Alright folks. I have a 3.4 V6 and want to know how I can get some better performance out of it. I'm not some kid wanting to go race Honda civics on the street. I actually drag race and am going into my 3rd year now racing. Last year my best time was low 16's. That was with bad tires, gutted out cat, and a slipping clutch.

What I've done to the car since last year:
- Stage-II clutch
- Cold Air Intake
- New plugs & wires
- New EGR valve
- New manifold gaskets, cleaned the manifolds etc.....
- High-Flow performance cat
- Flowmaster dual output muffler
- 255/50/16 tires for better grip & handling

The car has 103125 miles (165000 km) on it.

Will the following really make a big difference???
- Headers
- Cat-back dual exhaust

What else can I do to get some more top-end out of the car?

Thanks all!

 

If you want to go fast in the 1/4 mile the cheapest thing to do is buy a V8 car. Your not going to get much more out of the 3.4 without replacing the heads. The bottom end will give out long before you get the stock HP of a LT1. You could put 100's of hours and thousands of dollars just to get to 300 HP or you can spend $1000 on Z28 with a blown rebuild the top end in a weekend or two and sell your V6 and break even. With a LT1 300 HP would just be the starting point.

If you really want to upgrade your V6 search for the 3500 head swap. The heads are the bottle neck of the motor. Its a lot of work and you most likley blow the motor if you push it. The reason you do not see a lot of performance parts for the 3.4 is because they do not respond to them very well. There is little to no gain.

 

I'll be looking into an LT1 or LS1 next year, it's just not in the cards right now. I could also swap the engine, or change the heads but I don't want to get into that. Do the bolt-ons give any better performance, or am I wasting my time with headers and a cat-back exhaust?

 

The reason the exhaust parts are around is mostly cause of the sound. You might get a tenth. You may also find the car "feels" more responsive on the bottom end but the whole purpose for header upgrade is to allow for better flow at high RPMs. Upgrading your already upgraded exhaust parts will net you close to nothing.

 

Thanks for the advise. I just don't want to waste money on bolt-ons for minimal performance. I'd rather save my money for an LS1 next year.