93 Cutlass Ram-Air Questions

[3100 MPFI]

I know you might think this will sound stupid, but put your stock UNMODIFIED airbox back in (snorkel and all), and run your car at the track again. I will bet you a bag of chips, and a soda that you will have a better ET.

I DYNOED my car with a cone and with a stock airbox. With the cone, I had the car set up so that it would see better conditions than it will EVER get on the road, and I still lost TORQUE with the cone. I did gain some HP, but the loss in torque was a LOT.

Put the stock airbox in and run again. You will probably hit 17's with it.

[Ortie666]

I know you might think this will sound stupid, but put your stock UNMODIFIED airbox back in (snorkel and all), and run your car at the track again. I will bet you a bag of chips, and a soda that you will have a better ET.

I DYNOED my car with a cone and with a stock airbox. With the cone, I had the car set up so that it would see better conditions than it will EVER get on the road, and I still lost TORQUE with the cone. I did gain some HP, but the loss in torque was a LOT.

Put the stock airbox in and run again. You will probably hit 17's with it.

No doubt, that filter looks pretty close to the hot exhast passing by it.. Aluminum shroud under it if anything.. Also If you plan on sucking in more air have somewere for it to go after its burn't like the atmosphere, not 6 miles of tightly bent tubing and chambers. And if that doesnt help u get out of the 18's.. Buy a new car, or buy a angle grinder and cut your way out of the 18's

[El_Diablo]

just looked at your setup... deffinetly move the intake, i would relocate the battery and move the filter to there, should be a lil cooler air, then create a sheet metal and pop rivet box to try and keep some of the heat out

2.86 60 foot is terrible, has your car ever had the trans serviced?

[Stonedified]

trans has never been serviced...and yeah i was originally trying to get at that...how would i construct a box to get cooler air...im guessing put the battery in the trunk and go from there?

[Superdave]

true ram air does work.. but you'd have to redesign your plenum for that. you aren't going to get any gains from making that a cold air intake.. might even get slower.

that engine runs about 15.5 in a 5 speed jbody IF it's very well maintained. That's a 2800 lb car though.. Maybe you need some weight reduction?

I wish i had some good ideas to post but aside from adding nitrous or a turbo but the Gen2 aluminium head is kind of a dead end when it comes to performance. It will however last a VERY long time if well maintained.


If you wanna go fast then either a hybrid build or a full Gen3 swap is your best bet.

[El_Diablo]

if i were you i would service the trans, change every fluid and filter you can and switch to synthetics

if you got a battery like an oddessy pc680 you wont have to really relocate it... to make a box all you would really need is a drill with a 1/8" drill bit, a pop riveter with rivets, and some tin snips, pretty simple, just cut out what you need with some tabs to match so you can drill and rivet them, grab some silicone and seal it off and weather stripping to seal it from the engine bay and you should drop your IAT temps by a lil bit if you have somewhere to pull air from over there

[3100 MPFI]

do NOT go to synthetics until you are sure your engine can handle it.

Synthetic oil is what put the death sentence on my original 1988 2.8 MPFI.

If you have an older, or higher milege engine, then synthetic can kill it instead of saving it. For those, you will want to either stick to conventional, or a SEMI-SYNTHETIC.

[mbear2489]

how does synthetic kill a motor?

[Superdave]

how does synthetic kill a motor?

Myth...


Unless it helped clean out the sludge that was holding the engine together. I've taken apart way too many hi-mileage 60degree V6's.. on the Gen2's it's amazing how much sludge builds up.

[El_Diablo]

meh, if your weary just go to synthetic to clean everything out, then run a high mileage specific synthetic to try and expand/condition all the seals and gaskets a bit and then back to a regular synthetic like royal purple which will actually serve to micropolish the bearing surfaces

[mbear2489]

hmmm. you guys are helpful

[Ortie666]

lol, yeah.. high milage oil.. its called 20-50.. I also have dissasembled alot of motors that have run synthetic and they all show litraly no wear and clean parts.. The ones i pulled apart with conventional oil all with around 250,000km had deposits in the crank case that look alot like the bottom of a BBQ..

[3100 MPFI]

MY 2.8 was almost solid COAL when I pulled the lower intake off for the first time.

When I put synthetic, it tried to reseal everything, but by knocking the sludge out, it allowed MORE leaking from the broken seals.

Mine was one of the more extreme cases. I chisled out as much of the coal as I could, and did everything I could, but ultimatly, it was the synthetic oil that killed the engine. If I would have stayed with conventional...

well, I am glad I decided to hurry up and get the 3100 in there. When I put the 3100 in there, after the break in, I went to synthetic, and have NOT looked back.

[Ortie666]

With all do respect on this topic, I dont beleve a synthetic oil can be put at fault for the coal like substances left in the pan that later on probably got sucked threw the pump.. I would honestly have to say the disturbing of the lower intake was later on the fault of the motor, I dont think conventional oil would have saved it.. Not trying to be a dick here, but by saying changing to a lab made synthetic oil, from just a petrol byproduct is the reason it failed is sorta false information. Id bet a spare motor, that if u haden't took the intake off, and just switched oils alone, that your motor would still be alive.

[19Cutlass94]

I switched to synthetic and my motor ( my current 3100 ) is as clean as you could want an engine.. with no leaks! Ive heard stories of people NEVER changing oil... in fact one of the guys at work goes 20,000miles on synthetic before oil changes... yeah dumbass I know.... but fact is I dont think oil alone could have done that much damage/sludge/coal..