1997 Pontiac Grand Am: More Power

[Coldmilk]

I own a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am SE with a 3.1L V6 engine. I'm not very proficient with engines, but I do know that my car is lacking in power.

Basically, a friend who knows about cars told me that a supercharger would greatly improve the performance of my 1997 Pontiac Grand Am, and I think it would make it more reliable.

Please, can somebody tell me what the best option would be and if a supercharger is the best choice. I'm willing to go as far as $2000 for parts and installation.

Or, can somebody tell me what options can I do to improve the performance of my car beside monthly check ups (fluids) and new spark plugs. I want to see an obvious change and of course more power!

[bszopi]

First off, welcome to the site.

Secondly, unfortunately, $2k isn't gonna get you anywhere if you want a SC. There are no available kits for your vehicle. There are a couple kits that could potentially work, but 1 is from a relatively unreliable company, and costs ~$4k. The other only had ~17 kits made, of which they often pass through hands every so years as people mod and demod their cars. These usually go for ~$3k used. You could potentially fabricate a setup for less, using parts off ebay and such, but you still would need to design and fabricate your own mounts and what not. Not a task for someone who admits to not being very proficient with engines.

With that said, there are still things you can possibly do to make your engine perform better.

HTH

[Coldmilk]

Thanks for replying.

What options can I do to improve my engine (performance)?

Any improvements I do with my engine is my first priority.

I'll take any suggestions!

[Jonpro03]

With $2000 you could likely afford to pay somebody to do a 3500 swap for you. That would replace your 160hp 3100 with a 200hp 3500.
You could also find a 3400 (newer Grand Am) in a junkyard and grab the heads, intake manifolds, and throttle-body and swap them onto your 3100. That will wake up the top end and put you at maybe 175hp.
Or keep your eyes open for an old Turbo Grand Prix to go up for a part out. The turbo setup from that will bolt right on to your 3100.

Either setup will require a tune.

[Coldmilk]

Thanks man.

The 3500 swap sounds like a good idea. The turbo setup is definitely a second option, and I will keep a look out for it in the junkyard.

Hopefully I'm in the right thread to be asking these questions.

Those ideas sound great, but if the engine swap happens to not work out and if I can't find a turbo setup, what other options could I do?

[timg]

Nitrous oxide is always a good option for more power on the cheap. There are e-bay turbo kits for around $2k, but they tend to use crap parts and will require a lot of fabrication. A skilled fabricator can generally make a turbo kit for $2k, but for anyone else, that price is half of what it would cost if you're lucky.

Tim