Got this car about 3 years ago. When I picked it up it had 23k miles, and now 32k. Everything was still factory and in perfect condition. I love the way my car gets up and goes, but I'm looking to add some HP to it and make it more reliable, i want to have this car for long time to come. To be completely honest I don't know very much about cars at all, and I figured this would be the place to learn and get some words of wisdom. If anyone could help me out with some helpful tips or something. Thanks

1998 Monte Carlo LS

 

Welcome to the forum, looks like you're got quite a nice very low mileage 5th gen. Being 3100 powered there really isn't much you can do to gain any power, so you're best off leaving it stock.

 

Well I was thinking of maybe getting a proformance chip, some mufflers, and a cool air intake. I heard these will increase performance slightly. Thoughts on that?

Also like I said everything was factory still, so I want to do a major tune up, but i'm not sure where to start.

 

With these cars we get the PCM's retuned and don't bother with chips, I don't remember if anyone does tuning on the 3100. Mufflers, go for it, I have a flowmaster 40 series on my 97 and it sounds good.

A cold air intake will be difficult due to the washer bottle and battery location. You'd have to relocate the washer bottle and I think you can turn the battery and have enough room to make a fender well intake.

 

Welcome to the forum!

What a lot of people fail to realize with these type vehicles...

Is maintenance. Regular oil changes, lube. is a huge factor... For instance... My 1999 has 167,000 miles on it. I religiously get the oil and filter changed every 3000 miles .. I don't use synthetic oil... I use 5w30. penzoil.

I also regularly have a fluid filter change on the trans yearly. I maintain the cooling system every 2 yrs I do a flush and fill. admittedly, these transmissions start showing signs of wear around 80,000 miles....But regular maintenance, should help to extend the life of your transmission.
Mine has been a daily driver the majority of its life...til this year. that's 13 yrs of stop and go traffic, highway miles along with short runs to the store etc....
I recently had a minor tune of my PCM, Jason (Maniac) did this for me recently at a car show we both attended in ohio. He alleviated the rev limiter, and adjusted the fuel table as well as reset my fan controls for a cooler running engine... as well as allowing the fans to run after I shut the car off....

The performance gain is very noticeable,(It no longer tops out at 103)lol My fuel mileage increased, significantly! I did notice you live in florida, so that would make it nearly impossible for you to come to ohio where he lives for him to tune your PCM... However, You could check your PCM for what numbers are on it,(ID number) and say purchase one thru E-Bay, or your local Scrapyard etc... and sent it to him. that way he can tune it for you..Then all you have to do is swap them out. I donot have a coldaire intake system... But then again, I change the air filter regularly as needed.. As far as performance Mods... It all boils down to how much your willing to spend.... Another good starting place would be to install a catback exhaust system. The better it breathes the better it will perform...

I hope this helps!
I'm sure someone else will chime in with a few more ideas.

Nice looking Monte!
Welcome to the MCF Family.
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Nice car! I had a '98 Z34 and thoroughly enjoyed driving it. Unfortunately, I had to get a different car so the in-laws could get in and out of easier. Here in the LA area, I find many Luminas and Monte Carlos in the junk yard so it is still relatively easy to find parts. I even pulled an intact dash and w/fascia!

 

Welcome to the Forum!

 

Welcome to MCF!

For a 3100, you BEST mod is to swap the entire engine for a 3400. Seeing the low miles, I doubt you want to do that. You can squeak a little more performance with:
- L67 coils
- A Cold Air Intake (as Keane mentioned, you have to look into re-locating the battery)
- Not sure if you have the "U" bend in the exhaust, if so, getting rid of that may be of help.
- High Flow Cat

On the cheap, I would consider L67 coils and try to fab a Cold Air or Fender Well Intake (I believe Augi setup a fender well intake on his 5th gen).

As for the PCM, I do offer a service to make some MINOR adjustments. I'm more then willing to mimic what I did for David (Stumpmi) with yours. I have a thread about my services in the link below:
https://montecarloforum.com/forum/pr...-3100-a-42773/

Feel free to Private Message me or e-mail me at the.maniac404@gmail.com. I would require some info to attempt to validate if I can be of help PCM wise.

 

Thanks guys, I just got done installing K&N air filter, and a oil change (plus some new wipers ). Noticed my tranny pan gasket is busted so just got another one + new filter and some ATF.

As for near future i plan on putting some 20s on her and some work done on the exhaust, as well as those coils.

Here a updated pic of the engine : 34750 Miles

 

Welcome. I suggest 18" wheels, as those look the best on these cars. 20's IMO are too big.