FAQ: Modding 101 - How to Increase Acceleration Performance

Merged your post to the Modding 101 FAQ thread. Give it a read through, might answer some questions.

INTENSE Racing built a Bonneville SSEi (Project 8-ball) several years ago that closely documents what you can expect from modding a G-body w/3800 SC V6 Riviera. I basically modeled my upgrade plan after this car. Note that with Project 8-ball, except for headers, no exhaust mods were necessary until making more than 420 HP.

This is exactly what I am looking for..... I think.
The INTENSE™ Stage 3 L67/L32 Heads & Cam Package includes:
CHP-673 - INTENSE™ Stage 3 L67/L32 CNC Cylinder Heads
CAM-673 - INTENSE™ Stage 3 Blower 3800 Camshaft
3800-JPP-TCS - JPP Single Chain Timing Set
VLS-875 - Comp Cams "OE R Series" Hydraulic Roller Lifters
PRE-705 - INTENSE™ Extreme Duty Oil-Restricted High-Performance Pushrods
HSK-671 - ARP Head Stud Kit
HGP-052 - Cometic/INTENSE™ .052" MLS Head Gaskets
CIK-L67_32 - INTENSE™ L67 or L32 Cam Installation Kit
GMH-TCD - GM Timing Chain Dampener
RIK-671 - INTENSE™ Rocker Installation Kit
PCM-xxxxx-xxxx - INTENSE™ Stage 3 Custom Powertrain Control Module

IMPORTANT NOTES:
Click Here for Adam Zabkar's dyno chart. His car put down 358WHP, or almost 450 crank horsepower with this stage 3 setup and running on 93 octane pump gas.

charlieRobinson wrote:

This is exactly what I am looking for..... I think.
The INTENSE™ Stage 3 L67/L32 Heads & Cam Package includes:
CHP-673 - INTENSE™ Stage 3 L67/L32 CNC Cylinder Heads
CAM-673 - INTENSE™ Stage 3 Blower 3800 Camshaft
3800-JPP-TCS - JPP Single Chain Timing Set
VLS-875 - Comp Cams "OE R Series" Hydraulic Roller Lifters
PRE-705 - INTENSE™ Extreme Duty Oil-Restricted High-Performance Pushrods
HSK-671 - ARP Head Stud Kit
HGP-052 - Cometic/INTENSE™ .052" MLS Head Gaskets
CIK-L67_32 - INTENSE™ L67 or L32 Cam Installation Kit
GMH-TCD - GM Timing Chain Dampener
RIK-671 - INTENSE™ Rocker Installation Kit
PCM-xxxxx-xxxx - INTENSE™ Stage 3 Custom Powertrain Control Module

IMPORTANT NOTES:
Click Here for Adam Zabkar's dyno chart. His car put down 358WHP, or almost 450 crank horsepower with this stage 3 setup and running on 93 octane pump gas.

Something isnt quite adding up. The dyno chart shows Adam making 12-14lbs of boost. the cam and head wouldnt do that. what else is he running?

I agree. He's running a much smaller pulley in addition to the heads/cam package. Also, that's a lot of money to drop all at once, even though you do get a lot of power gains. Most of us would find it more fiscally practical to build up the power over time by adding a few mods at a time, starting with the bolt-ons. There are lots of advantages in doing this. 1) easier to finance, 2) shorter installs, less down time, 3) more power/torque starting out - with less investment up front, 4) easier to troubleshoot problems.

That mod plan also doesn't consider daily fuel economy, so be sure you want a drag car before you invest, especially if you drive considerable distances. Good luck!

You will also have to build up the transmission to hold that level of power/torque.

so what would you guys do? You have an extra series II 3800 SC with 67k on it.
It seems to me the best thing i could do is to rebuild/clean it and upgrade it then swap it for the 127k engine that is currently in the car.

I know this has been discussed but I need some direction. So far I have FWI, 3" Dp, Ap104s,B&M Shiftplus and 160* t-stat. What's next?

You've done all the little stuff, now it's time for a mod you will really notice: Modular Pulley System (MPS) for the supercharger. Lets you increase boost for increased HP & torque. But read this before proceeding:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t3656-faq-smaller-sc-pulley-what-size

Next is to increase airflow. This is where it gets tricky. Read the faq about smaller pulleys before proceeding. Scanning and careful consideration. Either a cam or rockers to increase valve lift is a must before making the pulley too small. You can get decent results from a slightly smaller pulley IF you have no KR now, so scan scan scan.

What can I use to scan for kr, do they make gauges?

I am using PCM bluetooth adaptor to android torque app. I get real time feed back as quick as 1 millisecond. From what I understand this is the most efficient way to monitor.

Keyword is monitor, I cant tune but I can watch with this setup.

I found a app for the iPhone called Dash Commander. Now I just need the cord. I also just picked up a press on pulley and puller on craigslist for 100 new. The pulley has no paper work but the outside diameter is 3.6" so is this possibly a 3.4 pulley? He said he purchased the with the zzperformace stage 1 kit years ago

It probably is 3.4". Measure across the middle part to find correct size.

So many idea on my stock 98 riviera, and i'm losing my mind because I can not decide where to start, i need a therapist lol. what did everyone usually start with first?

Start with getting knock under control. Use premium gas. 180 t-stat, cooler plugs, scanning for KR would be a good next step if you plan to go further.

i figured i should use premium. check. colder plugs.. autolite 104? or 605. the scanning part is something i dont really understand how to do HOWEVER im sure someone around here in VA with their boosted cars knows something lol

Scanning isn't too hard if you have the right tools. Here's a really good deal on a used LS1M tool. It's an older unit, but for $60, you can track KR and lots of other things. A good beginner mod, imo.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t9332-ls1m-scanner-for-sale-60

So far im running
3.4" pulley, Accel 8mm wires, Ap104's, 3" Dp, 4"FWI 180 t-stat, B&m Electronic Shift Kit.
According to dash command im hitting 12psi at around 5500rpms. I want to try and make a little more power any insight would be greatly appreciated.

High lift (1.9:1) roller rockers would be my suggestion. You will get a power boost around 20 HP above 3500 RPM, while retaining driveability and good MPG at normal RPM.

Will i need to swap valve springs? id like to keep the stock ones the heads have been rebuilt idk how long ago

You can keep your springs if you use rockers with lower lift (1.8:1). Not as much HP gain, though.

SuperRivL67 wrote:

So far im running
3.4" pulley, Accel 8mm wires, Ap104's, 3" Dp, 4"FWI 180 t-stat, B&m Electronic Shift Kit.
According to dash command im hitting 12psi at around 5500rpms. I want to try and make a little more power any insight would be greatly appreciated.

scan scan scan. I ran a similar setup long ago and had a lot of KR slowing me down. Without rockers I couldn't run a 3.4 pulley without removing a lot of timing from WOT, hurting performance. I would be willing to bet switching to a 3.5 pulley will actually speed you up a little right now. Hopefully you installed an MPS hub.

But the only way to find out if you have a lot of KR (knock retart) is to scan. Lots of good info in this thread.

deekster_caddy wrote:

SuperRivL67 wrote:

So far im running
3.4" pulley, Accel 8mm wires, Ap104's, 3" Dp, 4"FWI 180 t-stat, B&m Electronic Shift Kit.
According to dash command im hitting 12psi at around 5500rpms. I want to try and make a little more power any insight would be greatly appreciated.

scan scan scan. I ran a similar setup long ago and had a lot of KR slowing me down. Without rockers I couldn't run a 3.4 pulley without removing a lot of timing from WOT, hurting performance. I would be willing to bet switching to a 3.5 pulley will actually speed you up a little right now. Hopefully you installed an MPS hub.

But the only way to find out if you have a lot of KR (knock retart) is to scan. Lots of good info in this thread.

I agree. How much kr are you getting with that setup?

I agree with scanning suggestions. I assumed your Dash Command could display KR, but maybe not.

A good way to scan for KR and also get a new mod is the Aeroforce Interceptor gauge. It looks like just another gauge, but gives full scanning and some logging capability. But you can only scan, not tune:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t3986-faq-aeroforce-interceptor-scan-gauge?