Thread: 3.4 setup questions.

I have some questions about the 3.4 setup.

Right now i am running a 3.4 with an intake and 3'' catted dp.

I am not hearing any pinging at full or part throttle.

I know everyone is going to say "youre crazy get a plog, plugs and tune".
If i don't hear any pinging, does that mean im not getting knock?

Also do i need a smaller belt with the 3.4"? At full throttle, the boost gauge reads full.

I dont really want to go down a heat range with the plugs if i dont have to obviously since it will take forever to do.

I also plan to get a 180* thermostat on there before i run it any longer, however it is staying at like 190* even with me tromping on it.

The reason i have intalled the 3.4 without the plog or plugs is because my dad had a 2000 gtp, installed a 3.4, thrasher box, and catback and ran the car like that for 80k. At 100k it got a bunch more mods. The car now has 175k and is running good.


I guess i don't need a smaller belt?

I am working on getting a plog but i cant find one. So it really worth it to spend the hour or two changing plugs?

Is the tune to make it run better, or gain power? Also do i need to buy one of those $200 aeroforce gauges to read knock?

I don't drive this everyday so dont be too worried.

thanks.

Originally Posted by 01GTP

If you are too lazy to change your spark plugs you should not mod your car. It takes less than an hour.

no kidding. it took you longer to put the sc pulley on then it does to change plugs, and your hurting the motor rather then helping.

normally you cannot hear knock, at least i never have. you need a scanner of some sort. look for a used one, they come up all the time. maybe someone local has one you could borrow?

when i was new to everything, and even before i found out that there is tons of knowledge on these forums, i made the same mistake a ton of others have. Put a 3.4 on with 3"dp, open cone, with a stock tune. lets just say i got my ass handed to me by my buddies bone stock, 180xxx mile, 98 gtp. after a scan it became clear as to why. it was knocking somewhere around 12* iirc. so in short, yours may not be as bad as mine was, but are probly slower than stock with those little mods (no tune being the biggest imo).

get some mods, or take the pulley off. if you dont want to even take the small amount of time to put plugs in (these are the easiest cars to put plugs in, so im not sure what the problem is) then go with the latter, cuz you apparently dont want to start off right.

for the plugs, most will say to gap about .055. yes straight forward. dont torque too much, just snug. i dont have specs but you could find them if it would make you more comfortable. if the fronts take longer than 15 minutes, your doing something wrong lol.

a tune will reduce knock, thats the main reason to get it. its going to increase fueling as well as tweek some other things. if your going with a "tune out of the box" be careful where you go. i know first hand that zzp's has pretty aggressive timing and would probably be better off on a stock pullied, MAYBE 3.5, car. if you want you could kill 2 birds with 1 stone and find yourself a used powrtuner. then, you could scan and tune yourself. after you get access to the powrtuner forum, you can also download the dhp 1.5 file to get a baseline.... worth looking into so you dont have to spend the money on a canned tune then later buy something to scan.

rule #1: never mod without scanning. just because the car has no visual/audible problems, doesnt necessarily mean its running good.

I have actually read alot about the subject, i just thought that since my dad had such great luck, i could get away with 100miles on a better setup than he had for 80k miles.

Ill for sure get some more parts soon. It just takes awhile becuase i have limited income and need to find used parts.

Im not sure how the tuner is going to help me since i will run a premade tune anyway. I was thinking of an intense or overkill flash.

How do you rock the engine forward? I know you take the dogbones out, but how easy is it to rock it forward after that?

I doubt i can get someone to tune it. There arent very many people in md with gtp's let alone people who know how to tune them.

Thanks.

im sayin with the tuner you can scan (which is what you would buy the aeroforce for) and tune. the dhp 1.5 file is a "canned tune". its just you can d/l it from the powrtuner site after getting access to it, for no charge. think of it like this...

used powrtuner- ~$250
dhp 1.5 tune- ~0
future tunes- ~0

aeroforce- ~$200
canned tune- ~$100
future tunes- at least 100 for a custom dyno tune.

also with the tuner you can save the data and look over it afterwards. the aeroforce is more "realtime", you can only see 2 parameters at a time, etc. dont get me wrong, aeroforce has its uses, i have on myself, but its just more to keep an eye on things from day to day. im just suggesting a tuner to you because of your budget, it does a whoooooole lot more than the aeroforce.

rock the engine forward: put emergency brake in, put shifter in neutral. just undo the dog bones at the motor, dont unbolt them from the car. pull engine forward, slide bolt back in the left dog bone into the second hole in the mount on the engine. putting the trans in neutral helps the engine move easier. also, to get a little more space to do the front, undo the mounts like i said and the engine will rock back a little. then pull it forward and put that bolt in like i said when your doing the back.

So i have $300 more to spend on it right now, how would you guys spend it?

Also should i get a 3.5 tensioner pulley to take up some of the slack.

Thanks alot man.

Thanks everyone.

Originally Posted by Going Too Phast

I don't know what to tell you with your budget. Is the 3.4 on a modular hub or is it a press on? I'd recommend stepping up pulley size to 3.5 or even a 3.6 unless you are planning on really watching your KR. .

If i don't go over stock boost levels, i should be fine right? So just don't floor it. ?

I will look for a tuner but it will have to be used (and probably hard to find). So if one doesnt show up for awhile ill just get an overkill or 3800performance pcm.

If i cant get all of these mods on for a month, should i put the 3.8 back on or just drive it below 3/4 throttle?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Perry125

Thanks everyone.

If i don't go over stock boost levels, i should be fine right? So just don't floor it. ?

I will look for a tuner but it will have to be used (and probably hard to find). So if one doesnt show up for awhile ill just get an overkill or 3800performance pcm.

If i cant get all of these mods on for a month, should i put the 3.8 back on or just drive it below 3/4 throttle?

Thanks

if your going to be looking at getting a dhp powrtuner, you are going to have to get one used as they are discontinued. there is also tunercat, but i dont know much about them and i think theres a hell of a lot more people with pt and hpt that can offer help.

IMO, i would put the 3.8 back on. you COULD just stay out of boost, but since you dont have a boost gauge, you dont really know when your in it. remember that the 3.4 is going to give boost at a lower throttle % than the stock one will. as the pcm is stock, it doest go into PE until 35-45 % (depending on rpm, the lower the rpm the higher the throttle % has to be before going into pe).

pe stands for power enrichment. your pcm will always adjust fuel to run at a 14.7 air fuel ratio (afr). one of the things that happens when the pcm goes into power enrichment mode is the commanded afr is lowered, thus adding fuel. fuel is going to help with kr. so, with boost coming on sooner (and more of it) the pcm still isnt going to add that extra fuel until the throttle position reaches those percentages which you could be seeing ~5 or 6 psi already. which is going to cause kr from being lean. making sense?? these figures may not be exact, im just trying to paint you somewhat of a picture.

what you can do with a tuner is adjust this to lower the TPS to go into pe when you're in boost. this is also done in the other files, but with a tuner you can adjust it custom to your vehicle. like the stock pcm, aftermarket ones are written to be somewhat universal. keeping in mind all weather conditions from the coldest to the hottest and different elevations. custom tunes are always better. also as said above, if you are not comfortable with the tuning idea, maybe a canned pcm would be best for now, and you could go somewhere later and pay for a tune. i was just saying that you could get a "canned file" if you had a powrtuner by downloading the dhp file for free.