Hey guys, I am new to the LS1 world with my recent purchase(99 hugger SS), but anyway the car came with suspension and exhaust upgrade already on the car. I have headers with no cats and supertrap exhaust, other than that pretty much stock.

So to the question... What is your guys opinion on best bolt ons on a budget?

 

Does the car still have the original airlid?

After installing my catback, my next performance mod was an SLP Airlid and Smooth Bellows along with the Free Ram Air (FRA) mod.

An aftermarket Airlid should cost around $100.

You can purchase Smooth Bellows for like $60 or you can fabricate your own from plumbing supplies that can be found at Home Depot. (For details on what you need to do this do a search for "Ferco Smooth Bellows" or something to that affect.) I had already purchased mine before I knew about the Home Depot option, otherwise I'd have gone that route.

FRA mod details can also be found by doing a search.

Also, if the previous owner hasn't already upgraded to an LS6 Intake, I would put that on the list for the next mods to perform.

Good luck, man.

 

i will add that if your an auto. get at least a 3000 stall converter. and +1 for the airlid. those usually pop up on here for around 80 bucks used from time to time. port your stock throttle body,get a cutout. plenty of mods to do. just do lots of research and shop around for a price you can live with on the parts needed. we have some great sponsors on here.

 

Whats your budget and is an A4 or an M6?

edit, damn brandon we posted at the same. The stuff in my sig is very budget and will wake your car up considerably. ESP the torque converter. Get that first. Though its a bit more expensive than say a lid of course.

 

used mods are best for a budget, quality parts can be found for the same price as cheaper quality new parts. dont waste your time with a ported throttle body yet either.

 

What is your budget?

A4 or M6?

 

I hear an echo

 

Kinda hard to help someone with no info other than current mods.. Nothing on their car.

 

lid 100$ filter 25$ headers 400ish+150 ory i would do a lid and headers first or a stall if your an A4

 

Yeah, I hear ya.

 

Nitrous or a nice cam

 

really man!? really!? the op made a post that was THREE WHOLE LINES and you couldnt read them all!?

still waiting on the age old question, A4 or M6

 

lid, gears, tune.......stall also if auto.

 

I have T56 tranny and the airlid has been removed for purposes of the hoods airflow

 

And as for the budget..

Not much at all, probably around $200 a month at the most

The guy that had it before me did all the suspension already.. Frame connectors, stabilizers, eiback springs and upgraded tires.. got headers and supertrap exhaust

Thanks for the posts by the way

 

if i were you i would put that back on asap!!!... without it your engine will be sucking in every bit of foreign material that gets in front of the maf

 

Wait, you removed the airlid? How are you filtering the air going to the motor? What type of air intake set up are you running? Since your an m6 I'd save up for a few months and get 4.10 gears or at least 3.73. They're a big improvement in the butt dyno. Then afterward go for a used LS6 intake and ported throttle body. After that there's not much left other than a tune then onto cam and heads. Or you could always just throw a little nitrous on it. But then again you'd be blowing that $200 monthly allowance on bottle refills. Haha

 

Ha ha that came out wrong its got a ram air style hood the air filter is there just the air flow is coming through the scoop

 

yeah it is, as it should be. the air comes out of the hood and goes into a rectangular opening below the air filter, on the top front middle of the core support. the air then goes up through the air filter, through the lid we speak of, then through the maf and TB and on and on.

we are talking about the lid that holds the air filter down, its attatched to the intake tract.

 

You have an SS hood, and even if it has been opened up to allow the air to enter the engine bay through the scoop, it is not in the position to feed the air filter which is located at the very front of the hood. If you had a WS.6 with the baffles removed, then yes I could see what your saying as far as the airflow to the filter.

So back to your questions..

Get an aftermarket lid. I have used the SLP lid on both of my cars and a few of my buddies have as well. They fit great and are well constructed.

You'll hear things good and bad about the high flowing gauze constructed filters like the K&N and Holley Powershot. I've used them with no issues and they definitely won't hurt performance.

LS6 intake, get one. They are better than the LS1 intake that the 97-00 cars came with, and are sufficient even on 450rwhp heads/cam setups.

Have your throttle body ported. I've done these for people with cars with just a muffler and lid and they noticed a difference, and I noticed it with my car back in the day when I had most of the other bolt-ons and ported the one on my car.

Under-drive crank pulley frees up some power, but, I always tell people to hold off on that til they do a cam install if they have that planned in the near future, cause the crank pulley has to come off then anyhow.

4.10 gears are AWESOME for a m6 car. Should have came with them stock IMO.

Do you have a short stick? It doesn't add any power obviously, but it sure adds to the fun factor while driving. I like the one from UMI.

What headers do you have? Longtubes, mid lengths, shorties?

Supertrapp? That's the first time I've ever heard of that exhaust on an F body.