Elliott R (2002 Z28)

Hello everyone! I made my first post in the introduction section. This is going to be my 2002 Camaro Z28 build. This is what im working with. It is a 2002 Z28 in Monterey Maroon Metallic. It's pretty clean inside and out, except for a little damage on the front left fender (barely noticable I fixed it pretty well). It has 125,000 miles on the LS1. Fuel pump has been replaced twice. It has squeaky bushings (but hey welcome to F bodies lol). It is fully loaded out with all the options including traction control. it is an automatic . Only problems with the car currently is that it has a small oil leak because the oil pan gasket is worn out. I will get that fixed soon. The rear diff whines a lot but I have had it rebuilt twice so I assume that it works fine and just makes that noise. It has T-tops and is a blast to drive. It's my first car and I love it to death. I also bought a 2002 Durango SLT as a daily beater so I don't have to leave the Camaro sitting in the school parking lot all day. I hope to document the modifications that I am going to put on it here. I also hope to recieve advice from all of you. I think the first thing I am going to do to the car is an SLP airbox and baffle removal. That should give me better airflow and make my engine bay less cluttered. The first big thing I plan to do is Headers and Y pipe, which is where I need your help. My plan is Texas Speed Headers and catted Y pipe into the stock exhaust with an electric cutout before the mufflers. Now, here are my questions. Is Texas Speed a good brand? What is the fitment like for people that have them? Is the ground clearance fine? Will I need to get it tuned to get the most out of the headers? Is catted Y the way to go? I want cats because I don't want to deal with the car throwing O2 codes and I don't want it to be really smelly. I think Headers+Catted Y into stock exhaust with cutouts will give me the best performance/sound improvement and is a good first step to the car. Later down the road I may do bushings and sway bars and some other suspension stuff. Any suggestions? I know it is a lot but the most knowledgable people reside on this forum haha. Thank you so much!.

Nathan C

I don't have any personal experience with TSP, but they are a popular manufacturer. Congrats on the Camaro!

po171

Good looking car! The TSP headers work just fine, slight clearance issue, but normal driving is pretty benign. Might scrape a speed bump here and there, but nothing terrible. I have the tsp headers with the catted Y, but it’s “hi-flow” so basically empty cats, appearance only, and it does smell, especially with the cutout open. Magnaflow cat back, my personal favorite, nice and deep, not raspy, only loud when you thromp it. You will need a tune with the headers, and you can tune out the rear 02’s and other emission stuff if you choose at that time.
Nothing wrong with the automatic, consider doing a stall converter with the headers and tune, and that will keep a smile on your pretty face for quite some time. Look for threads by Strano on here regarding suspension, you’ll find everything you need from him. Nice car!!