billy101

Hi guys, I recently started a thread about getting a new alternator as my current alternator is on it's way out. We are still contemplating on either replacing it with a OEM replacement, or getting a DC OEM 190amp alternator. The price difference is what is stopping us right now. Checking the battery lately it's resting around 12.2-12.4, which if I'm not mistaken it should be resting at about 12.6 right? It's a duralast battery that's been in there for about 5-6 years so I guess it's getting towards the end of it's life, not too big of a deal. My question is, is there a better battery I should be looking at to replace my stock starting battery?? Thanks guys!

A healthy battery should rest around 12.6v.

Hit up http://montecarloforum.com/forum/ There is tons of aftermarket support for our 3800s, especially supercharged 3800s. The stock blower is more than enough for these cars, be careful as you start modding though as the 4T65E-HD trannys in our 3800 FWD cars have a lot of problems and is unfortunately the biggest problems with these cars. Ported and polished blower and Lower intake manifold will yield a lot of gains, along with upgraded exhaust, manifolds, colder plugs, tuned pcm, etc. the list goes on www.zzperformance.com has tons of stuff you can buy for these motors. To start off, I would put a CAI/FWI on it and it will really waken up that supercharger, unless it already has a CAI/FWI. You'll hear it whine like crazy and there goes a tank of gas, haha. (You won't want to keep your foot out of it). Add me on here, I know tons about these 3800s and modding them...

Nice! I have a z-5500 as well but the sub's on its way out...been beating on it for 3 years so I guess it's had enough... Those z-5500 prefabs are pretty nice for what they are, and get rather loud too

Beautiful car, but am I the only one that noticed what looks like the paint chipping from the corner of the hood? Or is that just dirt? Get it detailed and get some more pics!

What is the reading coming from the post on the alternator?

When I seafoamed my 2001 Impala 3.8 for the first time at 110k miles. I barely got any smoke at all, That's usually a good thing, meaning your motor isn't that dirty. I got smoke for about 6 seconds and that was all. I poured mine in the Brake booster vacuum line.

voted...hes ahead 117 to 78

I've swapped phones 3 times in ONE day. You'll be fine.

Also make sure your RCAs are not ran along the power wires.

I tuned my box for my single 12 to 32.8hz 1.5 cuft after displacement, and it gets pretty nasty. it can play up to 50 hz rather well id say...

Looks pretty legit..supercharged and nitrous.. what does that go on?

I've got a 2001 Impala 3.8L with some mods done to it, top swapped Gen V supercharger, cammed, and more. Around town my average MPG that I calculate by the trip, dividing that by the amount of gas I get when I fill up is around 16.5 - 17 mpg. That of course is because I'm a 16 year old high school student who likes to beat on a car that's rather fast haha...anyways. These cars get horrible gas mileage around town in stop and go traffic. On highway they'll easily get 31mpg though; go figure. your city mpg sounds about right compared to what I get...

Are you sure the fan is coming on with the a/c? We had an older honda civic that the a/c would work for a little, and then cut off because the fan wasn't coming on, new motor solved it.

I'm from NC too, and have been wondering aswell who's out there in our area. Where about are you guys? I'm just about 30 minutes south of Raleigh, near Fuquay-Varina. Would love to set something up in our area...

I live in Willow Spring, NC...about an hour away. Mine's nothing special to drive for anyway...just 1 12 on 550 watts. I wish I could find more people around my area...loudest I've ever heard is 2 12's on like 900 watts. :/

X2, that's where I get ALL my parts from. Never had an issue with them, I ordered a set of outer tie rods for my 2001 Impala LS and after 2 months they already had play in them and the boots were torn; no questions asked they sent me a different brand and didn't even ask for the old ones back; now that's service!

A 30 second google search got me this... http://www.ioffer.com/i/realistic-8-bass-tube-subwoofer-152815849

You're talking about the Responder LC remote right? The one with the display? According to the online owners manual.. The Responder LC remote control is powered by an internal rechargeable battery that can be serviced only through an authorized Directed Electronics dealer. The information and precautions in this section can help maximize your battery’s life and usage in providing your Responder LC remote control with many years of trouble free operation. Your best bet would to find an authorized retailer, or contact Viper directly and see what they can do for you..

Oh, thats right, the recall was only extended for 2001 models...I would seriously consider a tep transmission and you shouldnt have any more major mechanical related problems for the rest of the cars life. The 3.8s arent prone to head gasket issues, the 3.4 is common to blow head gaskets, you may have mistaked it for the intake gaskets, mine went slowly after i rolled over 100k, and thats when we decided to do all the motor work... and if thats the only real big issues youve had with the car be very grateful...many people have tons more issues......add me as a friend on here and definitely post over at naioa and mention SMD and my user name and we can get any problems you're having sorted out. And please as well get the codes read again asap, it may not 100% need a rebuild.

Hm, if you could get it scanned again and get the tranny code that would help greatly.. Your local AutoZone would be able to scan it for free and then you will just need to write it down. Yes, our impalas also had an issue with the Catalytic Converter as well and mine went a couple years ago; was replaced under warranty; I hope yours was. I was asking as if you beat on it, like drive the piss out of it. My foot is usually always to the floor in my car (heavily modded 3800). pushing over 300hp; but I have a TEP transmission. Shifts great... Anything transmission wise will be pretty expensive on our cars due to the fact that the motor has to be pulled, or have the sub frame dropped in order to do almost any work on the trans. If your car is in rather good shape and you don't have any other big issues and you like your car enough to put money into the trans I would do it if I were you... A properly maintained 3.8L V6 will last 200k+ miles, and still drive great. My car's about to roll over 114k miles, and the motor and everything else is like a dream.

I have the same drive train as you, except mine's a 2001 Impala LS with the 3.8. The transmissions in these cars are the 4T65E, and they are a known issue on these cars. Hit up www.naioa.com. I'm a member on there as well and posting any question on there will give you great results, they are very knowledgeable when it comes to our Impalas. I'll start off with the basics.... How many miles are on the car? Do you beat on it? Does it have any codes? Flushing the fluid in these transmissons is usually the end of it's life, unless it was properly maintained. If you do any work to a 4T65E trans, I would only recommend a pan drop and filter change, and then re-fill. If you really want to upgrade your transmission I would highly recommend a TEP (Triple Edge Performance) tranny. They are highly recommended around the FWD based 3800s....I run one in my impala after I blew the transmission after all the motor work we did to the top end.... Here's a link to Triple Edge Performance. They talk about all the issues these transmissions have.... http://www.tripleedgeperformance.com/New_Home_Page.html Please answer the questions I asked and I can further assist you with the problem you're having.

looks really good, nice work.

You can always use a clamp meter on the amp @ 1ohm and set gains so that you're not overpowering it....