So theres no such thing as a bolt on turbo for a 3.1L '98 LS. So my real question is can I still get a turbo? Is there other cars with similiar engines that can share a turbo kit with my car? If anybody knows a turbo kit thats not to expensive let me know...Ive been doing a ton of research and cant find a think.

thanks, Jason

 

one engine you can look at for kits is the 3400 engine. it is basicly your 3100 but with a larger displacement and upgraded parts.

now on to the big question. how much do you want to spend? a cheep turbo kit is only going to do one of two things... not make a lot of power 40-60hp or its going to break (either the turbo or rest of the engine) and depending on how much power you make you will need to upgrade the trany which is in the area of 2-3K... when you factor in that the right parts alone will be between 1000-1500 dollars you are already looking at 3-4.5k and you havent factored in laybor. for that kind of money you can swap over to a 3800 Supercharged car. your car stock makes about 170 hp iirc. so just say you made 60 hp with a turbo your now at 230 hp on a weak trany and motor that wasnt designed for that much power... if you spend that same money on a motor swap the stock 3800 SC makes 240-260hp (depending on year 04+ make more) and 280 ft'lbs of tq. a swap engine and trany parts included normally runs about $4000.


im not saying dont do the turbo... but you will get more power and a more reliable car by swaping the motor... alsodown the road you can continue to upgrade... with the turbo you'd be pretty much maxed out or be left with only very expensive mods. the SC engines are very easy and cheep to mod and upgrade. many of them are in the 11 sec 1/4 range although the norm for mildly moded are in the high 12's... 4 cars are in the 9 sec quarter mile and one had a 9.01@150+mph!!! so this year they will be in the 8's! the swap is deff the way to go man. hope this helps. but again if you want to do the turbo. search for kits for a 3400 engine. you might even want to grab some parts from a 3400 and do a few mods to help your motor.

one question i should have asked.... How much power are you really looking to make? and what does your budget look like? how much is too much. one quote to remember in moding... "Fast, Cheep, Reliable. you can only have two!" its the evil triangle we face in moding.

 

Right after posting I got really bored and decided to look at random stuff on ebay. I happened to search for 'chevy engines'. there were a lot of 350hp 4-bolt crate engines for less than 3K with free shipping. I didnt really see anything that would fit my car, but I didnt look too hard. My ultimate goal would be to achieve 350-400hp! after seeing how much they costed I figured to just go with a swap, but I dont know how much labor would cost. Ill look tonight for engines. I guess I only want to spend 5k.

 

I didnt find anything. I saw the letter in the 'safe way to modify a 3800' about adding mods in stages. Im acually thinking about doing that but only to get around 300hp. It will be tough finding all those parts they listed though. I also assume it wont hurt the engine either and It should fit the budget nicely!

 

it will be a crazy endevor to reach even 250hp on your current motor without a turbo or SC and at that point your pushing the limits of its design. i feel your better off swaping ot a l67 motor... just save up the adverage swap is about 4-5k they are 240-260hp and 260-280tq

 

X2. The 3.1 wasn't meant for power and to many isn't worth modding... It is a base engine in the Monte for those concerned over gas milage. It is much better to swap out to a 3800 and mod it.

 

exactly. your best Hp per dollar is with a motor swap to the 3800 Supercharged (L67) you could spend thousands on moding your 3100 and still not come close to the stock L67. and again after the 3-4 thousand in engine mods you are still left with a weak trany... do the swap and you'll have the new trany stronger trany aswell.

 

thanks for the info guys! ill probably get a swap in a year or so. I learned so much from MCF! guess i just want to say thanks for helping me through all my noob questions! Looking forward to learning more!

Thanks, Jason

 

Good luck in your endouvers Jason.