RARE 1999 Medium Metallic Blue Trans Am
09-20-2010, 10:29 AM
#1
Teching In
Thread Starter
RARE 1999 Medium Metallic Blue Trans Am I am new to owning an LS1, i have owned a V6 firebird for 2 years and i have finally gotten my hands on a T/A, turns out, its medium metallic blue which is rare, and i am a UNC fan so it goes well with my clothes. everything is stock on the car except for the decal mods i have made like the overlay decals and pontiac inserts in the back. what would anyone suggest doing to my car first? magnaflow catback? ram-air hood? engine mods? Im new to the muscle car world and need some help please!
09-20-2010, 10:38 AM
#2
LS1Tech Administrator
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Schiller Park, IL Member: #317
Posts: 32,251
Likes: 0
Received 1,685 Likes
on
1,207 Posts
Well that depends, what are your goals and limitations for the car?
Before you start buying mods, it's always best to figure out where you want to eventually be, what compromises you're willing to make (like driveability loss for horsepower, etc.), what requirements have to be met (like MPG or weather), and finally your budget.
Having said that, as a general rule of thumb, most people start with a lid and catback. But even here you need to be thinking ahead, because a catback that might sound good to you now on a stock car might be too loud for your taste if you plan headers/ORY/heads/cam later.
Before you start buying mods, it's always best to figure out where you want to eventually be, what compromises you're willing to make (like driveability loss for horsepower, etc.), what requirements have to be met (like MPG or weather), and finally your budget.
Having said that, as a general rule of thumb, most people start with a lid and catback. But even here you need to be thinking ahead, because a catback that might sound good to you now on a stock car might be too loud for your taste if you plan headers/ORY/heads/cam later.
09-20-2010, 10:43 AM
#3
Teching In
Thread Starter
yeah thats true i definatley understand what you mean. i just want to go beyond stock in horsepower and the way my car sounds and looks. i dont want the engine to be stock, i want more horsepower and for it to look better but i can always replace headers and stuff to aluminum or something?
09-20-2010, 11:49 AM
#5
yeah thats true i definatley understand what you mean. i just want to go beyond stock in horsepower and the way my car sounds and looks. i dont want the engine to be stock, i want more horsepower and for it to look better but i can always replace headers and stuff to aluminum or something?
As far as aluminum headers go....you might want to go with steel
09-20-2010, 12:09 PM
#6
12 Second Club
iTrader: (23)
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Hampton, VA
Posts: 220
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Like said above, most go with lid/headders/catback... but you will have to choose what you want own your own. Also said above, search and read stickys. They will help the most. I would offer the advice of a tune of some sort. After talking with Frost last week and getting mine dyno tuned by him, most stock LS1s run fairly rich, so a bench tune by him may be a starting point to pull out hidden power.
Trending Topics
09-20-2010, 06:34 PM
#10
TECH Addict
iTrader: (10)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,004
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
congrats, that's an awesome color!
step 1 for sure is exhaust. step 2 lid/intake. step 3 LT headers.....If the car is an auto then your best bet for immediate results will be to upgrade the torque converter
step 1 for sure is exhaust. step 2 lid/intake. step 3 LT headers.....If the car is an auto then your best bet for immediate results will be to upgrade the torque converter
09-20-2010, 11:57 PM
#11
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fresno, CA
Posts: 691
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Typically, bolt on parts come first. Those are used to help you engine breathe better and more efficiently. Once you get those down you'll find yourself looking to go internal and that means heads and cam. That's where the real power is at. After that (possibly before, if you plan ahead) would be suspension modifications and/or a rear end upgrade.
The mod bug is one hell of a drug especially if you got the budget for it.
The mod bug is one hell of a drug especially if you got the budget for it.
09-21-2010, 12:15 AM
#12
Staging Lane
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Oak Harbor Wa
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
well congrats on the new purchase and coming to the real fun side of fast cars 
i just bought my camaro not to long ago but owned a trans am bout 4 years ago... still not the smartest guy on here to talk about this stuff with ... but the basics are easy... most people want exhaust and its a good start to power as well as a lid... go get you an SLP air intake... and some LT's like kooks or pacesetters and get full exhaust... and then you can really start thinking about how much money you wanna put into your car... i have over 6 grand in mine or really close to it haha i lost count after awhile... and im not even close to the point i want my car to be at... its an expensive hobby but very addicting after you start buying things and installing them yourself and what not it gets addicting and extremely fun... esp when the end products makes you go very very fast... and alot of bragging rights amounsts your friends 
(sorry i cant spell)
i just bought my camaro not to long ago but owned a trans am bout 4 years ago... still not the smartest guy on here to talk about this stuff with ... but the basics are easy... most people want exhaust and its a good start to power as well as a lid... go get you an SLP air intake... and some LT's like kooks or pacesetters and get full exhaust... and then you can really start thinking about how much money you wanna put into your car... i have over 6 grand in mine or really close to it haha i lost count after awhile... and im not even close to the point i want my car to be at... its an expensive hobby but very addicting after you start buying things and installing them yourself and what not it gets addicting and extremely fun... esp when the end products makes you go very very fast... and alot of bragging rights amounsts your friends (sorry i cant spell)
09-21-2010, 12:24 AM
#13
TECH Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Rutherford, North Carolina
Posts: 3,552
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
im not gonna repost what everyone has said but i will say congrats on the car though and in the end i do hope it turns out for however you dreamed it would be and another thing dont do anything stupid in the car lol cause yeah its fine to blow or break something but in my case when i got my camaro i was young and dumb and now that i think about i beat myself up everyday because now i gotta replace exterior parts on the car, some are cause of me some aint but still congrats on the car
09-21-2010, 09:18 PM
#14
Staging Lane
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Oak Harbor Wa
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
haha ya 9whitecamaro9 thats why i dont have my T/A anymore.. i was young and dumb and destroyed it... didnt respect how nice of a car it was and totalled it (along with 3 other cars) but thats neither here or there, But yes deff take care of that car please... its to nice to be mean to
09-21-2010, 10:11 PM
#15
WE DEMAND PICS!!!!! mileage and what you paid for it lmao.. but i would do a lid, LT's ceramic coated atleast PaceSetter LT and TD's..then a tune if you want to squeeze all you can out but i dont think its mandatory..and before you go fast..might want to think about stopping..lotta good sponsors on here who sell practically everything you want/ need.. 6LE comes to mind when it comes to doing ANY visual mods..Tuned by FROST is the first one that comes to mind..and look through the appearance/detailing thread for lots of body mods/wheels/tires/ etc for ideas first..and for the love of god ditch the 10 bolt..that in itself is NOT cheap to keep fixing..but once you get a 12 bolt or a 9" etc..you wont have to worry bout it again..i mean you could mod the hell outta that car but if you cant drive it due to the rear end always grenading..then whats the point?
Be smart w/ your money, search the FS threads/ maby get in on a group purchase/ talk to the sponsors about what you want to do vs. budget and plan accordingly..and be safe.. speed and torque are worse than heroin, meth, vicodin and coke all blended together.. make sure you have the STOP figured out BEFORE you start with all the go fast goodies..
Just my 2 cents tho...
Be smart w/ your money, search the FS threads/ maby get in on a group purchase/ talk to the sponsors about what you want to do vs. budget and plan accordingly..and be safe.. speed and torque are worse than heroin, meth, vicodin and coke all blended together.. make sure you have the STOP figured out BEFORE you start with all the go fast goodies..
Just my 2 cents tho...
09-22-2010, 02:27 AM
#18
'Pics or you're just another Mustang forum troll. Just kidding.
In my opinion blue metallic is one of the only colors that belong on a car as striking as a T/A, so good job. NO T/A is complete without a WS6 hood, so get one as soon as possible. Yeah they cost about $1300 new and prices on ebay can be insane but unrivaled beauty is expensive.
As I'm sure you've noticed, your 10+ year old car is still fast even by today's standards so if I were you I'd concentrate on handling pieces-there's no reason why your '1999 can't party like it's a 2009...
In my opinion blue metallic is one of the only colors that belong on a car as striking as a T/A, so good job. NO T/A is complete without a WS6 hood, so get one as soon as possible. Yeah they cost about $1300 new and prices on ebay can be insane but unrivaled beauty is expensive.
As I'm sure you've noticed, your 10+ year old car is still fast even by today's standards so if I were you I'd concentrate on handling pieces-there's no reason why your '1999 can't party like it's a 2009...
