7. Remove engine cover (free)
Pretty simple really. Just pull that GDi cover off the top of your engine. If you checked your spark plugs, you had to do this anyway so just leave it off. Why? With the cover on, it helps keep heat in the engine bay which increases heat soak. I have logged 5-10* hotter oil temps with the cover on while driving at speeds. I have a set of tests on my backlog that i'll be doing to provide exact details, but that's for later time.

8. Catch can
A catch can sits between your PCV valve and your intake. It collects the oil that would normally end up going into your cylinders. Oil in the combustion process is a bad idea. It will cause knock which will retard your timing (thus losing power) and will flat out gunk up your motor and leave carbon on your pistons. Over time your pistons will get carbon build up bad enough that it will cause hot spots which will forever prevent running advanced timing. Ask me how I know!

The solution is just to add a catch can. You can get an expensive one, or you can get a cheap one. I built one for $15 using an oil/water separator for an air compressor. It doesn't look as nice as some of the more expensive ones (it actually looks ugly AF), but it works.

You want that in your intake & cylinders? I don't.

9. Phenolic spacer
A phenolic spacer is simply a gasket that is made from phenolic material. The point is to prevent heat transfer between parts. In this case, the phenolic spacer sits in between your upper and lower intake manifolds so that as the lower intake manifold absorbs heats from the heads, it won't in turn heat the upper intake manifold. This helps with reducing intake temps. Once the manifold gets heat soaked, it's hard to cool it back off. The phenolic spacer works really well and it's not that expensive.

The results are similar to the coolant bypass. Just do a hard run, then touch the manifold. Careful, it'll burn you! Install the spacer, then do the same test. Now the manifold is only warm to the touch.

Do you need a spacer for the TB? NO! There is no point, especially if you've already done the coolant bypass and the phenolic spacer for the manifolds. Don't waste the money.

10. Brake pads
The factory brake pads are crap. CRAP! One hard brake session and they're smoked. Get rid of them ASAP. The amount of brake material they have is very concerning. See what i mean?

I went with EBC yellow stuff pads, but they are expensive and are very dusty. I'm not going to recommend anything, but I'm probably going with EBC red stuff or maybe hawk pads next time. Take a look around for recommendations for your driving style and goals. What ever you get will be better than the stock pads.

11. Heat wrap intake
The stock intake in pretty decent for flow which is why you have not seen "CAI or SRI" listed as an upgrade. But the stock box is susceptible to heat soak from the head and exhaust manifold. The heat coming from these sources hits the air box where the filter sits and causes in intake temps to rise. Heat shield material is pretty cheap and it's a simple project with great results. I used aluminized heat barrier with adhesive backing.

Results: 10* drop in temp when driving at speed, much slower to heat soak and faster recovery from heat soak once you start moving again.

12. Hood vents
Hood vents are a great way to reduce heat soak when sitting still (stop light, fwy traffic, etc). They don't do much to reduce temps when moving (wrong design), but adding a way for the heat to escape goes a long way.

I recommend that you purchase vents from a vendor and keep your stock vents. If you want to DIY, then I at least recommend you get a spare set of stock vents. You'll want them when it start to rain. They are simple enough to swap.

If you want to DIY: http://www.gencoupe.com/exterior/456802-idiot-s-me-guide-making-bk2-functional-hood-vents.html

13. Intake manifold balancing/porting
IMO this is one of the best things you can do for the motor. The intake manifold (mostly the upper one) has an issue with flow. The passenger side flow less than the driver side. Some say that it will cause the driver side to run lean, but that's not true. Each bank has it's own fuel trims which adjust accordingly. But, the cylinders on each bank may not flow the same and that can cause one or more cylinders to run lean and that is bad.

Not only that, more air = more power (I make this statement loosely). The casting from the factory is horrible! See my post here for more info: http://www.gencoupe.com/3-8-v6-disc...m/3-8-v6-discussion-2013-up/484209-ported-polished-intake-manifolds-myself.html

If you're mechanically inclined, then you can do a gasket match yourself and just clean up the garbage but I recommend sending it to a shop like SoCal Porting or TurboKits.com (those are the only two places that will do the work at the time I'm writing this). They will flow bench and equalize the runners to flow the same (or very close). This will help individual cylinders on each bank run the same which will increase power and reduce potential damage.

It's well worth the money. Expect ~$300.

Result: Extra noise from the intake (sounds better) and better power delivery in mid-top of the power band.

14. Throttle body bore
If you're looking for the most gains up top, then get your TB bored out. It's inexpensive (~$100-$130 depending on what you get). It's a worth while mod if you plan on doing drag racing or driving where you're in the high rev range often.

I have noticed mid-range power and throttle response to be better. Some may report a loss of power down low, but YMMV.

You can get this service done from Maxbore (florida).

15. Test pipes
Test pipes are a great way to add sound to your exhaust and improve mid-range power and throttle response. They are also fairly inexpensive. I got mine for ~$140. Easy enough to install yourself and cheap enough to have a shop do it for you. About 30 minutes of time for a shop to do it. You will certainly feel the improvements.

If you're not sure what test pipes are, they are simply 2 straight tubes that replace your secondary cats. No, you will not get a CEL (check engine light) and you do not need a tune to use them. Mostly likely you will not pass smog with them, but YMMV.

16. Light weight pulleys
A controversial modification, but so far no significant proof that they are dangerous (on N/A motors at least). Light weight pulleys will improve throttle response and potentially provide HP gains. There are reports of 5hp gains which is about what I saw.

17. Cat-back exhaust
The stock exhaust runs two exhaust manifolds which eventually narrows down to a single Y pipe. This Y pipe is a potential bottle neck. A lot of speculation on if a CBE will provide gains, but if nothing else they do improve the sound. I run the Ark GRiP v2 which is super expensive but sounds awesome. There are some other systems that sound really good too. It depends on your taste and goals. Just look around. I have no dyno sheets to prove anything, but I did notice a slight power difference down low in the form of tire chirp. YMMV.

18 a. Shave IAT sensor (free)
This might sound funny, but i'm dead serious. Even after you move the sensor, the sensor is still very slow to respond to temperature changes which leads to the same issues of sensor reporting higher temps that what is actually coming in.

The problem is the sensor is encased in plastic and that plastic prevents air flow to the glass bead that is actually reading the temps. Not only that, the plastic casing is susceptible to heat soak which will provide false readings.

This is a very simple mod, but one that should be done with care. Take a brand new razor and ever so gently start shaving plastic from the tip of the probe. At some point you'll get down to a shiny glass bead like this

You don't have to go too far down (I recommend you dont!). Just take your time, shave away small bits at a time until the bead is exposed.

Before: Sitting at a stop light, intake temps rise due to heat soak. When you start driving, the incoming air is cooler and therefore the sensor should read lower, but it doesn't. It actually takes quite a bit to get the sensor to start reading lower temps.

After: Sitting at a stop light, intake temps rise due to heat soak. When you start driving, the incoming air is cooler and the sensor is able to see the temperature drops much quicker resulting in better performance.

18 b. Replace IAT sensor with fast acting sensor
The problem with the stock sensor is that it's just not very good at all. While shaving it does make a big difference, it could be far better. The only option is to replace the sensor with a fast acting sensor. Why? When you smash the pedal and cool air starts to rush in, the ECU needs accurate data and the stock sensor isn't fast enough to offer accurate data. Getting a fast acting sensor will do the trick.

Now, this is not free and not easy. You'll need to be comfortable with soldering.

More information: http://www.gencoupe.com/engine/110366-fast-acting-iat.html

19. Tune
Yep, get a tune. Well worth it. However, I recommend getting as many modifications out of the way first as you can to get the most out the tune. For the most part, canned tunes can be done first because they won't be customized to your mods. Canned tunes will vary depending on who you go with.

If you're serious and you have the opportunity, get a custom tune. It's a bit more expensive, but well worth it and will result in more power. But in order to get the most from it, you should have all your bolt-ons and modifications in place before or you're leaving power on the table.

20. Rigid collars
To be honest, I have not installed these yet, but everyone who has loves them. At first I didn't see a need because my car was brand new, but now that I have ~30k on it, I'm feeling the need. They are cheap enough to get at about ~$80. If you plan to track the car, they should be done as soon as possible.

More info on these: http://www.gencoupe.com/vendor-clas...ndor-classifieds-suspension/87916-sfr-rigid-collar-kit-must-suspension-mod.html and

21. Tires
The factory bridgestone tires are not that great at grip and they are heavy. I highly recommend getting new tires. Most of the tires I looked at were lighter in weight. Shaving a few lbs per tire will have noticeable improvements with regard to throttle response. If you're running the factory 19" wheels, you should also get a wider tire. My setup is 235/35/19 in the front and 255/35/19 in the rear. The extra width will help with grip as long as you don't get cheap'o tires.

22. Upgrade Brake fluid
If you plan to track at all, I highly recommend getting performance brake fluid. While under braking conditions, your causing heat to build up from friction. That head transfers into the calipers and in turn, the brake fluid. Under hard conditions the brake fluid can boil and that's bad. Brake fade, fluid wear and so on. Upgrading the fluid will be very beneficial. There are a lot of recommendations, so just look around.

23. Trans Mount
This should actually be closer to the top of the list, but I forgot about it until now. Getting a solid trans mount (I have the megan racing mount) will greatly improve shifting under heavy acceleration and will reduce wheel hop when launching. It made a big difference with how I drive (very spirited). I don't really launch my car, but I did try a burn out once and the wheel hop was so bad I thought I broke something. After the mount, I can spin the tires without the hop and it has a more solid feel all around.

Conclusion
This is my recommended upgrade path for a 3.8 owner who does not plan to go with a forced induction setup. Some of the things I listed are a little vague, but that's because there is a ton of info available already, just take a look around.

Notice I did not include headers or intake. Headers can gain you power, but only with a custom tune and will cause CELs which need to be tuned away. Intakes are a waste of money IMO. I made 321/290 on the stock airbox. If you want an intake, I highly recommend going with an in-the-fender true CAI and not the sits-in-the-hot-ass-engine-bay SRI intakes. The problem is that on BK2 3.8's the washer fluid reservoir prevents access to the fender area, so it needs to be removed. I removed mine. The other issue is that they don't really exist for us, so you have to make one or get an existing kit for BK1 and modify it.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful to someone. I'm pretty happy with my setup and I have not yet dynoed the car with the test pipes and the intake modifications, so I'm expecting to hit 330/300. Will post results when available.

 

Conclusion
This is my recommended upgrade path for a 3.8 owner who does not plan to go with a forced induction setup. Some of the things I listed are a little vague, but that's because there is a ton of info available already, just take a look around.

NO! I DEMAND YOU TELL ME EVERYTHING! I DON'T WANT TO LOOK!!! :grin:

 

Excellent write up! I've been looking for a comprehensive 3.8 upgrade list since I purchased mine in December. I'll definetly be doing some of those free mods and looking into a few of the paid ones. What's the rigid collar though? First time I've heard of it.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

They keep the sub frame from sliding around, basically make the frame feel a lot more solid. Here is some info

http://www.gencoupe.com/vendor-clas...ndor-classifieds-suspension/87916-sfr-rigid-collar-kit-must-suspension-mod.html

That will explain it better than I can.

 

Excellent write up. I didn't even think of some of these.+1

 

Badass thread thanks for posting this great information.

 

Awesome - thanks titan, nice work. I'm doing the coolant bypass this week.

 

Thanks for the info!

Interested in shaving down the IAT and getting a better ground now...

Quick question, did you just change out brake pads and keep stock rotors?

 

Thanks for the info!

Interested in shaving down the IAT now...

Quick question, did you just change out brake pads and keep stock rotors?

Yep, I just installed pads and left the rotors. TBH you don't need to upgrade them. Pads and fluid will work great. If you track hard and you're getting fade, then I'd recommend slotted or better pads. If you have some miles on the car, I'd get the rotors turned before installing new pads. They can be done for $40 total ($10 each) if you pull them off and take them to a shop.

Unless of course, you want looks. The do look damn sexy

 

Totally forgot about the trans mount. I added it to the list, # 23.

 

I've been following your threads for some time and honestly benefitted quite a bit from it, appreciate it a lot brotha. Just got done with the better grounding mod. Could be my imagination but seems like whether at start up or after driving the idling is much smoother and my sound system along with subs seems to be hitting a lot better than before. Still waiting on tb bore, IM pnp, rigid collars, trans mount, and Ark H pipe before a custom tune next year (currently canned tune). Probably take a stab at shaving the IAT sensor and relocating it along with heat wrap soon. 13 3.8 rspec here.

 

still need to do #6 , 11-16, 18,20, and 23 lol let me know what numbers you get with test pipes and the rest of your mods, very interested.

 

I'll be getting to the dyno soon. i want to know too!

i know this is a dumb question but how do you update the mod list under your comments on a thread? cant seem to figure it out ^^;;;

from the wth site, go into the user cp ( top right), then edit signature from the side menu.

 

Nice write up, in for updates. So far the best upgrade I've made is wider and lighter wheels and tires.

 

i know this is a dumb question but how do you update the mod list under your comments on a thread? cant seem to figure it out ^^;;;

 

If using the Tapatalk app, press and hold post, select EDIT at top.
If using a browser, there should be an EDIT button at the bottom, right of your post.

ETA: apologies! I misread (read to fast) and answered the wrong question.
My badd, dogg. [emoji33]
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

nothing wrong with air in the intake, all its doing is lubing it so the air can travel more smoothly

 

you referring to the polish part of the PnP?

 

Hey titan i don't know if this mod applies to the models after 13 but i remember disconnecting a connector by the clutch and it made my car shifting and everything 10x better.

http://www.gencoupe.com/3-8-v6-discussion-2013-up/120819-throttle-lag-3.html

page 3 shows the diagram of which one to disconnect

Does this still apply to the 14s and up? if so definitely a free mod thats not listed.

 

Interesting. Just went through the entire thread. Wish there was a condensed set of information for it all.

Like does disabling both traction control and stability control give you the same result as the unplug mod?

Does everyone get the traction control light after a while?

What's up with this unplug and paper clip mod?

 

Ok, I unplugged the pigtail and drove 20 miles stop and go to test it out.

I unplugged it, then started the car. It was a cold start. After a few seconds of high revs, then it did an immediate drop of rpms instead of feathering down. That's never happened before except when I left the TB wire harness off. I let it warm up for a bit, then drove it around easy. It seemed like shifts were smoother, less lag during upshifts. It did not fix the rev hang at all. After it fully warmed up, I tested it more aggressively. The shifts did feel smoother, but not crisper. So basically it would be something you do if your grandma was going to ride with you. But Grandma =/= performance. Driving it some more, it felt like the throttle was laggy, like it wouldn't come on, or as if I had lost the 1:1. To be honest, i got a lot of mixed feedback so I really don't think it's a good mod. I was able to rev to redline no problem. After I pulled into the driveway, I got the TC light.

I built a spade jumper and shorted the pigtail. As soon as I pulled out of the driveway the car felt like sh*t and it was hard to keep it from stalling. I immediately pulled back into the driveway, removed the jumper and plugged the pig tail back in. Drove around and car feels like it needs to reset itself. I do not think that plunger switch is on/off, I think it's a variable voltage, otherwise it should work fine either unplugged and/or shorted. Someone would need to test this, but the outcome is still the same, not worth it.

This was on my 2014 r-spec with cruise control. And yes, you lose cruise control with it unplugged.

So results: Don't bother. At least that's my opinion. YMMV, but don't expect much.

 

I just swapped my stock pads out with Hawk HPS pads. I didn't think this car could stop this well ever without a big brake kit. The stock pads were totally fried after 5000 miles. I finally feel confident throwing my car around the VT back roads.

 

Whoa!!! Tell me you race on an F1 track daily With 98K on my GT, I still have plenty of the original pads left, and it brakes just fine. Of course, I don't do any racing. Some hard driving FTTT, but no racing.

 

Thanks for the write up! I love threads like these where all the information in consolidated into a single place instead of multiple pages.

As far as the brake pads, are you talking about the pads that come with the brembo brakes?

 

All models, regardless of brembo or not, suck. I have brembos and the pads that come with them are just cheap basic pads. Invest in good pads and be happier.

 

It's really a shame, how many things need to be changed, right away, on a new car, IOT make it what it should be.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

well that's just about true for any car when you're talking to an enthusiast. For a non car person looking for something better looking than a mustang, it's just fine. But for those of us who can't keep our hands out of things, well...it's frustrating

 

Those with oem brembo pads - if you bed them in properly, they will no longer suck at braking and ware.

I did a agresive bed in where you brake really hard from 60mph to 20mph about 10 times (had a bit of smoke on last 2) folowed by a few light brake periods.
Brakes felt good after that the whole summer. I am sure if you do the same prosedure with better pads brakes will feel even better



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Those with oem brembo pads - if you bed them in properly, they will no longer suck at braking and ware.

I did a agresive bed in where you brake really hard from 60mph to 20mph about 10 times (had a bit of smoke on last 2) folowed by a few light brake periods.
Brakes felt good after that the whole summer. I am sure if you do the same prosedure with better pads brakes will feel even better

What car did you get that had brembo pads from factory?

The bed-in process you describe is what you have to do for a lot of higher end pads. I had to do that for my EBC pads.

It's very important that you follow the bed-in process when putting on new pads otherwise you'll be no better off than the oem crappers.

 

Well I just put in a big order with Genracer.com for the non-free things on this list. Titan, you should at least get a free t-shirt from vendors for putting together this list... or some stickers. Total was about $1500; going with the cheap CNT CBE and test pipes.

I'll send my intake off to Turbokits.com for PNP and balancing when I'm ready for that in about a month or 2... Also going to send the TB to Maxbore at the same time... Then I'll drive up to SFR for a tune as my final destination on this upgrade path.

Thanks again,
Carl

 

Carl,

With that CNT exhaust, after install just take it to a muffler shop and have them tack new hangers on that get the tips to line up level. Easier than the time I took to modify mine. I still have spacers on the rear hangers to get them to where they look right.:frown::frown::frown::frown:

 

Will do! I figured I'd do the transmission mount and exhaust at the same time. I can do it myself and get the shop to align the tips. Can't wait to hear it. So sick of hearing crappy clips.

 

Performed 2,3,4,7,9,13,14,18a, and 23 when the car came out to play this summer. the car feels much more responsive (throttle) and consistent (throttle and shifting). couldn't tell you which mod was the best as they were all done at the same time but i'm super happy with the result.

Thanks for the coolant bypass, better ground mod, and iAT sensor shaving tips, didn't think of those 3

 

I've done the following in this order:

21. Tires
18 a. Shave IAT sensor (free)
1. Start using premium quality 91/92 octane fuel (btw, Costco has the best deal on premium)
3. Better ground mod (free) (did the same to the ground under the CAI as well.)
5. Easy intake mod (free) (Cut out all the louvers)
6. Relocate IAT sensor mod (free)
7. Remove engine cover (free) (Also removed other foam thing at the back of the engine near the driver.)
xx. Installed AEM Intake instead of other intake mods. It sounds way better than stock. More power, IDK... but no deficit.

This week: (update: Done!)
4. Coolant bypass mod (free)
17. Cat-back exhaust
15. Test pipes
23. Trans Mount

I'll have time again in late June for:
20. Rigid collars
8. Catch can
9. Phenolic spacer
13. Intake manifold balancing/porting
14. Throttle body bore
2. Check spark plug gap (free) (bought new plugs as well)
19. Tune

Eventually:
10. Brake pads
12. Hood vents
16. Light weight pulleys
22. Upgrade Brake fluid

Was this car designed for traversing Antarctica? It's like they did everything they could to heat up the air coming into the engine. sheesh!

 

Was this car designed for traversing Antarctica? It's like they did everything they could to heat up the air coming into the engine. sheesh!

:rofl:

 

6. Relocate IAT sensor mod (free)
One of the biggest problems with stock 3.8 air box is the location of the IAT sensor (intake air temperature). It sits in a spot that does not get a lot of moving air and it's sitting in a spot that gets blasted with heat from the engine and coolant pipes.

The problem is that your sensor is seeing hotter temps than what is actually going into your engine. The issue with this is 1) higher temps will reduce timing 2) higher temps will reduce the fuel the ecu adds which will result in leaner AFR's which could lead to timing reduction. The car will compensate fairly quickly with fuel trims, but why not just fix the issue?

This one is very simple. Just drill a hole in the top of the air box and stick the sensor there. Then block off the old hole with a piece of plastic and some gasket maker or RTV.

The result is that the temperature probe nipple is in the direct path of the incoming air stream which will give a much more accurate reading (it won't be 100% accurate, see 18a and 18b).

What did you use to secure the IAT in the new location? Don't see the bolt attached in your pictures.

Been starting to follow this writeup with a few simple changes - lots of fun and butt dyno is happy.

 

it's snug enough to just sit there, no bolt. but you could easily drill/tap a small hole for the bolt to hold it down.

 

Update!
I've done the following in this order:

21. Tires
18 a. Shave IAT sensor
1. Start using premium fuel - tried it but...
* I found my car seems to run better on midgrade than premium. Shrug

3. Better ground mod (did the same to the ground under the CAI as well.)
5. Easy intake mod (Cut out all the louvers, added heat reflection stuff all over intake areas.)
6. Relocate IAT (part of x1 below)
X1. Installed AEM Intake
7. Remove engine cover
4. Coolant bypass mod
17. Cat-back exhaust CNT POS
15. Test pipes
23. Trans Mount (Megan)
8. Catch can (Mishimoto)
9. Phenolic spacer
13. Intake manifold balancing/porting (Turbokits)
14. Throttle body bore (Maxbore)
X2. Trans and diff fluids replaced with Redline

To do soon:
20. Rigid collars (if I can get help)
2. Check spark plug gap/new plugs
19. Tune

Eventually:
10. Brake pads (stop tech sport pads)
22. Upgrade Brake fluid

I've spent around 2500 or more so far. After tune, it'll be 3,k. I'm guessing I'll have about 30 hp more than I started. $100/hp