Looking to increase HP, suggestions ?

[Will_Lane]

I just bought an 02 ssei with 158k on it, everything is stock. I've looked up a bunch of stuff on how to make the performance better but I just don't know where to start. I'm definitely not a car guru, so I don't know a ton about parts and what not but here I am looking to learn because I finally got me sc bonny and I love it.

[Jfridge92]

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 25655.html

Read through this if you haven't already, it lists out a bunch of upgrades you can do. Also, search the forum for 00beast's maintenance list, and make sure the car is up to par before you put go fast bits on it


What are you looking to get out of the car? Are you chasing a HP number, a 1/4 mile time, or just a small bump in performance?

[nos4blood70]

Let us know what your goals are, and we will help you with a formula for what you need. Maintenance is most important.

I would also recommend a trans cooler and a shift kit for the trans, as that is the part most stressed by performance modifications.

[Will_Lane]

Soon I am going to go to my mechanic and tell him I want everything mechanically sound and *dang* near perfect. But after that, I guess whats going to get me more power the cheapest and easiest? And I guess here are some questions, say someone modded an ssei as much as possible, the whole nine yards, whats the hp # going to be at? What is the range of hp for these cars, and how easy/hard is it to accomplish?

[nos4blood70]

With stock cam, on 1.9 ratio rockers the power limit is just a touch over 300 wheel horsepower. The blower really limits the power. Turbochargers can bring astronomical power out of these 3800s. In either case, the transmission is the limiting factor with this platform. It is very weak and most don't last even to 300 wheel.

That being said, the easiest way to give yourself a noticeable power difference is to install an intake, then headers, then a smaller pulley, then a tune. A 3.6 is a safe place to start.

[Jfridge92]

You'll also want to get a scanner so that you can look for knock retard (kr) while you're determining what size pulley you can drop to. A lot of people here like the aeroforce scan gauge, or if you have an android phone, you can order a cheap obd II Bluetooth adapter and use torque for android to scan for kr.

Kr plus more boost equals bad things, so it's necessary to know what your motor is telling you before you add more boost. The bolt ons Carl mentioned will really help with KR.

[freneticburn]

another fairly simple alternative not yet discussed is going e85 (assuming you have e85 stations near you). Grand Prix guys seem to do it a lot. You can pretty much change out the injectors for 42#ers and slap on a much smaller pulley. And from what I have read you wouldn't even need a tune if you go with the 42# injectors (larger 60# or 80# ones would definitely need a tune though). I don't know much about e85 personally aside from what I read on forums and see in other people's rides so do your own research but it's worth considering. e85 is basically like running 105 octane gas from what I understand.


other than that intake, headers, and smaller pulley are kind of the norm for starting out. After that things get more expensive and labor intensive. Personally I would skip rockers and go straight to a cam. The cam is more labor but definitely worth it.

[00Beast]

First things first, if you can't do basic maintenance, then you need to step back with the mods. Modding these engines requires a certain amount of guesswork, and understanding how engines and parts work together, not just like slapping a kit on something and getting the exact power gains advertised. Your mechanic won't know what the hell to do, and what you want. You gotta be able to tweak it yourself, and understand how what one part you're installing affects all the others you have. Not trying to be condescending, but you need to understand that you can't just mod the car up and have it perfect, like you can on a lot of other cars with greater aftermarket support. There are a lot of parts available for these cars, but not a lot of kits/support. I think you need to slow down, read up on the forum, especially this one, and figure out what you want/need.