Nice one mate , I had the same Mace parts on my old VX Equipe as you do except I had the 12mm manifold isulator ,and I had an SS inductions CAI on mine and full exhaust too .
It's good to see you gained power, I used the manifold spacers, high ratio rockers their larger throttle body but only lost power. Im hoping when I get some cash together I might get the power back with a tune. If not then it's going to be turbo time sooner than later
I had the same mods on my vs statesman plus msd ignition coils bigger throttle body and pace maker extractors. What i didnt like is that it caused a big flatspot and hesitation on, off idle throttle response
What ratio are the rockers? And did you have to change anything else at all when installing the new rockers? I heard you have to get taller rocker covers and change push rods, but you can run stock springs
Cheers, rims are stock originals 16 inch. The paint is high temp engine paint, same stuff on rocker covers. Holds up fine, Mace provide blue silicone with spacers which come tan brown on the side, So I used red high temp silicone to match. Nothing fancy but I really enjoyed doing the work.
jppcherokee thanks for the reply, I got some spacers but haven’t put them on yet. I saw someone else paint the spacers silver to match the plenum, but I think the red looks much better. Great work.
That was something I came across in a pipe and tubing place that had this stuff so I had them cut me a piece that had a suitable curve to the original. I removed the intake pipe at the shop and took it in to match up.
hey mate i have a vt commodore 3.8l i want to get the plenum spacer, intake manifold spacer and also the ultra high ratio roller rockers on it. what has been your experience so far? any problems? any top,mid and low end power gains or losses?? thanks mate
What you notice is more throttle response down low. You kinda won't notice more power through the range but more so with a little more punch off the mark and you back off and hit the gas again. That throttle body is great, faster off the mark and I think the spacers help. I do not regret getting them. Just remember It's not like whacking on a turbo and blowing your mind though. Keeps plenum cooler too.
Exactly what I need to do( want to do) how's it going in comparison to stock? I keep hearing conflicting crap! I need some honest info? I love the mace engineering plenum spacing. 6mm throttle body, raising the manifold reduces heat. Top job. Looks awesome. Bogan???? ( I prefer performance enthusiast). Any reply appreciated cheers from Australia just subbed.nice work. 🙂👍👍👍. Btw did you have to port behind the throttle body? I have a few lying around and they are restricted. Reminded me of my vp Commodore. I took the plastic baffle out and immediately felt just a bit more responsive. 65 mm v8 throttle body and a custom cold air induction. It was a quick little v6.
Not imperitive, but the stock coolers are prone to rust out as was mine and was quoted over $100 for replacement, was cheaper to install an aftermarket cooler at approx$60. Works better too, installed behind bumper. Hoses get really hard and can leak where attached. I replaced upper resovior hose, but kept shorter lower hose to pump with some silicone added. Has sealed nicely.
Just plug in and play. Very quick process. I think you will notice it Alot more with exhaust mods of course. I was supplied the memcal without having to exchange for the old one so you can swap back if you want, but I don't think you will :)
Hi . I have exact same setup as yours, just not as nice and polished. But it goes great. I setup the CAI. Cutout the inside bonnet so I can close it.i put insulation ( factory) stuff back in the hole as it was getting hotter on plenum chamber top. It still gets quite warm that I can put my hand on it but not too long. I put the 82 degrees Celsius thermostat as well. Different car. Now I need 69 mm throttle body and remapped ECU. Sorry for the dumb question. But do you still get heat on the top plenum chamber like me? I was thinking about cutting a slot of insulation to help it breathe? I'm clutching at straws now? Any reply appreciated cheers.🙂👍👍👍
If you were in a colder area or just wanted more oof aircon Delete and two right side pulleys delete with a PK2225 belt and a VZ LSD diff is a good option done it to mine made heaps of difference
@@jppcherokee Yeah man a shorter belt completely remove the ac system or just the pulley and the idler pulley next to it you can look up the belt routing by searching "ecotec ac delete belt path" and if you go to any repco just ask for pk2225 belt i can dm you a photo if you want ?
I made almost same what you did .I have vt v6 I bought from mace all parts. Bit the intake was very cheap material. The rubber for intake cracked and teard within one month with very low ride. I noticed that air fuel ratio went lean 18-20. Which is not good. How you deal with this issue? I stopped my car 4 years now not doing anything
You're right, exhaust came first, but then it starts with one mod you can afford like a manifold spacer, then you get the plenum to match, them one day you decide to go for the rockers and so on. Next thing you know you have spent what I have. I'm not going for the fastest thing on the road, but I've learned a shit load about the car by doing it all myself. Great cars to work on.
Hey I’m doing the same mods as you I’ve got the throttle body performance Memcal and soon a top spacer and a cat back oh and the heigh voltage coils what do you recommend next? Love your car btw 😅
Nice, if you can manage, definitely put extractors on. Not to hard to install. Get a shop to weld them up. Get the big basics ticked off. And just checked you have uninterrupted flow with the spacers. I had to do a little grinding to remove protruding lips on joining surfaces. To do that you'd have to remove air inlet manifold. Highly recommended to put some high quality, mace gaskets. Cheaps ones can shit themselves around the coolant channels. I had two sets nearly break through. Thanks dude:)
Hey mate was looking on the mace engineering website says if u run a bigger throttle body your gearbox will need a tune due to more airflow apparently have u had any dramas ?
You have done well ma bro ... you done the rockers ... but you never done a cam upgrade with higher valve opening maybe pushrods too 😉 then do your memcal tune on dyno not a preset memcal your almost there though... mace should of told you that,, and they know it too... also getting it tuned on dyno theyl change your transmission shift patterns youl nail that dumb subaru 🤙
Hello, I have a problem with the 3.8 ecotec engine. When I press the accelerator pedal, a slight gurgling sound appears, and when I lift the fuel, a slight crackling sound then fades and falls significantly. I have been suffering from this problem for a year and a half for the Lumina Model 2000
I would go to the 'just commodores' forum. I have learned a lot from there from guys who know more about these engines than me. But I'm really big on keeping fluids fresh, and ignition components working well. If In NZ, get a $20 computer scan from super cheap auto.
Scan should show if there is an issue with oxygen sensors. I would also get a can of Mass airflow sensor spray, take it out and clean it. Lots of videos showing how, very easy. If it's dirty, or if oxy sensors are going bad they will both make it run like crap and not efficient, engine computer doesn't know what air fuel ratio to put in. But best to start with a scan and see what you come up with.
Performance coil packs make a huge difference in these cars , I bought them for VS ecotec , I would also suggest a performance radiator they bring the temperature down a lot creating a more efficient engine , also the hole you chopped from box yes a bad idea , the engine temps under that bonnet you will actually run the car less efficiently and you lose a little power because you are sucking hot air ! And I also put in a police issue alternator however I had subs I put into my car , and I put in a bigger earth strap from battery to body ! You can swap out instrument cluster looks on these as well get rid of boring holden instrument clusters guy on eBay sells them , and not expensive to do
Biggest cost was high ratio rockers around$500, then throttle body (about $240)with mail order memcal which is somewhat customized to your existing mods and must go with the throttle body on an auto ( approx $150ish? can't remember). I got these last to maximize the memcal programming. Spacers were the first to go on at around$150 for plenum 12mm, and I paid over $200 for manifold but looks like they have come down in price. Highly recommend low temp 82 degree thermostat, keeps engine noticibly cooler.(bout$45) Adds up but I did these things over time as I could afford. Headers were the first thing I did with exhaust, got the headers from Aussie landed for about$400. I ported the heads myself, nothing major, just removing casting lines, kept same channel shapes, just slightly bigger,made exhaust ports symmetrical, larger. Also recommend high air intake manifold gaskets from mace, cheap ones shit themselves around the coolant channels.
Yeah not a huge difference, but it does breath easier. Now for the simple mods this car has every bit counts, and I simply wanted this engine to breathe in and out more efficiently. I think the biggest difference they make is in throttle response and it seems to really like cold mornings, cool moist air, I think the spacers help. I would love to add forced induction to this set up. So you will notice subilties with performance, but don't expect to have your socks blown off.
@@amyrobbs9944 Hey there, yes been on three hour drive. No problems or issues. I do find that it likes colder temperature's to drive in. Feels a bit sharper. I'd like to try a scoop pushing cold air directly into plenum chamber, I think it might like it.
i have same car v6 left hand aka lumina 2001 ecotec will brake cyinder and power streeing tank of right hand fit on my left car or they look same i found on ebay as here in dubai parts are extinct so thought to ask y all before i order
Hi just a quick question? I fitted my lower 25 mm manifold ecotec V6 spacer. Problem I have is 3 mm out of line with My intake runners on manifold. How did yours line up? Because now I have to port the spacer to get a even flow. Really knocked the wind out of my sails! Any reply appreciated. Cheers
Yeah I did port my heads basically just the casting line removal and made exhaust symmetrical. Then I had to do a bit of a port with the lower manifold spacer. Nothing major, I just didn't want a lip in the way. Just use carbide bits, and slowly take the lip off. I don't know if it makes a huge difference, but it's not hard to do. If course, you would need to remove the manifold. I found it was worth doing anyway, as my gaskets were about to go between coolant channel in gasket.
@@jppcherokee can you do with fine carbide bits? I have one ? It's pretty fine not coarse? Can I use water or special cutting lube? Also even tho it pulls a fair bit better especially from 40 to 100 km/h. The more I give it a bootful it seems like it's pulling harder! Mace engineering recommendations are new remapped ECU? I wanna put 69 mm throttle body or LS1 with adapter? Port the plenum neck as it's restricting the flow? I'm also a bit confused? Longer runners on my Torana with triple Su's at 1/34 inch gave me excellent bottom end like a tunnel ram. But 25 mm spacer and plenum spacer gave me more mid and top end? Any reply appreciated cheers from Australia just subbed.nice work! Love that paint job!
I went with the mace 69mm throttle body. I really like this mod, it dumps the power down quicker especially off the mark, more responsive. Don't know about the carbide bit, I guess try it, but you may need long neck ones to get in there nicely, I liked the cylinder shape with rounded end. I used wd40 for lube probably better than water and will help with not clogging the bit. I also did the neck for better flow, remove casting lines and lips. I reckon if you have original manifold gaskets, and you are up around 150kms, change them anyway. Get the mace ones, don't get cheapies. My originals were just about to burst the coolant channels. Then I got cheapies, later when I did the rocker's, the friggin cheapies were also about to burst. I'll try and find the pics.
I'm not an expert or mechanic, maybe someone else could chime in, but when porting, it's not about just hogging out the ports, it's about velocity, and the flow needs to support that. That's why didn't do too much to heads intake port's, just removed casting lines and went a little bit bigger to make symmetrical, I did enlarge the exhaust ports on head, same thing with lines and just by making them more symmetrical and identical, removing the surface to more if a polish it enlarges them anyway. I believe you can loose power if you dick with the head intake ports too much and don't know what you're doing. But the manifold can be quite irregular. It's a fun job. Doesn't take too long.
Hard to say with the Kms and age. I don't want to guess hp. She is definitely faster than standard. But I can say I whipped an NA v6 Subaru, around a 2015 or something, I can confirm later. Guy was boasting more hp than I'm supposed to have.
Cheers, extractors about$400 from Aussie, high ratio rockers about$500, spacers were about $150 for plenum and over $200 for 25mm manifold spacer. Throttle body was about$250 but you need the memcal for an auto to go with it. I did this last to maximize memcal programming which is somewhat customized for your mods. It is mail order but I love what it's done. Alot more punch off the mark with throttle response. Adds up but I did them over time as could be afforded. 82 degree thermostat was around $45, keeps it cooler. I ported the heads myself so that was pretty much free apart from head gaskets and a few carbide bits etc.
Is u were sitting at half on the temp with a standard thermostat then you haven’t got your cooling system running right cause mines always sat at quarter with my cooling system running perfect so what u said made no sense plus I can see coolant leaking where your thermostat sits 🤣
Do you know the actual temperature as you may still have a cooling issue somewhere. They need to be bled of air correctly, same with the flush and refill procedure for that matter. What coolant was used and at what ratio?
Hey man gotta say this is my go to vid when I’m lookin on what to do next to my vu, but I ordered a radiator hose kit and it’s got the u bend hose and I can’t for the life of me find when it attaches😂 any help would be much appreciated
Hi man. I had to rewatch your vid. I finally got the 69 mm tb and im gonna fit the throttle body on sunday. Order the ecu etc. Im hoping mine goes as good as yours? Im dying to get it all done! I just copied your advice! Top job! Cheers 👍
Mace are good stuff but there memcals are only best suited if you upgrade all of your mods with mace cai injectors bla bla i am impressed though tbh i like your style of the engine you still done really good though
@@jppcherokee Garrett gt35 is what most people run. You can probably buy a good 2nd hand set up off the turbo v6 commodores page on facebook. Only real things you need to do to your engine is bigger injectors heaver valve springs and a double row timing chain. And if you like head studs and steal head gaskets. But I encourage you to do your own research. I had a l67 now building it up for a turbo set up, see if I can distroy the poor getrage
Hahaha my stock Barra with no mods and just a ecu reflash will smoke that peice of shit go get a supercharged v6 then at least you’ll be making near the power of a n/a barra
Utterly useless mods on a n/a engine. High ratio rockers running a stock cam...... manifold spacers but no boost? Should of bought a decent exhaust extractors an get a custom dyno tune. Not some memcal generic mace shit
Yeah, it does have extractors and full straight through exhaust. Dyno tune was planned after engine hone. Mace also do different spacers for NA and boosted set ups. Plus these rockers are to be used instead of a cam.
Me same just topped off with MSD coils l67 throttle body mace cold air T5 with exedy pacemakers no cat 3.08 LSD larger plenum spacers tuned Memcal see profile pic.
