Trying to understand the difference

[99SEDude]

I'm pretty sure this has been discussed all over the place, but I can't seem to find information on it. I was driving down the road and saw a 99+ GT driving by ( I have an 99+ SE) and it occured to me, if they put the same 3400 engine in both cars, why does the GT have more horsepower than the SE? I'm talkig about both being stock cars. I know the GT has a different exhaust set up than the SE, but is that really it? Oh, and some GTs have Ram Air, but some don't and they still have more HP than the SE. So is that really it? The exhaust? Or is there something else in the programing of the computer or the setup of the engine?

That leads me to think that if you have a GT and an SE, both with CAI and the same exhaust set up, they will have the same HP. I know that HP does vary from one engine to the next due to wear and tear on the engine and the fact that not two engines can be tuned exactly the same. Am I trippin'? Or am I right?

[Red99GAGT]

Your almost 98% right. All stock 99+ GT's have Ram Air.

But if an SE and GT, both with the 3400 V6 had the same mods, than yes the HP should be the same. The only other difference between the two is in the gearing. The GT has a different 4th gear ratio compared to the SE. The exhaust on the GT is better flowing, therefore creating the added 5 HP.

[illsmokeyou]

I didnt know the 99 HO version came with ram air also :???:

[Pte Socks]

yea they do. The HO stands for Hi-Output. Basically its the exact same car as the RAM AIR V6. Also, even a simple mod such as a CAI will yeidl the SE much more power than the GT. we arnt talking leaps and bounds here.. but you do notice the difference

[99SEDude]

I knew I wasn't trippin' :D

[USMCspy]

us SE guys need the ECU mod cause our Speed limiter is about 30 mph slower

[illsmokeyou]

Originally posted by Neo-Blue99GASE
yea they do. The HO stands for Hi-Output. Basically its the exact same car as the RAM AIR V6. Also, even a simple mod such as a CAI will yeidl the SE much more power than the GT. we arnt talking leaps and bounds here.. but you do notice the difference

well i knew it stood for High Output, but I could never understand why?

what the heck was so "high output" about it. Wasnt anything like the earlier quad 4 HO's...... maybe just a prototype name before they found something to stick with (ram-air) ?

[01PONYKILLER]

I HAVE A 01 SE THAT WILL SMOKE ANY GT OUT THERE. I USED A SE AS A PLATFORM FOR MY PROJECT AND IT WILL HANG WITH A SVT COBRA. I HAVE ANNILATED ALMOST EVERY GT IN MY AREA BECAUSE THEY SEE A STOCK SE BODY AN THINK THEY HAVE THE UPPER HAND ON ME ALL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GT. WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY ($8,000 IN MY CASE) YOU CAN DO UNIMAGINABLE THINGS TO A 4 DOOR SEDAN. ANY QUESTIONS ON MODS LET ME KNOW.

[99GrandAMSE]

Originally posted by 01PONYKILLER
I HAVE A 01 SE THAT WILL SMOKE ANY GT OUT THERE. I USED A SE AS A PLATFORM FOR MY PROJECT AND IT WILL HANG WITH A SVT COBRA ...

Should this be the case, I don't believe comparing your SE to a GT is actually really fair ... compared your S/C'd SE to a S/C'd GT and that would be a little more accurate ... hell, you may still have it, I don't know anything about your car man, but the comparison you are making is not right :(

[donny44131]

Originally posted by 01PONYKILLER
I HAVE A 01 SE THAT WILL SMOKE ANY GT OUT THERE. I USED A SE AS A PLATFORM FOR MY PROJECT AND IT WILL HANG WITH A SVT COBRA. I HAVE ANNILATED ALMOST EVERY GT IN MY AREA BECAUSE THEY SEE A STOCK SE BODY AN THINK THEY HAVE THE UPPER HAND ON ME ALL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GT. WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY ($8,000 IN MY CASE) YOU CAN DO UNIMAGINABLE THINGS TO A 4 DOOR SEDAN. ANY QUESTIONS ON MODS LET ME KNOW.

Dude let me know what you did becuase I have the exact same car and would love to know.

[XenoWolf]

Left side of the keyboard is a button called 'Caps Lock'. Try pressing it once more. Thanks :D

[SCGA1]

Originally posted by 01PONYKILLER
I HAVE A 01 SE THAT WILL SMOKE ANY GT OUT THERE. I USED A SE AS A PLATFORM FOR MY PROJECT AND IT WILL HANG WITH A SVT COBRA. I HAVE ANNILATED ALMOST EVERY GT IN MY AREA BECAUSE THEY SEE A STOCK SE BODY AN THINK THEY HAVE THE UPPER HAND ON ME ALL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GT. WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY ($8,000 IN MY CASE) YOU CAN DO UNIMAGINABLE THINGS TO A 4 DOOR SEDAN. ANY QUESTIONS ON MODS LET ME KNOW. Which model year SVT Cobra are you talking about?:???:

[xhypno]

yeah, what year svt cobra???

2003 runs a low 13 stock
pre2003 runs a low 14 stock

htat would make you one of the fastest GA's, please share the wealth..

[Old Guy]

Originally posted by Red99GAGT
[B The only other difference between the two is in the gearing. The GT has a different 4th gear ratio compared to the SE. [/B]

I see this said all of the time, but in reality it's not 4th gear, but the "final" gear that is different. The final gear in a GT (4T45E transaxle) is 3.29:1 and an SE (4T40E transaxle) is 3.05:1. Think of this as the differential in a rear wheel drive car. It affects all gears, 1st through 4th.

The gear ratios are:

First: 2.957
Second: 1.623
Third: 1.000
Fourth: 0.863
Reverse: 2.143

and are the same in the GT and the SE, but when used in conjuction with the different final ratio the GT will have more punch off the line, but if there was no speed limiter, the SE would have more top end. (but it wouldn't get there as quickly)

01PONYKILLER: Kelly is correct. You aren't comparing apples to apples. A stock GT will out perform a stock SE with everything being equal. I beat most GTs in the 1/4 that have the same mods as I do, but it has to do more with experience in racing than with the car.

[illsmokeyou]

Originally posted by 01PONYKILLER
I HAVE A 01 SE THAT WILL SMOKE ANY GT OUT THERE. I USED A SE AS A PLATFORM FOR MY PROJECT AND IT WILL HANG WITH A SVT COBRA. I HAVE ANNILATED ALMOST EVERY GT IN MY AREA BECAUSE THEY SEE A STOCK SE BODY AN THINK THEY HAVE THE UPPER HAND ON ME ALL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GT. WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY ($8,000 IN MY CASE) YOU CAN DO UNIMAGINABLE THINGS TO A 4 DOOR SEDAN. ANY QUESTIONS ON MODS LET ME KNOW.


:wtf:

[car audio dave]

Originally posted by The Old Guy
01PONYKILLER: I beat most GTs in the 1/4 that have the same mods as I do, but it has to do more with experience in racing than with the car.


question...how does experience have a lot to do with 1/4 mile times on an automatic tranny? ok, so launch RPMs and RT, but that be discovered in a day at the track.

dont get mad, im just being a smart ass. i know my car will beat any stock or slightly modified GT, but id hope so, with all the mods ive done.

[Old Guy]

When it comes to cars that run very close to the same ETs such as an SE vs a GT, experience has everything to do with it. .2 seconds can be mde up on the launch and if you really think that in one day at the track you can master launching you need to race guys that really do know what they're doing. It's a humbling experience! Track condition vary not only day to day buy hour to hour. You can't launch the same all of the time.

There is one simple thing that I didn't say though. Some guys will never be good racers. They just don't have the natural ability. Others seem to get the idea right from the start and will build on it.

I love racing guys who "think" they know all there is to know about racing in a year or two at the track. Seems kinda funny to me, with over 2000 track miles the only thing I know for certain is that some days I win and some days I lose.

[99GrandAMSE]

Originally posted by The Old Guy
... with over 2000 track miles the only thing I know for certain is that some days I win and some days I lose.

DYAM ... ain't THAT the truth!!! :)

[Madman]

Originally posted by 01PONYKILLER
I HAVE A 01 SE THAT WILL SMOKE ANY GT OUT THERE. I USED A SE AS A PLATFORM FOR MY PROJECT AND IT WILL HANG WITH A SVT COBRA. I HAVE ANNILATED ALMOST EVERY GT IN MY AREA BECAUSE THEY SEE A STOCK SE BODY AN THINK THEY HAVE THE UPPER HAND ON ME ALL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GT. WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY ($8,000 IN MY CASE) YOU CAN DO UNIMAGINABLE THINGS TO A 4 DOOR SEDAN. ANY QUESTIONS ON MODS LET ME KNOW.

if you want to talk about $8000, try to take a stock wrx. they are about that much more expensive than a grand am, maybe less. dont thing im knocking ga's, i love mine. i would rather drop the money's into a pontiac than an import. im just saying your comparing apples to oranges.

[potheadrme]

Originally posted by 01PONYKILLER
I HAVE A 01 SE THAT WILL SMOKE ANY GT OUT THERE. I USED A SE AS A PLATFORM FOR MY PROJECT AND IT WILL HANG WITH A SVT COBRA. I HAVE ANNILATED ALMOST EVERY GT IN MY AREA BECAUSE THEY SEE A STOCK SE BODY AN THINK THEY HAVE THE UPPER HAND ON ME ALL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GT. WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY ($8,000 IN MY CASE) YOU CAN DO UNIMAGINABLE THINGS TO A 4 DOOR SEDAN. ANY QUESTIONS ON MODS LET ME KNOW.

:eek: dam thats a nice grandam stupid fords i dont like them at all

[kubiache]

Originally posted by Old Guy
When it comes to cars that run very close to the same ETs such as an SE vs a GT, experience has everything to do with it. .2 seconds can be mde up on the launch and if you really think that in one day at the track you can master launching you need to race guys that really do know what they're doing. It's a humbling experience! Track condition vary not only day to day buy hour to hour. You can't launch the same all of the time.


Words of wisdom from Tom...very nicely put.

And to further that point, if there's no such thing as a bad driver in an auto, how did I beat a GPGT with more mods than me last time at the track? Certainly not because my car is so much faster.

[Street-racer]

I thought both were same, just ram air difference. Dont they both make 170hp and 175hp with ram air?

When you look at pontiac website, they just offer same v6 engine into any of those cars. And there isnt any 5hp difference seen, most likely underrated engine somewhere if there is such an advertisement.

[Old Guy]

The difference in the HP rating is actually the exhaust. A GT comes sith 2 1/4" dual outlet and an SE with 2" single outlet. The other differences besides the obvious trim packages are axle ratio and the suspension.