My buddy has a 97 bird with a 3.8. We went out to the speed world and he ran 16.1 100 percent stock. Stock tires pressure ect.. He left the jack in and spare tire, floor mats, you name it. He was only able to make one run that night so we did not see if he could coax it into the 15's. What are the best mods dollar for dollar for a 3.8. Would it be a cam, nitrous, supercharger, cold air? We have added the following to his car since then:

160 thermo
Conical filter
B&M Shift Plus

His goal is to run 100MPH in the 1/4 and as close to 14.0 as he can within reason. His stock rear gears are 3.08. He has 38,000 original miles and once again it is a 96. So should he go cam for his next mod? Nitrous? We are looking for a real hardcore gain not a 3RWHP cat back gain, but like a 12RWHP gain or better... We know Nitrous will make him drop times fast, but he just dosen't want to get shocked by any civics so NA seems the way to go.

you can email him at syxxgunnar@aol.com

 

Forgot to mention his goal is his end goal.. Not is goal for his next mod.

So if you could do anything within reason what would it be:

Cam
Headers
Nitrous
Roller Rockers

What makes the 3.8 move... He wants SOTP and basically Nitrous is the top out price he can do now.

So for say 800 bucks what would you do for a real SOTP... Personally I do not see how a catback or headers can give him what he is looking for.... I am saying CAM, especially since he has such low miles on his car.

 

If he wants to get into the times he wants, he's going to have to go intake & exhaust. I know the gains won't be as dramatic as say nitrous, but it helps out. I don't think I've seen any cars out there with heavy work but with stock exhaust work.

Gears will really help his car...I had 3.08s for a while and they are just slugs. It all depends...if he's going to be driving it just at the track, go with some high gears but I think the best are the 3.42s.
Look around, you can pick some up cheap.

Those are just basic build-ups...opening up the car to allow it to breathe better and get the exhaust out easier.

I'm a little confused about the civic part but if he were to go the nitrous or blown route, I'd suggest 3" exhaust work. It makes a pretty big difference...

There are a lot of different routes your friend can go...in the mean time he can always keep practicing his launches.

Good luck.

 

So the cam won't be his best bet? I figured valve train mods were the way to go...

 

Don't get me wrong, cams are great. He has enough cash for it too...

I plan on getting some work done too but I'm still in the research phase.

Check the advanced tech section about the higher end work, but I would still suggest getting the basics done.

 

i have a cam and i doubt i will ever see 100 mph in the 1/4. i have a cam and i am really working hard to see 14.0. so knowing this, i suggest he be willing to spend a lot more money to get to his goal, its going to take a lot more than just one thing or the other.
his best bet, best bang for the buck is nitrous. still he will want to let his car breathe better with nitrous so then intake and exhaust comes into play.
those gears are hurting him. 3.42 would be better, but 3.73s would be ideal along with a limited slip differential and a torque converter. but know you are talking big money with install.
modding is not a cheap hobby. and to get a car from 16 to 14 sec is gonna cost a lot. best of luck! have fun be safe.

 

So he would be better off with:

Option 1
2800RPM stall converter and 3.42's? What will that run him...

Option 2
Cam <-- was it a huge differnce in power with one?

Option 3
Nitrous

 

now these are my guesses, but this is what i truly believe off of my own experiences.

option 1: 2800 stall TC/3.42s will drop .5 sec only when he is able to put all the power to the ground. when i got my 2800 stall i was forced to go out and get drag radials. i spun like a ****. at the same time i got LCAs and an adjustable panhard bar just to be safe.

option 2: cam- i got my cam the same time i had my heads ported and polsihed so i do not know what the gain was by itself. i did shave .4 sec off my best, but that is without tuning. so i really dont know what kind of gain would be given with just a cam.

option 3: nitrous i dont use it but if my car was able i would. i still believe this would be his best bet. with a moderate shot he would be in upper 14s easy.

 

All a cam does is open the valves for a longer period of time and open them more. In change letting in more air/fuel, letting out more exhaust. If the intake is still restricted, (stock) it's really gonna struggle to pull all the air its capable of into the cylinder. If the exhaust is still closed up (exhaust manifolds, stock pipes) the engine is going to fight to push that exhaust out of the engine. From what i've read, start with a coldair intake, or anything that lets the engine breath better. exhaust, slap a set of headers, high flow cat and muff on. Save up more money, Put in the cam of choice, (remember to think ahead for such things as nos, forced induction, etc. so you don't have to go through another cam change) along with new lifters, and since you've got the engine taken apart that far, you might as well have the intake and heads ported and polished and gasket matched. Remember, it's all about making the engine breathe more effeciently. Which in turn creates power. I'm also a member of a camaro group in cincy, of which there are 2 people that own speed and performance shops. Both guys will tell you just changing out the TC for an S-10 converter will make a HUGE difference and the TC is fairly cheap since its OEM, without changing the rear end gears. Have fun, and don't go buying the first things you see, shop around and find what will really suit the guys car.

 

As you can see, your friend has a lot of options and should really do some research and homework. He's going to be putting in a lot of money into this if he is serious enough, so any research is wise.

As I first stated (over and over again, sorry...computer took long and I kept pressing SUBMIT), since his car is pretty much stock he should really just open it up right now. Intake and exhaust might not net a lot of power, but it does help the engine quite a bit. You can always jump into nitrous, but what good is it when the system is struggling to get air in and after you oxygenize all the fuel mix, it has to exit somewhere. The stock pipes won't be enough...

I'm not too familiar with cams and only a little familiar with nitrous, I'd like to learn both a little more but I do know to take care of the basics first. Depending on what he goes with, intake and exhaust shouldn't cost more than $500 tops. And with the project lined up, $500 shouldn't be anything.

Now if you'll all excuse me, I have to go break these stupid windshield wipers that won't work.

 

My buddy has a 98 a43.42's...

went to the track stock everything..ran 16.0 flat all day and finally on last run he ran a 15.9...now his goal----> 14.9 or better...

What he has done since then...

Ram air, lid, cut-out,Stb, yank 2800 stall, cia headers, 160 stat, jet stage 2 chip, Dr's....

should be interesting to see what he does...

just like me, i want a 12.9...wont happen even with my slicks i just got, but hey i want to be close otherwise

 

I say gears for his car if he has 3.08s.

I ran a 2000 Camro 5-speed with 3.23s dead stock to a 15.8 with a bad run at OSW.

Iwoudl say gears and 1 piece steel or aluminum driveshaft, first, basic mods with at least a better flowing exhast system a stock i-pipe off a z28 is 2.75in. or 3 in. in some cases off some SS's, sometiems these can be had for free, he is running a 2.25 in. I-pipe stock.

B&M shift plus is a little hard on the tranny.

he may be looking to nitorus for those times cheaply.

I think Shane is running 13.6s, I believe he still has a stock cam, its his everyday driver I think, don't qupte me but he is a nitroused 96 3.8L in the Orlando area.

converters are doing wonders too for 3.8Ls also.


he may want ot lok into a Maft+, I am not a expert on it since I am a OBDI car but it allows comptuer editing and I think you can advance timing with it.

 

You all love this.. Today he got hit.. His car, 37,000 original miles, not one scratch. Now his rear quarter is gone, bumper, and rear lights... All by by.... He was at a dead stop... I guess we will see what happens now...

 

That sucks, dude. Is your friend all right?

Seems like everytime I line up a project for either of my cars, something always pops up (plugs/wires, small leak, etc).

Hopefully he can get his car back up soon.