New Mod's
 

I came across a little bit of extra money and am wanting to do something to the ride:nod:. I was wanting some opinions of what you guys have done with your hard earned money and what you wish you wouldn't have wasted it on. I can do headers, and cold air. Wheels and tires, or suspension. The budget is limited to about 2k. What do you guys suggest?

If i could do it again from scratch my first 2k would go towards 3200 stall, tranny cooler, lca's, slp lm2, cai and pacesetter long tubes...
or i would get the le3 heads and cam and keep them on a shelf until i come up with the rest of the loot to do the supporting mods...

Ok...here is the lay down

1.CAI ~$200 (id suggest slp, i own ones its friggin sexy)
2.Headers ~$380 (pacesetters bought from here)
3.Y pipe ~$120
4.Tune ~$150
5.Shift kit ~$100

We are at $~950 give or take say 100 dollars if you shop around/use ebay
Now add 400-500+ to that if you have a shop install your headers and Y, id suggest doing it yourself or with a friend...

Also add 150-200 for the shift kit install.

With the left over Id say buy a torque converter depending on the money left over, and have it installed when your getting the shift kit installed it shouldnt be too much more money it doesnt seem that hard to put it to me but I dont know ask the shop...

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If you have a stick disregard the shift kit and convertor and save up some more money for LE2 heads/cam to make sure you have enough for install and sending your computer back for a tune...

I am a gm tech, and I install all of my own stuff. I was thinking about getting the hot cam kit because we have one laying out in our warehouse and the boss said I could have it for a couple bucks. The only reason I haven't jumped on it is because I really don't feel like putting it in. I have 158k on the car with a fresh engine but the original trans. A shift kit would be okay but I really feel uncomfortable with a stall. I don't want to tear shit up when I can just wait and do it (stall) when I get around to rebuilding it. I didn't want to get PS headers because I hear horror stories of them turning to dust and the lpp headers I have read about have more fitment issues than expected. I already have a gmmg so I would like to do long tubes, but not sure which ones. I was thinking of wheels and lowering it, but the wheels I want I can't find, and tomzwheels said they don't make them anymore. Any other help would be awesome.

For what its worth I've had my pacesetter COATED headers in for about 5 months and they haven't turned to "dust". Coating still looks nice and I scratched the hell out of them putting them in. Only complaint I have is that the opening to the heads weren't welded very cleanly, but that is nothing that a dremel couldn't fix.

What are your options for wheels and tires? Or have you started looking into them at all yet?

CAI, ceramic coated long tubes /w Y pipe and your catback system, LCA, torque arm, sticky tires, igntion system (rev limiter at 6K), LT4 KM (if your not using nitrous), rear gears possibly 3.73's, mild stall if you dont want a good stall.

that should pretty much use up your $2,000

should be in the high 12's with that.

I personally feel the PS LTs are a great header for the price, no matter what some may say, just keep it on the cheaper end & get the un-coated, if your going to drop close to 4-500 on some coated jobs, just spend the extra & get the stainless, the PS LTs fit really well also, i only found 1 fitment issue on the pass side, but its no biggie, they are built sturdy & have nice tubes & a strong flange, i think the Ory needs some tweeking for an easier fit, plus it lays close to the fuel lines.
Once you start on these perf. mods, you'll be past the 2K mark real soon, the wheels/tires would be the easiest investment & put you at a stopping limit, LCA re-location brackets are a good investment too, it just all depends on what your after performance wize & what your willing to spend when it comes to this area, it will never stop lol, thats just how it is, so you can't put a limit on it, because once your through the 2K, you will want more & most likely need it to make all the other mods work better, its your call. I have an M6 car (97 Z) with 158K on it too, but its not been rebuilt, i'm already at 3500.00+ in extras just in the past 4 months, & the car came with all the basic bolt-ons except headers. 2K+ went towards a rearend up-grade. If you feel uncomfortable about tearing stuff up, i wouldn't try & make it faster, just leave it stock, because your going to tear things up sooner or later, especially that old tranny, sence you already did the engine, i would just rebuild the trans too with the extra $$$ you have.

Yes I was looking at the TT2's or some chrome ZR1's. I really want something that will make a difference but at the same time I can still drive everyday if I want witht the kids in the back seat. If I decided to go out back and get the hotcam I may do the intake and headers, but if not I would like to do wheels and tires, lowering springs, panhard bar and new shocks. Unfortunatly though I think that may put me over my budget, but I don't want to buy cheap shit just so I can get it all. Strano has really nice springs from what I hear, and he sells them in a kit with Koni's all the way around and an adjustable bar for like 1100.00. Tomzwheels has both the TT2's and the ZR1's for about 1200.00 for either set. So it's a little over my budget but I think this might be what I'm looking for. I'll have another motor for the car in a few months and that's why i'm ifffy on getting internals for the one in the car. Just unsure you know....Like everyone else, so much stuff to get with so little green in my hand.

I'd say:

Cold Air
Tires/Wheels
Shocks
Catback
Headers