I just bought the car. It's a '99 SS, 75k, all stock except for an open element K&N filter assembly, and AT. It had one owner, was well maintained and wasn't at all abused. Fun car I must say! I wish it wasn't a slushbox but what are you gonna do?

What would you recommend to modify it sensibly (i.e. reasonable cost). It doesn't have to be a dragster, but I would like to see it run in the low 13s, which should be pretty doable, right?

It feels pretty strong as it sits but from this board, I see that replacing the fuel filter, plugs and wires may not be a bad idea at this mileage. Any other basic maintenance suggestions? I'm getting a shop manual but where is the fuel filter? Does it have more than one? On my BMW M3, it was under the car under the driver's side floor pan.

One thing for sure is that I'm going to replace the open element air filter with the stock airbox, which came with the car fortunately. Open element air cleaners look cool but I can't help but think that being under the hood and open, it probably draws in hot engine compartment air which could actually hurt engine performance, hood scoop or no. Plus, I've never jumped on the K&N bandwagon anyway. If you don't oil them properly, they can cause havoc. Whether they really add power over a good paper filter is questionable at best from all I've read. Seems like most LS1 owners go with an aftermarket lid, which I may do. Which one is best?

Also, the exhaust system is original and will probably need to be replaced soon. There's a lot of options it seems -- almost too many. Flowmaster, SLP's "Loudmouth," etc. Which is the best?

Sorry for all the probably dumb sounding questions but I'm new to this type of vehicle, having been in the BMW world for some time. Any input you may have would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Our cars already run sub 14 second quarter miles with decent drivers so low 13s wont be a problem

well i dont know too much but all lids are the same hp gains SLP, MTI, Texas Speed just depends on what you want it to look like.

As for the exhaust the Loud mouth sounds bada$$ w/o headers and ory.... most people on this board tend to not like how loud it is when you add those mods.

The Flowmaster i have heard it very chitty and it restrics flow more.

The TSP rumbler is very cheap and probably the best bang for the buck.

im sure there will be more input for you on this board people are really nice here good luck with moddin the car!!!!!

-Dakota

 

auto-373 gears
cutout if you want some cheap sound that sounds good

 

the K&N kit is not hurting performance. they give similar gains to any lid.
save your money.

if it's and auto...agree with above...

gears and a torque converter. alot of guys see .5sec drops in 1/4mi times with a good converter. little expensive, but he gains are great.

depending on cost, your options for exhaust are huge.

if you have $$$....GMMG, corsa, B&B triflow

budget....cutout, magnaflow, hooker, TSP rumber

 

So leave the K&N alone, huh? It is positioned by the scoop so I imagine it gets cold air. As to exhaust, I found ls1sounds.com so I can listen to the 1 million or so choices and decide what is best for me. If the LS1 Camaro is anything like the E36 M3, you choose based on sound, because they're all about the same in terms of power (in the M3's case, nil). I don't want it to be mega loud.

Now, what about programming? Does that bring tangible gains? Who makes the best unit?

 

that site is great...

but gains DO very from system to system. something like the loudmouth or tsp rumber are about the best flowing 3" system. most will tell you that flowmaster is the worst. now this is probably only about a 5hp difference. but yeah...judging by sound is a better option than worrying about a couple hp difference. it's annoying how somepeople dwell on a 2hp difference in power.

hand held programmers are not worth the packing material they are shipped in. get a mail order tune after you get some mods or have a dyno tune done. on a bolt on car you'll probably see 10-15hp and better drivability, cooler running temps and better shifting (if it's an auto).

i suggest reading the first 10 pages of this forum...you'll see alot of your questions answered

 

Yea, the Flowmaster isn't a crowd favorite among LS1ers, it seems. The Magnaflow is looking pretty good. Stainless, good price, not too loud. I like the SLP Loudmouth also but it's probably a bit to loud for my purposes. Now how about headers? On my old M3, for example, they were available but not worth it because you'd get minimal gains for a very difficult and expensive job.

 

Hi here is a somewhat different perspective. My car gets driven daily back and forth to the office. It still gets 20 plus MPG on freeway and around 18-19 around town. I'm kind on a similar path using a low milage 02 Z28 LS1 auto convertible w factory/posi option w factory/3.23s? - nothing crazy but certainly a bit more HP adds to the fun. Here's what I've done so far in the order that its been added:
1. SLP Cold Air Kit which includes smooth bellows, new top air filter lid, K and N filter element and stainless ducting to take advantage of high pressure area under car in front of radiator. Cleaned up partial throttle responsiveness and acceleration above 20 MPH. I found an internet dealer selling the kit for $269. If you take your time, it's about 2- 3 hours of install work. Simple and can be done with basic hand tools. You can make it look stock by applying removing the stock air filter decal and placing it over SLP logo. I'm not big on drawing attention to mods. I like the low key approach.
2. Magnaflow Cat Back - I like it a lot. Its fairly quiet as long as you stay out of the gas and reasonable at freeway speeds. Probably a bit more important to me since I have the top down a lot during the summer. Also helped partial and mid to WOT throttle response. I had this installed and it was well worth the money, they tack welded all of the joints to ensure I won't have any shifting around. I believe that there is a great deal on this in the vendor commerce area of this site.
3. B and M shift kit - modifies stock shifter assy. I've posted some details on this in the drivetrain section. I'm very happy with this and its under $50 and easy to install. SFX Performance sells these on-line. I called to get it since it was not listed on their site. They are great to deal with. About 1 hour to install with simple hand tools.
4. Just got a Diablo Predator. I agree that there does not seem to be a huge incremental gain but, I absolutely see some positive factors. For one the shift firmness and responsiveness is noticeably better. Took out some flat spots in throttle response in non WOT kind of driving. Also you can buy a serial connector and power cord which allows you to purchase custom tunes like folks have been commenting already. Check out ConcoursDirect.com and call them for their special -its not the advertised on the site. They are also great to deal with. I personally like this tuner because its a simple 15 minute or less push some buttons and download and you can set other custom parameters for gear and tire changes plus change shifter RPM and pressure. You can also go back to stock in a flash.
I'm sure a custom tune ultimately makes more sense especially the farther you get down the list in terms of mods and this tuner allows you the flexibility to get custom tunes and store them on the box as well as your stock OEM parameters. Worth calling the guys at Concours for a price before making a decision yes or no.

If you look at SLP's site this kind of combination should get you to about 350HP according to their claims for similar kinds of packages. I haven't had my car on a dyno however seat of the pants feels about right based on past experience with earlier F bodies.

I'm thinking about headers and high flow Y pipe but this is fairly expensive if you want to do it right and keep the emmisions legal in CALI. You'll want ceramic coated headers - I hear JBA's are good but they are not cheap.

Be curious to hear from anyone that has similar set-up on their car with short CARB certified headers and Y pipe.

Regards,

 

You should be pretty close to mid 13's right now, if the track and weather is good. Try running the car as it is and you might be surprised at what you run. You should always run 1st, then mod a little at a time to see how well those mods worked...

I ran 13.5 at 103 with an Lid and the diablo tune, to hit 12's I had in:
Dynatech SuperMaxx Headers -
Loudmouth - LOUD LOUD LOUD and even louder once I got the cam installed
SS3600 Yank -
SLP LID-
Diablo Programmer - Selling it on ls1tech.com if you need it.
Nitto drag Radials ...

this should get you mid-high 12's at 108-110, thats what I did with 2.73's ..

Plus it is very streetable ...

Damn Robvas, thats pretty good for only having those mods, you most of had a really good 60ft ???

Now if I could only get to the track with my new mods ....

 

Great tips, thanks a million. Your mod programs seem sensible and logical. Now RPZ, is your shift kit one which firms up shifts or is it like a "slap stick" which allows you to manually bang through the gears with a detent stop?

The headers sound great but those Dynatechs are very, very dear. $1,500 George Washingtons. I'm sure they are primo in terms of quality but add that to the $800 torque converter, $500 reprogram, $400 cat back exhaust and $? torque converter installation and, while I know you've gotta pay if you want to play, we start getting out of the realm of "reasonable" on a car that cost me less than $8k. How much power do the headers really add? And are there any quality header options that are cheaper and add real power (v. just looking good)?

 

I'll be another supported of the Magnaflow catback. Sounds great on my LT1, sounds even better on an LS1. VERY reasonable price for stainless 3" tubing, the tips are beautiful and made of a very high grade stainless. Its definitely not that loud, the idle is nice. One you hop on it and open it up though, it sounds amazing. Hard to notice a difference in hp, you could probably only really notice it on the dyno, but its only about a 5 or so hp increase, so yeah. Well worth it.