[AnotherNoob]

Hello Everyone,

I have been searching through this fourm and others trying to find out what I want to first upgrade with my car. I just wanted to make sure of a few things and get a few nagging questions answered. This is my everyday car so I can't do major modifications, but I want to add some horsepower. My major focus is acceleration, I won't be racing so I don't need to worry about hitting anything higher than 80mph.

2003 Monte Carlo SS (3800 non super)

1. Air Intake
I gathered it is NOT worth it to get a system like K&N or Weapon-R, but simply buy a $30 intake off eBay with off brand filter.
I didn't see any discussion on SLP though. Is it worth it for CAI from SLP? ($150 vs $30 ebay) http://www.slponline...uct.asp?P=21039
Does this have the possibility to improve, not affect, or worsen 0-60 times? I know it has the potential to add tiny amounts of horsepower, but basically this is for looks and saying I did it myself ;-)

2. Cat-Back Exhaust
Does a $400 Dynomax compare to a $900 Borla system? (and are there better alternatives)
Is there a difference in having one split muffler than two separate ones?
Again, Does this have the possibility to improve, not affect, or worsen 0-60 times?

3. Tuning / Plugs / Wiring
Is any of this worth the investment for a everyday car?

I can't do anything major till the warranty runs out in a couple of years, but after that I may look into a top-swap or something better.

Thanks,

N00B

[mrclean]

1) honestly make your own intake. youll save tons of money and get the same gains.

2)Most people will arugue that ANY aftermarket exhaust sounds like @$$ on these cars, but at far as performance, i couldnt tell you.

3) getting a small canned tune from zzp or other places will help, you could get autolite 104's but you probably dont need them, and by wiring u mean plug wires? stock are fine unless u want to add some color or something.

[3800power]

I would run a FWI...in fact I do...

Cat -back system, honestly they are useless, and don't give off that good of sound either. For the price of the Dynomax, I would you sell you my top swap- everything you need to supercharge your car, and you would clearly get much better gains.

Tuning- If you stay NA, not really worth it unless you do some serious mods (headers/cam). If you are smart and buy my top swap, you will need a tune. I could probably actually set you up with a decent base tune if you really wanted.

[AnotherNoob]

MrClean: Any reason Autolites would be better than something like ngk or bosch, or just personal preference?

3800power: I do want to do a top swap, but can't until at least 2012 when the warranty is up, just in case something goes its covered until then. When I do the top swap I am also considering new cams and such, but that is down the road quite a ways.

Thanks for the info on the cat-back systems, I won't be wasting money there then.

[3800power]

Don't run 104's, they are for boosted cars. I ran the NGK TR55 and hated them. After about 3000 miles they were shot, the electrode was pretty much 'burnt' away. I think people run AL 605's??? when they are NA.

[AnotherNoob]

From my quick searching I see that 605s might be better for 2004 supercharged and up? Looks like 606s

What about ngk G-power series? I know you said you got the regular TR55 but I know ngk is very trusted usually, do I just need to get the higher class or stick with autolites? (and I take it a $20 investment on plugs is probably a safe investment?)

[MiKe0589]

I'm not sure if L36 W-bodys got U-bend's or not. I know L67's did. If it does have one get rid of it.

DO NOT run 104's. go with something in the heat range of 5 or 6. (I stick with ACD with a heat range of 6 for N/A)

At least a good CAI if not an FWI.

If you plan to stay N/A get the HV3 insert.

I would get a tune IMO. I seen a pretty good gain from a dyno tune with what little mods i have.

This post has been edited by MiKe0589: 09 August 2010 - 08:11 PM

[NiftyMonte]

no useful information from me but i applaud you for searching and then asking questions. i'm glad madbrad didn't have to bust out the .gif

[AnotherNoob]

Thanks Nifty, I am a moderator of another forum so I know how irritating some questions can be.

Mike, didn't even see the HV3 with weeks of poking around, thanks for that tip. At that price thought I might as well save for a top swap (they both would kill warranty I bet anyways).

So my plan of attack sounds like:

Air Intake: Insys off of Ebay $30
autolite plugs: $10

Future when serious:
Top Swap / cams (or HV3 if I don't wanna do the swap)
Dyno Tune

I know HP doesn't come cheap, but is there any other cheap ways to increase acceleration? (I mean weight reduction is an option, I'll get on a diet and that should help )

[jaybaum96]

no to the ebay air intake, its nothing more than a bent piece of plastic.

Spend $20 on some pvc pipe or drain hose, and run it into your fender and put the filter on the end.

[AnotherNoob]

Hey Jay, I was going to go with the ebay one because of a few reasons:
1. It's pre-made out of aluminum and I am a noob so that's a plus in my book ebay Air Intake
2. I live in PA, terrible roads and weather, so FWI has a higher chance to damage my engine.

Also another nagging question, is this road legal? will it pass emissions and inspection (PA has both)? I have been trying to find a difinitive answer but most stuff will just say 'non-CARB'

[Cully77]

A hot air intake isn't going to do anything for you, you might as well just keep the stock air box. Drop in a K&N if you like. I've never actually heard of someone damaging their engine from a FWI, but then again, I'd be worried about putting it too low. Never heard of somebody receiving a citation for one either.

[AnotherNoob]

Thanks guys, that is good to know that short air intakes don't add anything. But will the hassle of creating a custom FWI add that much kick to be worth it?

(Keep in mind from a person standpoint that hasn't worked with anything more than a lawn mower)

[zipper778]

Just a tip too, our engines have only one cam. I noticed that you kept saying cams so I wanted to make sure that was out there. Your exhaust does have a u-bend, so if you bought a 2.5" downpipe with a cat you won't have to worry about inspections and you might see a gain in performance.

Another thing, how do you still have a warranty on your 03 Monte? It's been awhile since I've seen someone on this forum worried about voiding their warranty and it sparked my curiousity.

[AnotherNoob]

Yeah, sorry about the 'cams', I know there is just one cam shaft just it sounded better in my head while typing I guess, lol.

I actually just bought this car used less than two weeks ago, and was able to get a bumper to bumper warranty for 2 years on it.

For the downpipe would that have to be a modified universal one, or do you know of any particular brands that make that for Montes? (Haven't done to much research other than full cat-backs)


Just to be clear as well, new spark plugs (AL 606) worth the $10 and the hour of cursing, correct?

[jaybaum96]

Cully77, on 09 August 2010 - 11:09 PM, said:

I've never actually heard of someone damaging their engine from a FWI, but then again, I'd be worried about putting it too low.

Mine was too low, hyrdolocked my motor a week before it was pulled. I got it started in the pouring rain after revving the sh*t out of it for a good hour when it would only start up to 300 rpms. Defiantly scary. Reason why my fwi for my l67 is in such a weird position.

[nitehawkjcb]

jaybaum96, on 10 August 2010 - 12:45 AM, said:

Cully77, on 09 August 2010 - 11:09 PM, said:

I've never actually heard of someone damaging their engine from a FWI, but then again, I'd be worried about putting it too low.

Mine was too low, hyrdolocked my motor a week before it was pulled. I got it started in the pouring rain after revving the sh*t out of it for a good hour when it would only start up to 300 rpms. Defiantly scary. Reason why my fwi for my l67 is in such a weird position.

This is why I don't run a FWI. It's very flood prone around here.

To the OP, if you have a full warranty(like one you'd get with a new car), you technically can't even do any modifications to the intake, other than a drop in K&N filter.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

My L36 bolt on mod build:

CAI (I recommend getting the wizaired from ZZP)
ZZP Stage 1 HVTB
HV3 Insert
ER Rockers
SS Front Powerlog
2.5" ZZP SS Downpipe with Cat
GMPP Cat-Back Exhaust
Custom Tune

[3800power]

AnotherNoob, on 09 August 2010 - 11:51 PM, said:

2. I live in PA, terrible roads and weather, so FWI has a higher chance to damage my engine.

I live in NY and run my FWI year round, or switch it out for a 'short ram' as I have like 9 intakes laying around/ enjoy using washer fluid since I do a lot of highway driving. I have ran mine all through the winter though and not had any problems.

[me6894]

Its not the presence of aftermarket parts that voids a warranty, the warranty is only voided if it is proven the failure was cause by one of the aftermarket parts.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

If you are really worried about it though, most things are easy bolt-on replacement of stock parts so you can just bolt back on the stock part if you need to go in for warranty work.

[AnotherNoob]

All good advice, thanks for the tips. FWI is still an option, but I think for my first mod I would like something pre-made that is proven so I know I am not hurting my car. The WizAired does look interesting, didn't see it before. That looks like a very clean option, it actually 'looks' the best in my opinion out of all of them I have now seen.

Talked to the dealer some, and modifications like CAI were fine, just will have to find out more about larger projects. Basically can't tear open the engine or transmission non-professionally and can't get it tuned (the chip that is put in auto-voids stuff.)

How is the sound for the GMPP? I don't think I will go for the full exhaust, just the downpipe with cat.


I will probably go with a CAI of some type. I don't expect it to perform miracles or to be able to run down vettes, but I do want something that looks and sounds nice and that I can say I did myself. With that said, would you guys recommend a ZZP, SLP, K&N? or an just eBay one so I can learn my lesson, lol (right now it looks like ZZP is best bang for the buck)

Thanks again!

[me6894]

If you are looking for a catback exhaust I have a dynomax that only has like 1000 miles on it I'd be willing to let go cheap.

As for intakes, I had the thrasher and loved the way it looked.

[3800_Beast]

You're going to want to go with a full exhaust mod right off the bat. If you don't, you will pay more later for better sound and performance. Any intake you put on whether it be a FWI or CAI is going to be pushing alot of air through ( I think the intake I have is 4 in. tubing?, K&N). But I wouldn't buy a name brand for exhaust. As others have said, they sound bad. I'd get 2.5 all the way back. Keep res and cat if you're worried about sound. These cars do have a drone at the higher rpms while driving if you have a loud exhaust. Pick mufflers wisely as well. Personally my own opinion is that Magnaflows dont sound too great on these cars, but Flowmasters sound good. But that is a personal preference. I haven't heard anything bad about the Super 44's, and they're supposed to be deeper sounding that the Super 40's which would help out. There is a lot of basic bolt on stuff you can do to improve your performance and gas mileage. Keep searching, and you'll find everything you'll need.