of sound, most have flowmaster, I have Dynomax.

Some other little things include a 160 degree thermostat and manual fan switch to keep the engine cool. Dynos show about 17hp loss when running at 195 degrees compared to 170. Change the plugs to NGK iridium and put on some 8mm wires Taylor or MSD. This will smooth out the tourque curve, like the 3" exhaust, you aren't losing tourque like some say they feel, its just a smoother curve.

Get a limited slip differential if you dont have one already.

When at the track, take out the back seat, passenger seat, spare tire and jack, pull off the whole air box assembly and run open throttle body, with the above mods, and this, you should see low 15 or high 14s depending on your driving.

After that you have a good basis for nitrous or turbo or a cam swap. Comp cams makes some cams for our cars and they also custom grind.