I know there's gotta be info out there, but I can't seem to find it. So I thought I'd pick the brains on my favorite forum A friend of mine has a 1998 Aurora and wants to hop it up. After unsuccessfully trying to convince him to sell it and buy a Camaro, I suggested he look into what high-performance parts are available. We can't find jack for the 4.0, but I remember the Chevy Indy v8 that Sam Hornish Jr. dominated with was developed using the Aurora's block architecture. One look on ebay turned up a couple $10-20k options for an engine swap ( or a nice new Camaro fund ).

Now for some questions:
1. Is the Oldsmobile IRL v8 the same as a production Aurora v8? -my guess is yes.
2. Is the Chevy indy v8 the same as a production Aurora v8? -my guess is no.
3. If either of these engines can donate cams, heads, etc., would the Aurora computer be able to handle it, ie. can you tune one?

This ought to be a refreshing change for some of you out there ( at least my other friend hasn't bought the Fiero he's planning on swapping a lt1 into yet ).

Life's more fun when you hang out with crazy people on a budget. Thanks everyone.

 

Aurora 4.0 is a junior 4.6 Northstar.

If one really wanted to juice up an Aurora and had the $, swap a 4.6 300 hp Northstar in it and go for the hop-up stuff available for it. Theres 350-400 fwhp if you wish ($).

If you were REALLY bucks up, you could probably finagle the North-South (longitudinal) 469 hp blown STS-V Northstar into the East-West (transverse)Aurora, but I think you are talking high 5 to 6 figures to accomplish this.

Why bother? Just pony up for an STS-V. Cost would be less.

 

www.caddyinfo.com
for all those who want something different.
i think they have a supercharger setup for it now

 

Aurora 4.0 is a junior 4.6 Northstar.

Block size the same? Would Northstar cams and heads work on the 4.0 block? Valvetrain different (spring size ,rocker ratio), combustion chamber size, flow numbers, intake manifold differences, header differences? Still want to know if any of the indy components would fit the 4.0 block, but throw any Northstar interchangeability info out also. Thanks.

 

i used to have a hopped up STS with a northstar. they respond very well to opening up the exhaust. i had a custom downpip fabbed up and a 3 inch mandrel bent exhaust to a flowmaster 80 series, sounded amazing, cut the cat off as well. a cold air intake would also really help if you can fab something up. on the sts there was a resonator on the airbox that went down to the bottom of the bumper, i cut that open and installed a drop in k&n and that really helped as well. also get a good shift kit and see what itll run
my best to date was a 13.89@101, pretty good for a 4400 lb car

 

4.0 is a V6 4.6 is a V8 so no parts interchange not many aftermarket parts avail. most just do CAI and Catback

 

3.5 is a v6, 4.0 is a v8. I have looked at the caddyinfo link provided and still can't find the information that I would consider useful. I will continue to dig around because I like a challenge and love working with crazy ideas trying to come up with unorthodox solutions to problems. Swap in a Northstar= easiest way out. 4.0 with Indy heads, Northstar cams and intake, etc.=bragging rights galore. Keep the feedback coming.

 

Maybe these guys could help http://www.chrfab.com/

 

Yes, I was just about to post that. Be ready to shell out some cash though.

 

I saw the chrfab link on another thread on this forum. You're right, expensive stuff. I like the cam covers though. I found on another forum that swapping in the intake cams from a Northstar is worth about 50 hp! I wonder why the exhaust cams weren't recommended, or are they the same in both the 4.0 and 4.6? cjmatt said he got good gains from "opening up" the exhaust, which leads me to believe that the exhaust cams would be very similar, if not the same pn. I have not yet found the head flow numers, but I am now resonably sure that the 4.6 heads would bolt onto the 4.0 with no modification. I don't know if there is a difference in intakes yet. Also, any word on if the Indy stuff interchanges. I'll keep on digging for info.

 

From the 'why does the northstar exist' thread?

 

That'd be the one. I found a site which gives some basic info on the indy v8.

http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/010203.html

Still digging...

It could be that some indy heads might the ticket if Northstar heads don't have a substantial flow increase over the stock 4.0's.

 

But where would you find them?

 

If it were me, I'd try ebay, racingjunk.com, google, and perserverence.
If my boy decides to go with Northstars or worked-over stock 4.0's, that'll be alright too. I just like looking for the options for fun, it helps me be more knowledgeable on a bunch of trivia that may help me or a friend in the future.
I'll help him out no matter which route he decides to go and I know he'd do the same for me, thats the point of being a friend. By the by, I found out that the 2003 Chevy indy v8 3.5 is 3 inches narrower and 3 inches shorter than the Olds engine it was based off of, so anything off of it is probably a no-go.

 

The Shelby Series 1 used a hopped up Aurora V8. I know they did new cams, intake and exhaust. Not sure what else.

Good Luck