I need more power!

[H-Unit]

I have a K&N intake already and i'm looking for more power without jumping right into a supercharger. I don't think an exhaust will make much difference, but maybe? Does anyone make a header for the H3 yet? Will a performance header from a Colorado work?

Cheers!

[H-Unit]

I have a K&N intake already and i'm looking for more power without jumping right into a supercharger. I don't think an exhaust will make much difference, but maybe? Does anyone make a header for the H3 yet? Will a performance header from a Colorado work?

Cheers!

[evomind]

if ur looking for "fast," u bought the wrong vehicle.
even with a supercharger, its not "fast." it would then be "fast" for an h3, or maybe even an suv, but not "fast."
im not sure but i dont think a header from colorado will work..well, maybe. ull need an exhaust that will reach up to it though, and thats where i think the problem is.
take a look at a colorado header and determine if it fits. then maybe go to a muffler shop and see if they'll custom make u an exhaust that'll work. they should be able to.

[Guppy]

I am confussed about something. Why in the world do I keep seeing posts about people wanting more power and to go faster with the H3 or any Hummer?

I thought this vehicle is a SUV that is designed to go off road. Are people trying to just go fast enough to JUMP over things instead of going slow and climbing them?

I just dont get it. I have owned 4 different SUV's in my live and none of them were bought to race with. Even the V8 SUV's will not beat a Mustang or Vette in a race.

I can understand when people modify the HUMMER with lift kits and larger tires because this will help for major off roading. But to take the time to write up a post to ask "Duh, how can I get the HUMMER to go faster" is not only a waste of our time but also is really not the right forum for it.

I would suggest trading in the Hummer and getting a sports car and then joing the proper forum for it.

[evomind]

well....cant fault a guy for wanting to mod his truck i guess. hell i might do it too.
just realize the truck will never be "fast."

[StarsnBars]

It's all about crusing and looking cool in these bad boys.I let em fly by and watch em crane there necks checkin out the 3.

[DarthKarl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Guppy:
I am confussed about something. Why in the world do I keep seeing posts about people wanting more power and to go faster with the H3 or any Hummer? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm with you on that. So many people (including car reviewers) are completely obsessed with the idea of speed (not necessarily power, but 0 to 60 speed). Speed seems at times to be the sole criteria by which any vehicle is judged.

There are many cars (and the people that love them) that are indeed made for going fast...and that's great. But true off-road vehicles are not intended to speed down the highway at 95 mph.

I think most people who are interested with Hummers and are obsessed with highway speed (or lack thereof) are enticed solely by the H3's styling and aesthetics. If that is the case, then you are always going to be disappointed since speed just isn't what a Hummer is made for.

[timgco]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by H-Unit:
I have a K&N intake already and i'm looking for more power without jumping right into a supercharger. I don't think an exhaust will make much difference, but maybe? Does anyone make a header for the H3 yet? Will a performance header from a Colorado work?

Cheers! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That K&N kit and catback exhasut is all you can really do until Hypertech or someone comes out with more. I know you siad you didn't want to go big with a Turbo or SC kit, but there is a turbo kit and a couple of SC's out there already.

[H-Unit]

This forum drives me crazy some times! Let me explain myself so that hopefully someone can post some USEFUL information!

I live in a mountain town and my elevation is anywhere from 7,000 ft. to 10,000 ft! The air up here is not very good for N/A motors. At sealevel I might get to use all 220 hp, I'd probably be lucky if i'm even getting to use 170 hp up here!

So, evomind, guppy and darthkarl, only post if you have an answer to the question.

[Guppy]

First of all anyone can comment on anything they want. Second, is this Mountain town Ruidoso, New Mexico or some place like it? The reason why I ask is because I have been to Ruidoso many times to ski. Not only have I driven up the mountain with 2wd-4wd SUV's and Cars, I never had a problem. Now if you are planning on towing something then no mater what kind of vehicle you have you will always have HP issues going up hill.

Now you are more then welcome to own and drive any vehicle that you want and you are welcome to ask or comment on any issue. However, some of us are just tired of the lack of research people do for these types of vehicles before they buy them. Afterwards they tend to complain about one thing or another that the vehicle was never intended to do.

Anyway, Good luck with your rig and have a Merry Christmas...

[bjklein21]

The man asked a simple question. Everyone gets so defensive, it seems this problem bothers you also. H-unit never said he wanted a super fast car he just asked how he could get more power maybe for off-roading purposes. Give the guy a break. Were all here to help, right?

[DarthKarl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by H-Unit:
So, evomind, guppy and darthkarl, only post if you have an answer to the question. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll post my opinion whenever I damn well feel like it. If you don't like it, don't read it.

[f5fstop]

Actually, given all things equal, static hp at 7K on your 220 hp H3 is actually outputting 169 hp, at 10K it is outputting 151 hp. However, remember that there is less air restriction at that altitude and for dynamic purposes, you need less hp to move the vehicle.
However, I fail to see how any "so-called" item that supposedly increases hp will help due to altitude changes. (I won't go into my tests on K&N filters as dyno'ed on Corvettes.)
To increase airflow sufficiently to increase hp sufficiently due to altitude, you really need to force more air into the engine. Only method I know that works great is a SC or a TC; but these tend to void the warranty.

[kodiakz]

H-unit, you will only get so much from intake/exhaust/programmer and typically less power than you would have liked for the $$. f5fstop is correct in that you really need a blower or turbo to really see appreciable power increases. I have heard a few companies are close to releasing (if they haven't already) complete kits for the H3. In fact, I think I saw one using a powerdyne head piece just a week or 2 ago in these forums.

If you do get a blower put on, we'll have to get together and have some hummer races or try to jump over things!!!! http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gifhttp://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

[evomind]

i did reply in a useful manner i thought as to reasonable expectations from bolt on mods.
u wont feel much gain from anything else besides forced induction, and even then its still not a "fast" vehicle. i still stand behind that. of course my other vehicles are a 600 hp cobra and a lotus elise, so its relative.
i also have inquired abt superchargers for the h3, but again, u have to have reasonable expectations as to longevity, cost, and benefit.
my post was not insulting in any way, so on that, please dont chastize my posts.
ive modded more than just abt anyone here and can answer any post any way i feel.

[ChevyHighPerformance]

H-Unit,

An exhaust will give you about 8ish at the wheels, and the back pressure reduction will help highway MPG slightly. B&B/SMA's exhaust elmininates the resonator. Magnaflow's and Borla's have their own resonantor to replace the stock piece.

You can port match/contour your K&N kit to help flow slightly. You can alos help the K&N get more cold air and less hot engine compartment air which will help ~1% power increase range.

Also, the throttle body can use some "light work" to clean it up and flow better - there's easily 4-5 HP in this. The TB is worse than the LS1's. The intake manifold needs some work in the TB area - if you feel like a challenge.

There are some electronic mods that I haven't done yet: modify the IAT to put the PCM on a more aggressive timing table, alter the MAF output frequency signal to lean out the WOT A/F ratio, etc.

Remember in Truck Trend's 2nd annual ultimate challenge, the H3 took second because of power, and perhaps it could have taken 1st with some of the bolt-on power adders. Also, it may have got a better run for the hill climb with the mods and an auto.

[H-Unit]

I have plenty of experience in vehicle modification. I have two Z06 Corvettes and one has 550 hp. I'm am in no way looking to make my rig 'fast'! I just want to be able to use overdrive in the Hummer. I can't go 40 mph up here in overdrive! That is rediculous! So, thank you guys that actually had some useful information to post. I will probably s/c my ride, but picking up hp here and there never hurt.

[timgco]

H Unit, what elevation are you at?

I have 35's and had three people and all of our gear yesterday and went up to A Basin. I had no issues at 80mph going up I70 (13,000ft.)and 55mph over 10,000ft past Keystone. Yes it was in overdrive and to the floor, but that was really no different than when I had the H2. I too would like to see another 50-60hp and it woul dbe perfect for me.

[jsw029]

I live in the suburbs and NEVER plan on taking my H3 off-road. I know, for the hardcore Hummer fan, it's a shame but I bought the H3 because of it's style. It's a bad-@ss looking truck. I am a Graphic Designer and I appreciate this attribute. The fact that it ALSO can outperform most other vehicles off-road is merely an added bonus for me. With that being said, I would prefer to have more acceleration and top-end speed since that is where I would most benefit.

Sometimes this forum pisses me off. Am I not a member of the Hummer community because my H3 stays on the street and I want to modify it accordingly?

[KenP]

Our last H2 had some power, but we kept breaking things from it. Tons of power is great for the street, but not necessarily good for offroading with all stock components.

I guarantee we had a much easier time driving to Moab on I-70 with our old truck then everyone else, but we threw the T-case, too.

There's plus's and minus's to both, but follow fstop's instructions. He's on the money.

Me. 60 mph is at 12 o'clock. (http://www.lingenfelter.com/0-60_000.mpeg)

[H-Unit]

I don't have a problem going fast, it's fine at hwy speeds because most of the hwy driving is coming off the mountain. For some reason it just seems like the transmission can't decide what gear it wants when i'm driving about 35 to 40 mph. I think if it had a little more torque it wouldn't do as much gear searching. I'm thinking that a header would make enough of a difference that it would stay in a gear.

evomind, guppy and darthkarl...I should have picked a better name for this thread. After looking back, I guess the first impression I gave was that I was power hungry and that is not the case. The title should have been more like I need a couple more ponies!

Cheers1

[H-Unit]

KenP, that is a sweet video! Is that just a S/C or was there some engine work done as well?

[Steve - SanJose]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by jsw029:
I live in the suburbs and NEVER plan on taking my H3 off-road. I know, for the hardcore Hummer fan, it's a shame but I bought the H3 because of it's style. It's a bad-@ss looking truck. I am a Graphic Deigner and I appreciate this attribute. The fact that it ALSO can outperform most other vehicles off-road is merely an added bonus for me. With that being said, I would prefer to have more acceleration and top-end speed since that is where I would most benefit.

Sometimes this forum pisses me off. Am I not a member of the Hummer community because my H3 stays on the street and I want to modify it accordingly? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Pimp that ride! Don't worry about it, just enjoy your H3 regardless of where you drive it. Don't forget that the Hummer sales generated by H3 buyers that never go offroad are important to the Hummer divisions survival and success. Hummer is part of GM and needs to perform to avoid the fate of Oldsmobile and eventually Buick and Pontiac.

S.

[KenP]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by H-Unit:
KenP, that is a sweet video! Is that just a S/C or was there some engine work done as well? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Lots of engine work including heads, pistons, cam, rollers, etc.

You can go to your first post on this thread and hit the Edit icon. If it's not too late you can then change the title of the thread.

[KenP]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve-SanJose-H3:

Pimp that ride! Don't worry about it, just enjoy your H3 regardless of where you drive it. Don't forget that the Hummer sales generated by H3 buyers that never go offroad are important to the Hummer divisions survival and success. Hummer is part of GM and needs to perform to avoid the fate of Oldsmobile and eventually Buick and Pontiac.

S. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I can't believe Buick is still around.

H, enjoy the truck.

[f5fstop]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by H-Unit:
I don't have a problem going fast, it's fine at hwy speeds because most of the hwy driving is coming off the mountain. For some reason it just seems like the transmission can't decide what gear it wants when i'm driving about 35 to 40 mph. I think if it had a little more torque it wouldn't do as much gear searching. I'm thinking that a header would make enough of a difference that it would stay in a gear.

evomind, guppy and darthkarl...I should have picked a better name for this thread. After looking back, I guess the first impression I gave was that I was power hungry and that is not the case. The title should have been more like I need a couple more ponies!

Cheers1 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have found when in the hills, it is best to keep the beast in 3 versus D. It hunts and downshifts less. In addition, going down hill requires less brake pedal operations on small hills.

[DarthKarl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by H-Unit:
evomind, guppy and darthkarl...I should have picked a better name for this thread. After looking back, I guess the first impression I gave was that I was power hungry and that is not the case. The title should have been more like I need a couple more ponies! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No problems. My impressions were not intended to be directed at you (or an attack of you), but rather was my observation that many people (including most car reviewers) evaluate a vehicle primarily upon that car’s 0-60 time. While that may be fair when looking at a Ford GT, that doesn’t necessarily apply to a vehicle that is designed to be used off-road, even though many never will see the dirt. As I’m sure a good number of GT’s will similarly never see a race track.

[Huck BB62]

I would like to get a little more power too. I think I'd REALLY like a tow/haul mode for the tranny to make it hold shift points longer. I too live in the mountains and usually just leave it in 3 to keep the tranny from hunting.

So:
1. Exhaust mods help. Does eliminating the resonator? How bad is the drone without the resonator?
2. The K&N intake helps. How much? Does it affect water fording?
3. Has anyone tried a chip? Is there one available? How's it help hp and mileage?
4. Any specifics on the throttle body mods?

[hmer]

yup for those that mention not beeing at Slevel a SC will work . same thing is use on small airplanes like the few i use for school a SC is installed from factory . yeah bomb my post i know hummer is not a plane but the SC will help.know a bunch of guys that live in places like that and have a SC on just for that .NOT TO GO FAST.

[ChevyHighPerformance]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Huck BB62:
I would like to get a little more power too. I think I'd REALLY like a tow/haul mode for the tranny to make it hold shift points longer. I too live in the mountains and usually just leave it in 3 to keep the tranny from hunting.

So:
1. Exhaust mods help. Does eliminating the resonator? How bad is the drone without the resonator?
2. The K&N intake helps. How much? Does it affect water fording?
3. Has anyone tried a chip? Is there one available? How's it help hp and mileage?
4. Any specifics on the throttle body mods? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

1) I don't know how the stock exhaust sounds without the resonator. I have the B&B/SMA (no resonantor) and the sound isn't that bad. Deeper but no V8 sound. B&B told me they measured a 8 wheel HP increase with their exhaust on a stock H3. This gain seems typical.

2) I think WhiteH3 posted some of his dynos done by K&N on his H3. I think the gain was over 15 hp at the wheels. I have the Airaid (the price was right) with my own pipe that bypasses the intake resonator. The K&N system seems pretty good. I can't answer the water fording, but my guess is that not much different. The filter element may be exposed to more splashing than stock. The stock system breaths from the passinger fender. With the Airaid system, the metal bracket can be removed and the stock lid put back on in about 1 minute for off-roading. Teh K&N and Airaid system will produce more noise.

3) NO chips - programmers are in works to reflash the PCM. I haven't seen any out yet.

4) The throttle body needs some cleanup. You'll need a die grinder or a dremel to reshape the TB input and output. The input needs some slight-medium reshaping. The output needs more work. Some people knife edge the throttle blade too.

[Steve - SanJose]

I know it's the American way, thankfully. You cannot have too much horsepower or too much money! http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Most of these mods seem like more trouble than its worth.

I am considering a dual exhaust system because it looks cool and hopefully sounds slightly better than stock. Any horsepower increase I'm sure will not be noticable.

S.