3400 mods for cheap power
Currently, many of the modded Montes here are dominated by the 3800 crowd. We've had a pretty large amount of 3400/3100 Monte owners join and ask "How can I make more power on a small budget". I am certain this is not all inclusive, but it's probably a great start. This is built on my personal knowledge of the 3100/3400 drive trains along with general knowledge of the Monte platform.
Note to 3100 owners: what is listed below does apply to your engines as well. But, if you want what is probably a quick and easy way to more power, consider switching out the 3100 for a 3400. I've read on other forums where the 3100/3400 is the common engine the swap is virtually a direct drop in, very little changes need to take place. Now, let's get started: Air Intakes (CAI and FWI): Generically speaking, this is a fun mod. There are three primary options and any one of them should yield about the same results:
Stay AWAY from HAI - Hot Air Intakes. These are intake systems air heated by the engine to invade the air intake space. Such as, putting attaching a cone filter to a short piece of duct work and then to the throttle body (the eBay Weapon-R intakes basically do this). Or the K&N Air Intake kits, on the Montes, they do almost nothing to shield the filter/intake from engine heat. A surround that has no lid, no insulation and a big/oversized hole in the surround to allow the duct work to get into the "box". Now, I know all options I mentioned are available to the 6th Gen Monte (2000-2005) owners. Unfortunately, I do not know enough about the 5th gen Montes (pre-2000, FWD) have much for options. If a 5th gen owner is willing to relocate their battery, they could fabricate a FWI, much like this member has done in the their below (he used a 3800, but I'm sure the 3100/3400 guys could do this as well): https://montecarloforum.com/forum/ho...ble-fwi-44362/ Throttle Body: There are larger throttle bodies you can buy. Such as a 3100 owner can upgrade to a 3400 throttle body. Or a 3400 owner can upgrade to a larger aftermarket throttle body. But, this is about cheap mods. One mod you can do is "half shafting" your throttle body. Doing so reduces the amount of the throttle shaft that obstructs the air flow, resulting in just a touch more air coming in (felt as better throttle response and just a little more power). For more information on this mod, see this link: https://montecarloforum.com/forum/fw...shafting-56966 Exhaust: Most of the exhaust should be fine from the factory. I would not put this high on your mod list, unless you are bored or looking to alter the exhaust sound. The exhaust from the cat back on the 6th gen 3400 powered Montes is identical to the 3800 powered cars (it's the same cat, same pipe from cat to the muffler and same muffler). All mods here make more performance difference on a 3800 6th gen then a 3400 6th gen. There is room from improvement on the exhaust, but the gains are minimal, mostly sound.
Coils: This is an easy to overlook item, but on a stock 3100/3400, you can get a little feel for this. GM used the same coils on the 3100, 3400 and the naturally aspirated 3800. In the Supercharged 3800 Series II (referred to as an L67), from the factory, came equipped with slightly better coil packs, these will produce a small increase in throttle response. These are a direct plug-n-play swap (I've done it to a 3100 and 3400 Grand Ams I've owned and an '05 Impala with a 3400). A quick way to tell factory L67 coils from the others, look on the bottom of the coil and the connector to the ICM should be a blue connector/plug. Coils in these modern cars rarely fail. Each one of the cars I've done this mod to had coils from a junk yard with zero problems (and I honestly do not know the mileage). If you wish to do this mod, stay with OEM coils!! Many after market catalogs (such as the one at your local parts store) do not know the difference between the coils. If you source these from a salvage yard, look at the bottom of the coil for a blue plug, on an OEM, without a part number, that is the "tell tale" sign. I also recommend, keep a reasonable budget on this, I recommend sticking to $30-$40 (including shipping) for this mod (it's a good mod, but not worth going crazy over). FYI - I don't recommend buying MSD or Accel coils. I have not tried them, but I'm doubting the gains are worth the cost. Wires: Honestly, there is nothing to do here. AC Delco OEM wires are great, longevity and they are not known to cause issues with degrading spark (even using the coils mentioned above). Plugs: Again, nothing to do here. OEM plugs are fine. Now, if you are at a point that it's time to change the plugs, first recommendation, do NOT use BOSCH plugs (from my own personal experiences) they just don't run right in these engines OR they don't get good longevity. I would recommend AC Delco or NGK platinum or irridium plugs. Lately with the 3100/3400 cars, I've been using NGK platinum plugs and they perform great. Fun Fact: NGK produced plugs that later AC Delco re-branded. I have seen original plugs pulled from these engines that have AC Delco stamped on the ceramic but NGK engraved in the metal. Cooling: Starting somewhere in the mid-to-late 90's, the 3100 (and carried to the 3400) flows hot coolant in and out of a spot on the throttle body. Some believe this was to prevent the throttle plate from sticking (I had a '94 Grand Am with a 3100, it did not flow coolant through the throttle body at all and in the coldest winter days of northern Ohio, I never had a throttle plate stick) and others believe it was to impact MPG. If you are going through the trouble to add a FWI or CAI, you really should consider ending the coolant flow in and out of the throttle body. The coolant is moved in/out of the throttle body using the metal heater line (this is the one that comes straight up from the water pump hosing, runs along the front valve cover around the engine to the back on the driver side). One of the easiest/cleanest ways to accomplish this is obtaining a replacement pipe from an early 90's 3100 (such as a '94 or '95 Grand Am) that does not have the connections for the throttle body. Not sure if there is a difference between a W-Body or N-Body with this heater line (so if using a Grand Am pipe, it might require some modification). If you disconnect the lines going to the throttle body, I would recommend you find a way to link them together (if you simply plug them, it might impact coolant flow, as the new pipes have a "bottle neck" around that location, expecting to make up the difference flowing coolant through the throttle body). If you plug the throttle body ports on the heater pipe, it may result in a coolant flow problem. Suspension: There are many options available. If you are looking to improve handling, here are some items to consider:
Tuning is best either on a dyno (controlled environment) or street tuning (data logging and adjusting the tune while driving the car on local roadways). But there are many companies that offer mail order tunes (they tune your PCM without ever seeing the car). Mail order tunes run a little more risk and is best to have someone experienced with tuning these cars address it. I hope this post has been helpful and happy modding! :thumbsup: |
This is a short add-on piece. Some of you may want more then just this and want to know what additional options are available to get a little wild. These are NOT cheap horse power, they are not low-budget-mods.
Here's a list of items (and up to you to source further information):
I hope this post has been helpful and happy modding! :thumbsup: |
Id also avoid e3 plugs. I have a set in my la1 powered monte. They do improve performance but they spark knock bad climbing hills and theyre finiky about where you buy gas. Imo not worth $9 a plug.
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cams can be had from wot.com
headers where avalible from pacesetter not sure if still. any centrifugal supercharger can be made to fit with some fab work. the magnason kit you are refering to. theres probley only about a 12 made. and are pricy when they show up for sale. |
Just found this thread.... Good job Jason!
I see you referenced my 3400 CAT thread.... Thanks! |
There is no way I could leave your 3400 CAT thread out of this. All good stuff. Hopefully this helps a lot of the 3400 owners.
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The Supercharged 3800 series II cars or L67... That have the upgraded ign coils, what is the GM part number for the upgraded ign coil? GMPartsDirect shows p/n 10477602 and RockAuto shows 10477602 as an ACDELCO coil p/n D576. Can anyone verify this?
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Here is an add on to the cooling i found not too long ago:
3100/3400 Modified Heater Tube - Milzy Motorsports |
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