So, you bought yourself a Pontiac Grand Prix SE or GT but yearn for a little more "speed" in your diet.

Well, you are in luck! There are many options out there, all of which offer great performance gains.

Let's start off with some basic before we move into how each one differs.

The naturally aspirated L36 in your GT/SE is not much different than the supercharged L67 in the GTP models.

Key things to remember about the L36 is that

1) It's MAP sensor is only a 1-Bar (Barometric pressure) sensor, meaning it won't detect and tune boost without having the PCM tuned elsewise.
2) The connecting rods offer a 9.5:1 compression ratio, as opposed to the GTPs 8.4:1. However, I've also heard that the L36 rods and pistons are *slightly* weaker than the L67 ones, so a little more care is required when boosting the L36.
3) The GTPs use the 4T65e-HD tranny. The difference between this and your 4T65e is that the HD has a stronger differential. However, one-wheel burn outs will destroy EITHER differential, so take care.
4) The heads, lower intake, supercharger, and supercharger pullies are all different on the L67, which will be explained later.

So what does all of this mean?
In simple terms, as far as the MAP sensor goes, you will either have to tune the PCM to recognize boost using the 1-Bar sensor, or buy a cheap adapter harness and use an L67's 2-Bar MAP sensor.
And the higher compression ratio of the N/A (Naturally Aspirated) bottom-end is going to mean that per pound of boost, the L36 will make a little more power than the L67. I believe it's around a 5% increase in horsepower.

So now onto the mechanics of supercharging your motor.

First of all, you need the N/A GM 3.8L V6, also called the L36. Sorry 3.1L guys...

Your 3 supercharging options are these;
The top-end swap, the ZZP SS M90 kit, and the ZZP/Stattama Centrifugal Supercharger kit (CSC).

The top-end swap is quite literally a direct swap of the heads, lower intake, supercharger, and pullies, from an L67, onto on L36 block.

While somewhat more *primitive* than the other kits, it requires nothing more than hard parts from an L67 and new gaskets. No porting/modifications required, though proper ones don't hurt. This is a good choice if your car has higher mileage, as replacing the head gaskets will *hopefully* prevent any blown head gaskets from too much power.

The next kit is the SS M90 kit. I do not personally have experiance with this kit but it offers many advantages over the top-end swap. For one, the supercharger and lower intake are machined by ZZP to work with stock L36 heads. This means better flow and no messy headwork. However, no new head gaskets will be installed. Another thing is that the SS M90 uses the existing accessory belt to drive the S/C, unlike the L67 and top-end swap using a seperate, dedicated belt. Whether that is a good thign or a bad thing is up to you, belt-slip is not much of an issue either way. The SS M90 kit is a much simpler install with slightly better gains, at a slightly higher price tag.

Then we have the Centrifugal Supercharger kits. Stattama manufactures these kits. While pricier ($3k+) than the other 2 options, the CSC kit offers a different type of experiance than the other. The top-end swap and SS M90 kit use the Eaton M90 "blower". The CSC kit uses a Paxton Novi 1000 CSC, which is basically a turbocharger than is spun by the crank pulley instead of exhaust gases. Boost comes is gradually, being much easier on your tranny. Also, it is more efficient than the M90 by a fair amount, and becomes even more efficient as boost goes up, the complete opposite of the M90. A rare choice but nonetheless, a great way to go.

So, let's discuss the top-end swap.

Here is a compiled list of everything you NEED to complete the swap. Includes a handy check-box!


M90 Supercharger []*
Boost bypass valve []*
L67 smooth idler pulley []*
L67 grooved idler pulley (on coil pack) []*
L67 belt tensioner []*
L67 throttle body []*
33# injectors []*
L67 crank pulley []*
L67 MAP sensor []*
L67 heads []*
L67 LIM []*
L67 Valve Covers []*
L67 fuel rail []*
Head Bolts []
Rocker Bolts []
S/C Bolts []*
LIM Bolts []
L36 to L67 wiring harness adapter kit []
Vac lines (I used 7/64" rubber hose) []
Coil pack bracket from a 97-98 GT/GTP []*
S/C belt []
2 changes worth of oil/oil filters []
2 jugs of coolant []
GM S/C Oil (need 6 oz.) []
Reprogrammed PCM []

The "*" denotes all hard parts that can be bought from Ed Morad. Just ask for hard parts for a top-swap and he knows what you need. E-mail is GTPED@msn.com. He's a great guy to work with and offers great prices. Expect about $800 shipped for the hard parts

Gaskets:

Head Gaskets []
S/C gasket []
TB gasket []
LIM gasket []
LIM o-rings []
Valve Cover gaskets []
Fuel rail o-rings []
Gray RTV gasket maker []
Teflon tape []
Copper gasket spray []


That's everything you NEED to have to complete the swap. HOWEVER, here are other things that you need *before* the swap.

Some sort of intake like a FWI or CAI
180*-thermostat
Copper-core spark plugs that are 1 range colder than stock
At least ported manifolds with a 3" downpipe with the u-bend deleted, Headers *are* preferable.

These parts will allow you to run the stock 3.8" supercahrger pulley with little to no knock retard. Without them, you should probably install a LARGER pulley on the supercharger until you ahve them, as even a stock GTP knocks fromt he factory, and with the added compression, it's even further prone to knocking.

Now, in the oder of things most needed to things not-so-needed, we need to look at some valvetrain work.

A cam and/or rockers kill KR (knock retard) as well as increase power. While neither are REQUIRED to top-swap your GT/SE, they ARE a good idea. Either one will likely run around $400 but the gains and modding freedom are worth it.
Most of use that are top-swapped are running either ZZPs XP camshaft with the REQUIRED 105# springs (for stock heads they are required) or 1.9 ratio rocker arms. Either one will work but one should deffinately be considered if you ever plan to go beyond a 3.8" pulley.

Here are the Top-End swap guide along with the camshaft install guide.

Top-end swap
http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/tm.asp?m=3686059&p=3&tmode=1&smode=1&cookieCheck=32745542

Cam install
http://www.mccgp.com/upgrades/caminstall/caminstall_new.php
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Now for the ZZP M90 kit. I'm going to pull the information from the 97-03 FAQ page, because well... nobody really bothers to look in there unless we throw a link at them anyway

Originally posted by D:
Ok well I'm bored and maybe Herc or Bobby can put this in the FAQ section, so its there for people to see.

SS M90 Build:
First off you need the ZZP Install Kit. Now with this if you have a 99 or newer car you will need the Alternator bracket, so you will have to pick that in the drop down menu. Now unless you have a Powrtuner or HP Tuner then you need to have ZZP do you programming. As far as the Option 3 if you want to start out with the 4.0" pulley then you will have to upgrade your injectors to GTP 36# injectors. If you have a 01 or newer GP then you will need the injector harnesses which you can also get from ZZP.

Now along with the ZZP install kit you will need 4 other things.

1. You will need a Machined Intake, the reason for this is b/c the injectors are at a different angle so ZZP custom makes there LIM to work with the injector angle of the L36. In this window you would need to select SS M90 for L36 converstion. Add the core charge and I also suggest you get the LIM gasket so you don't have to go searching for it later.

2. You will need the ZZP Billet Fuel Logs. The reason for these is b/c your old rails will not fit with the blower on the top of the engine. You can try and modify L67 fuel rails, but its a PITA, and unsafe is you dont do it right. So it may be expensive but easyer to by the rails. Just pick SS M90 in the drop down menu.

3. You will need aPorted M90 Supercharger, you need this blower b/c it is also custimized to fit on top of the LIM and adds cleance for the injectors. First pick your year then the core charge then pick SS M90, you dont need the Oil b/c it comes with the SS install kit.

4. You will need a ZZP Modular Pulley System, now if you are upgradeing the injectors then get the 4.0" if not then get the 4.2".

Now that is about it, but as a side note you will need Synthetic Oil after you are done and you have to do and oil change along with add some coolant.

Now for my option, I think you should add a few more things to the cost of the project either a Powrtuenr or HP tuner b/c you will need to scan and adjust fuel and timing to get the most power out of your set up or you can invest in someone to tune your car like a tuner shop, so you can also get the most out of the kit. Also I would spend the extra money and upgrade injectors and get the 4.0 pulley becuase you will regreat it after you are done and you only have the 4.2 pulley on, and for alittle more money you get alot more power.

With the Kit you should look to spend close to about $1500, if you can get the cores cheaper then you then it will safe you some moeny, If you add the upgraded injectors and a PT or HP tuner then you should look to spend close to $2100. But its all in what you want. This is basically just a guide for you guys I may have missed something that is why I would suggest before you order call ZZP or email ZZP and see what they have to say, but other then that this should be it.

Ray
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quote:
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Originally posted by Chico:
I would add that 1.9 rockers and a plog and rear pem + a 3.8 pulley would be on my list of minimums.Chico(pops)

Now, currently, we only have one person around here running a CSC set-up. That's zuulmusic.

The CSC set-up is by far the easiest install of the 3, requires almost no engine tear-down to install.

How it works, and zuul, correct me if I screw this up, is that a special bracket is install on the engine mounts, with a special rod with pullies attach inside of it.

One pulley is connected to the engine via accessory belt, similar to the ZZP M90 kit. On the other end, there is a pulley that connects to the pulley on the back of the CSC, which is also mounted to the car in some way, though I don't know it as of this moment.

The CSC physically sits to the right and a bit under the drivers' side engine bracket.

Along with those parts, unlike the M90, the CSC requires tapping into the engines oil pump. The M90 contains it's own oil supply along with greased needle bearings for lubrication. However, the CSC requires volumes of MOVING oil to operate, like a turbocharger. So, with the kit, there are fittings to T-off the oil sender unit to supply oil to the CSC for lubrication and cooling, then a drain tube and fitting to drain back into the oil back, IIRC, through the dummy oil-level sensor.

Here is the link to Stattama for ther CSC kit.
http://www.stattama.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&id=46272&product=1

Info from the man himself, although now, no longer the only CSC on the boards...

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Now there is one thing that all of these kits have in common and that's scanning and tuning.

You should invest in a boost gauge, an oil pressure gauge, and for a final gauge, most of us recommend the AeroForce Scan gauge.

Capable of scannin many parameters, as well as have some other nifty features, this gauge will do a LOT for you. Though at $200 a pop, it's also the most expensive one. a 2 or 3-gauge A-Piller mount is also a good investment.

As far as tuning goes, ZZP performance offers tuning with all of their kits, just let them know what other mods they need to tune for and they can get a fairly good tune.

However, you can also purchase your OWN tuner and do it yourself. Or even drive to a local dyno or even ZZP and have someone there tune your car for you! An out-of-the-box tune will get your car running but without some personal touches in the tune to reflect the uniqueness of every car, it will never perform to its full potential.


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USEFUL TID-BITS!

Here's some little tid-bits from all of us. Well, right now, just me, but I'm sure everyone else will chime in too. (I hope )

1) When you do the top-swap, your L36 fuel lines will have 90* elbow fittings instead of the straight fittings that the L67 has. DO NOT BREAK THESE!!!!!! They break easy and if you do, BUY NEW FUEL LINES! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THEM! HEED MY WORDS! If you need pictures of WHY, send me a PM, I'd be MORE than happy to show you what happens when fuel lines break and throw fuel on hot headers...
2) If you are goign to do any of these mods, and are considering doing another mod at the same time, but can't afford that extra mod, WAIT! If you decide to do a top-end swap but want to wait for a cam-swap, by the time you are half-way through the top-swap you are going to realize that a cam-swap is going to require ALL that work to be done again.
3) It's NOT a V8! I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I'm not saying it isn't FAST, but it's never going to sound like a V8. Ask any of us how much $$$ we've wasted trying to get that throaty rumble. Idle is great, especially cam'd, but when you rev it up to 3k and let off the pedal, rasp-rasp-rasp-rasp! Even open headers sound like crap on our cars.
4) Injector O-rings ARE important. I'd liek to say that anytime you pull the fuel rail, replace the injectors o-rings but I know it's not feasible. So I'm going to say, replace them when you think it's a good idea. If you blow an o-ring, you stand a pretty good chance of saying "good-bye" to your car. Engine fires on these cars are NO JOKE!


That's all I've got for now. Send me PMS if you want me to change/add things, I'd like to keep to topic clean and hope for a sticky!

I added a link to this thread at the bottom of the "Top End Swap ie Mounting an M90 to a GT" portion of the "97-03 FAQ" sticky, so that's kinda like gettin' a sticky.

But people don't READ the FAQ is what I'm getting at.

They would rather create an account and post a topic because they wouldn't think to look in the FAQ.

I figure that with what they want in the TITLE, maybe a *few* people will read it before posting a topic about it.

But still, thank you!

Looks like pretty good info.
The CSC info all seems correct, but I'll expand since this is a collection of info.
It is the easier kit to install, but I wouldn't consider it an easy install -- it is time consuming and there are a few small things that will be frustrating (like aligning/mounting the novi1000 and cog belt perfectly).

For clarification, the CSC kit has two main large parts: the supercharger itself, and the shaft/mount, which bolts between the engine and the motor mounts, kind of sitting on top of the engine. Theres a shaft inside of a large steel tube going across with pullies on both ends to transfer power from the accessory belt to the other side of the engine where cogged pullies and belt supply power to the supercharger. The supercharger is mounted with 5 bolts to the main bracket, with stand-off spacers. This part is tricky to get set up right so that the two cogged pullies are perfectly parallel and the belt has good, uniform tension.
The supercharger's outlet goes into a U-pipe into the throttle boddy. Anything over a base kit of ~6psi should have a blowoff/bypass valve to prevent boost surges when the throttle plate is closing. This is vacuum operated and has a unique sound thats noticeably different-behaving than a turbo's BOV.
Tuning a CSC is not very hard. You can run these setups leaner than an M90- it is not very critical. The tune is not far off from a N/A tune, minus a few small important changes and paying close attention to timing. If you get a PCM with your kit, you're set.
A 4" cone filter will easily clamp right to the mouth of the novi superchargers, or you can run a flexible tubing down into your fenderwell for a FWI, or what I did was run solid aluminum tubing into the fenderwell for best performance and looks, but it took a lot of effort to put together.

Definetly unfortunate people are too scared to go the CSC route. I've dealt with a few M90 setups and I wouldn't switch to one from this.

Questions regarding this kit can be PM'd to me.

Thanks for the effort zerg.

I like Bobby's idea of the link. The more stickies there are the more things are lost.

I think BoostenGTP02 is running the CSC, but i could be wrong

x2. we have more than 1 CSC guy

and please dont make another sticky, just add it to the FAQ. we dont need this place ending up like club gp

Ok. I like the new FAQ title, that will work for me.

But is there any way to make sure this topic doesn't disappear into oblivion in a month?

Or will the fact that it's in a sticky kepe it from an untimely demise?

Or for people that has a grand prix se and is a little low on cash for modding you will give them your engine.

x2. I don't read stickies. When I want info, I'd go to a site's FAQ. When the FAQ expands, then people will find it more useful. If this goes to FAQ, then it will stay much longer and people will rely on it more.

As long as no one deletes this thread the link in the FAQ will bring you to this page.

Very good write up! Got allot of usful info that im going to refer to for my build.