lo mile ta

I am new to the LS scene, and want to know what are the first few things I can do to improve the performance of the car. I have a limited budget so, where do I start tweaking?

weeble1

iTrader: (6)

You can start by searching. You can read for days on this site. Tons of extremely knowledgeable folks on here. Post up and let us know what you decide.

ragtopz28

iTrader: (57)

^^start @ New LS1 owners-stickies.
Then throw us a budget amount and you'll get enough imput to spin your head right off you neck.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

And as a rule of thumb when asking, it is best to include the car, year model, and what is already done because those impact decisions a lot.

If it's an automatic, a higher stall torque converter should be a priority. If it's a pre-01, a ls6 intake would also be up there.

lo mile ta

Thanks for the quick replies. The car is an 02 TA auto, that is bone stock. Air box and exhaust are first in line.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

Lid
headers/exhaust
stall
sticky tire (555r would be good)
tune

Would make for a very healthy ride. If short on funds, I would pool all the money into a quality 3600 converter (even a good used Yank, Circle D, Vig, etc) and put better tires on after the current ones are burnt to a crisp from the new awesomeness.

ragtopz28

iTrader: (57)

Good start...didn't mean to come off as a smart a$$ earlier.
Is this your daily driver/street duty only, street/strip car, mostly drag etc.?This will also help on advice. I agree with Thunderstruck. You already have the LS6 intake, stall is next bang for buck mod.(3200-3600 for street/strip).
Then LT headers, P&P TB, suspension mods, etc.
See...we need more info and budget.

DarkFox118

iTrader: (7)

A tune with just a lid and headers?

Seems like a waste of $400 to me. Wouldn't you wanna wait for the tune after HCI? I was planning to probably do a lid.. eventually.. but I wasn't gonna bother with a tune till I get a new engine or something.

I agree tho.. with one exception. Do a tune up THEN do lid/exhaust.

Oil change, plugs, wires, clean the TB, IAC, MAF, new fuel filter new oil filter new air filter, check the brakes.

I have a feeling this is a DD for you?

Ls engines can get a really gunked up TB over the years because of the EGR.

weeble1

iTrader: (6)

In my opinion, don't do a sticky tire til you get a rear in it. If you are spinning, most of the time you ain't breaking. Just to give you an idea, my car is a 99 with Borla cat back, lid, and a 3500 stall. On street tires I have been 12.6 and 8.0 1/4 and 1/8. If you stall it DO A TRANS COOLER! it is an absolute must. Especially on a daily driver. If you do long tubes and a stall, most of the time a mail order tune from frost is a good way to have a "temporary" tune but if you go any farther, like heads and cam for example get ut dyno/street tuned. The good thing is that these cars react well to relatively small modification. Cat back and a lid is a great starting point.

JB_97ws6TA

iTrader: (6)

If you're spinning you can get some nasty wheel hop which will destroy a rear end faster than a dead hook on an auto at bolt on power levels.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

Any shop charging $400 for a bolt on car tune is raping people IMO. Most shops will do a discount for bolt on easy to tune cars.

For a bolt on car I would get a mail order from Frost though. Headers without a tune is throwing away about half the HP gain they give you.

weeble1

iTrader: (6)

I have BMR lca's with relocation brackets. No hop at all. Guess its up to him but I have seen many more people blow out a 10 bolt with radials/slicks than I have with street tires.

DarkFox118

iTrader: (7)

Well, a lot of shops charge you ~$400 for an initial tune, then give you much cheaper tunes as it goes. I thought if you were planning to do HCI in the future, you would probably save the "expensive" tune for when you get the most gain, like right after the HCI swap, then you get the full benefit.

I guess if you don't plan to do those things, or you're unsure if you plan to, that does make more sense. I hadn't thought of it that way.