Thread: ZZP 3.5" Pulley Kit Questions

Hi, I'm looking to get a little more boost out of the supercharger. I'm a student so I need to drive it everyday and can't afford to blow the engine up. I found this ZZP Stage 1 Kit that comes with a U-bend delete, new spark plugs, new PCM, 180* thermostat and a K&N drop in filter which I don't need cause I have a cold air. It's only $350 with a core charge... Not sure if it'd be cheaper to buy everything separately but that price sounds good to me. What I'm not sure about is having a 3.5" pulley with the stock exhaust manifold. Would I need headers in the front and rear? ZZP sells a powerlog for the front which would be much easier. But, I'd like to try and get away with stock if I can. 2003 GTP by the way. I'm still a noob so any advice would be great! Thanks!
Stage 1 Performance Package for 3800 – ZZPerformance

Please don't buy stage kits for these cars.

I have no idea what year your car is. If it's on its original catalytic converter, it should probably be replaced anyway. It's been perpetuated this season that ZZP's downpipes are cheaper than an OEM. No longer true ..unless you need the CA specific one that's like 300 dollars. ebay has em about $140 delivered, depending on vehicle. These will have no ubend.

Plugs are cheap. I'd suggest copper for increased boost. Many will disagree with this, but there are valid reasons to use copper. I run NGK tr6 right now.

You'll need a tune to safely drop sizes. A canned tune from ZZP or wherever is fine for a slight pulley drop. Don't do it if you find yourself short some weeks and throw in 87 octane.

Ethanol is another option that's more bang for buck. But you get less mpg, and the ethanol "cons," if you will. (ie. environmental concerns) Personally, I believe that route to be a little simpler and more cost effective, but I don't run ethanol out of personal choice.

Lol. What possible reason would you have for not running ethanol due to environmental impacts?

I'm not looking to run ethanol lol. I don't even know where I'd get it around here and I need this thing as a daily driver to get me to school. Its been running 93 octane since it was new and I haven't slipped up yet. If I shouldn't buy a stage kit, what do you guys recommend? I won't being doing this all at once, it will be a gradual process of saving money for the next part. It's a 03 GTP with 81,000 miles on it right now and the previous owner had a new exhaust put on but it's stock. Looking at other threads like "Safely modding your 3800 car" I think that a 3" downpipe and a front powerlog would free up a lot and wouldn't be super expensive. Do the cheap ebay downpipes fit okay or is there a brand I should search for? And what about the rear exhaust manifold? Is that okay to leave stock? In that 3800 thread the guy said that the ZZP PCMs are crap so is it best to avoid them?

The exhaust is in no way a restriction. If you truly want the car to be as reliable or more than it is now, you need to cool the air charge. If you cant get e85, your best option is an intercooler or meth injection.

There is nothing wrong with a zzp tune, other than the fact that it's a canned tune. A custom tune is going to perform better, but it's also harder to get and usually more expensive.

Originally Posted by superdev

If I shouldn't buy a stage kit, what do you guys recommend? It's a 03 GTP with 81,000 miles on it right now and the previous owner had a new exhaust put on but it's stock.

I'd leave it stock. Start at the brakes and move onto replacing the OEM suspension with GM parts. It's a nice car.

If you're dead set on getting more power without some sort of cooler, look at a cam or higher ratio rockers as alternatives. I'd choose the cam and pick a grind for my style/needs.

Well, if you're going to speak for him. Then remind him that this game is pay to play.

Week, weekend, we park our car during the winter.. no time frame was given. If you just want to hero up an SJW attitude, I suggest you return to fb.

I was in college when I did my first cam swap on a my car. Started at 2 on a Friday afternoon and finished at noon on Saturday. Also installed headers at that time too.

Originally Posted by fst

if you're relying on the car as a DD get an auxiliary trans cooler to cool the trans fluid to prolong the trans. after that, then slowly piece together parts for the motor side for power.
homemade fenderwell intake (FWI) Air intake can be made for cheap
dropping to a smaller pulley would be the last things to do
canned tune from zzp or local tuner that is set up for the pulley you'll eventually drop to like a 3.5".
some sort of exhaust setup, either powerlogs and 3" downpipe with u-bend delete or go headers
then pulley down. don't forget the proper tools to get the stock pulley off. may want to invest in a modular pulley system (MPS) instead of the press-on if you plan on swapping to larger or smaller pulleys. look up vender name nate herbst (he's on ebay and fb groups)

Thanks for the help. This is probably what I'll do. Need to drop the pan on the trans and replace the fluid anyway since I didn't do that when I got the car a year ago. I think I'll also get a 180* thermostat and new spark plugs with a higher heat range. Then powerlogs and 3" downpipe w/ ubend delete and finally like a 3.5" pulley with a MPS.

Gonna take a while til I plan out enough money and time to do this lol. But, Trans cooler seems like something that's good for even stock GPs. So, I'll probably do that soon. I have a bunch of other stuff to take care of on the car first. Like trying to find the right clips to hold the lower front door trim (I have to put more adhesive on all of the door trim now that I think about it), resistors for my LEDs switchbacks and blacking out the reflectors on new side lights. I need to make a list.