3800 powerpack??????

[nino]

he had told me that there was going to be a 3 month wait cause he was in the process of doing someone else's (he wouldnt tell me a name) but it was magnus's. i told him that i wanted to send my own parts and he had it done for me in no time. i sent tom my parts to have my original parts sent back to me. mine only had 20,000 miles on them so i thought it was somewhat a wise investment.

warranty?what warranty?

[98GREENGLOW]

Yea I just talked to Toms son on the phone, He was very helpful but said he deals more with the mustangs and his dad with the camaros.Tom should be calling me back when he gets home.Magnus you got me in to this with your prep speech, so now Im gonna take your advice and probaly not get the intake, unless thats gonna save me only 2-3 hundred $$$Then Ill get it.But if thats gonna save me 5-6 hundred then Im gonna listen to you.Well heres the big question.What specks do you reccamend? I want somthing that wont just die on me all of the sudden.I guess rather mild , but at the same time I have plans of adding a supercharger to my arsonal within 18 months.so what numbers do you reccommend? I dont know shlt but I would guess somthing in the middle performance wise right.

[Magnus]

I think the intakes cost around 700 or something.

You have an automatic and want something decently mild not too agressive..

You have plans to add a supercharger but you say 18 months, so that's not very difinitive.. you may not end up doing it and it is still a while down the road. Would you want to do an NA cam for the time being and switch to a blower cam down the road?

I can recomend a mild NA cam or a mild SC cam..

I'd recomend NA for the time being and then put in an SC cam if you ever really get serious about the SC.

[nino]

lol, and now the cam...that will bring us to a whole other thread.
see what cam tom tells you and compare it to the one magnus tells you. get the best of both worlds. when i got my cam, i just took the one tom said. he even changed it mid-order. he emailed me and asked if i would be interested in new specs for more hp reasons, i said sure.

[ February 21, 2003: Message edited by: nino ]</p>

[98GREENGLOW]

I just talked to Tom,real nice guy, you can tell he really cares about the 3800 community.He just happens to have everything ready and polished up besides the intake.Is that a sighn or what?Anyway the hole pack would be 1900.Without the intake...Drum roll please....1150$$$ Thats a big price differance but Im trusting Magnus on this one . Plus it will feel nice still having $$$ left over for axhaust and converter and stuff instead of BAM wheres all my $$$$?????Well he has 3 cams available for same price. 219 214 220.Like I said I dont know shlt but the 214 sounds like a nice number. He He

[99redcamaro]

why not post some numbers
how much for the heads
how much for the cams
how much for the valves
i know for the cam we have much more information know that what we had a year ago
i know $2000 may be to much money for some guys as well as nothing for others. i'd say is a lot for me. but i think i haven't get the superpack because i thougt it was a package like magnus said. We are a big community here, a lot of people are moding their cars because we are seen others getting a better/faster baby, because we want a fast and better camaro. how many of us are running performance mufflers, performance cats, performance TC's, higher gears, everything performance.... (my wife believe i'm crazy 'cause i'm expending money on my car but not because i need but because i want).I think the more people involved on a good mod, sharing ideas, the pros and cons the more people would want to get it. i didn't know what gears or cold air intakes, or cams, or heads were before. but then i discovered this website and all the others like me who wanted to mod their cars. why people are getting cams instead of the superpak, because like me it's what we are seen here, i don't have any mechanic skills at all and like me i'm sure the are others, and we come here everyday to check what's new for our cars, waiting 15 days to get the paycheck [img]smile.gif[/img] . i'd like to get the parts, this week the cam, next month the heads, next month the valves, and then at the next month the install. i know it's a lot of time but i wish i can afford everything at once. [img]smile.gif[/img]
i'd say let's get the pack and enjoy the new sound/performance gains.
after all i love my camaro. :D

[99redcamaro]

nino i was writting this post, so i didn't see your post. those prices are good.

[98GREENGLOW]

Sorry I put the cam numbers wrong. They are 210 214 220 they all cost the same.

[toast]

Thanks nino. As far as cam goes i was thinking about going with XE 206/212 114lsa. Tell me what you guys think.

[nino]

yes lets rejoice that the power pack is available. lets be happy that we are a strong community and we do share brotherly love. malloy and brandon will prolly vouch for me that if you come to san anto, i will do my best to make you feel at home just cause you are a member of this board.
but guys, especially you nonmechanic guys like me. just remember this, a wise man once told me "with mods come probs" and he is so right. its not that i dont want you to get the power pack, i wish everybody could afford it. but the truth of it is, with such modding my life was changed- i actually felt like i crossed the line and was unable to go back to my happy intake/exhaust self. i have spent so much money on repairs and other mods to compliment the power pack that it has finally drug me down and forced me to give up on my car. my friends know where i am coming from as well as a few other on this board.
magnus, why arent you agreeing with me on this? we are prime examples. i just want you guys to be careful, because i know first hand what its like to drop over $13,000 on a car just so it will run 16.5 @ 79 mph.
i dont want to come off rude, but i feel so strongly that if you dont know how to fix what you have done, you shouldnt do it. because i am that prime example and magnus and tiago and slacker69 and mike malloy and mike huff will all tell you i dont know shlt about auto mechanics and look at my car now.
sorry guys but take it as you will.

[Magnus]

Nino, I completely agree with you on this. Cam is not just a bolt on mod. It's a big step and is always a risk.

If your 3.8 is your only ride and you REQUIRE it for school/work or any other reason and it cannot be down, then don't do a cam or anything internal.. don't even do a torque converter.. all those things are risk and there IS a chance your car may be down for a while or in some shop for repairs.

I have a truck I drive around while my bird is down. I can take my sweet time and do the job right.

[nino]

thanks magnus. and thats another thing. it used to be a joke with my friends that my car is in the shop more than on the streets, but it aint funny anymore. it aint funny when its for repairs and not installations.
i am so glad this thread has come up, because people need to know.
when the power pack was first introduced, that is all that was talked about-how much hp, how fast, what will i need?
there is so much behind the power pack i dont know if i should put it here or start another thread. but here is a little something from my own personal experience. becaause people need to know.
ok you are going to save some money and not get the intakes done, have you found out how much it cost to get it installed? intakes done or not, it is going to cost you near $800. $600 if you are lucky, but then do you want to be like me and get a "regular mechanic" to do the install? you will need new gaskets- $130-$150 just in gaskets alone. new head bolts, no biggie, but still. new timing chain. what else??? hell, thats just for the install.
then after you get it installed you will find your car running lean. how do you fix that? back in the day it was the maft+, now not everybody is happy with it. but lets just say it works. how do you know. you know by buying an autotap. remember, these are serious mods and need to be dealt with seriously. when i first went to tom with a problem, he asked me what my -this and that - where. i said "what" i knew then i needed an autotap. i think again magnus will agree. and i want to thank you magnus for agreeing with me on my last post.

to keith- this board listens to you. please help me help them. if only i had known what i was doing when i was first starting!

i do not want to come across as an azz. i know it seems like i am saying dont get the power pack, but that is not the case. i just want every person who is serious-truly serious, to know all the facts. like any good christian man, he will say there is a heaven waiting for you, but he will also say there is a hell. there is a heaven for us V6 owners, but there is also a hell. i know for i have been to both places.
and to anybody who learned anything reading my posts, i say thank you.
sorry for offending if i have.

[98GREENGLOW]

Well there may now be a holdup on me getting the powerpack. Someone just imed me about my wanted supercharger ad. It looks like I may be getting the supercharger instead.Is this a wise decision? I feel kind of bad because I all ready talked to Tom about a possible purchase. Im sure I will still get the powerpack within the next 6 months.Oh right now he wants to sell me the supercharger for 2600 and its a new uninstalled one. If I cant get the price down to around 2200 I will post who he is and let others try this oppertunity and get the powerpack. Thanks for listening.

[Magnus]

There is no offense to be taken from your replies Nino, you're just offering the truth.

I do completely agree with you, you can't just buy a cam, then $150 in gaskets and misc parts and either install it yourself or pay $800 to have it done and EXPECT it to be OK. Accidents to happen and things do come up. Some go smoothly while others are not so lucky.

Any time you dip into the engine it's a big step and poses much risk.

I always recomend you HAVE A BACKUP CAR. If this is your only car, and your daily driver then don't do ANYTHING too extreme as far as moddings goes. If something does go wrong, what will you do? How will you get to work/school while your car is being fixed?

A Cam is about $300, then figure $150 in more parts just for the install like Nino said, then $800 to install IF you chose to have a mech do it, then perhaps $150 for injectors maybe, perhaps $100 for pushrods maybe, possibly $150 for valve springs, $250 for an autotap...

For a mild cam you won't need pushrods/springs/injectors but if you want to go big you'll have to look into that stuff..

And access to autotap is very important. It's good to know where your O2's are at and what timing/KR you're seeing.

[RiceCooker]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by nino:
i dont think so, but i know it wasnt lack of reprogramming. because we all had that problem. royce dynoed 200 rwhp but he was still in the 15s with the power pack installed. i dont remember exactly what the problem was, but i do know he wanted to sell his car shortly after the power pack was installed because he was unhappy. what ever happened to royce?<hr></blockquote>


Well, I've decided to drop by again. I've been out finishing college, starting a career and getting engaged, you know, grown up stuff. Here's what happened with my install. I had a couple problems because I hired a monkey to be my mechanic (yes, I'm bitter). I should have done the work myself or paid good money for a good job. My experience goes to show that you get what you pay for. Anyway, I was having hesitation problems and everyone thought it was the computer not cooperating w/ the new cam, but it turned out to be a rusty coilpack terminal and a bad spark plug wire.
It worked fine for about a year, until I had a head gasket blow (again, monkey with a wrench, aka, numbnuts) and I decided to have the whole motor rebuilt: afterall it had 100K miles. After 3 1/2 months of it sitting at the mechanics shop, him not getting it right the first 2 times and a severe headache, I decided to trade the camaro in the day it came out of the shop. My decision had nothing to do with the performance of the car. I loved the way it ran, how it pulled smoothly, it was just time for me to trade it in, and after that mechanic had his grubby hands all over it, who knows what else would have gone wrong.
There were a couple of reasons why I wasn't pulling low 14's or high 13's like others. First, I was a street racer, not a track racer. I would tear up rice and mildly modded 5.0 all night long, yet I had the hardest time pulling anything short of a 2.25sec 60ft. Yes, I'll admit, I'm not a great track driver. Second, I had a 3.23 rear end gear; great for the highway, but not optimal for the track. I raced my friend in his Bullitt from 60mph to 100mph on the interstate, and by the end, he had a 1/4 fender on me, that's it. Third, I had crappy tires that were great on wear, but horrible on grip.
I'm getting married in 2 months so I have other priorities right now, but once I get a house (in about 1 yr) I'm ready to do a v6 f-body build up again. Even now, I'm keeping an eye out for cheap V6.
Like other's have said, Tom from SuperSix is a great guy w/ a wealth of knowledge. He's always willing to help, and his price is reasonable for what you get. I stand behind his product 100%.
Good luck,
Royce

email me if you've got more questions