3.4 performance help

[sismter571]

hey im new to this forum sorry if im posting in the wrong spot but i was wondering what the best way to upgrade my engine performance in my 1994 camaro 3.4L v6. (im talking bang-for-the-buck)

this is what i have lined out right now to get done soon:
flowmaster cat-back exaust with pacesetter headers and a magnaflow hi-flow cat.
a ram-air intake hood with a K&N filter
a 180 degree thermostat with the jet stage 2 performance programmer

all together this should cost me about $900..is it worth it?

how much power do you think this setup will give me?
is there any way to get more power with about the same amount of $$$?

also my goal for this motor is 240-250 hp..is this reachable? i was told the setup above should get my engine sittin at about 210HP, and with a new camshaft i could get higher..please let me know your estimates thanks a whole lot for any help.
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[vanbibber]

Re: 3.4 performance help

pacesetters on a 3.4 are a nightmare from what ive heard. look into the rk sport headers. they cost a bit more but you'll be glad you did.

the ram air hood wont gain much. youre better off buying a non functional ram air hood and buying a cold air intake.(it'll save you probably 200 bucks because that ram air box is pricey and not really worth the extra money when you can either buy one for a tad less or just make a homemade one that'll do the same thing. i made one from dryer vent tubing and it worked just as well as my buddies K&N intake)

the jet chip... eh im no expert on it but it wont do much.

in all honesty you wont hit your hp goal with bolt ons. not even close. alot of people here are looking into the 3400 head/intake swap. the stock heads and the crap *** excuse for a intake plenum are the biggest restrictions on the 3.4L. with the 3400 swap, you can be in the high 190 to 200 rwhp range ,if i remember correctly, with boltons included. do a search in the advanced tech on it there is bountiful amounts information on it.

best way to hit your goal is going to be via- nitrous or a custom turbo setup. hope this helps ya out.

*ps dont be discouraged by my post. 3.4s are great motors they just got the shaft from gm for throwing it together with a haste. do your homework on it and you'll see the 3.4 has alot of potential, it just depends on how much work youre willing to do to get it there.

[av6xperience]

Re: 3.4 performance help

i would say all those mods would be around 185ish hp, but thats just at the flywheel. get thr rk headers and your exhaust will sound pretty nice. i think the jet chip will help but you'll need to do several mods prior to installing it. after all those cams would boost power a good amount but its expensive if you cant install them yourself.

[SpeedingFirebird]

Re: 3.4 performance help

There is a lot you can do with the 3.4. As stated, you won't hit 250HP with bolt-ons. There is a lot of good info on the 3.4 in the Advanced Tech section.

Underdrive pulleys are a cheap and easy way to a couple of HP.

[TurboProject]

Re: 3.4 performance help

Just for comparisons sake I am probably in the 250-260hp range based on my track times: 14.27 @ 98.8mph w/ a 3550lb car w/ driver. 60' time = 2.05

My engine itself is completly stock...stock heads, stock lower manifold, stock cam. The only thing I've done is modify the upper plenum for a LT1 throttle body, but I didn't even port the upper plenum any. All I did was get rid of the throttle body restriction; there are a lot of other bigger restrictions in the stock heads/intake. Plus this engine has 225,000 miles on it and I've never been inside of it. The most I've had the engine apart was to swap out the upper plenum.

I have a turbo and intercooler I built up myself. I'm running 10psi and I'm running a standalone EFI computer that allows me to totally tune fuel and spark. Also, when I did those track runs I was basically running open exhaust after the turbo(IE: open cutout).

So, that's one way to get a 3.4 into the 250hp range...build(or have built) the pipes to bolt on a turbo of the right size, with a decent intercooler. Then make sure you have the means to get the right amount of fuel to match what the engine will need w/ the boosted intake air(ie: bigger injectors that will supply ~11.5 air/fuel ratio when under high boost, and a way to control them to attain the desired ratio).

Of course 250hp is not the ceiling for a turbocharged 3.4. Add supporting mods like ported heads/intake, cam, and if you run full exhaust, then a free-er flowing exhaust(flowmaster or the exhaust of your choice). Basically the better the exhaust the faster turbo spool and the higher max boost capability given the same turbo. I have a cutout on my stock exhaust and it's a night and day difference w/ the cutout open vs closed. I can only boost to 6-7 psi w/ the stock exhaust w/ the cutout closed, and even then it's only in the high rpm range. W/ the cutout open I can boost to 10 very quickly and have it down low as well as up high. This will also depend on the way you setup the turbo turbine side though.

[vallentinerocks]

Re: 3.4 performance help

upgrade your 3.4 vehicle to one with a v-8.(or do a motor swap) looks the same, just a lot quicker and stock hp is in the upper 200's, like 260-275, and suprisingly, the v-8 only gets a few less mpg than the v-6. there are a lot more mods for the v-8. 3.4's stock are only around 160HP, which has plenty of power to get you into merged traffic or passing. If you want to race, 900 bucks in mods you mention probably wont do much for you. you would need higher priced mods to really notice the 3.4 as a speedster. mine stock is plenty for me. i had enought tickets when i was a kid, besides that, mines red so it just looks faster anyway. (off the subject)tuck some C6 corvette rims on your car, staggered with 18s and 17s and you can still get a 45 series tire on most likely. any series lower and you have to watch every curb and pothole on the road, otherwise you be looking for a new rim or two. i love the corvette wheels on the firebird!!

[flaperle]

Re: 3.4 performance help

900$ is dawn cheap..if you can have all the mods you have listed for that price go for it...for giving you an idea my Flowmaster catback cost me 500$ canadian and i install it myself...

This winter i will surely do header and it`s cost more than my full catback...

[Nikos95]

Re: 3.4 performance help

What you should be looking into is a stand alone fuel management system like Megasquirt to control your fuel once you do that swap, otherwise you wont get everything the motor can really kick. Not to knock too hard here, or step on toes, but at least for the 3.4s the Jet chip is about as useless as our factory intakes...

If you want that kinda power, you are going to need to turbo it. From what I hear with the LA1 change out parts you can nail off about 210 rw, with a good tune on a megasquirt. If you turbo you can get well into 400s.