What next? - I need a plan
What next? - I need a plan I just got through beefing up my A4 a bit and put in a 3200 stall Yank. I've gotten some GREAT info from the auto trans. forum and am hoping to do the same here. Now that the trans is strong, it's time to put some power in front of it!
The car is a 1999 30th anniversary T/A convertible. Since the car may be semi-collectible, and since my wife (who would be just as happy with a station wagon) drives the car, I don't want to do anything too radical or very hard to undo. Also, I live in California, so I have to pass smog, and I want to do it legally.
But I've caught the horsepower bug and I want more - at least 50 more. The car currently is pretty stock, with just a lid, bellows, and Hypertech tune. If possible, I'd like to keep the stock (WS-6) exhaust, or at least keep it from being much louder than that. I would really need to be talked into headers, since I've had some bad experiences in the past.
Since I'm planning to pull the front cover and change to an LS-6 oil pump, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to change the cam at the same time. Again, I don't want to loose too much driveability in the process.
So what would you guys do to pick up about another 50 horsepower? Is a cam change alone going to do much for me? Should I do an intake and/or MAF also? I don't think I'm quite ready to do heads, but I'm not ruling it out for the future, either.
The car is a 1999 30th anniversary T/A convertible. Since the car may be semi-collectible, and since my wife (who would be just as happy with a station wagon) drives the car, I don't want to do anything too radical or very hard to undo. Also, I live in California, so I have to pass smog, and I want to do it legally.
But I've caught the horsepower bug and I want more - at least 50 more. The car currently is pretty stock, with just a lid, bellows, and Hypertech tune. If possible, I'd like to keep the stock (WS-6) exhaust, or at least keep it from being much louder than that. I would really need to be talked into headers, since I've had some bad experiences in the past.
Since I'm planning to pull the front cover and change to an LS-6 oil pump, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to change the cam at the same time. Again, I don't want to loose too much driveability in the process.
So what would you guys do to pick up about another 50 horsepower? Is a cam change alone going to do much for me? Should I do an intake and/or MAF also? I don't think I'm quite ready to do heads, but I'm not ruling it out for the future, either.
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TECH Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 14,620
Likes: 17
From: BFE
That's a VERY interesting read, Predator-Z. So I guess this cam's duration is only 215-degrees @ 0.050? It doesn't seem like much! But that's what I've often found on other cars - I'm usually happier going with a smaller cam. It also sounds like it would be a good first step, and that if I get better heads and an intake, I can bring the numbers higher!
