Found an old video of my car.

Matt Saunoras · March 12, 2012

I figured I'd put this on here just so you guys can see a prime example of the dumb ideas we have when we're younger (or atleast how dumb I was).

I took my only car, a 2001 Grand Prix GT with a 3800 naturally aspirated V6, and bolted on the heads, intake and supercharger off a bonneville. Some of you might know that the GTP and some other GM cars of that era came with a 3800 supercharged engine. This supercharged engine came with a much lower compression ratio than the N/A version, so logically you can't run as much boost with the N/A shortblock.

So I thought I'd counteract my high compression ratio by running a more efficient cam. But the cam I decided to run was the nastiest sounding cam you could get, it has more overlap than any other one you could get for the car. Actually they had to stop offering this cam because it was way too hard to tune and people where chipping pistons left and right. I found a used one though, threw it in and that's where this vid came from.

http://www.streetfire.net/video/another-NIC-cam-idle-vid_155972.htm

I've had this car for almost 8 years and I'm supposed to be selling it/ transfering the title tomorrow. It's been parked for the last year and a half but I daily drove this thing for 3 years with that cam in it. Constantly people would be asking me what was wrong with my car. I remember one guy even tried to diagnose it for me by saying I probably needed a fuel filter. The looks I got were priceless though

I had no idea this video was still on the net, apparently the company that made this cam has re-released it and they're using my video as advertisement.

Posted Image

Aaron · March 12, 2012

You counteracted the high compression by swapping the cam?

Aren't you SUPPOSED to pull the motor to swap cams in those cars? Posted Image

I started typing this while the video was loading.

Holy. Mother. Of. God.

That damn thing sounds like my Malibu, and it's got a 244 deg@ .050 cam in it, and almost 12:1 compression!! (new cam is 256/260 deg @ .050, 558/560 lift on a 106 deg cl, should idle like a dog poopin' razorblades)

Awesome, dude!

Is it driveable? I know a guy that can tune it if it's not and you're planning on keepin it.

Sure does sound good man. Probably needs a fuel filter and a set of wires though Posted Image

Matt Saunoras · March 12, 2012

Actually you can get the cam through the pass side wheel well if you lower that side of the subframe down about 6-8 inches. The car is very streetable, it just shakes the hell out of you when it's idling, it's tuned pretty good though and it's never once stalled out on me at a light or anything. The tune in it was written by me. I have a custom programmer and for a while was running a wideband O2 to monitor A/F ratios. It runs at a nice fat 12.0:1 AFR at wot and makes 10psi of boost at 9.4:1 compression. Premium fuel is a must.

The cam is 220/230° at .050" .528/.528 112LSA. It's also got a double roller chain and 105# comp valve springs. It has headers and a 3" exhaust too.

Lots of time and work went into it but I just have no need for a car anymore. It's getting up there in age too and the underbody is starting to show it. I just recently had to put a rack/ps pump in it and run a new RF brake line that blew out. I need to get rid of it before anything major happens

Aaron · March 12, 2012

holy SHIT that is a lot of bumpstick.

Got the stock convertor in it? How's it leave? I'd suspect with that much cam it doesnt REALLY wake up till it gets some RPM into it.

The huffer probably makes up for it a bit too.

Are those cams hollow like the 3100/3400 cams?

Matt Saunoras · March 12, 2012

nah they're not hollow or I would have made a camshaft lamp a long time ago. Posted Image

Even though the cam is a higher RPM cam the car still has way more torque that you can use on the street. It'll roast the tires going 35mph from the 3-2 shift. The boost is instant which made it weird getting into a 6.0 with a turbo.

Everything trans is stock, the stock GT convertor was said to be comparable to a 3000 stall. I am mostly amazed at the fact the trans is all original in this car with the addition of a shift kit and some bumped pressures via the tune. It still shifts as good as the day I got it. Bolting on some slicks would have been the death of it and I actually still have a spare tranny in the garage for when that day came.

I was getting ready to build up the trans with a bunch of hard parts but by that time I was losing interest fast. The limitations of the platform start to show themselves by this point

Aaron · March 12, 2012

'specially the 4th gear clutch hub.

4T60-e in that?

Matt Saunoras · March 12, 2012

4T65-E

I think by 2001 the 4th gear clutch hub already had the hardened splines. The spare trans I have is a 4T65E-HD out of a 99 buick riviera. I had a hub with hardened splines ready to go in it along with a heavier drive chain, input shaft, output shaft and pump shaft. I was getting ready to buy a stall when I decided to give it up. I've since sold all those parts + the raybestos red clutches I had too.

lmorris · March 12, 2012

Sounds like a bunch of people clapping. Crazy stuff.

Matt Saunoras · March 13, 2012

yeah that was the stock catback. it was the only exhaust setup that car had where you could hear the blower whine over the exhaust. since then it's got headers, a glasspack, and 2 hooker maxflows. It's not too loud but much deeper and less tinny