i have a 96 rs with the 3.8 v6 and i was wondering if it would be better the supercharge or turbo charge it and some advise on what to get. and where can i get good headers relatively cheap also i cant find this answer anywhere but do the 96 have an egr? and what are some other good upgrades for the rs for reasonably cheap. i went from a ford F250 to this rs so im just getting into the camaro community.

 

In almost any sport that allows superchargers and turbo changers the turbos win out. The only exception to that is the top end drag racing. Turbos have come a long way and with a computer controlling them they are good at just about anything.

There is a good starter guide in the V6 tech section for mods.

Either a super charger or a turbo charger is going to cost you more then buying a 98-02 LS1 V8 and it will be slower when its done. To get a 3800 to the speed of a v8 is going to cost close to 10K, but if you bought a Ls1 car for 5k and put a 3K kit head/cam kit in it would leave the turbo V6 in the dust.

Turbo build
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...o-build-79480/

You can do a budget build but that is still $2500 in china parts and $500-700 for the tune and you will drive over the crankshaft at some point. This should be for a dedicated race car only.

You have an EGR valve on the drivers side exhaust manifold


I like the OBX headers. They where under $300. They will not add a lot of HP to your top HP number but you can feel it in the mid range. Even GM agrees your manifolds are steeling power as they went to a short type header in 1998 on 3800.

 

had a 99 3800 loved the gas milage great cars ,there realy is not anything one can do for those cat back exhaust gets it louder an dual exhuast ,get all you need auto zone thrush cheap,otherwise get a z28 ,for now just enjoy the 3800, an like said turbo has come long way ,i would go that route with a v8 car only,if racing ,otherwise most v8 cars all one needs are bolt ons ,even cold air for a v8 is a rip off,even more for a v6

 

yea i love the gas mileage of the v6 that is my main reason to keep it. im just trying to get the max potential HP and just all round power of the v6. i know i wont be able to get like 300+hp but i would like to reclaim lost hp and a little extra.

 

cat back should get you a few hp for say $100.00 the guy i bought my 99 from had put cat back on mine from autozone thrush sounded pretty good with 2 tips at 12 inch x4 looked good too,cold air i still dont why know guys pay $225.00 for like 1hp.so dont go there,i have had service departments tell me how much dirt they found in the intake when guys put the cone shaped filters on there cars,A stock k&n filter may help too

 

headers, better exhaust. mod your air intake to let it breath a little better. i ground off the fins and hit it with a torch lightly to glaze the plastic. and added a k&n air filter. you can add some higher ratio rocker arms and heavier valve springs to get more lift outa your stock cam. also have a look at what gear ratio is in your rear differential. 3.23 are common, mine is 3.08. if you can find a 3.40 rear for a good price in your area that would add some kick. i have my eye out for one but are few and far between here.

 

With your 96 the exhaust manifolds are stealing some of your power. The great part about doing headers on a 96 is you are replacing cast iron manifolds both HP and MPH should improve as you are letting the engine breath better. The manifolds are so bad in 96/97 GM redesigned them in 98 to more like a header design.

Sorry about the pics above. Photo bucket is weird, those photos work in my Project 96 thread in my Signature but don't work on "new" posts. Who knows. If you look through my Project 96 thread you can see the OBX headers and the EGR mounting. I did find that with the OBX headers the 02 EGR mount worked better. I could not get the 96 mount to line up but I did not try too hard since I had the 02 mount. You will also need longer bolts then they supply. Other then that they turned a gold color and work fine for 5 years 100k, until I sold the car.

 

So im a diesel truck guy so every truck I've gotten one of the first things i do is take the egr off. i know in diesel trucks taking it off helps reduce engine wear and all that fun stuff but im not sure the same applies to the camaro. would taking it off be beneficial of does it not matter? and i need new suspension what are yall's suggestions?

 

The only down side to the EGR valve is the dirt it put into the intake. On EFI with everything working right it not mush dirt at all. If you have the car running rich from a malfunction or by tune you might want to get rid or it. Under light load it will partially fill your cylinder with exhaust gases and give you better gas mileage. At wide open throttle it closes and no effect on the engine.

New suspension? That will depend on what you want. You want to drop it, just have it handle better? return it to stock?

Moog are good parts for stock replacements.
SS sway bars are a common and cost friendly upgrade.
Lower 1-1.5" is common but it tends to make the car ride rougher.
There are a ton of options shock wise. Koni at the high end Bilstein a little lower and K5Y gas charged is about as low as I would go.
Tight ratio rack from Z28 with rag joint eliminator.

 

better handling would be nice but its not a necessity. i'm not sure if it uses shocks or struts but I've found them both for $25-$35 i don't know it that's just cheap **** or that is a normal price for those. again i'm new to Camaro's and GM in general. i'm use to spending $100+ per shock