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I have a 98 Trans Am A4. I already have MTI lid, Hooker competition LTs, gutted cats, Flowmaster cat back (I know its garbage), and the stock 3.42 gears. I have around $6000 to spend. It will be mainly street use (I may go to the track a couple times idk) and its not my DD. I was looking at this HAWKS 450hp h/c/I kit and wondering if you guys had any input on whether or not its worth the money and what to do with the extra cash?
Thank you for the help in advance, it is greatly appreciated!
PS I'm a newbie and have a little, but not very much knowledge of cars. (And this is my first post, I hope I did it right lol)

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

That package looks pretty decent from what I can tell. You could also just slap on a blower and call it a day

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

if you havent upgraded your TC budget for that also.

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

Heads, Cam, stall, Drag radials and depending on what your doing with the car eventually upgrading the rear .

DANOZ28

iTrader: (1)

since you have a lid & headers already stall i'd go circle D 3200 most posters would say 3600. plus cooler & sfi flexplate for drag racing. suspension lca's w relos; sfc welded, poly TA mount or new TA. sticky tires. then tsp texas speed 2.5 heads & cam i'd go w 228. look for an old article super chevy may 2004 ls1 do's & donts. cheers! dont forget a good tune. ps if you still have ls1 intake upgrade to ls6 or fast 78 or if drag racing mainly fast 90/90

srs bzns

iTrader: (3)

$5000-6000 is a good deal of money. First thing that came to mind was supercharged but its not going to build a complete package car. It's will just build a fast, straight line car that will be scary as crap to stop or broken a month after the install. I would replace known issues and maintenance things with better performing or "high performance" pieces. The best thing to do to make a street car fun is suspension and braking

If you are using the car for street use and not much track, I would do Trans mods (TC, upgraded cooler) and suspension mods. You didn't mention anything suspension wise so I would suggest tuned shock and spring combo, sways, control arms, arm relocation, torque arm, subframe stuff, adjustable pan hard, performance a mild to medium cam, intake manifold, throttle body. Maybe replace the rear section of your exhaust if you don't like it. You didn't mention anything about brakes. It's a 98 so replace your sail panel. Wheels and tires?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

3.42 gears were not stock for the A4 cars, you have either 3.23 or 2.73 if the rear has never been modified. Either way, I would definitely go with a 3500+ stall since you plan a H/C package (even a stock engine will benefit greatly from a 3500+ stall speed).

If you want to get more power out of your current exhaust system you can always add a cutout - no reason to change the whole system unless you just don't like the sound.

With a '98, I wouldn't worry about a flexplate upgrade if you're not planning to race much ('98-'00 flexplate is much stronger than the '01+ piece). I also wouldn't bother with an aftermarket torque arm for a street only/mostly street car, IMO. But there are some who have a different opinion.

The TSP heads/cam recommendation is a nice choice IMO.

Anthony Williams

iTrader: (3)

Get a diff girdle cover and have your axle tubes welded on, get a better torque arm and panhard bar, and a Trans mount that separates the torque arm mount from the trans tail extension, and as long as you stay away from slicks and neutral drop burnouts the 10 bolt will last. Less than $600 right here.. If you do H/C, tune and a stall ya might as well go to 3.73's

DANOZ28

iTrader: (1)

rpm, if drag racing dont you at some point have to have an sfi flexplate? if hes adding a stall whynot add an $85 hd compared to stock new flexplate? havent people broken flexplates before? a 98 probably has over 75k miles i just dont see how thats not a wise part to replace.

deadlights

Im sorry I meant 3.23. I still have stock tires and as I said before, its probably not going to see the track very much if not at all. I was definitely thinking 3500+ stall, deep trans pan, and aftermarket trans cooler. But does anyone know if that HAWKS h/c/I kit is a good idea? It comes with 102mm tb 102 MAF and fast 102mm intake. The kit alone costs $4,250

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Again,Thank you all for the responses and input

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

It looks pretty decent but for $4200 you might be able to do a little better

deadlights

What h/c/I is better than that setup, and do you really think that kit can make 450/475 with my existing mods and a good tune?

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

Honestly it's going to depend on the dyno. I'd check places like Thompson Motorsports and Texas Speed to start. They seem to have good prices as well

DANOZ28

iTrader: (1)

i personally feel the 102 is too big and was designed for bigger cube motors such as 427. there is a diff thread where the kid put a 102 on his basically stock engine and was very disappointed with the dyno #'s.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

No, it's the other way around. The '98s (those built prior to 05/98) are the only year of LS1 cars that DON'T need the sail panel replacement. It's the '99 and up (plus the final 2-3 months of '98 builds) that are subject to the bubbling issues.

I never did. I drag raced with the stock '98-'00 flexplate for several years before selling that particular car.

Most of the breakages that I've seen have been the weaker '01+ flexplates. It's not a "bad" idea to replace it, I just don't see the need for a car that will rarely, if ever, see the track (as stated by the OP) and that already has the better stock flexplate. If it was an '01+ car, my opinion would be a bit different.

BrntWS6

iTrader: (7)

$1,000+ mistake right there.