1990 Buick reatta performance chip

[Reatta90]

Hey guys, I have a 1990 Buick reatta, im wanting to put a higher end chip in so that I get more horsepower and basically run the car to it's capabilities and not on the factory limitations and stuff for someone who isnt expected to actually take care of their car. 

Edited June 26, 2017 by Reatta90 (see edit history)

[KDirk]

Why insist on doing this to a front wheel drive 165HP car with a transverse naturally aspirated engine and an auto transmission with a 2.25" exhaust?  You aren't going to get a noticeable performance boost from changing the ECM calibration. The only path to high performance is a powertrain upgrade  (supercharged, HD transmission or manual, and larger high flow exhaust) or to just buy an actual high performance car.

 

The Reatta with its stock engine and transmission will never be a high performance car, and will never compete with current production cars sporting 400HP+ from the factory, irrespective of any chip change. At best you might gain a few horses at the expense of running the engine  and transmission too hard and blowing them up prematurely. I don't want to be a party pooper, but these cars are not intended to be road rockets, and the overall design reflects that. The options available to overcome that are far more expensive and time consuming than a chip change.

 

[2seater]

I'm not clear on the last statement "someone who isn't expected to actually take care of their car"? Marginal performance improvement may be had but it isn't worth the expense to be saddled with running premium fuel full time. I had one many years ago from Ed Wright @ Superchips but I think it has been re-programmed at some point over the years. IMHO the stock chip is pretty well optimized for the air flow capability of the engine as it is and 87 octane. More useful changes can be made to the chip such as reprogramming the cooling fans to a lower temperature to match something like a 170*-180* thermostat, modifying the torque converter lockup to a higher threshold and maybe eliminate it in lower gears, which keeps the rpm's up a little in semi-urban areas, modify the idle rpm for better a/c performance in stop and go travel etc.. Any additional would involve mechanical changes, such as low restriction intake, open up the rear manifold restriction, a new replacement catalytic converter etc.. For anything more meaningful, internal engine changes are needed, head work, camshaft etc.. Boost is the easiest answer but then again, the chip becomes required.

[DAVES89]

As several of the guys on this forum know I too was in pursuit of more performance on a small budget [reburn a chip for more power]. The guys on this forum straightened me out in short order. So what I decided the next step as my Red had 265,000 miles on it was to replace the transmission [it was acting up] and getting a different engine and have it rebuilt by an engine builder with input from 2seater. I had installed a 1988 cam [higher lift longer duration] and 9.0 compression pistons. I have more of what I want but still don't have 200 HP. 

 Labor [friend who is a top mechanic gave me a good price on his labor], engine, engine work by rebuilder, tranny, Rack and Pinion, Alignment, misc. parts. Cost right at $3000. Then some paint work, different dash, cornering lamps, fog light lenses adds another $800.00.

 I now have a "new" car that I can drive anywhere for years, in my opinion money well spent. 

 Anyhow back to topic $3000.00 gets you about 20-30 HP. About $100.00 a Horse.

[billorn]

If there was more horsepower in a "chip" upgrade without a downside the factory would have done it. Cars are not that handicapped by the factory even if they do want to protect the cars from bad owners. I would be surprised if a reprogrammed chip could make any horsepower that you will feel. It is not a magic bullet for horsepower.

[Ronnie]

It's always best to use the right tool for the job. A Reatta isn't a good tool if you are wanting to increase performance. It can be done but it isn't easy.

 

If you want the "feeling" of having more performance, which increases the fun factor, there are a couple of things that I've done that helps with that. You can replace the stock air filter with a cone filter that will allow you to hear the engine roar a little when you get into the throttle. You can also install a switch to turn OFF the torque converter solenoid so the converter won't lock up unless you want it to. Having the torque converter unlocked all the time will allow the RPM to jump up quickly when you press on the gas pedal in any gear. That also gives you the "feeling" that you are accelerating faster. I usually flip the switch to the ON position and allow the converter to lock when I'm cruising above 60 MPH or I hit the interstate (which is rare for me).

 

When I hit the gas the RPM jumps up, I hear the louder intake sound, and I perceive a performance increase - although I know it's not there. Best bang for the buck for me. If I was looking for real performance, instead of the feeling of performance, I would start off with a Mustang or a Camaro so it would be easy to find performance parts.

 

[Reatta90]

3 hours ago, Ronnie said:

I would start off with a Mustang or a Camaro so it would be easy to find performance parts.

Where did you order that set up for the intake? And for the switch, aren't you in essence getting more torwue cause of the ability to have higher rpms? And could you also show me that set up and how you did (as well as what you bought to do it). 

[Reatta90]

4 hours ago, 2seater said:

IMHO the stock chip is pretty well optimized for the air flow capability of the engine as it is and 87 octane. More useful changes can be made to the chip such a

Now couldn't you compensate this with bigger/upgraded injectors. I understand that it will only use what it demands but if the chip is demanding more wouldnt the upgraded fuel injectors meet that demand? I'm pretty new to tying to figure this stuff out more. And can you give me examples or how to accomplish the "mechanical changes". I'm not looking for a big difference of horses but better performance is still better performance, I got the car cause it puts a smile on my face, ive put tons of work into it so it's kind of my project. 

[Ronnie]

30 minutes ago, Reatta90 said:

Where did you order that set up for the intake? And for the switch, aren't you in essence getting more torwue cause of the ability to have higher rpms? And could you also show me that set up and how you did (as well as what you bought to do it). 

I bought universal fit air intake parts at Advance auto parts and modified them to fit the Reatta. There is a thread here somewhere on the forum that I wrote detailing what I did. The 3800 has lots of torque for it's size even at low RPMs but higher RPMs makes you feel like it is accelerating better.

[89RedDarkGrey]

In the near future- I'm planning to install these-

https://fuelinjectorconnection.com/collections/gm-car-rebuilt-injectors/products/3-8-v6-bosch-iii-fuel-injector-sets

 

And I think you must also get the electrical plug adapters, too? EV6 to EV1 connector adapters-

https://fuelinjectorconnection.com/products/ev6-injector-to-ev1-harness

 

You might want to consider an upgraded fuel pump and pressure regulator (if needed) The BOSCH turbine is a nice "upgrade" to OEM

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=977691&cc=1019911 

 

and pressure regulator (probably replace anyway)  http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/buick,1990,reatta,3.8l+231cid+v6,1019911,fuel+&+air,fuel+injection+pressure+regulator,6124

 

OR- if you're going for a "high volume" pump (Walbro-type) and the regulator to handle such... you might want to also consider a fuel rail to handle all that- ?

 

[2seater]

To sort of pile on the Reatta isn't a performance car wagon: it weighs almost 100# MORE than a 4-door LeSabre of the same year. Sad but true.

 

I have spent many years fooling around with this engine, which is a bit of an orphan in that there is essentially no aftermarket for it, but there is a lot for the later iterations. The closest thing to a plug and play is to install a Series I supercharged engine. It is pretty well diagnosed and engineered already and many have done so. I have decided to do it the hard way, and have tried my hand at turbocharging, with mixed results. It's easy to add more fuel, without changing injectors, just turn the pressure up. The limiting factor is the amount of air that can be ingested, and that is pretty limited. Without air to combine with the fuel, nothing good can happen. For the most part, the camshaft is the limiting factor. The heads are pretty good, but need cleanup work and they respond well. Of the stock camshafts for this engine, the 1988 model had the most lift and duration, but good luck finding one. It is pretty much the reason that boost works well on this engine, you don't need a lot of internal work to make it work well. Regarding what can be done externally, Ronnie's suggestion is valid, and there is a built in restriction in the rear manifold that should be corrected. I can't find my photo of it at the moment. Replacing the cat. with a modern replacement flows better too. We know this will flow better, but the question becomes, how much of that does the engine really use? 

 

How about this for a heretical idea, convert to E85. Where the system is air flow limited, using a fuel that carries some of it's own oxygen, allows you to burn more. Yes, the fuel is less energy dense, but you can burn more, so there is a net gain. The problem is you use 30%-35% more. Some could be re-gained by having flat top pistons made of install 3.8 Ford piston with a tiny dish to get the compression up two or three whole numbers  

 

This is my suggestion for attempting to quantify any gain. Use the diagnostics to monitor the MAF reading. Make a few full throttle runs through second gear. It doesn't have to be from a standing start which is hard on the transaxle. A rolling start will do and record the maximum reading observed. Record the weather conditions as well, temp., barometer, humidity etc.. After a change/improvement is made, do the same thing and compare. Generally, a bone stock Reatta will be around 125 gm/sec. The multiplier is 1.32 x MAF reading for approximate hp.

[2seater]

39 minutes ago, 89RedDarkGrey said:

In the near future- I'm planning to install these-

https://fuelinjectorconnection.com/collections/gm-car-rebuilt-injectors/products/3-8-v6-bosch-iii-fuel-injector-sets

 

And I think you must also get the electrical plug adapters, too? EV6 to EV1 connector adapters-

https://fuelinjectorconnection.com/products/ev6-injector-to-ev1-harness

 

 

There are Bosch 3's available with the EV1 connection, but you do need to look out for that when purchasing. I have 24# ones in my engine right now for use with my low boost turbo setup and the chip was modified to match so the integrator and BLM read correctly. They do seem to have a smoother idle and low speed operation. The output design isn't really much different than our Bosch 901's, both are a director plate type, but the 3's have lighter internals.

[89RedDarkGrey]

Or- you could get crazy- https://fuelinjectorconnection.com/collections/chevy-pontiac-buick-v6/products/fic-1700-60mm-standard

[drtidmore]

Remember you are NOT just talking about the 3800 engine, but the transmission, the CV joints/drive shafts, the suspension, the brakes...  My Reatta recently focused me on the tranny aspect and I can tell you without hesitation that the stock 440T4/4T60/4T60E transmission will NOT handle much more power than the Reatta delivers in stock form.  The 440T4 (renamed 4T60 in 89 and then in 91 to 4T60E as the valve body changed to an electronic version), was at good match to the OEM 3800 but was lacking in reserve capacity.  You start messing with the engine output in any significant manner and you will be visiting transmission issues in short order.  Yes, you can find examples of taking the 3800 to even upwards of 500HP (if you have the pocketbook for such), but NONE of those are running on stock transmissions.  The last iteration of the family, the 4T65E-HD post 2003, actually holds up pretty well to abuse but it was designed to stand up to the LS V8 engine as well as the SC 3800.  Unfortunately attempting to transplant such a tranny in the Reatta is a VERY expensive proposition, complex mechanically, and requires additional electronics (I researched that approach thoroughly!)

 

While there are many possible reasons that the Reatta did not get an SC engine, the most probable was that GM simply did not have a transverse tranny that could withstand the HP and torque until several years later and by then the Reatta was history.  It IS possible to harden the 440T4/4T60/4T60E transmission to handle more HP/torque to some extent, but it was the 4T65E-HD, post 2003, that finally made the tranny capable of handling reasonably abusive engine output. It IS also possible to transplant most of the beefy mechanical heart of the 4T65E-HD into the 440T4 housing (no change needed in mounting and no need for electronics to control), which is what I am doing even though my Reatta is still running the stock '89 3800 engine (hey, might as well do some future proofing!).