I have a 2005 Chevy impala what should be the first things i do to improve horse power?

Question

3400 standard edition - want it run like a (ss) though

Answer 1

I have a car similiar to this I have a Grand Prix. You didn't say which engine you have. I am assuming that you have a 3.8Liter. You didn't say if it was Supercharged or not either. But, the first thing I would do that is relatively inexpensive is get a cold air intake. What this does is takes air from outside the car as opposed to the hot air under the hood. You can put this in yourself. Usually a cold air intake will run you about $200 and it will come with a free flowing air filter, usually by K an N. The next thing I would do is get a Catback exhaust. What this does is free up some of the exhaust back pressure that robs horsepower. A Catback exhaust will cost you $400 and up. But, doing these two things(the cold air induction kit and the catback exhaust) will add about 20 horsepower give or take about 5. Other small things you can do is get high performance spark plugs and wires. That is about $50 and that will addup to about 5 horsepower. Check out www.impalastore.com. They have all kinds of goodies for 2005 Impala's. If you really want to get crazy with the horsepower than you can add turbochargers, get headers, high lift camshafts, nitrous oxide, ported and polished heads, larger pistons etc..etc.. These are all big dollar modifications though. But, I would start with the air intake kit, the cat back exhaust, and high performance spark plugs and wires. That should be good for about 20-25 horsepower gain. These mods will also increase you miles per gallon too because your car will be breathing much more efficiently. So those mods pay for themselves over time in gas savings alone. Ok, have fun with this and take care.

Answer 2

Unfortunately with the 3400 under the hood there is not much you can do to gain any substantial horsepower. It will never come close to the power produced by the 3800 Series II Supercharged engine in the SS.

There are a few items that will put a bit more pep in it's step. The first is a less restrictive air flow system. You can opt for a cold air intake duct coupled with a K&N filter and get another 5-8 HP (and a much better sound when you accelerate).

You can install new exhaust but the benefits do not exceed the cost of installation. You're looking at $500+ to install a decent flowing exhaust and you might gain another 10HP...if you're lucky.

You can upgrade to performance plug wires and get better throttle response. Outside of these items there isn't much you can do with the exception of ripping the 3400 out and putting in the 3800 Series II.

A major misconception here is the 3800 Series II non supercharged can be converted to a supercharged application...it CANNOT without a great deal of work (heads changed, etc). Yes it will bolt on, yes it may even start...but it will not last!!

We own (wife and I) and 05 Impala LS (3800 Series II)...we actually refused the 3400 model on several occasions. I've done some mild upgrades to the 3800 (pulleys, intake, jetchip, etc)...it's got a great deal of power and still retains 24mpg avg.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Well even though a pressure test of the fuel system or test was done on the gas system for the types of problems you're having it probably not even show up at all. No1 If the vehicle had a taiste of fawl fuel that for sure wouldn't just affected the gas in the tank or injectors etc it would of contaminated the fuel filter. No2 Even if the fuel filter is clogged on some vehicles the car still runs etc but you're noticing the car has less gusto therefore that is a sign to me the gas filter should be replaced asap. No3 The spark plugs shouldn't of really been much efftected by the fawl gas but they might require a good cleaning and re-gaping or just need to be replaced. No4 Due to the winter season and the moister etc the spark plug wire connectors inside the wires might need a cleaning, also the ignition coil connections, plus the spark plugs at both ends may require cleaning. No5 I'd change the gas filter not just once I'd run the tank a few times with the gas and fuel injector treatment and then later change the gas filter again.But it being the dealership doing the work well I'd atleast change it now then instead of the yrly change I'd change it before winter again. Hope that helps and best of luck.By the way I'd check the air filter too, plus try changing the gas filter then driving it on the hwy awhile and seeing how it runs first off.It normally doesn't cost much to replace a gas filter but at the dealerships it's costly for sure probably about 1/2 an hr labour fees if it's a fare dealership and about 30.00 or so for the filter.

Answer 4

2005 Chevy Impala Horsepower

Answer 5

Probably go with a cold air intake. Get something like the KNN filter.. You may also be able to re-program the system to increase the horsepower. There are shops that can do that or you may be able to get from an auto parts store

Answer 6

install a supercharger from a grand prix gtp. and swap to a dual exhaust.