V6 speed limiter woes
Mike Cronis
good laugh read on, otherwise skip it.
Today I went on ahead and openned her up on a 2-lane straight-away access
road to see what she can do. I reached 100mph fairly quickly and I began to
feel the downforce from the spoiler (which is good). From 100 to 118
acceleration started to degrade sharply, probably due to altitude at 6500
feet (Colorado Springs, CO). At 118 (it was pretty close to 120 so I assume
around 118) I felt the speed limiter kick in, as gas was shut off (sort of a
pulsing, but not as harsh as the speed limiter on the Sunfire GT which is
more of a violent jostling at 112.) Gas continued to pulse on and off,
though my tach in 5th (of 5 gears) only read around 4000 RPM (or
there-abouts).
118 is pretty pathetic. I've owned other cars, such as a Honda Civic EX go
about that speed or faster, as well as a Mitsubishi Eclipse go 128 or so.
It's annoying what GM did. There are places in town that will use the GM
programmer module to remove the limiter for about $150 or so.
In hindsight, however, I felt she would only go probably about 130 or 135
maximum speed as I felt she was starting to top-off (which is again, pretty
sorry) despite my modifications. I figure the lack of air is a factor,
certainly, as here we lose about 18%-20% Hp, depending. The W-rated tires
did hold well and control was fairly nimble, and temperature and oil were in
the range as if I was going 50mph, so she held together quite well, if not
bored.
Has any other V6 owners had this problem? What are their top speeds as well
if un-"limited"? Perhaps someone bought the G-Tech Pro and has been able to
play around with that for a while with the 3800 series II in say, a Buick?
FireFox
CBHVAC
--
www.carolinabreezehvac.com
"Mike Cronis" <mikean...@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
news:tkheri6...@corp.supernews.com...
> First off, I own the V6 Firebird with ample mods so V8 owners if they want
a
> good laugh read on, otherwise skip it.
Laugh?? At what?
>
>
> Today I went on ahead and openned her up on a 2-lane straight-away access
> road to see what she can do.
Not the one near Motor City off the 25 I hope..
> I reached 100mph fairly quickly and I began to
> feel the downforce from the spoiler (which is good).
Humm...thats debateable..since depending on the year, its for looks only..
> From 100 to 118
> acceleration started to degrade sharply, probably due to altitude at 6500
> feet (Colorado Springs, CO).
Not really..if you bought the vehicle there, its got the HA program.
As are most vehicles shipped to that area...
> At 118 (it was pretty close to 120 so I assume
> around 118) I felt the speed limiter kick in, as gas was shut off (sort of
a
> pulsing, but not as harsh as the speed limiter on the Sunfire GT which is
> more of a violent jostling at 112.) Gas continued to pulse on and off,
> though my tach in 5th (of 5 gears) only read around 4000 RPM (or
> there-abouts).
.
Normal...still trying to figure out where in hell in Colorado Springs you
tried that...maybe out near the airport off Academy?
>
> 118 is pretty pathetic. I've owned other cars, such as a Honda Civic EX
go
> about that speed or faster, as well as a Mitsubishi Eclipse go 128 or so.
> It's annoying what GM did. There are places in town that will use the GM
> programmer module to remove the limiter for about $150 or so.
Gm is not the only one that did it, and it was not all up to GM to do this.
>
> In hindsight, however, I felt she would only go probably about 130 or 135
> maximum speed as I felt she was starting to top-off (which is again,
pretty
> sorry) despite my modifications. I figure the lack of air is a factor,
> certainly, as here we lose about 18%-20% Hp, depending. The W-rated tires
> did hold well and control was fairly nimble, and temperature and oil were
in
> the range as if I was going 50mph, so she held together quite well, if not
> bored.
W rated tires are good to 168MPH...they should have been fine..
Lack of air is a factor, but not as much as you think. I held my own quite
nicely there, and had no problems the several trips up Pikes Peak Highway.
Mike Cronis
leads to Markshuffle Rd. This road used to be all dirt but was paved about
a year ago and is fairly smooth and abandoned with rolling hills and slight
turns, and is probably a car-enthusiast of Colorado's best kept secret. A
sort of "prooving grounds".
I've been in TransAms and they yawn at 118mph. Despite all my efforts, I
can go about as fast as a Honda Civic (for top speed). My acceleration is
about maybe 7.2 seconds 0-60, which is tame. I am thoroughly unimpressed
with my efforts, and am tempted to buy a Celica GTS or Eclipse GT.
Mike
"CBHVAC" <in...@carolinabreezehvac.com> wrote in message
news:Z5327.230$ov1....@eagle.america.net...
ho...@nospamextremejeep.com
> I've been in TransAms and they yawn at 118mph. Despite all my efforts, I
> can go about as fast as a Honda Civic (for top speed). My acceleration is
> about maybe 7.2 seconds 0-60, which is tame. I am thoroughly unimpressed
> with my efforts, and am tempted to buy a Celica GTS or Eclipse GT.
So get a chip that raises or removes the 118mph limit. The whole reason
for the limit is because that is likely what the OEM tires' speed rating
was, manufacturers are required to set a speed limiter no higher than the
speed rating for the tires that come on the vehicle. T/As come with tires
rated to what, 149mph? That's what the speed limiter on those will be set
to. :) Still, F-bodies aren't exactly light and you did opt for the v6
version. Make a sleeper, slap a blower on there and call it a day. :-)
--
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Hogan Whittall
__________________________________________________________________
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Mike Cronis
currently no modules or chips that remove the limiter for the 3.8 V6 (though
strangely there are tons of mods available for the 3.4 V6). A "blower"
would be good, if I had the $5000 to add on there, unless I can get a used
one off a GrandPrix perhaps? I currently own a Garret T3 turbocharger, but
no one in town will consider the bolt-on for under $7000.
Mike
<ho...@NOSPAMextremejeep.com> wrote in message
news:Sh527.149$4a...@rubicon.extremejeep.com...
Da Man
"Mike Cronis" <mikean...@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
news:tkicr0j...@corp.supernews.com...
> I do have the Jet Performance Stage 2 "chip" module on there.
Most aftermarket chips are plain crap, and some hurt performance, and kill
economy while they are in there. Some on the other hand are ok. The big
problem is speed density systems are very sensitive to mods, and need CUSTOM
programming, not what a company (some really don't know what they are doing,
this has been proved, for some very large performance companies, and the
general public doesn't know that they are literally getting ripped) thinks
you need on a couple of there test engines. You can usually tell this by
stage X modifications.
Also, do you have other any mods done to your car?
>There are
> currently no modules or chips that remove the limiter for the 3.8 V6
(though
> strangely there are tons of mods available for the 3.4 V6).
This engine has been around since the late 70's very early 80's, in
different forms. It was in f bodies since 1982. The engine started off as a
2.8, and eventually became stroked to a 3.1L. Newer versions were punched
out to 3.4 L (pushrod). The 3.8 L has not been around as long in the F
bodies. BTW, is this the same 3.8 L Buick engine used in grand nationals?
That might be a source of performance parts.
Depending on what computer
> A "blower"
> would be good, if I had the $5000 to add on there, unless I can get a used
> one off a GrandPrix perhaps?
Good plan, and grab the ECM along with the harness.
> I currently own a Garret T3 turbocharger, but
> no one in town will consider the bolt-on for under $7000.
How much does a turbo like this cost new?
KITT
how much more it could have done.
--
Well cth ya ltr
-KITT
1985 Blue Camaro 2.8L V-6
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Da Man
Newer computers have speed limitors. They can be modified with a EPROM
reader, a PROM writer, whether it's been replaced with a flash chip, or left
as a EPROM (or even an emulator), and a program designed to change the bits
for that ECM and car. If you know where the speed limit bits or byte is
located, then you could modify the program with just a hex editor. The
newest style of cars use a newer setup, which comes with flash memory, and
is externally programmable. These cars are the ones that can use a hypertech
programmer.
"KITT" <Defe...@itol.com> wrote in message
news:3b496...@corp.newsgroups.com...
KITT
Da Man
rpm. So if your in 4 th gear ( I know you have an auto), and the engine is
revving up around there, your likely not going to go much faster. The other
limiting factor is the amount of power your engine puts out Vs air drag
(this is a square law, i.e., go twice as fast, have 4 times the drag).
A friend with a2.8 MPFI in his firebird, with a standard trans wound his car
out to 215 km/h. I don't know how he measured it, or it he could have went
faster.
"KITT" <Defe...@itol.com> wrote in message
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