3.4L Turbo Impala --> 4.6L V8 Marauder

[blackf0rk]

Hello everyone! I'm extremely glad to be here! I used to have a 2002 Chevrolet Impala that was turbocharged this last July. I'm co-owner of the NAIOA (North American Impala Owners Association); even though I don't have an Impala anymore ;). The reason why I switched is because I got sick of tuning it, mostly because of problems and things due to other more detailed evil stories which I can explain later if you wish. I'd rather not think about it since I have my Maurader now. :)

I really love this car; I've wanted one ever since I saw the first ones on a lot. Of course, brand new back then, they were way out of my budget. Fortunately circumstances changed so I could get one.

I'd like to mod my MM as much as possible without voiding any warrantys that I'm paying for, or without screwing it up. Let's face it - the MM is a great running car; I'd like to keep it that way :rolleyes:

I've been looking everywhere on this forum looking for some sort of page that has a list of MODs and Webpages I can goto to get those MODs. I'm aware of the Manufacturers section on the forums, but I'd like to know what YOU recommend.

The first thing that I could see worth getting, is this Superchips plugin for my OBDII port. Anyone recommend that? Also, where can I find some CAI for sale?

I'm sorry to sound demanding - I hate it when people did that on my Impala forums. :mad2:So know, I'm asking nicely....please :help:;)

Also, one more question. Compared to a turbo setup - how involved is a premanufactured (for our MM) SC setup? My custom turbo setup for my Impala was almost too complicated :mad: (One of the reasons I had to give it up):puke:

[Bluerauder]

Hello everyone! I'm extremely glad to be here! ...
I'd like to mod my MM as much as possible without voiding any warrantys that I'm paying for, or without screwing it up.
blackf0rk, welcome to the MM.Net :welcome: and Happy Maraudering. :D

Mods?? :rolleyes: Nobody has done any of that here. :rofl:

[TAF]

Mods?? :rolleyes: Nobody has done any of that here. :rofl:
What's he talkin' about??!! What's a "MOD"??!!

[Joe Walsh]

Welcome blackf0rk!
I'm sure you will enjoy this site and all the Marauder maniacs who post here.
A computer chip/tune and 4.10 gears seem to be the general concensus on best bang for the buck.
If you are still under warranty.... DEFINITELY get a download tune rather than a plug-in chip. I made the mistake of buying a plug-in chip (must open up the EEC computer box) and it is very easy for the dealer service dept. to tell that you've been modding the MM.

[jgc61sr2002]

blackfOrk - Welcome to the MM site. :welcome: You came to the right place lots of good info and nice folks. :D Enjoy your new ride.

[Fourth Horseman]

Welcome to the board. Was your 02 Impalla really turbo charged? I thought they had a super charger on them. Or did you replace that for the turbo?

[jstevens]

Lots of chips to pick from.

CAI-pick
JLT, K & N and many others.
Of course, I've read some dealerships are against these as well.

If you want to mod, be prepared to pay for playing.

[blackf0rk]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! And yes, my Impala was actually Turbo'd. The 3.8L Impala's were supercharged in 04. Mine was an 02 3.4L - so I had it turbo'd:cool: (not from the factory, it was all custom) It was plenty fast, but not tuned as it should've been which cause major headaches. Plus, in Wisconsin, GM Vehicles and their injectors are having conflicts with the gas used here in Wisconsin; some kind of reformulated crap. So that was just another problem to pile on to it.

Where can I get these 4.10 gears from? I'll do a search for them myself, but if someone has a link handy; it would be appreciated.:depress:

As far as the Superchips; thank you Joe for your insight on possibly staying away from these types. How and where would I get something like a "download tune"? And I'm just assuming that this would have to be by some sort of technician with a computer and program etc?

'Fourth Horseman': (Or anyone who could answer this): In your MOD list you say "Real Functioning Auto Meter Oil Pressure and Volt Meter Gauges" Does this mean the ones from the factory aren't real? Please tell me they're real or I'll be really pissed!:mad2:

Much respect to you all...:bows:

[Patrick]

:welcome: :wave: :wave:

[DavidB]

'Fourth Horseman': (Or anyone who could answer this): In your MOD list you say "Real Functioning Auto Meter Oil Pressure and Volt Meter Gauges" Does this mean the ones from the factory aren't real? Please tell me they're real or I'll be really pissed!:mad2:

The volt meter is real, but the oil pressure gauge is not. It reads an unwavering 60psi or so, and the sender is a simple on/off switch at 6psi.

The fix is to replace with a genuine Auto Meter sender and gauge, which a pretty simple job. The face is cosmetically slightly different than what Ford uses, so if you want the two to match, you'll need to replace either the face in the oil pressure gauge, or replace the entire volt meter to match the new oil gauge.

TTYL
David

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

'Fourth Horseman': (Or anyone who could answer this): In your MOD list you say "Real Functioning Auto Meter Oil Pressure and Volt Meter Gauges" Does this mean the ones from the factory aren't real? Please tell me they're real or I'll be really pissed!:mad2:

Much respect to you all...:bows:

I replaced my oil pressure gage with a working one. I took the two(2) gages apart and made one that matched the original. Where in Wisconsin are you located? Welcome to the club.

[Fourth Horseman]

'Fourth Horseman': (Or anyone who could answer this): In your MOD list you say "Real Functioning Auto Meter Oil Pressure and Volt Meter Gauges" Does this mean the ones from the factory aren't real? Please tell me they're real or I'll be really pissed!:mad2:

What the others said above is correct. Like most (all?) recent Ford products, the oil pressure gauge is just an idiot gauge. That Ford wouldn't put a real gauge on a car they market to a performance enthusiast crowd is just :bs: The good news is that the upgrade is easy and not too expensive.

[MENINBLK]

The volt meter is real, but the oil pressure gauge is not. It reads an unwavering 60psi or so, and the sender is a simple on/off switch at 6psi.

The fix is to replace with a genuine Auto Meter sender and gauge, which a pretty simple job. The face is cosmetically slightly different than what Ford uses, so if you want the two to match, you'll need to replace either the face in the oil pressure gauge, or replace the entire volt meter to match the new oil gauge.

TTYL
David

As DavidB said, the Voltmeter is real, but is is in no way accurate.
It reads about a full volt LOWER than the Autometer Voltmeter does.

And unless you smoke, the cig lighter is useless...
You can pull it out and cut a hole for a third gauge.
I have installed a Transmission Oil Temperature gauge in its place.
If you are planning on a SC'd Marauder in the future, you may want to
put a boost gauge
in the Oil Press slot, and scoot the gauges one place to the right.

Oh, and put the GREEN boots over the gauge lamps.
The GREEN GLOW matches the interior lighting very well...

[blackf0rk]

Well that really sucks:alone: If I was to buy two different gauges (volt and oil press) are all of the wires there that I need already up there or will I have to be an electrician too?

2003_MM_FYRE49: I'm from southern WI (said Wiscaasun). Milwaukee (said mwaukee); as specific as I get :P

[gpfarrell]

With the stock computer programming, our cars are crazy about 4th gear... in Ford's quest to get more mpg's, they're set up to shift into overdrive at anything much over 6 mph.

Unfortunately, whenever you tickle the go-pedal, not much happens in overdrive and the car feels like a pig.

I've found that hitting the O/D off button around town lets the car be much more responsive... you might start by just doing that while your looking into other goodies.

Turbo-Impala? When I first read that, I thought you didn't know what you were talking about... then I read more and realized how much I had to learn. Enjoy the Marauder!

[blackf0rk]

gpfarrell: Yea, I do not use overdrive at all unless I'm on the highway or going over 45/50mph for prolonged periods of time. And I have found that when not using over drive it's more responsive; but that's not a surpirse, it's one more gear the thing has to shift out of.

I was actually talking about this with one of my good friends who happens to be a mechanic (A dern good one at that). He said you shouldn't ever drive your car in city conditions (accel and stop) with OD on because the transmission and clutch etc, all that mechincal stuff in there, will wear out faster because it has to do more work. I'm sure it could be a point of argument, but this is what my friend told me who has seen problems with this general idea all the time :rolleyes:

And yes, I get the whole "Are you sure it's a Turbo" all the time when I had the car. People treated me like a complete fool. Then I opened to hood and said, "That looks like a Turbo to me" :cool4: It's to be expected tho - there aren't too many around. In fact, I believe I was the first one to do it to the 3.4L Impala and have it work. One other guy did, but he blew up his engine so he doesn't count:flamer::P

[gpfarrell]

gpfarrell: Yea, I do not use overdrive at all unless I'm on the highway or going over 45/50mph for prolonged periods of time. And I have found that when not using over drive it's more responsive; but that's not a surpirse, it's one more gear the thing has to shift out of.

I was actually talking about this with one of my good friends who happens to be a mechanic (A dern good one at that). He said you shouldn't ever drive your car in city conditions (accel and stop) with OD on because the transmission and clutch etc, all that mechincal stuff in there, will wear out faster because it has to do more work. I'm sure it could be a point of argument, but this is what my friend told me who has seen problems with this general idea all the time :rolleyes:

And yes, I get the whole "Are you sure it's a Turbo" all the time when I had the car. People treated me like a complete fool. Then I opened to hood and said, "That looks like a Turbo to me" :cool4: It's to be expected tho - there aren't too many around. In fact, I believe I was the first one to do it to the 3.4L Impala and have it work. One other guy did, but he blew up his engine so he doesn't count:flamer::P

Imho, you'll fit in real well around here. WELCOME!

[rayjay]

Welcome aboard! You said the 04 Impalas are S/C ? We have the police package Impalas for patrol. A supercharged one would be welcomed by my people. Do you know if the police packaged Impalas are S/C?
Before I get flamed. We can purchase a package Impala, fully equipted, for less than a CVPI with nothing on it. There was about a $5k price difference the last time I ordered one. That and my Chief hates Fords...

[DavidB]

If I was to buy two different gauges (volt and oil press) are all of the wires there that I need already up there or will I have to be an electrician too?

You can reuse the existing wiring and harness for the new gauges. There are quite a few threads here about the installation, and there's at least one with photos of each step. :)

TTYL
David

[blackf0rk]

9C1 (Police package Impalas) are not SC'd. Although for the right price, anything can be accomplished :) I would imagine this would be a hard deal to pass with a dealer because the dealer would have to arrange for a SC to be installed on the 9C1 Impala. Since they (9C1's) don't come from the factory with a SC option, you can't just order one. The 9C1's and the Imapal SS have the same tranny though :beer:

Also, the gear ratio's of the 9C1 are better than the standard civi 3.8 Imapals; just thought I'd add that.

[FiveO]

The Trilogy setup is amazing.

No tuning necessary once its set in the chip.

If you want to you can play with the tuning with a SCT tuner...but I'd recommend getting it done right...and forget it.

[FiveO]

PS: You can email Jerry Barnes at Trilogy and he'll email you the manual....you'll see for yourself how exact it is..right down to the last nut and bolt.

[rayjay]

9C1 (Police package Impalas) are not SC'd. Although for the right price, anything can be accomplished :) I would imagine this would be a hard deal to pass with a dealer because the dealer would have to arrange for a SC to be installed on the 9C1 Impala. Since they (9C1's) don't come from the factory with a SC option, you can't just order one. The 9C1's and the Imapal SS have the same tranny though :beer:

Also, the gear ratio's of the 9C1 are better than the standard civi 3.8 Imapals; just thought I'd add that.
I figured they wouldn't be. We are actually impressed with the way they have held up so far. No major issues, other than they are bit small for larger members. With front drive and Goodyear snows at the four corners they are really good on bad roads. I'd personally still prefer a CVPI but so far, so good with the Impala. They do make a good CI car.

[jstevens]

blackf0rk,
Since your in WI, check out www.alternativeauto.com for more information.

[blackf0rk]

I just changed my Headlamps, turn signal lamps, and fog light lamps over to silverstars and I'm very impressed on how they're projecting with this cars setup. I had silverstars in my Impala and was impressed, but not as much with this car. It might be that the fog lights are throwing the decision :cool:

In the 'rice' world I gained about 20HP :D

[jgc61sr2002]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! And yes, my Impala was actually Turbo'd. The 3.8L Impala's were supercharged in 04. Mine was an 02 3.4L - so I had it turbo'd:cool: (not from the factory, it was all custom) It was plenty fast, but not tuned as it should've been which cause major headaches. Plus, in Wisconsin, GM Vehicles and their injectors are having conflicts with the gas used here in Wisconsin; some kind of reformulated crap. So that was just another problem to pile on to it.

Where can I get these 4.10 gears from? I'll do a search for them myself, but if someone has a link handy; it would be appreciated.:depress:

As far as the Superchips; thank you Joe for your insight on possibly staying away from these types. How and where would I get something like a "download tune"? And I'm just assuming that this would have to be by some sort of technician with a computer and program etc?

'Fourth Horseman': (Or anyone who could answer this): In your MOD list you say "Real Functioning Auto Meter Oil Pressure and Volt Meter Gauges" Does this mean the ones from the factory aren't real? Please tell me they're real or I'll be really pissed!:mad2:

Much respect to you all...:bows:



You can get the most popular MDOS from Dennis Reinhart a supporting vendor of this site,

[MENINBLK]

Well that really sucks:alone: If I was to buy two different gauges (volt and oil press) are all of the wires there that I need already up there or will I have to be an electrician too?

All of the wires you need are there.
You just need to cut them from the old gauges,
put a ring terminal on the end of them,
and attach them to the back of the real gauges.

And you also need to change out the Oil Press sender.
The sender comes with the gauge, and also has some adapters.
Make sure you put 2 or 3 layers of plumbers tape on them
before you install them into the block.
This will make sure you have no oil leaks around the threads.

You take out the switch and install the sender and use the same wire
that was attached to the switch, just cut it and put a ring terminal
on the end of it to attach to the oil sender.

And you are done !!!

[Motorhead350]

Welcome. I've had my Marauder for over 2 years and it's still fun and a supercharger in going in in a year and a half at the most. If u really wanna be cheap like me for mods get a K&N air filter for a crown vic off Jegs and gain a little hp. I noticed a difference. Strobes are fun too.

[David Morton]

Mods?? :rolleyes: Nobody has done any of that here. :rofl:What he said. Why would you want to modify a perfect car? :D

Actually, IMHO, this car needs better brakes first. I got mine and I'm glad I did.

Some think the aluminum block is only good for 500 HP, no more. Other than that, from what the guys say it's a great platform for mods. A few that have superchargers say they wish they had done the blowers before they did the exhaust, convertor, etcetera's. I tend to agree, and that's my plan for next year. Big power stuff first, then fine tune the basic design.

Being a Chevy convert, you've probably heard of Gale Banks' twin turbo small block kits. PM me if you want to talk turkey about turbos. I've only found one from ProCharger, but it looks like an old style single unit with tons of long plumbing that adds up to lag, which nobody seems to want, but I used to work for Buick and have driven the Grand National before so I'm not as down on turbocharging as some guys are. Gales' ideas are good and I think the lag problem can at least be minimized and prefer that method over supercharging myself. Less stuff to go wrong. Plus the whistle is a real gas as far as I'm concerned. :D

[BillyGman]

PS: You can email Jerry Barnes at Trilogy and he'll email you the manual....you'll see for yourself how exact it is..right down to the last nut and bolt.

Hey BlackF0rk, FiveO isn't kidding about that^either!!! I've used a number of manuals for both domestic and foreign cars in the past, and when I installed my Trilogy S/Cer kit in my Marauder, I found out firsthand how it is by far the best manual I've ever used. There's absolutely nothing generic about it, nor universal. It has color pictures of the exact Marauder parts that you'll be dealing with on atleast 75% of the pages of the instruction manual. It takes you through every little step of the process, and there's no guess work at all. There's also diagrams in it too, where needed.

The hardest part of the entire installation process for me was simply sorting out the nuts and bolts!!! The entire kit has nothing generic about it either. Every one of the eleven molded coolant hoses (I think it was eleven) are tagged and marked as are the other parts in the kit. It's not a job that can be done in 5 or 6 hours or anything like that, but despite the fact that it's time consuming, there's nothing real complicated about it at all. If you're used to working on cars, and have done so before, then you can perform the installation. I was concerned about doing that myself too, since I had never installed a S/Cer before. But after Logan had showed me the Trilogy instruction manual in a PDF file, and I looked through all of the 140 pages, I thought to myself...."Hey! I can do this!!". Infact I was surprised at how well the manual had mapped everything out for the installer.

As it's already been said by FiveO, just call Jerry Barnes at Trilogy, and ask him to e-mail you a PDF file of the instructions because you're just curious and want to take a peek, and he will. And then you'll see what FiveO and I are talking about. This is NO exaggeration on our part. When you see it for yourself, you'll know that not only has Trilogy spent a lot of time designing their S/cer kit, but it will also be very obvious to you how much time and effort they put into designing that instruction manual. It's no joke!!!! I know I must sound like a walking advertisement, but the only reason that I do, is because the kit and manual are that good.

And anyone who has installed it, or even opened up the two boxes that it comes in, and has taken a good look at everything that's included with it, will say the same thing about it. And any Trilogy equipped Marauder owner who has stayed with the factory stock Marauder throttle body like I have, will also tell you, that if we didn't tell someone who drove our cars that they're Supercharged, then they would never know that they are, unless they pushed the gas pedal to the point where you get very close to the halfway point, and around halfway it begins to get pretty hairy. But before that point (it's rather tame, and mild, and the driveability of the car is NOT effected at all. And that's why I'm able to drive my S/Ced Marauder with 4.56 gears in the snow without any problems nor extra effort at all. The kit is well designed and engineered specifically for Marauders. I hope that I've helped to answer one of the questions you've had.

[LordVader]

I just changed my Headlamps, turn signal lamps, and fog light lamps over to silverstars and I'm very impressed on how they're projecting with this cars setup. I had silverstars in my Impala and was impressed, but not as much with this car. It might be that the fog lights are throwing the decision :cool:

In the 'rice' world I gained about 20HP :D:bows: Blackfork,
I have a burned foglight and am in the process of going through the threads about replacement. I want to use the Silverstars and wondered was this an easy changeout and did you remove the diffusers? Some threads have said this really sheds some light! Appreciate your feedback...and welcome to the site.

[blackf0rk]

At first, when looking at the foglights, I thought the process was going to harder than changing the headlamps. But in actuality, the head lamps were harder to reaplce than the fogs; on account of the head lamps being screwed in with like 3 or 4 bolts. On my Impala, there were just two plastic slip-tabs you would pull up and the head lamp would be free.

To install the fog lamps you have to turn the wheel outward on whichever side you're working on. For instance, if you're working on the passenger side, you have to turn then wheel to the right.

Then you just lay on your back, slip your hand in there, grab the harness and turn the assembly counterclockwide (I believe). Then the fog lamp itself pulls out of the metal clip; then replace.

At this point, with replacing the head lamps and fog lamps I was tired and a little frustrated; not to mention all dirty - so I didn't bother figuring out how to take out the diffusers, even tho I have heard they release more light when removed.

[LordVader]

:bows: Thanks..that is precisely the information I was looking for. The threads were a little confusing and really seemed to focus on the headlight replacement versus the foglights. Guys like yourself and some of the others you will meet all make this site one of the best!!