Just my purchased a 2002 Trans Am yesterday. Love the thing to death. It's a Six speed hurst with 342 gears. Looking forward to modifing it with everyones advice and input.
Used to have a 2000 firebird v6 with spray and bolt ons. So this was a great upgrade.

 

The most important thing is do decide how far you want to go with the car. 400RWHP? 500RWHP? Keep it to bolt ons? And plan everything else accordingly. But a good start would be to get a lid (pretty much any one, they all do the same thing), a catback (try ls1sounds.com for some samples), and some headers. Most people agree that Kooks are the best. Then get a tune and you should be around 360 RWHP. If you want more power than that you're gonna need a stronger clutch and rear. Nowadays it's not unusual to break the 400 RWHP mark with just a cam, 430+ with a set of heads. Just make sure you know what your ultimate goal is before you start spending your hard earned money.

 

congrats ! i remember when i got mine,i "planned" to keep it mostly stock.yeah,that lasted only a few months and then i got a nitrous system for it and that was the beginning of the snowball effect.have fun modding

 

Congrats on the new ride and let the modding begin.

 

Congratulations. Have fun with it.

 

Hahahaha. Mine was gonna stay bone stock, too. Less than a year later I had 419 RWHP.

 

eh, not necessarily. best in regard to what?

performance? QTP's are better.
hp per dollar? pacesetters win hands down
fitment? pacesetters again, although kooks may be close
quality? kooks are definitely up there

i'd recommend an SLP lid as your first mod. i say SLP's because they're cheap and have great quality. whisper lids tend to crack, for example. my SLP lid fits like a dream and is extremely durable. just stay away from the smoothe bellows. the stock bellows results in an excellent fit whereas the smoothe bellows usually results in your lid rubbing your hood. don't get sucked into SLP's 5hp from this piece, it's BS. stay away from any of the free mods like the fernco mod as well. it's just not worth having a lid that doesn't fit, rubs the hood or cracks.

 

I agree, even if you don't plan to be a racing fiend, bolt-on's should be mandatory for all f-bodies...they help performance, but also MPG

 

Never thought about the bellows being the reason for all the hood rubbing problems. Nice work! Mine doesnt rub, but the rubbing seems to be an issue with SS's more so than anything. And my Whisper lid is cracked where one tab hooks up, probably a result of the bellow.

 

yup, you're right. the bellows usually is responsible for whisper lids cracking too.

say no to bellows.

 

I would, but I dunno where my stock accordion is