First off, i've tried and tried again to search this, but can't seem to find the right way to word it in a search, so ill just post and hope for some answers... thanks......

Can someone tell me a good way to start modding my motor??? Like, what do i need first or what would be the best mods to begin with?

Here's what i'm thinking(let me know if this is a good idea)***This is just in order, not gonna be done all at one time, jsut every few months when i get hte money for each.....)

(its an LS1, haven't got it yet, dunno if auto/manual yet)

1. Air Intake from slp with air box lid
2. Long Tube Headers
3. Cat-Back Exhaust
4. LS6 Intake Manifold
5. HotCam Kit(or just camshaft)
6. Rockers(most likely 5 and 6 at the same time)

And, somewhere in there a torque converter and shift kit/ shifter.....

also any other good mods you think would be good besides heads....

one more question, i promise, what kind of HP do you guys think that will pull?

 

1.lid is a good start, so is a cai (cold air induction) ssra is a favorite around here.
2,3.any exhaust mods are a big help, especially lt's.
4. if its a 01-02, you need not worry about that, you already have it. 98-00 its a good investment but shouldnt be your first.
5. some cams you need to tune the car almost immediately. best to get the above out of the way first. when the time comes, you have to consider drivablity vs power factor.
6. rockers are pretty much a waste unless you are rebuilding the engine.

tc (torque converter) is a big help and should coincide with whatever cam you get down the road.

depending on the cam, w/ above mods, you can hit 350-410rwhp little more with some good heads.

consider suspension mods too. what good is all the power in the world if it doenst make it to the ground!?!

 

lid, filter, exhaust, headers, gears, ls6 intake, ported tb, pullys, cam pakage, and lastly dyno n tuned. if its a a4 u might dyno somewhere between 360-370rwhp n for a m6 380-400rwhp.

 

thanks for the replies, forgot to mention its a daily driver........so you think the hot cam kit wouldnt be a good mod for a dd??

 

There are better cams out there than the hot cam. Rockers are not needed. You're stock rockers are fine. If you're thinking of getting higher ratio rockers for more lift, then why not save the over $300 spent on them and buy a cam with larger specs to begin with? Also, ANY time you run a non-stock cam you should run hardened pushrods and change the springs.

My advice is to mod the suspension and run good tires first. This will help you get the most out of any future mods and can actually improve street manners.

Then from your list I would go 1, 3 (better yet wait until you're getting LT's and go duals), torque converter, 2 or 4 next then 5 with a larger cam instead of running a small cam and making up for it with rockers.

The converter will get you about a .5 sec quicker ET, something very few other mods will do.

 

yeah, im not too sure how experienced you are w/ driving such a high performance vehicle, but i would recomend to a person who has never handled a car w/ 350hp this:

lid
Cat-back and/or a cut-out
Free mods
nitto 555r drag radials
and some time to learn how to drive these bad boys

if it is and A4 torque converters make it seem less drivable for a DD, you waste a lot of mpg too...

 

go through and read the first 10 pages of this forum....most of what you asked about, and what you probably tried to search...was covered.

someone askes "i want more performance from my car...what do i do?" about ever week...sometimes 2x a day.

go read, make a list of things to search (one word works the best) then go do the search, and come back with any remaining questions.

 

thanks for the responses guys, oh and by the way, yes, i'm not going to just start throwing more horsepower into the motor until im comfortable behind the wheel and feel like im ready for more romp

 

than i suggest subframe connectors to tighten up the car and make sure you Have a GOOD set of tires.

i've never been one to cheap out on tires just to save some money. i was absolutely AMAZED when i finally bought some good rubber. changed how the car handled in every situation.

 

Suspension...........suspension.........suspension . I read in GM high tech perf. a guy that specializes in transmission, rebuilt his trans mission and and added a 12 bolt rear, nitto street tires, a light weight drive shaft, and a small amount of dieting on the inside and was runnig lowww 13's high 12's.....ON A STOCK LT1! In another issue a guy with a 97' ws6 was running 12.86 on a completely stock lt1 with stock ws6 suspension(keep in mind it is a little better than the base Trans or camaro). his on mods.........removed the back seat and passanger seat light weight drives side seat and some very minor things like a power steering pulley bypass, by no trans or engine upgrades.

Point........a porche can run low times with 250hp, why.....because its getting more percentage of its hp to the ground. the lighter the car and the better the suspension the better the acceleration.

 

Added note

Imagine the stock ls1 in a honda...god the acceleration would be monsterous.
the closer the weight is to a honda the more your going to get that kinda of effect.

 

how bout a cammed ls1 in an RX7....been done many times.

but back to topic.

suspension can make one hell of a difference. are you looking for straight line performance or cornering/street??

what works good for one, can hurt the other sometimes.

 

ok, so i guess ill throw some sway bars underneath, some sub frame connectors, lowering springs, and the bar that goes "over the engine that connects to the fender wells(not sure what its called) first, and see how it reacts.....

 

Good chose,suspension kit from bmr is cheap and easy to install that will help you car from shaking a part when you actually start getting the higher power rages. You might think about a lower suspension, and not the g-ride lowered but a lower stance for the ride, this makes it look faster and add to the acceleration performance to the car. also consider the transmission and rear end. high performance rear ends have less hp loss. like i say, i am taking this info straight out of gm high tech performance and just letting you know what others did to get 12 second times. don't forget light weight seats, for around $200 you can get a light weight race seat for $400 you can get two. if you sure up you suspension, put the car on a diet and strengthen the drivetrain as in tranny and rear end, you should be in the 12's, then if you tear in to the engine you going to get more gains out of it per mod. But lids are cheap and and same with high flow maf.

Hope this is not to much info

 

actually chief...

most beefier rear ends do cost hp to the wheels. running a ford 9" or a GM 12bolt compared to the stock rear you'll lose hp due to heavier components...and it takes more power to turn those.

but you can launch harder so the loss isn't always a problem