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Any Decent Mods for 206k Mile GT?

Pokealong1227

Pokealong1227

New member
2003 Grand Prix GT. Exactly what the title says, obviously not looking to turbo a car with 206k miles. Just looking for some mods to help with throttle response and give it a little more pull. Will probably sell the car before next summer to get something with less miles, but as of right now it's running like new with all maintenance caught up on(minus no AC, waiting til it warms up next spring to fix that) so figured I might as well get some work done. I have poly motor mounts and an intake. Next week I plan on ordering a 3" downpipe with the u-bend delete and a high-flow converter. Don't think I want to spend over $600 on a set of headers since it's N/A. Hoping to get some opinions on "cheaper" mods like HV3 insert, HV throttle body, power logs, TB spacer,etc. Not sure what I'm looking for so just want to hear thoughts. Or if someone wants to step in and say "No you idiot, don't touch a car with 206k miles, leave it alone and enjoy", feel free to do that too. Open to all suggestions.
 


J57ltr said:
Leave it alone and get something with less miles.
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If I don't get any other suggestions I will likely do this, other than the downpipe simply because it's the original converter which is 12 years and 206k miles old.

Along with my usual income, my college grant refunds are coming in next week, over $1,500. Might set a good chunk of that aside for when I sell this car. Maybe even buy a GTP next.
 
blackspike2710 said:
Maintenance. When the old **** breaks, put on slightly better ****.
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Oh trust me done plenty of that. Haha A good majority of my car is new parts. Been spending the past 2-3 years focusing on maintenance. Axles, struts, wheel hubs, sway bar, tie rods, water pump, and much more, all new. Looks like I'm going to get that downpipe and keep it where it is. Love driving it as is anyways.
 


i ran a headers, rockers and a 3.4 on my 228,000 mile l67.

it had some hidden issues and popped im thinking due to a bad fuel pump at this point. but it took them mods like a boss. nice bump in power. still not a race car, but way better then stock.

others have modded cars over 200,000. if its solid now, it will be fine. as long as you got a good tune. iirc dan was up over 200 in his rotted 97.
 
ScottyDoggs said:
i ran a headers, rockers and a 3.4 on my 228,000 mile l67.

it had some hidden issues and popped im thinking due to a bad fuel pump at this point. but it took them mods like a boss. nice bump in power. still not a race car, but way better then stock.

others have modded cars over 200,000. if its solid now, it will be fine. as long as you got a good tune. iirc dan was up over 200 in his rotted 97.
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Hmm interesting. Doubt I'd see very noticeable gains in an L36 though. The main reason for asking about any decent mods is it seems most N/A mods don't give a noticeable performance increase like the supercharged guys get. Guess that's one downside of buying the first car you can get your hands on instead of looking around.
 


Nothing wrong w/ the GT. My 00 GT has been dependable. Sitting at 350K and still runs great. Although I really need to change out the downpipe/cat on it. I just go for appearance mods since I know the only way to make it reasonably fast is a turbo. I have other projects that need the money so I just keep it up in maint. and enjoy it for what it is. Even at 15 years old it still looks decent, and I have a lot of parts accumulated to make it a bit better here soon.
 
Pokealong1227 said:
Just a sad little GT. :th_depressed: I'll put the downpipe in, probably need to replace the passenger side wheel bearing, then ain't touchin it. Sounds unanimous. New car here I come. Haha
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theres stuff you can do but the gains are not there. dp will help it run better tho. last guy who camed a na engine and a load of other stuff was let down at the dyno. $ vs hp ratio sucks.
 
If you're looking at getting another in the future, why not get things that can transfer over? Suspension bits, tuning software, exhaust, stuff like that.
 
like matt said you can mod now and swap parts over to a gtp(if thats whats your getting) later.
Besides the HVIII, All my mods in my sig can be transfered over to a supercharged 3800 if i ever choose to get to a supercharged 3800.I bought 95% of my mods used over the years so it can be done cheap. but so can a supercharged 3800 and more bang for buck there, However I dont regret modding my n/a 3800, it can get up and go if needed.

And when does helping a motor breath better and run KR free hurt the lifespan of the motor? none of my mods will effect its lifespan. only a lead foot does that whether your stock or modded.
 
ScottyDoggs said:
i ran a headers, rockers and a 3.4 on my 228,000 mile l67.

it had some hidden issues and popped im thinking due to a bad fuel pump at this point. but it took them mods like a boss. nice bump in power. still not a race car, but way better then stock.

others have modded cars over 200,000. if its solid now, it will be fine. as long as you got a good tune. iirc dan was up over 200 in his rotted 97.
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Totally agree with Scotty on this... I had 232,000 miles on my GTP before I even started to mod it. Added headers and a 3.6-3.4, custom tuned, ran it hard occasionally and the engine was perfect. Sold the car when the transmission pooped at over 300K. Body was rusted bad so it wasn't worth replacing the transmission in my opinion.

your na? f it, leave it alone.
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Probably true, but I put SD (cheap, ~$200) headers on my Impala LS (same n/a motor) planning to top swap later... and it turned out to be a decent mod N/A. Not night/day like on the L67, but definitely some gains on top if you have decent ignition timing.
 


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