with all your guys help heres my setup. my initial budget was 1200 bucks so with my basic mods i think i got under 1200. here is what i want to start with. all opions welcome as always..

tsp lid
ssra- can you purchase a blockoff plate so when it rains
white face gauge
loudmouth
160 thermostat
3.73 motive gears - 3 series carrier for 7.5-10 inch rear end. so is this good to go for my 00 Z28.


i think my total price was like just about a grand. then i still gotta install them. is this a good start, any other different combos are definitely welcome...thanks guys

 

A4 or M6?

 

That doesn't look bad. Don't purchase a thermostat. Whether you put one in or not, you will still have to use some kind of program to get your fans to turn on earlier.

If you've got an auto, then yes the 3.73s are a good choice. Depending on what gears you have right now, 2.73s or 3.23s, you may have to get some additional parts to make those gears work. If you have 2.73s then you only have a 2 series carrier inside your rear. I don't know what's required, but just letting you know. If you have 3.23s now, you're good to go. If you've got a manual, you've already got 3.42s and the jump to 3.73s will be minimal. If you want to go that route get some 4.10s.

To the SSRA, I beleive it comes with blockoff plates? Maybe it does or doesn't, but it wouldn't be too hard to obtain one if you needed it.

You're going to kick yourself in the butt later on if you want headers. Headers + loudmouth = ungodly loud and raspy to the point where I don't think it sounds good.

SUBFRAME CONNECTORS should have been on the top of that list. They are a very cheap mod that greatly stiffen up the car and give it the feel it should have. Will improve handling quite a bit too. Get subframe connectors! NOW!

 

Agree

This can kind of go either way. 4.10s were not the best set up for me, since every now and then I will take the car on a long road trip. Long trips + 4.10s = Dont jive ... Not to mention most of my drive to work is highway use. So that wasnt the best set up for me. You have to ask yourself what works for you.

Thats kind of a taste issue, some people love them. I however agree that it's too loud with headers. However, the nice thing about a loudmouth is that when it does get too loud, you can go spend $30 on a dynomax bullet and you have a great sounding exhaust again (dynomouth).

Yep! People without SFCs just don't know how great those things are. You won't go a quarter mile without feeling how much better the feels. SFCs should really be one of the first mods.


PS, sorry. That post was much larger than I thought it would be

 

well im not sure if its an a4 or m6. but its an automatic. but i still would like to run 3.73. and as far as sfc, im thinking bought getting a suspension package that has the whole 9 yards. i just wanted to start with small bolt ons. i love the idea of my car being loud. im plan on running headers after i get my suspension all hooked up. i wanted to go with mac's. but i know i should be running with longtubes. if i get headers i might go budget wise and get pacesetters. i can have those on pretty soon since its only like 500 bucks for the whole thing. but i can wait and maybe go with qtp. well i guess, i can drop the 160 thermostat. thanks alot....

 

a4 - automatic 4 speed
m6 - manual 6 speed

Anyway, if youre a long ways away from getting the suspension package, then dont wait. Just get the SFCs now. They really arent all that pricey.

As far as headers; They are really more expensive then people give credit for. You have to remember to include all the "must have" extras. Lets take my hooker set up for example.

Headers: $410 (sounds good so far)
Y-pipe: $230 (ouch, just for a pipe?)
2 O2 Simulators: $90
2 O2 Extensions: $50
Install: $200 (roughly)

So all said and done, you're looking at a grand for what seemed to be cheap headers. You may already know this, but I've seen too many people get in over their heads with that so I thought I would point it out. Especially since you said you have a budget.

 

i dont know if i would get white face guages, i would spend it on performance goodies, but thats me, im going to get a set of indiglo's off ebay or something, maybe some macewen or something, but dont spend too much, they can be had cheap. I've also heard the 4.10's are better for manuals as far as noticable difference... subframe connectors and a strut bar are cheap and will stiffen the car a bit, and there are several exhaust systems out there that might be a bit cheaper, check out the magnaflow, it's not quiet as loud, but it's def. good quality. as far as the tsp lid, great move, i'll be ordring mine sometime this comming week or so, they are almost caught up on the clear ones

 

Everybody seemed to forget that with a gear change you have to have a programmer to correct the speedo. So get a Predator and a 180° stat and scrap the white face gauges (they don't make the car faster anyways ) You'll be a little over budget but it's a good start.

 

hahaha....my wife wants that gauge...so shes actually gonna get it....im still debating if i should get the ssra though? i wouldnt wanna get that and next thing you know hydrolock....well i probably can get the suspension hooked up. i just want other good performance mods besides the basic lid, and headers and loudmouth. i just love the sound of that loudmouth. theres no way you can turn down loudmouth.

 

I dunno, I say go with the white-faced guages and scrap the idea of correcting the speedo. That will allow the car to go "faster." How cool is that?

Does this mean that you're buying a 3-series carrier or that you're simply buying gears designed for a 3-series carrier? If it means the former, then it's obvious that you have 2.73 gears (with a 2-series carrier)...and those only come in A4 cars (contrary to what some idiots believe). In that case, you already told us what tranny you have.

Do they make 3.73 gears for 2 series carriers?

 

Oh, and I should add my opinion on the mods. I would look into doing this:

lid
cutout
~3000 rpm stall speed torque converter w/installation
home-ported MAF

If there's any money left, treat yourself to some drag radials..or a drag radial...or some white-faced guages.

My .02 (I haven't owned an A4)

 

yeah man, if you want you car to growl go get a cut-out.
cut-out and lid, you can't go wrong with that. About that white face gauge......I wouldnt spend that much money on it, you can get that off at ebay for pretty cheap and save some money. and if you have any chump change left over, replace your stock air filter to a K&N or a Holley power shot.

So far your setup sounds pretty good!!

 

well, the white face gauge is just definitely for cosmetics. but is it really worth it getting super sucker ram air? the reason why i asked bout the 3.73 is cuz thats what i saw on the catalog. so i wasnt sure? hahahaha...what if i went 4.10 with an auto...imagine that.....


also, can you tell me bout pulleys. all i know is that they use power that goes to like the ac or what not. i was looking into some underdrive pulleys, and i got confused when it talked bout harmonic, and alternator....i wasnt sure. ....oh by the way subframe connectors....welded or boxed or squared...i cant remember which one it was...but which one do i get?

 

The first thing you should do is check your gears. Look inside your drivers door and at the very top sticker. If you see GU2 then you have 2.78 gears. If you see GU5 then you have 3.23 gears. If you have 3.23 then I would just leave the gears alone but if you have 2.78 then I would get a used set of 3.42 from one of the numerous M6 guys that upgraded to 4.10's.

If you have 3.23 gears all ready I would spend it like this:

TSP lid $150.00
SSRA (see below) $200.00
Dynomouth exhaust setup (see below) $150.00
TCS torque converter (see below) $450.00
trans cooler $60.00
transgo shift kit $120.00

That totals $1130 and with shipping fees your still under $1200. If you have 2.78 gears I would do this:

TSP lid $150.00
SSRA $200.00
3.42 gears from ebay $75.00 ?
dynomouth exhaust $150.00
preditor diablo $400.00 (you need this for gears & much more)

that totals about $1000.00 and you'll need the last $200 for gear installation. It may run a bit more but you can shop around and find the best price (unless you can do it yourself but I know I couldn't).

Ok now for all the see belows.

1). SSRA does not come with a blockoff plate. I used a very hard foam insert that I cut to the exact width of the the bottom plate and about four inches longer (leaving some lip to grab when I want to take it out). This way I can block off the entire bottom box scoop which keeps out all water. Some people just cut a piece of sheet metal to cover the top of the top box scoop (it would go under air filter and block the FRA mod you made as part of the SSRA install. If you have any trouble then I would be happy to make you a bottomscoop foam insert like mine and UPS ground it to you for free. darren@vacs-inc.com is my email if you need this.

2). I love my dynomouth and you would too! Plus it will compliment the future headers better then LM and is half the price installed! First you buy a $36.00 12" dynomax race bullet muffler from summit. Go to your local muffler shops and get price quotes for labor and minimal parts. Here is what you tell them. You want them cut out the stock muffler and weld in a pipe in it's place to keep the continuity of the dual out pipes. Then they need to install the bullet muffler you brought with in the I-pipe just behind the rear axel. I was quoted $100.00 for the pipe and labor so shop around if the first few places want over 150. Now you have a bad a$$ sounding car for about $150.00 (if you want to change the look of your car then order new tips at the same time you order the muffler or just reuse the stock ones). The HP gains are the same as Loudmouth and it flows just as well but with no DRONE.

3). Call Derick at TCS and he can custom make you a TC that fits your needs and future plans. The torque converter is the single best mod you can do on a automatic hands down. You can shave up to .7 off your 1/4 mile time and lose that annoying dead spot. You know the one when you hit the gas at 35mph and it feels like your in a 4 cylinder car. However the TC works best with a trans cooler and shift kit so may as well have all installed at once. Now it'll probably cost you 500-800 for install on all three unless you have a friend or family member (or yourself) that feels comfortable working on trannys. You do have to remove the tranny to install the converter. If you need to just hold onto the parts and save for the install fees. It will be well worth it I assure you.

4). Now if you had the 2.78 gears then I would upgrade the gears to 3.42 instead of a TC at this time (but make the TC high in your list of next mods). You can buy them cheap on ebay and then have them installed. If you can not get them installed for 200 then save till you have enough. Once they are installed you have to reset the speedo which is why I reccomended the preditor. It can do just about everything. Reset speedo, reset rev limiter, read codes, clear codes and a lot more. You can use this again after a TC install if needed and after headers install if needed to make small adjustments and clear codes.

Thats about it (thank god, this felt like a novel). Good luck with whatever you buy and ENJOY!

 

thanks darren...that was informative as hell bro....i had to friggin print it out..hahaha....thanks fellas...basically im just trying to get a pretty quick friggin mean a$$ street car...so whenever im on the freeway and somebody wanna run em' theyll get smoked...or even at a light...