squeezing more power out of a 2.8

[Tonglebeak]

Hello.

I have a 2.8l v6 in an 88 cutlass ciera. What are some things I can do to get the best performance (acceleration, speed) out of this thing?

As far as experience, all I've ever done was brakes/plugs/wires/alt/fuel filter. I don't really have any experience in doing anything to the engine itself except for routine maintenance.

[Arns85GT]

Does your engine have the Multiport Fuel Injection?

In short horsepower costs money. Headers, help, and a high flow intake helps.

Past that, do you have the skill to open up the engine and get to porting, valve work etc.?

Arn

[Tonglebeak]

MPFI yes.

As far as engine work goes, I know that I can't take it out of the car. This is my daily driver

I've honestly never done any engine work before, opening it up and such. Doesn't mean that it's not within my abilities, I just never done it before and don't know what to do.

[SappySE107]

I can program a chip that will increase power and fuel economy (plus updating the GM code). That is one of the easier modifications. That is on the store here (is that an A body?). An underdrive pulley will help as well and is a bolt on, so that makes downtime minimal.

The 2.8 is limited by its displacement/stroke, but is great for high revving. The intake manifolds aren't designed for high RPM however. Your best bet is to either swap a newer motor in there, or get the 3400 top end and swap that in. Both require a lot more work than just a chip and underdrive pulley. You also have cam options and your gen 2 manifolds and heads can be ported.

[gectek]

cant he use the gold race roller rockers also to help out the gains from the cam and give a better ratio

[SappySE107]

Yes, or the comp 1.6 rockers or the stock 3100 non roller rockers. I think the gold race hit the lower intake on gen 2 as well but I know they can be made to fit.

[sil]

i dont think you can do anything chip wise with that pcm, same car i had lol
do you know what mask the code is in that thing ?
i dunno i couldnt find anything back when i had my motor in that car
not sure if anyone cares or if it matters but usually those pcms were updated to speed density

[SappySE107]

An 88? I can do 88 chips for aluminum head 2.8 engines.

[gectek]

oh my bad i thought it was iron head

[sharkey]

86 was the last year of ironheads in fwd. 87+ fwd is gen 2.

it realy depends on what you have to spend and what sort of power goals you have (dont say the most power for the least money). a simple 2.5" exaust and a cold air intake will help it out a little bit. same with some 1.6 rockers, or a chip. if you are willing to spend some time (a weekend at the least) you would see the most gain from a 3400 top end swap. as for the results of this, i realy couldnt tell you, 2.8l hybrids are not very common. it should give you an honest 20+ hp gain.

[torq455]

easier rocker swap to do the 1.6 roller tips. nice gain with out affecting mileage. a bigger TB is great too!

[sil]

id be intrested in the spark tables
if anyone gets a bin and definition let me know

[SappySE107]

The spark table for what? 88 2.8?

[sil]

yip
id like to compare them to what im running now

[Tonglebeak]

Where I'm getting at now, is that a top end 3400 swap would be the best option.

What all would that involve? I've never done anything like this before.

Also, forgot to mention I have the TH125C tranny.