V6 Project car in need of some advice
 

Greetings to you all, Im Anuel. I was kinda new to this site. This is my first post, so bear with me lol. I got a 2000 Chevy camaro 3.8 V6. Ive been doing body work to my car & almost about ready to put some mods to the engine. I already got some tips from the previous post about what headers U should get. Now I wanna know what would be the best exhaust system & turbo kit for my v6 that will give me the best overall performance & power?? Help a brotha out anyone

As per gains, most exhaust systems are the same. High flow cat (or delete) if your looking for overall power, i'd go with a K&N FIPK CAI. As per the turbo, this is where it gets tricky. I cant give too much advice on that subject because I have yet to turbo mine. All the info I really have is about supercharging one.

But in general when it comes to boosting a 3800 series II, you take what you can get. There are so few kits out there, and your going to spend $4k non installed no matter what you do.

As of now nobody makes an off-the-shelf turbo kit for the 3.8 F body. The only people who have turbos on them have had them custom made and fabricated and as Phate said, they run about $4k brand new and range from $2k-$3k used, plus install.

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. So the turbo kits run $4, right. I found out they have a RKSport/Powerdyne supercharger for v6 camaro/firebirds. A friend of mines told me if I just buy the core, than have a performance shop customize the pipping, it would be cheaper. All I really want to do is get my v6 camaro to at least 400HP. I just want this to be my street fighter so i can put supras, 350z, & all other jap cars in their place lol. In the future I want to get a real power house like a vette or a viper.

I like your ambition for the v6, but be warned you are in for a hell of a money pit of a project to beat those cars. 400hp and chasing Supras and 350z's is not cheap nor easy and wont be accomplished in one weekend of modding your car.

You will end up spending around $8k in the motor alone cuz it'll need to be fully built to handle the power. Plus a $hit load of tuning, lots of weight reduction, a built tranny, lots of suspension mods and a built rearend. Could be a lot cheaper if you build a nitrous motor instead of a turbo/sc motor thoug. I am basing this on the fact you are interested in a forced induction car. You will end up somewhere in the $13k range when its said and done.

Remember, racing isnt all about horsepower. You'll need to rebuild the whole drive train and suspesion to put the power to the ground.

Well said Shodown. One thing I cannot mention enough though, if you intend to do those major of mods, cam, heads, supercharger, etc, make sure you watch your damn tranny or get a new one. The stock t-5 tranny is rated at a max of 220tq, i've got 260ish on it and I dont think shes liking it lol. Im going to be upgrading my own tranny soon.

If you built up a 3.8, get ready to have a pretty much brand new car. Not much would be left original.

Wow, thats gonna be alot of work. I had no idea that it would cost that much to modify a v6 to the fullest. But of course its gonna be a process overtime. Like Phate says, there will be nothing original left but a brand new beast, ready to cause war on the streets. Im glad to have pros like you guys, I never know about these stuff. Thanks alot man. Right now Im about done doing body work. I want the outside to look so fresh & so clean, & my engine to be a monster. AMERICAN MUSCLE 4 LIFE!!! LOL

400 hp out of a v6 is tough. People hear 400 hp and think it's easy, but really there are not that many real 400 hp street cars out there (yes there are some including factory ones, but it's not as common as people want you to think)

I have one Arch..:D

And yes, he's right. People hear and think 400hp is a nice number for a street car. Let me tell you- having that much power on the street takes responsibility. If you don't respect the car you will have it wrapped around a telephone phone the first corner you go into and punch it comin out.

I don't even punch my car comin down on-ramps, even when I'm already going 50-55 mph since the car has the power to twist sideways even at that speed. Like was said above- it takes a bunch of money to get 400hp, even in a V8, let alone a V6. You are fighting with a lot fewer cubes so everything needs to work that much harder.

I think if you want 400hp, you might consider a V8 swap- for the 4k, you could make your 400 hp but also have 400+ tq. at a much lower and reliable levels of tuning.

yeah i had to DD my DR's because i can't keep my foot out of the turbo

since so many people have the 3.8 over 400 now its not easy buts its not tril and error anymore......

but you still need cash

my car is not hard to DD at all never had a problem with it....... dont see what the big deal is really...... that the best part about turbos you dont have to run cams that can lift the elivator in the iffle tower

yours doesn't count since it's now cubic dollars instead of cubic inches:lolsign:

So its not that easy to get 400hp out of my v6. I knew it was going to be alot of work, but didnt think it required so much time & dedication. I think the 3800 series is a very good made engine. I like it alot. But like you said, getting a V8 swap would be much easier for the $4k. I always kept that in mind. I just wanted to look at my options first to see which route I should go & that would be the least expensive. & Base on my studies & you guys expert knowledge, I already see that hooking up a V8 would be much cheaper in the long run.

knowing what i do now i bet i could get a 3.8 to dyno 400 with $5000 i mean it would brake if you tried to tack it but it would dyno that amount :p :p :p

Hey Viper, how did you run your turbo setup? and what type of turbo? Cause if I do it in the near future, it will definately be a turbo and not a s/c.

Thats what im talking about Viper. So basically its possible to push my 3.8 v6 to 400HP for under $6000? If that is the case, I would keep the v6. Like I said, Im not trying to hook up my camaro to the max. I just wanna have at least 400HP & im done, lol. Its just going to be a streetfighter. I love my 3.8 camaro. I plan to get a more wicked beast in the future which will exceed 400HP.

I think you missed Viper's point. He is saying he could build a 400hp motor for about $5k, but it would blow up very easily.

You could put a 200 shot of nitrous on it for about $600, that'll give you 400hp, but its going to be a ticking time bomb. Same idea as what Viper said. Sure you can do it, but it wont last.

no the motor would be fine

but the rear and tranny would roast (auto would be fine but the M5 will kill 3rd gear) rear will go with time

FFH turbo kit like mine
~$4000-4500
Walbro fuel pump ~100
65# injecotrs ~400 (or FMU to stay under 5K)
HP TUNERS ~$500

thats 400+ hp at the motor....... but your car will be slow......

Yeah- Viper is right- making the power can be done for under the 5K, but thats just the start of it.

Stock suspension all you are going to get is wheelspin if you are lucky, more than likely a bunch of tire-hop. So now you are looking at least another $500 to fix the rear suspension. So now you have the tires hooking up- guess whats next? Rear-end and tranny/clutch. Figure at least 2K for a rear-end you won't break with that power. Another $400 for a clutch, and at least another grand to beef the tran to hold the power.

So just a quick est. and you have another 3K in suspension/drivetrain to be able to use your new found power to its potential. Trust me I know- having 400+hp is useless if you can't plant it...

yup only tranny will be 1.5K or 2k and clutchs are $499 :(

Ohhh okay I see now. Thats wassup. So basically I need to build the car first, before I start hooking up the engine to that high level. Plus I would need to get a all new transmission that can handle that much power, huh. I was online & I saw Chassis & Suspension upgrades by UMI Performance which reduces weight as well. Thanks alot u all, if it wasnt for this info, my chevy would of been obsolete lol. Hey Im new to the race customize game, so dont be suprise if I ask dumb questions lol. But I do know a good amount about performance. I watch horsepower TV yall :lolsign: .

There has been a fair amount of activity in the lil v6 section lately!! :D

yeah, there has. it's finally starting to pick up again.

ive been doing research for years on how to get some real power into my 3.8 and its an insane amount of work and with me the problem isnt doing the work but getting the money to buy the parts its just really really involved thats why i plan on swaping with a Ls1 when i get the money and still even that takes more work than most think

Well, personally, I like having a v6. Im in an all f-body car club, and out of 60+ cars, one of 3 v6's, people are more interested in what I do to my car, than they are to the typical v8, because its new, most of it hasnt been seen before. I get asked all the time why I would do so much to a v6, but I just say "Because its different, and when I run your v8, if I win, you'll never live it down ;) ".

And btw, 2000v6cam, good luck with the swap. When I spun a rod bearing, I had an ls1 with harness, tranny, everything ready to swap in. I looked at the amount of fabrication involved... it will blow your mind. I'd rather sell the 6 and buy an 8 than go through that trouble, but of course i'll never sell the 6'r.

i know i have like a whole folder of papers on everything about it and everything ill need all planned out it is definatly more work then i thought starting, ill only go through all the trouble cause im all attached to my car (even though that sounds stupid) its worth all the work for me. u dont still have the Ls1 do u? lol

I haven't done a swap, but I do know someone who did and it wasn't that bad for him. He did it in a 95 so it wasn't OBDII, other than a couple harness issues it was pretty straightforward.

I will admit that the power that guys are gettin our of the 3.8 are impressive, but I'm a V8 at heart. You can put all the boost and juice to a 3800 motor, but you can't beat the V8 growl.

lol i stil get 30MPG hwy and 15-20 city

do i win? :lolsign: :nana: :nana:

If I wanted gas mileage I would buy a queer little moped- I'll take my American V8's thanks..:p

9 mpg. Big cam + 4.10 gears = no gas mileage.

blah you just need to tune it

i had 8 MPG when i put the auto in, got it up 15-20

i agree there is just something about a v8 camaro, too bad i have a v6 budget but ill work my way up :lolsign:

spray away

^^What he said. :D :nawz: is the way to go.

nitrous is definatly a good option but make sure its done correctly, if everything is done right its a good hp booster when u use it but if its done wrong it will start all kinds of problems

The V8 is just a better engine overall & has way more potential in the long run. Simple as that. I might just get me a V8 :p

i see no point in putting nitrous on ANY street car. save your money for a mod that will work all the time.

we can run 9's too how much more do you need? :confused: :confused:

My juice sprays whenever I want it to, its all controlled from the drivers seat. :D :cool:

Though, I do see your point, I am just being a smart @ss :)

Thats a very good point Viper. I feel you

not necessarily, the v8 does have more power but and in the end if u put the same amount of money into a v8 and a v6 the v8 will obviously be faster, but the 3800II is a great engine and IMO a better "overall" engine for a dd, its very reliable and puts out good power for a v6, i think the v6 is a very well rounded engine, and like viper said u can make a v6 fast and his numbers prove that, but i personally am not into nitrous and i dont really want a turbo or supercharger, (possibly supercharger), i just want a na high hp engine and for that specific thing i would need a v8, but dont put the v6 down their still great engines, im just looking for more of the "muscle car" thing if u get what i mean