Should I go w/ a full lt exhaust system, or go w/ conv and rear end gears(3.73). The problem w/ the conv and gears would be I also would have to get a reprogramer also, right? The conv and gears would knock down my times the most, right? Just got my Thunder volt 10.4 mm and ngk55. I also got a poly trans bracket, I can feel a knock under the car when loaded up, if not the problem, well it had 72000 miles on it anyway.

 

exhaust.......louder the better

 

There isn't exactly a set first BEST mod. However, I wil attempt to guide you

I'm going to assume everything on your car is bone stock, except the wheels and tires

One of the easier ways to mod is to kind of tune everything at once, if possible. That way you don't have constant downtime

If my Z was bone stock again, and was an automatic, this is the order in which I would do things

Run it at the track until you are cutting consistant 60 foots and ETs. No point in racing a modded car if you can't even run a good time stock

Lid
Any/some free mods
Catback of some sort, probably a Hooker, Magnaflow, or GMMG
Some look cool mods...never hurts to look good

With these mods you should be in the high 12s, unless you live in CO or something

After that, I would start attacking the suspension and possibly drivetrain

Your basic suspension mods...
Torque arm
Control arms
Adj. panhard
Tower brace
Sway bar - rear for sure, front if you want to
SFCs

Then slap on some stickier rubber. Nitto drag radials are a good choice, good for street and strip. Get some BFGs if you want a beter grab, but less life. Or those new M/T ones

By now you should be deep in the 12s. Your 60 foot should have dropped quite a bit, now it's time to have fun

Converter - time to wake that bad boy up
Do some research on what kind of converter you want, as in stall. Make sure to put in a tranny cooler

Now go back to the track. I think it'll show itself off for ya

After that, then proceed with the rest of the bolt ons

Headers
Pulley
Get a tune
etc

So now you have yourself a great hooking 11 second car, and didn't really spend all that much either. You would be amazed at how many people skip the suspension...and they wonder why their tims blow, especially that 60 foot

From here it's up to you. With an automatic, you won't need a 12 bolt or 9 inch until you are deep into the 11s, or in the 10s. So if you want gears, wait til then

You could...

Spray into the low 11s/10s
H/C and do about the same

All up to you. Remember, it doesn't take a ton of power to make quick ETs. But good traction and suspension is REQUIRMENT

 

Don't listen to him. He clearly has no idea what he's talking about

J/K

That is about the best advice you can get. Very well written and I agree 110%. As far as mods go I would start with lid and catback. Getting the car sounding good and breathing better is always a great starting point. Like Strahley said above, do NOT skip the suspension mods or you'll be sorry later.

Good Luck

 

its pretty hard to say what could be the best first mod on our cars. you can go nos, supercharged, even cammed. but i think one of the best CHEAPEST mod is just throwing in a K&N filter. even people that know nothing bout mods usually just have a K&N filter. then i would say exhaust.

 

Put a Vigilante t/c in it, my Z went from 13.3 to 12.86 after installing a 2800 stall Vig.

Marc

 

K&N filter is nice if you want to spend 50 bucks and lose horsepower. The best first mod is not a lid, and it's definitely not a catback. It's a $26 exhaust cutout. You will gain over 10 rwhp.

 

1st and goal, did you lose any gas milage or drivability with the stall or does it run exactly the same under normal driving? first mods are lid & catback. then work on traction. (lca's panhard etc)

 

I would say it all depends on how much you wanna spend. I would say go with Gears then a tune from
http://www.madz28.com This was a big gain for my car.

 

I know you were asking 1st and goal, but my vig 3200 I had didn't affect my mileage any to speak of. I don't do a lot of city driving, but what little I did it maybe dropped 1-2 mpg. I took it on a long trip to yellowstone and got 26 mpg going 70 mph. The only noticeable characteristics when driving normally is that the rpm's didn't drop bellow 2k until the converter locked up. And it was a lot more fun to take off from lights.

I miss my car

 

Which LS1 car of yours is that?

 

The Ls1 engine is an untapped power source and is capable of outputting alot of power if modded correctly. The best thing to do is get your Ls1's breathing right. This means the air coming in and out, you will see major gains if you get the Air Lid and later the Ram Air Induction Kit, as well as an exhaust. But get the complete system from Headers to tailpipes. Your car will run much better.