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Hey guys! I just purchased a bone stock 35th anniversary 2002 SS Camaro in mint condition and wanted to get advice on the first steps to make it faster. It has about 62,000 miles on it. I’m not really on a budget, but at the same time I’m not trying to spend a ton of money on it. Thanks guys!
Unfortunately, "mint" condition isn't possible at 62k miles, unless it had a rotisserie restoration, but it certainly does look very nice and well kept!
You would need to be more specific about your goals, preferences, and how you plan to use the car (and details about the car, such as transmission type) before anyone can offer any constructive advice about performance modifications. There are lots of ways to make it faster, but they all come with some degree of a downside (so you'll at least need to be specific about what you *don't* want to do). Also, "a ton of money" is a subjective thing, so we'd need a better idea of how much you consider to be too much (or how much you're willing to spend).
Unfortunately, "mint" condition isn't possible at 62k miles, unless it had a rotisserie restoration, but it certainly does look very nice and well kept!
You would need to be more specific about your goals, preferences, and how you plan to use the car (and details about the car, such as transmission type) before anyone can offer any constructive advice about performance modifications. There are lots of ways to make it faster, but they all come with some degree of a downside (so you'll at least need to be specific about what you *don't* want to do). Also, "a ton of money" is a subjective thing, so we'd need a better idea of how much you consider to be too much (or how much you're willing to spend).
Thanks for the reply. I guess what I meant by “mint” was just in great condition considering it has 62k miles. This is what was in the description when I bought the car:
IT IS COMPLETELY STOCK UNDER THE HOOD AND STILL RETAINS ITS SLP INSTALLED DUAL-DUAL ( QUAD TIP ) EXHAUST, GIVING THE CAR A 335HP AND 350TQ RATING. RUNS AND DRIVES GREAT, NO LEAKS OR WEIRD SOUNDS. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS. TRANS SHIFTS GREAT. RPO GU5 AND G80 3.23 TORSEN LIMITED SLIP REAR AXLE. ASR TRACTION CONTROL.
I don’t want this to be just a “drag” car. I want to be able to drive it around town and travel with it if needed, but want it to be pretty powerful. I don’t want something that will need high maintenance. It says it comes with 335 HP... I would like to get 400-500 HP if possible. If I had to chose a number that I would be comfortable spending on it, I would say $5-12k
Your first mods are basically going to be long tube headers, stall, FAST intake, and your choice of upgraded rear end to handle the power you want, I prefer the 12 bolt with 3.73 gears. 400HP is easy enough with a cam swap, 500 is likely going to need heads too. The budget is going be dependent on whether or not you can do your own work.
Knowing 6 years ago what I know now I would not do another H/C car and certainly never put a FAST intake on it. They are just a ******* pain to get running smooth. Procharger for sure can easily get you to 500rwhp but you will probably want full exhaust to go with it and some basic suspension mods like shocks, springs and sways. Rear will eventually need some attention depending on how you drive it, that will be another 4k.
I wouldn't worry about the rear in the ~400hp range with an auto trans unless you plan to live at the track (especially one with lower miles like yours, and presumably having lived an easy life so far). They aren't nearly as prone to breakage at lower power levels behind the auto. I also wouldn't do a gear swap; being an SS you already have 3.23s which will pair great with an upgraded stall speed. Once stall speed is optimized for the setup, there's not much to be gained performance-wise with a 3.73 swap, especially for the cost, coming from 3.23s.
All stock LS1s make 345-350hp from the factory (F-bodies were underrated, but they make the same power as C5s), so 400hp is really just a matter of bolt-ons. Unless you are referring to rear-wheel HP, in which case you'll need some internal engine mods or a power adder to get an A4 car to the 400+ rwhp level.
Your budget allows for a wide range of choices to meet your power goals. It's just a matter of what you prefer and which challenges/downsides you'd rather face in doing so (such as NA vs. FI).
I would suggest driving it for a while to get a feel for its' current performance.
The rear ends hold up very well behind an A4 auto. Going to 3.73s' from 3.23s' is an upgrade, BUT NOT MUCH.
Do a convertor,such as a Yank SS3600/SS400 or CircleD equivalent. Doing that will 'feel' like you've gained 100-150 HP. Instead of, when it shifts, dropping down to 1800rpm (the stock convertor rating),it'll only drop down to the convertors' rating and keep you/it in a higher part of the powerband.
Then drive that for a while to compare to the stock convertors' performance. Then you can determine what you want to do for future mods. Those convertors would not hinder future mods with the exception of procharger/turbo which would require a tighter convertor because of higher power blowing thru the convertor.
SUSPENSION,SUSPENSION,SUSPENSION.
Good luck with whatever path you select. I'd drive the car for a least six months before making any major changes. Partly to get to enjoy as is and see if any unexpected issues arrise before modding. This will also allow time to read, research and check other peoples cars out so see what course is right for you. I would also do some basic maintenance like have the coolant flushes and replaced, differential fluid changed, brake fluid flushed, power steering fluid flushed. Oil & transmission fluid changes too.
My first mod would be to replace the factory power steering cooler. They tend to fail and make a big mess as these cars get older. I think your 02 will have one. There are a lot of threads for specific details on that issue to see the details.
With a sweet car like yours, I would go with a supercharger with the goal of keeping the car nice, well mannered and reliable.
Call Sam Strano and get a set of his suggested springs & koni shocks. Explain goals and add Sam's suggested parts.
Supercharge with Magnacharger, small cam like a LPE GT2-3 or similar.
Quality 1 7/8 headers & Y pipe, keep the SLP Dual /Dual.
Upgrade the radiator to a DeWitts dual core and Spall high CF fans.
Upgrade the fuel system to support the Magnacharger
Call RPM Transmission and plan a suitable 4L60e that will live with 500 whp +
Call Yank and get their recommend converter for your supercharged set up.
The 10-bolt will be a weak link, it will probably live for a while on the street but I would plan for an upgrade. A pair of Hawk's 8.8's have served my 99TA & 91 RS well. If I only had one car I'd get the Mid-West Chassis aluminum 9 inch or similar.
Good set of sticky tires for rear like Nitto's or Toyo's. Check date Code on fronts and replace with good tires if needed.
If you don't want a supercharger and NA is your thing, I would do this:
Call Sam Strano and get a set of his suggested springs & koni shocks. Explain goals and add Sam's suggested parts.
Add quality 1 7/8 headers & Y pipe, keep the SLP Dual /Dual and add supporting bolt on's.
ATI 25% under drive dampener and over pulley for alternator
Add twin electric cut outs after the headers
Do a "classic" heads and cam package with TEA LS6 Stage 2.5 heads hand finished with matched cam say ~ 227/235 roughly. LS6 intake with 90mm TPiS snout (or sell LS6 intake and get a Fast 92mm) & NW TB
Call RPM Transmission and plan a suitable 4L60e that will live with 425-450 whp +
Call Yank and get their recommend converter for your set up. Probably a SS3600
The 10-bolt will be a weak link, it will probably live for a while on the street but I would plan for an upgrade. A pair of Hawk's 8.8's have served my 99TA & 91 RS well. If I only had one car I'd get the Mid-West Chassis aluminum 9 inch or similar.
Good set of sticky tires for rear like Nitto's or Toyo's. Check date code on front tires replace if needed.
The rear ends hold up very well behind an A4 auto.
I agree. The rear end would be just about my last concern for an A4 street car, especially if not using competition tires and wheel hop can be kept in check (shocks, control arms).
It's pretty surprising how much better the stock rear tends to do with an auto, as compared to the M6 cars. Here's a link that the OP might find interesting regarding real-world durability of the stock rear with each trans type:
My first mod would be to replace the factory power steering cooler. They tend to fail and make a big mess as these cars get older. I think your 02 will have one. There are a lot of threads for specific details on that issue to see the details.
Definitely some good advice. Yes, by 2002 all V8 F-bodies received this cooler (in the earlier years, it was only standard with certain option groups such as SS/WS6/Firehawk). It's a problematic piece that will eventually fail and, as you said, make a huge mess out of both the cooling and power steering systems. I deleted mine on my '02 car before it failed, thus was able to avoid the mess. I never bothered to install an aftermarket cooler and never had any issues. I did some detailed fluid temp analysis in the link below, I think it was in 2012 or '13:
When I got my TA I was so excited about the way I was going to build it and all the cool parts I was going to get. After driving it and getting used to it I realized that it already has more power than I can use on the street. Now things that were way down on the list like seats and a dashboard are the top priorities. Once I start bringing it to the local tracks I'll let the car tell me what parts it wants based on how it performs. I can almost guarantee the list of parts the car will want won't match what I originally came up with.
For that price range, I would slap a Pro Charger on it and call it a day. It will still work with stock exhaust, but you will get better results with headers and bigger pipes.
If you have any money left after the Pro Charger, you will need to upgrade the transmission, if it's a 4L60e.
If I was you I’d put a nice converter on it, some nice exhaust, freshen up the suspension and make sure you have some nice tires and see if you even want more at that point. The car would be much faster than it is now.
11-04-2018, 09:43 AM
2002 SS Camaro.. Need advice to make faster 
