bout time i got around to it. car is getting close to 10 years old and as far as i know it's running original plugs and wires. my question is whether it's worth beefing it up a bit. i'll end up going with high end plugs/wires for sure, already got a k&n system in my car so air flow is good. but i'm not quite certain what kind of distributor a fuel injected car has as i've only ever done tune up's on carburated engines. what options does a guy have to get a lil more spark outta his fuel injected motor? is it alot more complicated to change a distributor in fuel injected motors?

also is swapping out injectors a good idea as well? is it a big job? and am i'm missing anything?

 

well, theres no distributor to change on your car, and the stock coils are actually better than msd's. plugs and wires is all i'd do to it, the only way that you MIGHT get more spark out is if msd has an ignition module for it, that would make it a capacitive discharge ignition (cdi) but as the stock coils are mounted to the stock module directly i dont see how they could do this.

on injectors, if youre worried about em find a place that does ultrasonic off the car cleaning and flow testing, you'll probly have to send them away, but i'm sure it's alot cheaper than 6 new injectors.

 

what 2000LS said... hey is htat model the one with the 3 distributors on it? if you want to get more spark, you got to have the tuning programs. somebody told me if you reset the timing by adjusting the distributor like you could do in the old days the computer would just adjust itself back. i don't know if thats true or not from experience though. about all you can do is replace the wires and plugs. good luck getting to the three on the back though i haven't had to do it on my car just yet, but it looks like it could be fun.

 

your car has 3 coil packs bolted on top of the rear *left* valve cover. if you want more spark you can upgrade your coil packs or get a entire new ignition system, go with 8mm wires that are designed to give u more spark, MSD or Accel are good for both. u can go with a little hotter plug or go with a split fire or something that will increase the spark a little.

as far as timing goes thats entirely controlled by the computer and for that you need either a handheld tuner or take it to a REPUTABLE shop and get them to tune it for you. and as far as it goes the hardest part will be replacing the rear 3 plugs. but i have faith that you can do it all.

as far as injectors go you have to remove the upper intake manifold, then you can simply pop out the injectors all at once with the fuel rail, all the injector wires will be marked for the # injector they goto so u cant mess that up, you will need a "pig tail" or hooked ice pick to remove the retainers for the wiring harness but thats easy, just remove then from the fuel rail, reinstall then do the steps i provided in reverse order



hope this helped and if u need anything else im the resident 5th gen expert here

 

you have the 3800 you dont need to pull the upper intake manifold to get the injectors out... things to deff do are teh injector Orings. they commonly fail in these cars and cause fires. the worst of the failures comes from where the fuel lines connect to the fuel rail. these orings fail. they sell them in the help section of autozone or advance auto.

as for plugs and wires. do not get the splitfires. they are junk. they are good for non performance cars for long life. our ignition system has a very hot spark and doesnt need gimics like split, diamond, or multipule tips like the bosch +2 +4.

the best plug would be AC delco iridiums in the stock size and heat range. until you pull your plugs and see if they are rich or lean you cant say if you need colder or hotter plugs... if when you pull the plugs they are black and sutty then you need a hotter plug. if they are white/greyish they you need a colder plug. with autolite the lower the number the colder the plug. they go 606, 605, 104, 103 for each range colder.

as for wires. accel are junk i have never heard of any of their products lasting in our cars. same thing with taylor wires. my taylor wires were crap. best wires are the OEM AC delco wires. the next step up from them are like $150 a set. and not worth it.

other things to do are:
-pcv valve these are cheep about $7
-180 degree thermostat $10
-new air filter
-fuel filter $10-15
remove the TB and clean the carbon away from the throtle blade get a new gasket for the reinstall.

when you go to clean the injectors pull them out and use a Qtip to clean around the tip and remove any deposits if your not going to send them off to be cleaned. i recomend lucas fuel system cleaner... it is an oil based cleaner vs the kerocine base of other normal fuel cleaners. it also makes it very easy to reinstall the injectors iwth their new Orings.

 

ok i do apoligise i forgot u had the 3800 i thought u had the 3100 and was going from that.

as for the rest i completely disagree with what phoenix said, accel wires are not "Crap" and the other plugs are not "gimmicks" he just chooses to not use them so he bashes on them. if stock was great then people wouldnt upgrade they would stay with stock.

the cheap fixes also work and will be a simple thing for you to do but you probably already do that stuff as it is normal maintence. another cheap quick fix is to get a can of seafoam and run it through your car it does help quite a bit.

anything else just pm me because im sure this thread will become a quite heated discussion soon as this reply is read


but anyway couch d00d i hope the best for ya in this endeavour and keep us informed

 

if i had to recommend plugs and wires i'd say ac delco. documented perfomance gains of the other gimmicks seem to be very hard to find outside of thier own advertisements, or people / programs sponsored by them.

 

isn't AC Delco the official chevrolet stuff? i thought thats what they put in them from the factory. kind of like how with Ford's its Motorcraft...

 

yes thats it duane d00d. PERSONALLY i think stock sucks everything from the factory is not made to make the car perform to its max thats why theres upgrades and aftermarket items to replace all the crap u get from the factory that kills the engines performance. lemme have a chat with my buddy keg and we'll find some proof of everything ive said

 

stock typicly isnt the best setup for any one aspect of what a car could be capible of, its typicly thebest setup for all aspects of what it was designed to do.

all the crap the factories do to hurt performance is consumer driven anyways. whether its driveability, styling, options, price, mpg..... or emmisions and safety regulations, handed down from a govt. elected by the people/consumers

heres an example / performance project for ya, rear wheel skirts! you can do it to any car, they reduce aerodynamic drag, thus they increase top speed, acceleration after drag becomes a factor, mileage, and therefore emmisions. too bad they look rediculous, so the factories only use them on cars where the motivating factor is mileage/emmisions. but i'm guessing youre not actually that worried about performance to put rear wheel skirts on are ya?