Alright, I just got a 2001 Dodge Stratus R/T coupe, and it is one quick little car, but lets face it, it can be quicker.  For a little background information, its got a 3.0 litre 200 horse power V6 in it, with autostick (tiptronic) and it hauls ass for its "class", doing 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds.  

What can be done to it to get as much power out of it as possible, without voiding any warranties?  So far, exaust (borla, maybe flowmaster) and a few K&N parts can be slipped in there, but is there anything else you know about that can beef it up?

It takes any mustang/camaro/firebird with a V6, and even my friends GT with an automatic tranny, though we both know it had to be a fluke :-)

lemme know what you think...its got potential, I just dont know how to go about it.  Ooh, if any of you have any idea how to go about a custom dual exaust set up, let me know about that too.

Thanks

Put some chinese character stickers all over it. That seems to make all the cars around me zippy.

radioman

They key words are without voiding any warranties.  That very much depends on your situation.  Some places will void your warranty if you open your hood.  If you don't want to void warranties, I would look to things like a K&N, underdrive pulleys, or maybe exhaust (but what a V6 with aftermarket exhaust sounds a little iffy), please for the love of God do not put a "Squirrel Farter" exhaust on your car!

Unfortunatly, you won't find much power without voiding the warranty.

I have done alot to my Mustang, but the biggest power boost, and the one most worth the money was a set of Edelbrock Cylinder heads combined with a Ford Motorsport Intake.  I've got pulleys, exhaust, headers, gears, K&N, and other things, all of them together gave me about 1/5 of what the heads/intake combo did.

Good luck in your search for more zip.

Be real careful getting a lot of power out of any front drive car.  The probably have about the max from the factory that would leave in controllable.  Can you say TORQUE STEER?  Also, you must remember that front drive components are a lot more fragile than rear drive.

thanks, and lets say, if I didnt have to worry about a warranty, what could I do?  And dont worry, i am very much against turning my car into a weed-whacker, if anything, I would put a nice borla on it to give it a beefy sound.  My friend did that on his 2001 chrysler sebring coupe (identical car as the dodge, same with the mitsubishi eclipse...dont believe me, check out the interior and the engine...even says mitsubishi in the dodge advert) and well, its sounds like one hell of a car, gave you that mustang GT sound, it was nice.  I would love to do a dual exaust set up though.

I think your biggest limitation will be parts availability.  I'd check the internet for the MOPAR site to see what they have to say.  I have to give Dodge credit, they make some powerfull motors.

Back when hot-rodding was fun, you'd yank the lame V6 and throw in a big V8. Nowadays with computers, EPA, inspections, etc. you are somewhat limited. I know a guy who has a business hopping up Mopar FWD's, I'll see if he still has a site (it used to be called Forward Motion). The guru's name is Cliff Sebring and he is located in Delta Pa.. He is a regular contributor to the Mopar magazines.

His old URL doesn't work. DAMN! Anyway, there is a lot of info on the web about "enhancing" these cars if you go look for it. Your research will eventually lead you to Cliff Sebring one way or another.

Put the spray on it :) (Nitrous Oxide)

A 75 hp shot should give you a good boost.

I looked in my 8th Edition Mopar Engines manual and they did not specify any factory parts for performance increase.  I don't have a cuurent Mopar Performance Parts Catalog to see if any parts are available.  There may be other sources but I can't help you there either.

They state in Chapter Eight on the 3.0L V-6 Engine " NOTE: Due to the limited nature of the 3.0L V-6 engine in racing, only a brief discussion and specifications will be covered in this chapter".

"Juice" is a realitvely quick and easy way to gain HP but the fuel delivery complications dealing the with the stock computer may be insurmountable.  What you really need to know is how much additional fuel/air delivery your stock brain box can map.  Most are near their maximum, so when performance enhancements are made, the computer can't follow the increased air flow to richen the mixture appropriately.

If you REALLY want to make it happen DON'T mess with your daily driver as this will be an education inprogress.

Best o'luck....Geno

A waranty can not be voided due to any performance modification unless the manufacturer can prove that the modified part caused the failure. many after market producers have info on all the ins and outs and can give you more info.  Bye the way this is a federal law, and in your case Dodge would have to prove your modifications caused the failure.

Add 2 cylinders...

Don't forget the wing to add a couple hundred pounds of down force to plant the rear wheels and hemorrhoid poop-shoot exhaust.  [puke]  

In all seriousness I will ask my buddy who is a technician at dodge what the best and safest mod for that motor is.  I will be gone this weekend but I will try to dig up this post and respond when I get back.

That's hilarious! Ever see the sticker on those Hondas that says, in Asian type letters, "Powered By Rice"?

I used to have a Grand National 12 sec commuter. It was a v-6 turbo. VERY FAST. Stangs and Vettes, no problem. It was rear wheel drive though. I think you'll have a harder time with the traction, than making HP.
"Warranty? We dont need no stinking warranty!"
Eric

Did you check Jacobs Electronics?  They have ignition systems which can improve performance and efficiency.

GunLvr

I assume this has the GM 3800 engine then? You can change to a high flow MAF sensor, K&N filters, and Flowmasters exhaust. Basically letting the car breath better should ad 10-15HP without voiding the warranty.

This is a site where I've gotten a few parts for my Camaro. This are for Camaro and Firebird parts, but you mentioned they can be interchangeable with yours so check it out.

[url]http://www.lgmotorsports.com/00borla.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.lgmotorsports.com/00mair.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.lgmotorsports.com/00ppull.htm[/url]
[/url]http://www.lgmotorsports.com/00k&n.htm[/url]

If you're not worried about warranty, mount a Vortec supercharger on it. Should get another 50hp+ depending on PSI. I was watching Speedvision one time and Lingefelter poped one of these puppies on a Vette and was able to squeeze out 500hp out of it. On a Camaro its about 400-425HP

Hey got me fused up too, but this is his comment.



So I figure, hey why the hell not. Maybe GM shared its 3800 engine with Chrysler. Kinda like Ford and Mazda.

Use that as your commuter, then get one of the two vehicles that are in this pic for speed.  The Camaro SS has 388.60 HP at the rear wheels, and the bike dyno'd stock at 117.3 hp at the rear wheel.

[img]http://www.sfrn.dnai.com/~tonym/Pics/SS/SSnBike2.jpg[/img]

BTW, I doubt the Mustang GT was a fluke, those cars are slow unless you pour some serious cash into them.

Just a guess, but by "takes" I think he meant "is faster than"

Norm

Have you looked into a new computer chip? I know people who have changed a chip and changed horse power that way. They claim big change for little bucks!

I would definately consider a nitrous kit.

I've owned & installed more kits than I can remember, and it's absolutely the most horsepower you can get for relatively low cost...

I highly recommend N.O.S. (Nitrous Oxide Systems Inc.)
They have easy to install, bolt-on kits for almost any application.
They are very safe and reliable too.
Don't believe all the horror stories about "fryin yer motor"...Usually these bad experiences are from improperly installed kits, or guys trying to "tweak" them...

Right now I've got a '70 Camaro with a big block on nitrous and it goes 8.46 sec @ 159.85 mph in the 1/4 mi.
I've raced this car for 12 years now, and have never lost an engine from a nitrous problem...

The newer computer controlled cars are very simple to add 'juice to...
They don't require an additional fuel supply to add with the nitrous.
The cars computer has the capability to enrich the fuel mixture when the 'juice is activated...Just like it does when the engine is ice cold.
When the motor is ice cold, the computer tells the injectors "FULL RICH" (closed loop) until the engine warms up enough for the temp sensors to affect the mixture...Then the computer goes into "open loop"(lean)
The NOS system is properly calibrated to each applications "closed loop"fuel system capability.

TRY:

[red][url]http://www.nosnitrous.com[/url][/red]

for further info....

As far as voiding the warranty...
O-well...
" Ya wanna play, Ya gotta pay "[:)]

"It takes any mustang/camaro/firebird with a V6, and even my friends GT with an automatic tranny, though we both know it had to be a fluke :-)"


Um...ok...get real.  No Stratus will take me in my V-6 firebird...maybe U havnt heard the expression "there is no replament for cubic inches"...what u have is a American rice-burner wanna-be...if there is a Mustang GT that U can beat, it's only becuase the owner isn't racing you.  I have a 98 Firebird...5-speed...3.42 rear end...see you in my rear view mirror

My rice burner has Japanese writing on it,,,,

[img]http://www.commspeed.net/jmurray/images/233b.jpg[/img]

but I don't talk the talk, I walk the walk.

[img]http://www.commspeed.net/jmurray/images/Supercharger-Oil_Filler_Cap.jpg[/img]

Also, if your interested in nitro, here's a great pic of a Nissan Maxima that was nitro equipped, that is until the nitro system blew up.

[img]http://www.espeedaz.net/jmurray/images/nitro_explosion.jpg[/img]

I don't know if anyone got hurt or killed, but if there was anyone in the car or general area, there's a good possibility that someone did.

I think I'll stick to superchargers.

You might also try [url]http://www.magnuson-products.com/[/url]

Magnuson does the supercharger design work for Ford, GM, Toyota, and may have something in the works for Dodge.

Send them a email and ask.

Jay
Arizona

Hey Jay,

I have the TRD blower on my 2001 Tacoma Double Cab, Great isn't it?  Makes that truck move.

BTW, that Nissan you showed is from an idiot that wired his bottle heater to a constant power source, and didn't install a switch.  He was using an odd bottle that didn't have a pressure blow off valve on it.

[b]If you're an idiot, don't work on cars.  Pay someone to do it.[/b]

Heh, what I meant by take a mustang or a camaro or firebird with a V6 was off the line, NOT parts swapping, lol.  And yeah, that car will take any of the above cars with V6's in them, NOT V8's, so trans-ams, GT's, and Z28's WILL leave me in the dust, but not too bad...I guess.  the autostick is great though, it gives all the benefits of a stick, but none of the hassle.  And the only reason the I beat the guy with the GT (I DID mention it was a fluke) was because it was his new car, and he didnt really feel like giving it all it could take.

thank you all for your help, and hey, for that guy who said his V6 firebird (sorry, but what the hell were you thinking getting a V6 firebird), come out to chicago sometime, I dare ya.  Based on sheer numbers, we would be very close, and fun too.  

Half Moon,

Email me: We'll talk TRD stuff !!!

Jay
Arizona

Best example of juicing up a V6 i know of is the 1987 Buick Grand National.  They have a turbo charged V6, intercooled motor that cranks 245 horses, nib. a quick way to get more horses is bump up the boost, ie through a computer chip. I would check on a chip to control the fuel injection and timing if u want horses, air flow=horsepower.
  38Jeep