Budget mode performance??

[unclebubbaSE]

Working with my 2004 SE L36 with 115k mi. Is there anything I could do without breaking the bank that would give me a little more performance out of the stock motor?. L67/and or "top swap" at this time are financially out of range. I guess I'm attempting to turn lemons into lemonade without having to take out a loan!. I've heard of ported intakes, fooling around with the maf sensor, gutting the intake, TB spacers etc. The car runs great and trans just had service with transgo spring kit installed. Body, paint, and leather interior is perfect which is why I would like to keep the vehicle. Just would like a little more power...superchip turners, cold air intake, power log exhaust, anything??. I remember tuning my 2003 dodge Dakota R/T with the superchip tuner, but not sure if these are even available for the L36.

Any ideas or info?, or am I just going to have to wait to win the Lottery?!.
Thanks much....

[nos4blood70]

If you're on a budget, the best thing you could do is NOT mod an NA L36. Nothing short of boost or valvetrain mods will give you noticeable gains.

My car has most of the free-ish mods done to it. Ported front exhaust manifold, ported lower intake, tune for 93 octane. Honestly, other than me, I do not think anyone would notice any difference between this and any other L36. At best, the throttle is a little more snappy. Save up for boost, or leave it be.

[MattStrike]

I'm sure there are a few others that can chip in here with more. But there are no good 'bang for the buck' NA mods. But low budget things that do come to mind (If you're good with DIY projects):

-Gasket match the ports, grind away any casting flash, and polish everything. Depending on how bad the ports are, this won't be very noticeable.
-ZZP intake manifold insert. I'll let you do your own research with this one.
-cold air intake (either buy or home-made), again, not a noticeable power gain, but does help with heat soak.
-extended ratio rockers or cam. Will need a tune to make the most of it, but can get expensive quickly with a radical cam due to supporting mods (roller timing sets, heavier valve springs, etc..).
-headers

But really I would recommend either selling and buying up to a supercharged car, or finding a donor and swapping the whole drivetrain into your clean car. It's worth checking out craigslist or the junkyards, depending on local prices you could get an entire drivetrain (engine, trans, harness, c/v axles) for less than you'll spend on a cam and headers and tune.

[haro1225]

Take out absolutely all the things you don't need, seats, carpet, spare tire, etc and make it really light. It will be free and make the car faster. Just not very practical.

[unclebubbaSE]

Thanks guys for all of the feedback!...if I do eventually get the cash and decent parts for the top swap setup, is anyone familiar with a decent shop located in the ~So. Cal area that would have experience with swap project. In my experience it's pretty unbelievable in car crazy So. Cal. area to find a shop that works in these kind of projects. They seem to be willing to do a full L67 swap with their motor...but not the top only. Not looking to be a raceboy with this vehicle, just a little more off the line power would be.nice.

[redfury]

Transmission life is going to be an issue as well if you try running up the stock performance. I'd want the beefier supercharged motors transmission ( 4T65E )

[nos4blood70]

The two transmissions are virtually identical short of the differential, but the weak point is the input shaft. You will kill either an NA or HD unit just as easily.