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HP gains on 3L w/ tune

S2Knott

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
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Location
Sandwich, Massachusetts
so im going to be getting a 3L swap done by Greg Breton.

i am getting a SCT tune, and it will also have a test pipe, magnaflow res, with no mufflers.

with that setup what kind of gains am i looking at over stock?

also, will have a aftermarket clutch.
 
Stock exhaust with a MAF + K&N setup net about 70-80 HP & TQ down low - pick up a little bit on the top end. Removing the main cat yields another 8-10 hp. You should be in the 185 - 200 range.
We had 4 SVT 3L swaps dyno'd, every car put down the same #'s within 10hp. The one car without a main cat put down ~10 more hp.
 
Stock exhaust with a MAF + K&N setup net about 70-80 HP & TQ down low - pick up a little bit on the top end. Removing the main cat yields another 8-10 hp. You should be in the 185 - 200 range.
We had 4 SVT 3L swaps dyno'd, every car put down the same #'s within 10hp. The one car without a main cat put down ~10 more hp.

Not to start the same thread, but wasn't there a discrepancy with the +10hp main cat removal? Like the 10hp was between two different cars and not the same car back to back? I don't remember if there was any conclusion to that thread...
 
Not to start the same thread, but wasn't there a discrepancy with the +10hp main cat removal? Like the 10hp was between two different cars and not the same car back to back? I don't remember if there was any conclusion to that thread...

Well, being that after 3 cars on the runner put down almost the identical #'s, the only variable with the 4th was the modified exhaust system. Logically it makes sence that the car with the modified exhaust system is the car putting down more HP. I know different cars put down different numbers, but it seemed pretty clear that any modifications to the exhaust yielded better performance - Why are you arguing about proven #'s? It isn't rocket science that these cars pick up lots of HP by bettering the exhaust systems..
 
Well, being that after 3 cars on the runner put down almost the identical #'s, the only variable with the 4th was the modified exhaust system. Logically it makes sence that the car with the modified exhaust system is the car putting down more HP. I know different cars put down different numbers, but it seemed pretty clear that any modifications to the exhaust yielded better performance - Why are you arguing about proven #'s? It isn't rocket science that these cars pick up lots of HP by bettering the exhaust systems..

I certainly wouldn't say it's PROVEN. If these cars are showing a horsepower swing of 10, what's to say the last one didn't have maybe 5 more hp than the highest one of the previous batch with it's stock main cat? Since there was no back to back dyno, you proved nothing at all. So I think claiming 10hp from replacing the main cat with a test pipe without such evidence seems a bit silly. Obviously the main cat impedes airflow, but to claim hard numbers...
 
I didn't claim hard numbers, I said the car without the resonator showed ~10 more hp on the Dyno - the tilde meant about, not hard, just what we saw.
 
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close to 200?

there have been many over 200 whp

blackcoog's 3L oval port (SVT intake manifolds) modded N/A 225 WHP
Warmonger's Hybrid (i think it was the first ever) 217 WHP
Y2KSVT's 3L hybrid (no head work!) 206 WHP

there are many more. 180-200 is the common range, without mods. i consider an unmodded 3L swap to be a FULL 3L swap, without the SVT components.

either way.... i'd bet the full exhaust system i have which has no cats or resonators, and only one muffler (2.5" mandrel bent) with headers, y pipe, test pipe, and all that.... gives 5-7 HP over a stock exhaust. comparing different engines doesnt work, some put down 10-15 more HP over others just because of how they have been treated, mileage, etc.
 
close to 200?

there have been many over 200 whp


He is minus one cat and has no mufflers, thats not what I consider major modifications.

Straight 3L he could expect around 185 give or take. With an oval port or hybrid setup closer to 200 as I stated earlier :p


It's still a good idea to get a tune down the road so start saving ;)
 
I used to have many dealings with a custom exhaust shop which did do back to back dyno tests with and w/out cats. He told me that (at least on similiar displacement motors) the HP gains w/out a cat were never more than single digit. Now I never saw proof but he had no reason to lie as he wasn't selling anything and I got all the cheap or free exhaust parts I possibly needed.

We have emission testing here so there's really no point. Then there's the enviromental damage, smog, etc.
 
changed my whole plan around.

i ordered headers yesterday and i am hopefully selling or sending back the test pipe because i believe there would be alot of rasp with it. and im not sure if i will straight pipe it again because of the rasp, ive got the mufflers disconnected and i can reconnect them if i want, im going to see how they sound with headers then ill keep you guys updated. still gotta figure out what clutch/flywheel combo to go with.... them the build begins.
 
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