Demonic_Displacement

Hello everyone Im brand new to this community. I recently bought a 1999 Camaro Z28, and I have $2350 leftover. The goal is to make the nicest, fastest, most reliable daliy driver around. Help me make a shopping list? The car is completely stock except for a K&N cold air intake.
I appreciate all the help I can get

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

Exhaust and the usual bolt ons plus a tune would be a good start

Demonic_Displacement

What exhaust system/ tune would you recommend?

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

Texas Speed and Speed Engineering make a great bang for the the buck header and exhaust. LS6 intake, ram air mod, UDP, etc...A good custom dyno tune is preferred over a mail order tune but not totally necessary

Sales3@Texas-Speed

iTrader: (2)

Is the car an auto or manual? Also are you mechanically inclined enough to do the installs yourself or will you be needing a shop to install it? That way we can figure if we need to budget labor costs into your budget as well.

Lonnie

Demonic_Displacement

Its a stock automatic

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Then I would recommend something like a Yank SS3600 or similar from PI/Vig, a trans cooler, LT headers w/ORY and full catback (or cutout on the stock catback, your choice), LS6 intake and a tune (could get away with a mail order tune for the bolt-ons but, depending on your region, there may be several good custom tuners to choose from.) One other thing I would consider is ditching/selling the K&N cold air intake and replacing it with a standard air lid.

With those modifications, it will feel like a completely different car. If you have drag radials or otherwise very sticky tires, you'll likely shave about 1 second off your ET with those mods, maybe more. When you get bored with that, you can look at heads/cam setups to add to this foundation.

Sales3@Texas-Speed

iTrader: (2)

^^^Agreed. That's exactly what I would recommend as well being an auto.

Lonnie

TheBlueKnight

iTrader: (4)

I have a question that has always bothered me. When I had bought my stock 2000 Trans Am about 5 years ago I was in the OP's same position. I wanted a reliable set up with a good little chunk of HP for the money (no nitrous). Not talking about transmission upgrades, I bought all the basic bolt ons and spent around $2000.

FTRA - $200
Lid - $100
P&P TB - $100
Used LS6 Intake - $350
Long Tube Headers - $400
Y-pipe - $150
Cat Back - $300
Tune - $300
Total - $1900

This was buying budget parts. I know depending on what kind of sales/brands you go with it could end up anywhere between $2000-$2500+ (if you do the work yourself). For all of that I ended up gaining about 45-50HP. What I'm wondering is if for bang for the buck I would have been better off leaving all of that stuff stock and using that $2000+ for a basic Head and Cam package and a dyno tune? Would a mild/moderate head and cam package with a good tune with stock intake and exhaust net more than the 45-50HP I gained with bolt ons? I just always wonder if I would have been better off going that route for the money (assuming I never planned to do any other HP mods). And I wouldn't have lost all that ground clearance with the 3" y-pipe.)

EarlyZ28!

iTrader: (2)

Blue knight...Id say u woulda prolly had a few more than 50 HP with a head/ cam package. But all the mods u already went with is def. Good supporting mods for the head an cam when u do em... By the way.. Good step by step videos you got posted up man.. Watched em last night..

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

Exhaust,intake/tb/lid,tune to start.

DANOZ28

iTrader: (1)

if you keep your ls1 intake do the free egr mod , basically cut this thing hanging down right behind throttle body. go to install university ls1 egr mod for how to. a very old article i like is may 2004 super chevy ls1 do's & donts. cheers!

Mappinsj

EGR removal adds no horsepower only cleans the intake manifold

madmike9396

iTrader: (29)

Stall converter-800
nice cooler-150
Catback - I would look for used in the for sale section 3-4-500 bucks. Just depends what you want
Ram air kit-200
Lid-100
tune- 3-400

Save the rest for general repairs

Jay-P

iTrader: (16)

How many miles on it?

If the trans is in good shape I would start there with a converter and trans cooler, best bang for the buck. I'd go with something around a 4k stall. A set of 1 7/8 long tube headers with y-pipe from speed engineering, followed by the catback of your choice. Slp lid, ssra, or chris1313 ram air, and free mods. Some of these items can be found in the for sale section to save you some $$. Then find a tuner in your area to give it a tune.

You can drive I like that but im sure you will then want tires and suspension goodies to help plant the power, and so on. At that point the ball will keep on rolling...

This will give you a nice basic power upgrade.

[edit] Looks like we are all repeating ourselves here, so this gives you a good idea of the path to follow. [/edit]

DANOZ28

iTrader: (1)

http://installuniversity.com/ls1/ins...r/ls1-egr.html see pic #6 i think only 98's & 99's have this issue mappin.

Darth Cypher

I too am thinking about modding my engine a little bit. Basically small things here and there. So far I have an SLP airlid with K&N filter and GMMG catback exhaust. I have not done a tune yet but found a local guy to get that done for me. Before I do that, I am thinking about doing some other mods to the intake.

Here is the "but", I am currently in a no inspection state but that may change after I retire from the USAF. I have no idea where I will find my next career. So I have to proceed with the assumption that I will go to a state with a vehicle inspection which rules out headers (I want to do long tubes while retaining the cats).

Also, I won't be doing heads and cam any time soon as I am pouring funds into my suspension. My priority will then go to the brakes and chassis, then the rear end, then the transmission. And then, if I don't die of old age I will get more serious with the motor.

This is the best of my plans so far. For now, are there any mods I am overlooking that I can do before I go for a tune? Thanks.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The only type of inspection that would rule out LT headers would be a visual one. Many states are OBD scan only testing - no visual no sniff - in these states you can pass with LT headers (cats or not, doesn't matter) without issue if you have the proper tuning.

In some states you can register as an antique (usually at 20-25 years, not sure when you plan on moving) or "collector" vehicle to avoid emissions. There are also some states that allow race car/show car exemptions, for which you may or may not qualify. And lastly, some test states only test in certain counties or ZIP codes, so you may be able to move to an address just outside of the test area.

Just some things to consider before ruling out certain modifications.

Darth Cypher

Trust me. I will definitely try to get into an area where I don't need to do an inspection at all. If I do, I plan on headers and getting rid of the EGR/AIR or other EPA crap from the engine bay (I know my year Camaro doesn't have one of the EGR or AIR thingies on it, lol).