Hi All,

I'm a noob, so excuse me if this has been asked before. I have a '02 non-supercharged SS HS that I have already done some bolt-on type stuff to, but I would like to know of any more shadetree-type mods I could do to help my daily driver Monte and not lose drivability.

2002 NA 3800 40000 miles, K&N cai, Corsa exhaust already.

 

You can replace the downpipe without the u-bend, put in a supercharger, get a tune PCM from intense/ZZP/etc, put turbocharger in it, put headers or Power logs, etc... There's a whole bunch of stuff you can do to get these cars to hum/go fast. Check the how-to section for more info. You're going to love it there, and welcome to the forum.

 

Agreed, there is a TON of stuff you can do. Just depends on the depth of the pockets. Maybe a turbo setup? The cartuning setup appears popular, but ZZPerformance is good, also.

 

Definitely the biggest cam you can fit in. The worse the idle the better the driveability

 

Lets not forget the stage 4 CNC aluminum heads/Turbocharge cam from Intense. $3,500 ONLY, lol! He'll spend another $3,500 on the trans and diff.

 

Sheesh! I spent less than that for the whole damn car!

 

Well, as a new member , i guess i should expect such. I guess i'll just throw some cash at a new motor. I thought about pulling this 40000 mile motor and finding a gen 4 buick. Then going crazy....since i would have a backup.

 

The engine you have is a good one. The bottom end can withstand a lot of HP and, with good head, Upper Intake Manifold work, enhanced Throttle body, and headers or power logs/high flow down pipe, you can have a great car, good on fuel and able to beat a lot of V-8s out there. The heads in your car can be ported and supped up with roller rockers/lifters/springs, for less than the $3,500 for the aluminum ones. If you can do the work yourself it should be even cheaper. The 3800 L36 has 9.4:1 compression, higher compression than the L67 Supercharged version, and S/Cing it will get you a fast car for very cheap.(Although not as fast as the turbo)

The weakest link in the car is the transmission. The 4T65e is a good trans but an engine with power adders like a supercharger/turbo will strain and break it in now time if you abuse it. The best bet is to buy/built a reinforced trans or buy a 4T65-HD, those came with the supercharged cars. These trans are not overtly difficult to work with but, like any other auto trans, they can be bear to work with if you lack the know-how, and using a manual might not be enough.

Keep in mind that, just like any other car, building these cars to go fast isn't cheap, but you can get them to fly for the right price.