my 97 3.4 gen3.turns heads, gettin faster!

[westtennfuelinj]

hi, got a 97 sho . 99 engine with welded cams (had it done when swapping engines-- 10 bucks!) just replaced raggedy ole ax4n with another with less miles, great now. my car is kindof a joke. it sounds like an evil beast with the flowmasters, k and n, fresh air intake, and hollow exhaust but on a good day 0-60 in like 9-10 secs. i have a 99 camaro with a 3800 that will eat it alive from 0-70 but after that its nothin but SHO tailights for the camaro. also have a 94 vette LT1, im not going to try that one, my wife would embarrass me too much, that thing will fly, but thats my story. would love some advice on hp increases for the 3.4 v8, nitrous is about all i can do at this point,(3.4! they coulda dun a lot better dont u think? like some turbos or somethin. this gen 3 v8 made sho a joke in my opinion) but im doin all i can to make it what it should be, thanks for readin,, westtennfuelinjection

ps, the ax4n that came out is a 97, it had a tcc code and the torque converter seal was leaking, thats all. if anyone is interested in it contact me. i found one cheaper than i could fix my old one for. i know some people are doing things with these transmissions like changing gear ratios and other things, this is a perfect piece for that. i can ship it or whatever.

 

[tardboy21]

9-10 seconds on a good day? sure you didn't swap in a SLO engine? I wouldn't call the engine fast, but I wouldn't call it slow either.

 

[westtennfuelinj]

any suggestions? ive been through this car several times, the only thing is it still has the 97 computer with the 99 engine. i had to change the injectors from the 99 and put in the 97 s as the wiring harness was different, but that was the only place it was different. i still have the 99 injectors and fuel rail. cleaned and all work properly if anyone needs some injectors.

 

[SuperHO]

odd...my 98 with straight pipes, no secondaries and a gutted airbox fed lunch to a V6 firebird just the other day from a dig. though i have to agree...these 3.4s are dogs in most cases. welcome to the world of a driving couch. by the by, next time your wife wanna talk shit about how show it is, find a nice twisty back road and heat the tires up a bit...the gen 3's cornering ability belies it's immense size and lack of straight line prowess.

 

[Phoenix]

Welcome in ,

The V8 shos have limited performance mods comparing to the V6. Maybe the V8 guys can point you in the right direction.

 

[SuperHO]

best bang for the buck straight line's gonna be giggle gas...i don't think i've heard of an N/A gen 3 breaking into the 14s yet, but don't quote me on that. anything outside of spray, you're gonna start getting into real money, a lot of custom work, and many broken bits and pieces.

 

[1bad98SHO]

You need to make sure your secondaries are opening up like they should. At 3400RPM you should feel and hear a noticeable difference in the motor.

 

[kikkinasphalt]

time to put a real gear box behind it

welcome to the forum

 

[westtennfuelinj]

thanks for the responses everyone. the secondaries open fine, you cant even hear the exhaust they are so loud, just for kicks and giggles i ran it this morning. cold 7.3-7.8 sec 0-60, when at normal operating temp 8.7-9.9 sec 0- 60. did several runs and those are the spreads from the best times.
never the less ive got about 4000 invested and the car is dependable. just became a member here because ive gotten a lot of info from this site and have some parts to sell. i had a coil problem that drove me crazy for a year. the car would go dead sometimes just out of nowhere and no codes. i had 8 spares off the old engine and replaced the front 4( easiest of course) and has not done that since. dont know which one it was but it had a mind of its own and was like shorting the entire ignition system for a split second or something like that. sounds strange, but its fixed and new coil fixed it. thanks to all

 

[zak]

Anyone benchmark the performance increase from NESHO's manual transmission conversion? It should show a decent boost (60 to 100 of pounds less curb weight, much less driveline friction loss).

zak

 

[SuperHO]

if memory serves, the MTX cars ran low 15s at the kzoo convention a few years back.

 

[SHOZ123]

There have been NA G3s in the 14s. Much documented.

 

[Bob Gervais]

Not sure about NESHO's conversion, but Scott K's car ran at the Convention in Kzoo IIRC. I found some Youtube vids that show Scott's car running mid-15's. Not sure if he got any better after practicing launch techniques, etc.

I don't think any of the NESHO conversions have any 1/4 mile times yet, or 0-60 for that matter. I do know that my 92 is faster than Kirk's 96 MTX.

 

[Bob Gervais]

There have been NA G3s in the 14s. Much documented.

Ian's car comes to mind, was Porter's in the 14's also?

 

[1bad98SHO]

my car seems the same. its alot quicker when its cold. Maybe the Cats are going bad.

 

[westtennfuelinj]

well, i do have the front 2 on the y pipe, so that is a good thought, thanks!

 

[SHOZ123]

How old are the O2s?

 

[westtennfuelinj]

oem 97. i have great exhaust pressure though, i noticed a pretty good loss of torque when i replaced the exhaust(just a pipe, no resonator or third cat) and mufflers. with the o2 sensors b4 and after the cats and no availability of a y pipe ive been stuck with them. does anyone know a way around this? i mean i know the its got to have the 2 o2 sensors on each bank.

ps, been a sho owner since 03,1997 model gen3. car looked brand new inside and out, it
had 114,000 on it when i found it behind a carlot with a cam failure. gave 800 for it. found an engine w 70,000 miles (145,000 now)
1200$(no core!) car is torador red w/ grey int. replaced engine with cams welded of course, eventually trans set tcc code and then the trans seal blew, found one with 70,000 miles for 500! no core. so ive had extra parts, and ive put a lot of time into this car. just feel as if it should be faster than it is, maybe thats all shes got. at least its dependable. has anyone ran into a squeek from the right front thats not brake or bearing related? strut maybe? just squeeks when its rolling, but stops when u hit thebreaks
and its not the breaks for sure, or the bearing, or the half shaft, they have all been replaced.

sorry about the length, thanks

 

[westtennfuelinj]

sorry, misunderstood, o2s are probly factory. ive never had a code from them and have several extra a buddy gave me from the salvage yard. they have been out and cleaned when engine was out

 

[westtennfuelinj]

also, i have a question about the secondaries. what are people doing? like "wired open" or "deleted"? is this just having them open all the time? does it set any codes? just wondering, thanks