I just got my 2001 ss monte carlo and i would like to do some mods what can and should i do starting with the cheapest of the mods to the more high end, and please explain what they do. I am a newby to car mods i normally just throw rims on things and keep it moving i fugure its time to step my game up lol

Thanks

 

Rather than have us spend all the time listing every single 3800 mod (which has already been covered if you search)- we could make this thread much more useful to you (and others) if you post your budget (both immediately and your long term budget) and your horsepower goals (again, both immediately and long term when its all done).

That way we can suggest a good path of mods you can do now without having to take them off later to be replaced with stuff needed later. Also, the more realistic you are about your long term budget- the better we can help. A lot of people like to think they're going to drop $20k on their engine eventually, but for most- that's obviously very impractical- so try and be as realistic as possible with the most you'd want to spend on the engine.

 

im trying to invest a few hundred dollars at a time then once a year drop around 2000 at income tax time my overall goal would be to have around 400hp - 500hp in a few years my current goal is a quick take off and a nice sound thanks

 

Why did you post 2 topics in 2 different sections about the same thing? You don't have to do that.

But to answer your question, (I'm going to sound like a broken record) you need to set some realistic goals. 400-500 crank or wheel hp? That makes a big differences. You can get 400 crank hp by going supercharged but it will take a lot of time, money, and skill to do it. If you want 400whp, then you're only real option is to go turbocharged. For that, I recommend going to www.zzperformance.com and look at their turbo kits. With that much hp (crank or wheel) you will need to have your tranny upgraded. Prepare to drop around $3-4k on a new tranny. The best place for getting a tranny is www.tripleedgeperformance.com.

If you've decided that you don't want that much power and that you only want to be a little bit faster then do a top swap. That is your best bang for the buck performance wise. But before you do anything, research. Sadly it takes time. I still haven't reached the potential of my setup and I have a ways to go before
my Monte is race ready.

Good luck, and remember to go fast you must first go slow

 

There's an awesome thread in the "Headers, Intake , and Exhaust" section called General Mod Plan for 3800's (it's even a sticky!). Give that a read, and feel free to ask any questions after you've done a little research.

 

whats the difference between crank and whp, when it comes to horse power

 

Crank is exactly what it sounds like, its the power put out of the engine itself, where are whp is the horsepower that actually gets to the wheels, they are different because of parasitic loss from all of the parts between the engine and the wheels. (tranny, and others) for example if your monte was to have 300 crank hp then your likely to have around 240 or so whp.

 

What locknload said.

Also, specs listed by car manufacturers are always in crank horsepower (done on an engine dyno). The numbers you get from a chassis dyno are showing wheel horsepower.

Power losses due to drivetrains vary from car to car, on our cars it's generally about 20%. That's why stock L67 cars, which are rated at 240hp from the factory will show about 180ish on a chassis dyno.