i have a V6 3.4 firebird its a 94 with 116k miles bone stock just has no muffler has straight pipe, and my friend recently bought an 02 v6 3.8 mustang stock and we raced and he won by half a car..and i wanted to know what i could do to my 3.4 firebird so it could be fast enough to beat that damn mustang..will a dual exhaust be enough? instake? or what...thanks

 

2002 Mustang = 190 hp
1994 Firebird = 160 hp

So, he's got you by 30 from the factory...no muffler/straight pipe = negligible

What condition is your car in & what transmission? What is the Mustang's condition and transmission?

Details, man...details.

 

Do some searches on here, and look in the stickeys on the main V6 tech page here. You can build a pretty mean 3.4. Takes a little money and a lot of time. Resourcing parts is gonna take you a bit probably. The 3.4 isnt the best motor to build to beat on if your on a budget, Its more of a reliability engine. I've got 206,000 on mine without any major engine problems. Still has great oil pressure, starts on the coldest day just fine. You will probably spend as much gettin that motor fast as you would to just buy an LT1 or another V8 and stick in there. A lot of people will tell you to sell it and buy a V8 car, I wont tell you to do that, if you want to build this one or do an engine swap, there are members here that will back you up and support ya. I just got a good deal on a dirt cheap Z28 that they thought was locked up. Ended up being battery cables... It needs a few things, but about $100 will have it on the road.

If you can do the work, you'll be in good shape, but if your gonna have somebody else do it all, thats where I would say buy another car. The 3.4 is peppy, but its not gonna stomp on very much if its stock.

 

i beat my friend in my 95 3.4 auto camaro. he drives a 95 mustang 3.8 auto.
i also beat one of my other friends on his 01 mustang 3.8 5 spd with long tube headers.

 

Automatic mustangs are absolute dogs, let alone the old 145hp 3.8s.

What have you done to your car? A '01 stick with headers should have edged out a stock/mildly modded 3.4...unless he can't drive a stick.

 

Please visit....

www.60dgreev6.com

Most of your questions have been answered there... many times over... good people...with loads of modding savvy about wringing as much horse power as possible out of an Ironhead GM L32 3.4L V6 engine... I'm over there as ->60dgrzbelow0<- and have many performance posts that will help you...as well as a Photobucket presence here:

http://s557.photobucket.com/home/60dgrzbelow0/allalbums

... that will show you how to tear down and rebuild your engine... with plenty if good images, part numbers, speciality tool images, new parts and sensors...and indeed...much, much more that will assist you... Good Luck with Your Project...! --==Bob==--