Performance Upgrades....What would you do??

[Phishin]

Hey guys,
I like the forum. I just bought a 2001 Aurora 4.0L with only 27,000 miles. It's a sweet ride, as most of you will agree I'm sure. I love it.

The car was owned by an old lady. It's bone stock.

This spring, when I get my tax return, I'm doing some performance upgrades to it. I'll have approx. $2000-$3000 to blow in a few months. If you were to spend that kind of money on your car to increase performance, what would you buy?? If you answer this thread, could you please give me specifics on the items you would purchase....like manufacturer and approx. price.

I'm also not sure if it's autobahn equipped or not, how do I find out??

Thanks,
Steve Hulbert....I'll be posting pics soon

[JimW]

Welcome Steve!

If I were you, I would look at the Corsa exhaust system for your 2nd gen Aurora, one of our members Aurora40 has it (derived from the STS Corsa system) and its wonderful on the 2nd gen. Price...well he can help ya there, but I'm sure its in the $700-$800 range.

www.corsaperf.com

Also, check out www.rsmracing.com and follow the links to the Aurora section you will notice a myriad of mods for the car.

As for Autobahn, well the 2nd gen is unique. You already have the 3.71:1 gearing, and your car is limited at I believe 128mph instead of the Autobahn 140mph. Someone can correct me if I am incorrect, but if I recall correctly the 2nd gen has H rated tires which is limited to 130 mph.

You kinda have the best of both worlds with regards to Autobahn. Rule of thumb. It typically applies to the Classic Aurora.

Good luck!

[Phishin]

Thanks Jim,
Initially, I was thinking of getting this 4.0L engine to inhale and exhale better. Upgrade the exhaust system and intake.

Thanks for the suggestion on the exhaust. Does anyone make headers or are the stock manifolds not too bad??

I went to rsmracing and noticed that they have a cold air intake and large TB. That would be a good start.

[JimW]

Oh definitely

the 32V V8 needs air, the more the better. The 80mm TB (same diameter as the Corvette) is a 14bhp upgrade, and a proper intake and exhaust should net 25-30 bhp. 45bhp increase for under $2K is pretty good in my opinion.

Corsa is the only exhaust company that makes a true cat back system. My Magnaflow exhaust is cat back but I pieced it together.

Steven....can you please upload my vids that I sent you and link em for Phishin

Domestic Performance is developing headers but needs a doner 4.0L..nothing yet for Ty at DP.

[SupaStealth]

JimW said:

Domestic Performance is developing headers but needs a doner 4.0L..nothing yet for Ty at DP.

I thought someone said that they weren't going to do it anymore because the stock manifolds were pretty good and that it wouldn't be cost effective or something of that sort, or i could beconfusing that with RSM racing?

[Aurora40]

My thoughts: Get an exhaust and a K&N panel filter.

I, of course, and a supporter of the Corsa system. But it's costly, and not everyone likes the same thing anyway.

The stock airbox is actually pretty good. I think a panel filter will help as much as anything. A cone will pull engine bay air. The stock box pulls from behind the headlight. I once tried to duct air up from the front, but had clearance issues.

If I were you and really wanted to spend the money, I'd get the stock headers extrude honed to remove any flashing and such inside them. You'll be hard pressed to find headers for this car, and I would wonder how loud they'd be.

I would not get the bored TB. Our TB's are nothing like the classic Aurora's. If you bored the TB, it would be mismatched with the water-jacket and likely would flow worse due to the mismatch. To bore the whole thing would probably cost you about $1000 (I looked into it) if you wanted to keep the stock ones, or about $3-400 plus some downtime if you wanted to have your originals bored. Plus, lots more labor (including pulling the water pump).

Jim and I don't always quite see eye-to-eye on the mods thing, and I think you'd be hard pressed to make 295hp just by bolting things on. But you can make some better power for sure, and also add some nice sound, so taking a great car and making it better is a pretty good thing.

And welcome!

[Aurora40]

Oh, sorry, specifics: K&N panel filter ~$40, Corsa: ~$1025

If you want to see my thoughts on the TB and my attempt to route cold air: www.geocities.com/aurora402002/ at the bottom right are links for the CAI and TB.

[JimW]

Things would be awfully biased if we did see things eye-to eye 40

Take all the information and decide. Budget makes a difference as well. Frankly it all comes done to that...$$

And 295bhp is quite attainable with bolt ons, I've seen it done many many times in the 3800 world, 45 hp increase that is.

[Phishin]

Hey 40,
That's a cool insight into what you were thinking. Very cool.

I said 2-3 grand on upgrades because I didn't want to sound like I was going over-board, but it will probably be closer to 3-5. I like high performance, and this Aurora looks like a sleeper. Which is way cool.

Good advice on getting the stock exhaust manifold worked on. I like your idea on the cold air intake. I'll have to do some investigating this weekend into that.

Has anyone on these boards ever installed a limited slip/locker?? I can't stand it when only one tire spins.

Steve

[JimW]

Steve

Please remember that if you plan vast speed mods, it is recommended that you up your braking power as well.

[Marc]

Phishin said:

Has anyone on these boards ever installed a limited slip/locker?? I can't stand it when only one tire spins.

Steve

www.domesticperformance.com has a limited slip
diff for the 4T80E.


_________________

GM!!! BRING BACK OLDS!!!

[Aurora40]

JimW said:

And 295bhp is quite attainable with bolt ons, I've seen it done many many times in the 3800 world, 45 hp increase that is.

Do you mean the S/C 3800? If so, that's not really the same. And there isn't nearly the same selection/time/development of parts for the 4.0 that there is for the 3800. I'd also imagine there is more room for improvement on the 3800 with things like tolerances and such. The 4.0 is probably a lot more precisely made.

[JimW]

So if that is the case what do we do? Give it time, or experiment with bolt on mods that are already out there...such as the 80mm TB and CAI?

We need some wild guinea pig 4.0 to work on ;D

[Phishin]

I'm ordering the limited slip tomorrow.
Ty's working on finishing a true cold air intake for the Gen. 2 Aurora, as well as performance chip.

I want my Aurora to be a MONSTER.

I know everyone has been mocking the "electric superchargers", but for $2,000....this might be the best HP I've seen for the bucks. That will get me about 125 more HP. Plus, I like that it's not constantly on....you only use it like Nitrous. You get 15 seconds of boost per shot at WOT. Perfect. For $3,000, you can get a 12psi charger. There isn't much "lag" either.
www.titanboost.com

What do you guys think??

After I get this limited slip installed, I'm ordering either the intake if Ty's got it done....sweet that it's a true cold air intake. Or I'm going to get a new exhaust. Either way, those two items are next on the list.

That electric super charger might have my tax return money!!!

Steve

[stevensolds]

if i had 2-3 smackers i would get razzi, full RSM racing port and polish, headers, exhaust from Corsa and magnaflow mufflers, high flow cats, performance chip, 80mm TB and cold air

[omegaic]

That's a great deal. If you hook 4 of those 10psi electronic s/c's up, would you make 1000 hp?

[Phishin]

omegaic,

Do you think that this electric s/c is junk?? If so, just come out and say it. Could you clarify??

Peace,
Steve Hulbert

[Phishin]

I'm not sure, but I think all the mods you mentioned would cost WAY more than $2000.

How much to port and polish?? Probably at least $2,000?? I don't know. The exhaust and headers would at least cost $1,500.

BTW, what is a Razzi??

Thanks.

I'm just trying to learn here. I'm not dummy, but I'm pretty new to the after-market high performace world.

Steve

[dred98]

Phishin said:

I'm not sure, but I think all the mods you mentioned would cost WAY more than $2000.

How much to port and polish?? Probably at least $2,000?? I don't know. The exhaust and headers would at least cost $1,500.

BTW, what is a Razzi??

Thanks.

I'm just trying to learn here. I'm not dummy, but I'm pretty new to the after-market high performace world.

Steve

www.razzi.com/ridez/vehicle-aurora.shtml

[Aurora40]

Phishin said:

I know everyone has been mocking the "electric superchargers", but for $2,000....this might be the best HP I've seen for the bucks. That will get me about 125 more HP. Plus, I like that it's not constantly on....you only use it like Nitrous. You get 15 seconds of boost per shot at WOT. Perfect. For $3,000, you can get a 12psi charger. There isn't much "lag" either.
www.titanboost.com

Hmm, looks like you'd have to find room for several batteries, upgrade the alternator, and still mount a blower and intercooler (no way you could run 8-10 psi on a 10:1 compression motor without one). Plus, like nitrous, it would not be progressive at all. So the fuel system would probably need some auxiliarly controller and possibly injector. A mechanical blower would gradually ramp up the boost, this just comes on and turns off.

Also, this system says it would run for about 15 seconds, after which point you'd have to wait about an hour for it to recharge. And it runs off 24V, so you'd have to have some control logic for the voltage, not just batteries and wire.

And it appears they are designed for smaller engines. The bigger kit says 2.8L and up. You may want to find out more specifics about it.

However, it does seem like it has some pluses, like no parasitic loss during a run. It's certainly interesting.

The part about how it sounds like a vacuum at the gas station is enough for me to not want it, though.

[Aurora40]

Also, there is no Razzi kit for the new Aurora (thankfully). And there are no headers that I'm aware of. I think you could extrude hone yours for pretty cheap, though. I'm considering this depending on how hard it is to remove them without removing other stuff like the engine or tranny.

I'm curious about this true CAI, though. If it's clean to install and seems like it would really pull cold air, I'd be interested as well.

There was a guy with an Eldo on caddyforums who got ported heads. He was pretty unimpressed with them. It was that guy with the 300hp Eldo with nitrous and the blue underbody lights, if any of you recall.

Lastly, keep in mind our tranny is rated up to 315 lb-ft. Not to mention it's FWD.

P.S. where are the picts of your car?

[Aurora40]

Oh, and of course the mod that seems the most well-sorted, though has never been attempted to my knowledge, is to swap in a 4.6L 300hp motor. They are the same engine, so you'd just need some tweaking possibly of the PCM and a few other things.

There was also one Auroraite who swapped in the 300hp cams on his classic. Apparently the car gave up a lot of low-end power. On our lighter new models (and I don't recall if he had an autobahn), perhaps this wouldn't be as bad. But I'm sure it would hurt the low-end a bit, it hurts it on the 4.6L also. The 300hp doesn't make more power than the 275hp until about 5000 rpm.

[omegaic]

Phishin said:

Do you think that this electric s/c is junk?? If so, just come out and say it. Could you clarify??

I honestly have no idea. I was just playing with their psi-hp calculator and figured out 40psi = 1000hp. Not that you would hook up 4 electric superchargers, unless you stuck them in the trunk I guess!

BTW: You can get a rebuilt northstar 4.6l for $2,800.
www.actionsalvage.com/Engine/UsedEngineCadillac.asp

[Phishin]

Thanks guys.

I don't think I would run the big blower. 5-6psi would be enough. But I didn't read about the "vacuum cleaner" noise either until now. YUCK!!

No thanks.

I'll be posting pics of my car soon. Probably after the limited slip gets installed.

Steve

[stevensolds]

limited slip, for the 4T80? are you getting that bulletproof trans from domestic perf?

[Phishin]

No, I'm not getting a new transmission. Just a locker for the front transaxle.

With all this extra HP, I don't want to just one tire to spin when I take off. I want both tires to smoke.

Do you guys notice that just one tire spins when you launch from a dead stop??

Steve

[stevensolds]

yes.

[dred98]

Phishin said:

No, I'm not getting a new transmission. Just a locker for the front transaxle.
Steve

How will that react with the Traction Control ?

[JimW]

I get pretty even spin when in a straight line and have the treadmarks to prove it..lol

But in a turn...different story..I try not to spin the tires on a turn.

[Aurora40]

Hey Phishin, don't know if you saw this. It's a cheap mod, may or may not help anything: www.oldsmobileforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78