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let me make the first post to this sectionbest bang for buck mod
So what is the best bang for buck mod for these cars is it the pulley seems most people pick up 40-70hp just from this guess it is the best cost per hp item.
Pully and a tune for sure! I went with a 2.55 upper pully, with HP tuners tune, and I went from 521whp/501tq to 571whp/551tq. Total cost with professional tune, dyno, install, and parts was right around $1400.00.
Next step for me is lower pully, and injectors to get around the 600whp mark.
Ya I am amassing parts to do all at once. zl1 lid, 2.55 upper, 9.1 lower, id850 injectors Airaid intake,ls9 cam, 918 springs, blower isolator,tr7ix plugs,zl1 heat exchanger water pump,ls7 ported 90mm T-body, ported blower, ported blower snout, HP tuner tune provided by Matt@FSP. is the first round of parts then headers next. Cars don't stay stock to long in my garage I had parts in my garage already even before the car was delivered its realy a sickness. I put the Airaid on 20 min after I got the car home
I'm going to try to hit the track with just the air intake and new belts on a NT05R and see what it gets then pull the trigger on the first round of mods I should have all my parts by the end of next week
IMO the first 2 mods around $600 total is a ported TB and air intake. The stock TB tends to keep the car lazy in lower speeds like around town driving. The ported TB wakes it up with crisper throttle response. Upper pulley, bigger injectors, E85 flex fuel kit will net you 600+ rwhp. Any mods after that you'll be entering the 650+ rwhp club which would consist of more pulleys, porting the SC & snout, headers. And if those bolt-on still ain't enough you'll be prying into the motor doing heads & cams and major cooling you'll be entering the 750+hp club.
It's almost scary that some of the CTS-V2 gearheads are using them as daily drivers.
Don't get me started on the ported TB... My hasn't stopped talking about it for two weeks. It literally feels like a different car, as if it's lost 400 pounds. It's THAT noticeable. I just had Tony Mamo do my wife's. It's nothing short of incredible.
I think the pics speak for themselves. No codes, nothing. But DAMN does it transform the feel of the car. Don't like it? Tony offers a money back guarantee. To date, I'm not aware of a single return.
Pully and a tune for sure! I went with a 2.55 upper pully, with HP tuners tune, and I went from 521whp/501tq to 571whp/551tq. Total cost with professional tune, dyno, install, and parts was right around $1400.00.
Next step for me is lower pully, and injectors to get around the 600whp mark.
What mods did you have already before the pulley
Originally Posted by dr_whigham
Don't get me started on the ported TB... My hasn't stopped talking about it for two weeks. It literally feels like a different car, as if it's lost 400 pounds. It's THAT noticeable. I just had Tony Mamo do my wife's. It's nothing short of incredible.
I think the pics speak for themselves. No codes, nothing. But DAMN does it transform the feel of the car. Don't like it? Tony offers a money back guarantee. To date, I'm not aware of a single return.
is the difference in feel coming from a tune or just the port itself?
No tune at all brother. This was a TB swap only. I myself could feel the difference KNOWING I did it, and to counter that fear of placebo I did it without my wife knowing (its her car) and then had her run me to the store for something. It's the "ultimate blind test" and she noticed it IMMEDIATELY and asked me if I had done anything to the car.
By the way, my original post was supposed to say my WIFE hasn't stopped talking about it for two weeks.
I've ported hundreds of TB's for the 2nd Gen CTS-V's.....I own one and have used it extensively for all my throttle body R&D swapping on and trying different shapes and profiles of the housing bore to perfect the process. At this point I have it down to a science and offer a money back guarantee on all my ported TB's.....if your not thrilled with it for whatever reason send it back but the gains in performance from a properly ported TB are so huge on this application you would have to be in a coma not to feel (and love) the huge improvement in response, tip in throttle, midrange and upper RPM power gains. Its the BEST low buck mod on the planet for this vehicle platform and if you own a 2nd gen and your reading this and still have a stock TB, you will thank the fact you stumbled on this thread.
Here is a link to a sticky on a huge thread (300+ responses) dedicated to my porting the CTSV throttle bodies....there must be at least 40 people that all chime in with their independent feedback of the improvements from the TB's I helped them with. You would need hours to go thru it all but you wont have to read for very long before you decide you want to own one or at least try one with the fact its a money back offer.
Its just a fantastic upgrade for this particular platform especially removing that dead feeling you get in the first third of the travel of the accelerator pedal with a stock TB....the car literally feels 400 lbs lighter after you switch over to the ported unit and moves out almost instantly as you start rolling into it.
If any of you guys need some help feel free to PM or shoot me an email and we can take it from there.
So what is the best bang for buck mod for these cars is it the pulley seems most people pick up 40-70hp just from this guess it is the best cost per hp item.
george
Best bank for the buck is a 2.55" upper pulley, Airraid intake, and a tune.
Any more pulley and you need injectors, and even a 2.55" might put you close to the edge.
You should p/u 80+ rwhp with the mods I just mentioned.
The tune itself won't yield "much" alone, like it does it an FBody or a Vette. If you're an A6 there's much to be had in the Trans tune.
I myself have a ported LSA TB (instant seat of the pants gratification) and the car already had a D3 intake and Corsa Sport.
Next round of mods will be a 2.55 Lingenfelter pulley, 160* thermostat and have Geoff at EPS tune her. When speaking with him yesterday he said pulleys are hit and miss for injectors. Some cars need them with just a 2.55 and some don't. When we get on the rollers, we'll find out.
After that will be a NORCAL tank and LPE Heat Exchanger. Pretty sure the wife will be more than content with that and that'll pretty much be it for the car. I might weld in an X pipe piece where the crinkled crap is that goes over the mid-body brace, but this isn't going to get headers unless I pick them up for a STEAL, or someone creates a set like TSP or Speed Engineering.
The tune itself won't yield "much" alone, like it does it an FBody or a Vette. If you're an A6 there's much to be had in the Trans tune.
I myself have a ported LSA TB (instant seat of the pants gratification) and the car already had a D3 intake and Corsa Sport.
Next round of mods will be a 2.55 Lingenfelter pulley, 160* thermostat and have Geoff at EPS tune her. When speaking with him yesterday he said pulleys are hit and miss for injectors. Some cars need them with just a 2.55 and some don't. When we get on the rollers, we'll find out.
After that will be a NORCAL tank and LPE Heat Exchanger. Pretty sure the wife will be more than content with that and that'll pretty much be it for the car. I might weld in an X pipe piece where the crinkled crap is that goes over the mid-body brace, but this isn't going to get headers unless I pick them up for a STEAL, or someone creates a set like TSP or Speed Engineering.
Tune alone are typically good for about 30 hp or so, and if you have an automatic, they can really improve the driving experience, akin to the ported throttle body, but even more so, IMO.
The LPE HX (heat exchanger) is a nice unit, but there are good, less costly options.
Also the pump from the factory only flows about 5 gpm when installed, not free flow, so that should also be considered.
Typically, on the pump, I recommend the LPE Varimax, as it's the best one at that price point, about $240 new. More expensive options are the Stewart EMP 29, and the ZR1 pump, but the latter is quite expensive new, so used is the next best option, but quite hard to find used.
Just some suggestions. If I find some time I think I should put some info in my signature.
The Varimax pump by LPE is an absolute given. That's the one I've decided on.
It's all the add-ons with the LPE HX that I want... The twin fans, relays, controls, separate PS cooler, it's lower design that won't block the entire AC condenser / radiator... Once you add up all the doo-dads and misc stuff with the others, it's a wash. I'd rather "one and done."
03-11-2016, 09:31 AM
let me make the first post to this sectionbest bang for buck mod 
