Some tips for VN calais performance

[bad_vn]

Right, So far since my project and settled into my new job ive done a few small things, New good leads, new good sparkies, and a pod filter...Ive been thinking about a newer bigger throttle body - any remarks? Not to sure what the standard size is so what would be the way to go? Also my extractors..Can I port + polish them and make it go better?

Exhaust...What would be the way to go for a nice legal(but loud) sound (95 decibels is the legal limit in nz) limit for the exhaust is about 500 this week

[wildss]

2.5 mandrelbent system with straight thru muffler in the mmiddle and no resi.

get som e3.45's or 3.7's and it will go about as hard as it can with out a cam change.

oh get a greenfoam tune for it the v6 boys swear by them

[padrickz88]

1. Get rid of the pod, put the factory box on with a CAI to it from the bumper or shield the pod and CAI, one of those
2. Dont bother with the throttle body, response is better but im pretty sure it doesn't actually make you 0-100 quicker.... (v8 is 65mm and v6 is 60mm)
3. From what i have read, extractors are not worth the 500+ people pay for them but a nice 2.5" catback works wonders
4. Port and polish the heads? if so then go for it the buicks have shit heads but while its open throw in a nice cam like a wade 992a or 1114a (and replace the damn timing chain + tensioner to get rid of the typical buick rattle and maybe shave a couple thou off the heads to gain a bit of compression?)
5. Diff gears + lsd/spool (depends on your driving style), 3.7-3.9's if its an auto, and maybe a stally?
6. Before you start all the above, make sure its serviced and change your sensor's particularly your coolant temp sensor and o2 sensor (more for economy reasons)
7. Foam tune

i cant think of anything else atm?

EDIT:
8. Shiftkit, corvette servo and trans cooler
9. Weight loss, strip the bitch lol

[Leebo]

How much can a port polish set you back?

[bad_vn]

1. Get rid of the pod, put the factory box on with a CAI to it from the bumper or shield the pod and CAI, one of those
2. Dont bother with the throttle body, response is better but im pretty sure it doesn't actually make you 0-100 quicker.... (v8 is 65mm and v6 is 60mm)
3. From what i have read, extractors are not worth the 500+ people pay for them but a nice 2.5" catback works wonders
4. Port and polish the heads? if so then go for it the buicks have shit heads but while its open throw in a nice cam like a wade 992a or 1114a (and replace the damn timing chain + tensioner to get rid of the typical buick rattle and maybe shave a couple thou off the heads to gain a bit of compression?)
5. Diff gears + lsd/spool (depends on your driving style), 3.7-3.9's if its an auto, and maybe a stally?
6. Before you start all the above, make sure its serviced and change your sensor's particularly your coolant temp sensor and o2 sensor (more for economy reasons)
7. Foam tune

i cant think of anything else atm?

EDIT:
8. Shiftkit, corvette servo and trans cooler
9. Weight loss, strip the bitch lol

hey man can you be a bit more specific I dont know **** all about v6s and v8s

Also...the muffler dude is gonna give me a straight pipe from about the front wheels back and put a coby and big bore on...575..!! any thoughts on this?

[Fun_Bucket]

If he's telling straight pipe, big bore whtever, go somewhere else, dont waste your money.
My advice, and i've been flamed for this, if your not gonna go nuts with your future mods, forced induction ect ect, then the standard piping on your car is more than capable. What's actually letting down your exhaust in terms of flow, would be your centre and rear mufflers, and your Catalyctic converter. Your cat converter,( could )be original, and therefore blcoked up by 20 years of shit going throught it. Replace it with a high flow cat ( if the exhaust centre tells you it's a waste of time on a V6, this means that they don't stock them and they don't want you going elsewhere) and then replace your centre and rear mufflers. And piss that rear resonator off.

A 5mm increase on the TB , will offer next to no gains, because the size of your plenum(where you TB connect to, is still the same. And as for the pod filter, pod filters can be good, but generaly are not. Take a look at your standard air intake, the the intake stops dead at the back of the head light...How much airflow, and more importantly cold air, does the arse end off a headlight cover provide??? If you want a COld Air set up, and you do-! then we can offer advice later on that.

The factory Computer Memcal, was tuned by Mrs Holden for her Mother to drive, so that is one of the very first things on the to do list. Keep in mind though, who ever tunes it for you, will tune it for it's current state. So adding more mods afterwards, will require a new tune, ..Best bet if you need advice, list your budget, and your driving routine, e.g no point going crazy with the diff gears if you do 1000km of highway driving each week...

[ScoHar]

hey man can you be a bit more specific I dont know **** all about v6s and v8s

Also...the muffler dude is gonna give me a straight pipe from about the front wheels back and put a coby and big bore on...575..!! any thoughts on this?

That is quite expensive, but minding what has been said, that is the basic/cheapest exhaust system that most exhaust places will sell, don't worry about the cat converter get that replaced with a straight pipe, although it is very likely it has already been done, we don't have cat converter laws here in NZ so no point wasting money on a cat.

[padrickz88]

I wouldn't pay that much for an exhaust, go get an off the shelf redback or something... max you would pay would be about 350-400?
Go to more then 1 place for quotes, get quotes off atleast 4..

If he's telling straight pipe, big bore whtever, go somewhere else, dont waste your money.
My advice, and i've been flamed for this, if your not gonna go nuts with your future mods, forced induction ect ect, then the standard piping on your car is more than capable. What's actually letting down your exhaust in terms of flow, would be your centre and rear mufflers, and your Catalyctic converter. Your cat converter,( could )be original, and therefore blcoked up by 20 years of shit going throught it. Replace it with a high flow cat ( if the exhaust centre tells you it's a waste of time on a V6, this means that they don't stock them and they don't want you going elsewhere) and then replace your centre and rear mufflers. And piss that rear resonator off.

A 5mm increase on the TB , will offer next to no gains, because the size of your plenum(where you TB connect to, is still the same. And as for the pod filter, pod filters can be good, but generaly are not. Take a look at your standard air intake, the the intake stops dead at the back of the head light...How much airflow, and more importantly cold air, does the arse end off a headlight cover provide??? If you want a COld Air set up, and you do-! then we can offer advice later on that.

The factory Computer Memcal, was tuned by Mrs Holden for her Mother to drive, so that is one of the very first things on the to do list. Keep in mind though, who ever tunes it for you, will tune it for it's current state. So adding more mods afterwards, will require a new tune, ..Best bet if you need advice, list your budget, and your driving routine, e.g no point going crazy with the diff gears if you do 1000km of highway driving each week...

I disagree, the standard piping is what lets the exhaust down more then anything. its a 2.25" exhaust that is press bent (so possibly 2" in some places) and honestly that is shit for the size of the engine.... The smallest i would personally go is a 2.25" mandrel bent but a 2.5" seems more common and leaves improvement for the future...
No way a stock exhaust is more then capable of anything besides being quite and a restriction..

When an exhaust guy tells you the standard cat's are good, his telling the truth.... there is no point wasting your money on a highflow cat when the stock one isn't even a restriction and if the cat was blocked, believe me you would know about it.. the car would go like crap.

[ScoHar]

I wouldn't pay that much for an exhaust, go get an off the shelf redback or something... max you would pay would be about 350-400?
Go to more then 1 place for quotes, get quotes off atleast 4..

We don't really have alot of options of off the shelf stuff as there is bugger all here, Rage/Autobend make the only off the shelf ones that I know of and they are expensive.

Remembering this is in NZ I think your best option is having an exhaust system made up being probabley the cheapest option (in NZ) also. as said above tho get a couple of different quotes on the system.


You may laugh but I had a full rage/coby system done for my VR V6 from extractors right back to tail pipe and it was $1100 LOL, I didn't shop around much but when it was broken down there was bugger all labour and consumables, most was the extractors at $560