How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Chat about all things Bonneville (and related cars). Off-topic stuff should be in the lounge, and all mechanical problems should be posted in the proper forum.
Post Reply
epic_pwn_95
SE Member
SE Member
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:37 pm
Year and Trim: 99 Aurora 4.0
Location: Bena, Minnesota

How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by epic_pwn_95 »

How do you supercharge the naturally aspirated 3800? Is it difficult? My buddy bought a 2001 Monte Carlo SS and wants to supercharge it, I told him I know where to find the answers. Would it be cheaper or more reasonable to buy a used SC 3800, as his has 190k+ on the clock?
User avatar
In_da_boondocks
GXP Member
GXP Member
Posts: 223
Joined: Thu May 29, 2008 10:27 pm
Year and Trim: '05 Impala SS
Location: Central Wisconsin

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by In_da_boondocks »

There is info on that here somewhere. But if the car is an SS it should already be supercharged. If it's not, you can put in an L67. But it would be far easier to buy a stock supercharged car.
05 Impala SS: INTENSE FWI - INTENSE 180* t-stat - Autolite 104 plugs
1fatcat wrote:There are only two things I like to see in a bra, and a car is NOT one of them.
01bonneSC
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 4938
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 5:18 pm
Year and Trim: 05 Chevy 'Hoe
1997 'maro (3.8L M5)
89 SkiDoo
Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by 01bonneSC »

In_da_boondocks wrote:There is info on that here somewhere. But if the car is an SS it should already be supercharged. If it's not, you can put in an L67. But it would be far easier to buy a stock supercharged car.

SS was just an appearance package, AFAIK.
Image
00Beast wrote:Less off-topic than Lane's Heated Steering wheel, but yeah, back to the topic.
00Beast
Retired Site Developer
Retired Site Developer
Posts: 20960
Joined: Tue May 27, 2008 10:30 pm
Year and Trim: '17 Silverado 1500
Location: MN/IA
Contact:

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by 00Beast »

SS Supercharged's didn't appear until 03 or 04, IIRC. Even then SS was just an apperance pkg, you had to get the SS Supercharged to get the L67.
Bye Bye:
Image
RIP sandrock
Sirius wrote:Think about it. You’re tooling down the road in your Prius, knowing full-well that this thing being green is as big a sham as federally mandated ethanol-enriched gas, Russia pulling out of Ukraine, and Obamacare.
User avatar
willwren
Retired Admin
Retired Admin
Posts: 65489
Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 11:07 pm
Year and Trim: .
93 SSEi
95 SLE (SC)
97 Buick LeSabre
Location: Oregon WCBF'04, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11 Survivor
Contact:

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by willwren »

The best way to do it is sell the car and buy a supercharged model.

The second best way is to swap in the entire drivetrain....engine, trans, axles, wiring harness, PCM, etc.

The third best (worst IMO) is to top-swap, which is cylinder heads, LIM, TB, supercharger, fuel rail, injectors, then get a custom tune and pray the bottom end holds.
Image
Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers
01bonneSC
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 4938
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 5:18 pm
Year and Trim: 05 Chevy 'Hoe
1997 'maro (3.8L M5)
89 SkiDoo
Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by 01bonneSC »

Or if you want to avoid actually swapping anything and he can swing it, just get buy a Monte that has a factory supercharger. L32 right?
Image
00Beast wrote:Less off-topic than Lane's Heated Steering wheel, but yeah, back to the topic.
User avatar
dpcookson
SSE Member
SSE Member
Posts: 147
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 9:59 am
Year and Trim: 1982 Chevy S10
2003 Ford Focus
1996 VW Jetta
Location: Jarvis, Ontario Canada

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by dpcookson »

In_da_boondocks wrote:... But it would be far easier to buy a stock supercharged car.
willwren wrote:The best way to do it is sell the car and buy a supercharged model.
01bonneSC wrote:Or if you want to avoid actually swapping anything and he can swing it, just get buy a Monte that has a factory supercharger.
Not sure if anyone else has thought of this but maybe just sell the car and buy a supercharged one.LOL :booty2:
Dale
Image
User avatar
Ghosthawk
Posts like an L27
Posts like an L27
Posts: 698
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 1:16 pm
Year and Trim: 2004 SLE
Location: Virginia

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by Ghosthawk »

You can probably get a used L67 engine /trans combo for less than the cost of another car. If the car you have is in otherwise good shape (aside from high miles) or he just wants to keep it for whatever reason, but like willren said, you'll need the PCM, harness and axles as well.

Check with Morad Parts company as he has a wide selection of engine/trans to pick from. His prices can be on the high side, but I've had good experience with his staff on answering questions. ZZ Performance can also be a good source as well as the guys over at 3800pro.com

Good luck!
2004 Bonneville SLE "Bonnie the Ghosthawk" or the 4dr Firebird...Gone but not forgotten
Image

The Blog, http://www.tobthebat.wordpress.com

Luna LeMans on Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/870754

Luna LeMans in Amazon paperback
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1983273589
01bonneSC
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 4938
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 5:18 pm
Year and Trim: 05 Chevy 'Hoe
1997 'maro (3.8L M5)
89 SkiDoo
Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by 01bonneSC »

dpcookson wrote:
In_da_boondocks wrote:... But it would be far easier to buy a stock supercharged car.
willwren wrote:The best way to do it is sell the car and buy a supercharged model.
01bonneSC wrote:Or if you want to avoid actually swapping anything and he can swing it, just get buy a Monte that has a factory supercharger.
Not sure if anyone else has thought of this but maybe just sell the car and buy a supercharged one.LOL :booty2:
We were just making sure the point got acrossed lol

OP, are you and your buddy very mechanically handy?
Image
00Beast wrote:Less off-topic than Lane's Heated Steering wheel, but yeah, back to the topic.
User avatar
willwren
Retired Admin
Retired Admin
Posts: 65489
Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 11:07 pm
Year and Trim: .
93 SSEi
95 SLE (SC)
97 Buick LeSabre
Location: Oregon WCBF'04, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11 Survivor
Contact:

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by willwren »

And are you prepared to make the resale value of the car nearly zero?
Image
Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers
01bonneSC
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 4938
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 5:18 pm
Year and Trim: 05 Chevy 'Hoe
1997 'maro (3.8L M5)
89 SkiDoo
Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by 01bonneSC »

willwren wrote:And are you prepared to make the resale value of the car nearly zero?
:withstupid: :btruestory:
Image
00Beast wrote:Less off-topic than Lane's Heated Steering wheel, but yeah, back to the topic.
User avatar
dpcookson
SSE Member
SSE Member
Posts: 147
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 9:59 am
Year and Trim: 1982 Chevy S10
2003 Ford Focus
1996 VW Jetta
Location: Jarvis, Ontario Canada

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by dpcookson »

I totally agree, it's not worth while, unless there's some kind of self gratification to be had it can't be stressed enough to avoid swapping anything and to just find a car with what you want.
Dale
Image
Jrs3800
Retired Admin/Techinfo Admin
Retired Admin/Techinfo Admin
Posts: 26009
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 2:08 pm
Year and Trim: 03 SLE, 95 SE, 95 TS SE
Location: Space Coast, or at least it used to be

Re: How to supercharge a NA 3800?

Post by Jrs3800 »

Gonna make a couple of comments here...

A lot of people out there have supercharged the L36 Bottom end... But most of them have the ability or knows someone that had the ability and knowledge to tune... If you run lean on the L36 Bottom end you will quickly have an expensive paper weight... I am not saying you can't do this, but you must become very well versed in tuning to help the engine survive, and even then it may not live as long as you would like..


The 2 simplest ways to go are either find a supercharged car or get a complete L67 Drop out...


My .02
Post Reply