New to LT1's.. help me out??
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 10
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From: Albion, Michigan
New to LT1's.. help me out?? Hi, as I stated.. im new to the LT1's... I used to be big into mustangs 
til my friend gave me a ride in his T/A 
anywho... bottom line, i have a 95 Trans Am LT1, all it's got is a Cold Air Intake, and A magnaflow Exshaust, i don't know if it's stock headers or not...
so what are some good first mods i can do? any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks much guys!
til my friend gave me a ride in his T/A anywho... bottom line, i have a 95 Trans Am LT1, all it's got is a Cold Air Intake, and A magnaflow Exshaust, i don't know if it's stock headers or not...
so what are some good first mods i can do? any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks much guys!
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Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Decatur, TN (N-W of Athens)
Welcome, and not to be a dick, but read the stickies in the yellow lol They'll answer a bunch of the "first mods" questions. And stock, we don't have headers. So if you see headers, then you've got em lol if you see cast manifolds, it's factory!
And to help us give you recommendations a bit more info will help. If it's an auto or stick and also your plans for the car (daily driver, will goto the track sometimes, will goto the track alot, full time track car) and then your spending budget.
Best bang for the buck, if you have the know-how, would be that Speed Inc Caddy Cam (yea, I've been pimping it a lot, so hush people lol) as it does pound for pound (or dollar for dollar) the best power gain. That, and you actually don't have to get it tuned for it, but you'll gain another 10hp if you do. So basically +40hp, or +50hp with tune. And at $300 (+ whatever upgraded springs you get, which you'll need), you won't get that kind of gain from long tube headers!!
And to help us give you recommendations a bit more info will help. If it's an auto or stick and also your plans for the car (daily driver, will goto the track sometimes, will goto the track alot, full time track car) and then your spending budget.
Best bang for the buck, if you have the know-how, would be that Speed Inc Caddy Cam (yea, I've been pimping it a lot, so hush people lol) as it does pound for pound (or dollar for dollar) the best power gain. That, and you actually don't have to get it tuned for it, but you'll gain another 10hp if you do. So basically +40hp, or +50hp with tune. And at $300 (+ whatever upgraded springs you get, which you'll need), you won't get that kind of gain from long tube headers!!
Welcome. 
You've made a very good move heading into LT1 territory. I'm sure you'll find it more rewarding.
Anyway, do a search on here for free mods. There are a few simple ones you can do for free or cheap (throttle body bypass, etc.).
Stock, these cars do not have headers. They have log-type exhaust manifolds that look NOTHING like headers. It should be very easy to distinguish. If you don't have them, thats another good start, as they've been proven to give up to 20HP alone.
Is your car an A4 or M6? Gears are a fabulous bang for the buck mod (A4 go with 3.73s, M6 go with 4.10s), along with a higher stall converter for an A4. If you've got more money to spend, you can look into an electric water pump, 1.6 roller rockers, sticky tires, and ultimately a cam/heads and cam package.
What are your goals, and what are you looking to accomplish? Street/strip? Details man!
You've made a very good move heading into LT1 territory. I'm sure you'll find it more rewarding.Anyway, do a search on here for free mods. There are a few simple ones you can do for free or cheap (throttle body bypass, etc.).
Stock, these cars do not have headers. They have log-type exhaust manifolds that look NOTHING like headers. It should be very easy to distinguish. If you don't have them, thats another good start, as they've been proven to give up to 20HP alone.
Is your car an A4 or M6? Gears are a fabulous bang for the buck mod (A4 go with 3.73s, M6 go with 4.10s), along with a higher stall converter for an A4. If you've got more money to spend, you can look into an electric water pump, 1.6 roller rockers, sticky tires, and ultimately a cam/heads and cam package.
What are your goals, and what are you looking to accomplish? Street/strip? Details man!
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 10
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From: Albion, Michigan
thanks already lol.. sorry its an automatic umm.. im planning on taking it to the track sometimes but for the most part i would be driving on weekend "joy rides" lol and yeah its totally cool, like i said i used to be HUGE into mustangs... but now im a newb lol thanks again
^^^ What he said.. and yes, good move from the Mustang over to GM V8's
Depends on tranny
I'd say long-tube headers, off-road y-pipe, cutout, tune, full suspension, drag radials, etc.
Let us know what tranny you have and that will be more helpful
Depends on tranny
I'd say long-tube headers, off-road y-pipe, cutout, tune, full suspension, drag radials, etc.
Let us know what tranny you have and that will be more helpful
How many miles are on it?
For the auto, I would recommend genuine GM 3.73 gears or Motive Performance 3.73 gears and atleast a 3200 or more Yank SS stall converters (they cost around $725 shipped from Speedinc)
Be advised that gears and a stall will greatly decrease your gas mileage, but I'd hope you didn't buy this nice and fast of a car for gas mileage
For the auto, I would recommend genuine GM 3.73 gears or Motive Performance 3.73 gears and atleast a 3200 or more Yank SS stall converters (they cost around $725 shipped from Speedinc)
Be advised that gears and a stall will greatly decrease your gas mileage, but I'd hope you didn't buy this nice and fast of a car for gas mileage
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I would recommend a new A4 before you go high stall on it. For now I'd say bolt-on parts like gears, long-tubes, off-road y-pipe, drag radials. You could do a "cam only" setup but be aware that you will need to do ignition stuff, tuning stuff, and preferably install it yourself unless if you want to pay some shop $800 or so to do it. but then again, cams thrive off of stall.. so do basic bolt-on's and possibly a new tranny..
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Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 10
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From: Albion, Michigan
so you would only recommend changing the TB if I get like, the Speedy Caddy Cam? or what kinds of cams do you prefer? and also do you guys prefer longtube headers or shorties? are there similar power gains?
I would go ahead and get you some longtube ceramic coated headers first, into an off-road Ypipe without cats. Some NGK spark plugs, MSD wires, maybe an MSD ignition coil. Bypass the throttle body of the coolant flow to it, get you some nice sticky tires and a mail-order. I promise all of those will widen that smile when you go full throttle.
If you have a little more money to spend, talk to Advanced Induction or Elliott's Portworks about a custom grind cam, all valvetrain components, and porting the heads and intake manifold. AFTER all the previous mods are installed.
If you have a little more money to spend, talk to Advanced Induction or Elliott's Portworks about a custom grind cam, all valvetrain components, and porting the heads and intake manifold. AFTER all the previous mods are installed.
Launching!
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 228
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From: Mt. Airy, Maryland
By the way grattino only get longtubes. shorties really dont give u much of a gain over stock. mid lengths are a little better than shorties, but longtubes is what u want and def get an ORY. and yeh take care of the trans, i have blown mine once when the car had 95,000 miles on it. the trans is good for about 100,000 miles under stock power, so if u add power and your trans has never been rebuilt you are going to need a tranny rebuild.