I just bought a 98 Z28 about a month ago - automatic, 90k miles, completely stock. I have no experience working with cars/engines, but I figured I'd learn and try to do some mods myself. The problem is, I have no idea where to start. I'm not going to have too much money to play with right away, but I want to take it one mod at a time and see what I can get done this summer. What will give me the best results and is easy enough for a beginner to pull off and where can I get some good detailed instructions?

Something I know I want to get done is a true dual setup. The car just doesn't seem right without true duals and it needs to sound a little stronger. I don't want something that is going to sound like a Honda if you know what I mean, or soemthing that is going to be too loud. What are my best options for true dual, how much will it cost (installed) and does anyone know any good places in Connecticut(central) to get it done?

I've tried searcing for information on both mods and dual exhaust, but I usually just get lost in the posts. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Josh

 

I think a cold air lid would be good starting point

 

This is a good place to start

 

Well I think a good start would be some induction mods.

One of the easiest mods is a lid. A lid is good for 5-8 horses and will set you back $90-130 depending on where you get it or if you buy it used. There are several different lids such as whisper, direct-flo, tsp, slp, mti. They make them in regular plastic, smoked, carbon fiber and clear flavors, whatever floats your boat. If you dont care about looks find a cheap used one or a SLP blemished lid and be done with it. There are no performance differences between the lids, a lid is a lid is a lid

Another induction mod would be a ram-air/cold air intake setup. The differnt makes include Whisper motorsports, FTRA (Fast Toys Ram Air), SLP and the SSRA(super-sucker ram air). Whisper, SLP and FTRA are all basically the same design and price but many people opt to go with the Austin Ram-Air a.k.a SSRA. What makes this piece so special is that it has a scoop that connects to the front bumper that takes in air from outside. Its also made out of plastic to avoid heat soak. As for gains, its hard to dyno a cold air intake but there is a noticeable difference at highway speeds, 10hp would be a decent guess.

Check out the sponsors for the above mods.

Trust me, these cars couldn't sound like a Honda if they tried

As for duals, they can be loud... very loud. But they also sound awesome I'm not too familiar with the cost of a true-dual set-up so I'll allow someone else to chime in with details. If you want to hear examples go to ls1sounds.com If you decide against a true dual setup that site also has different clips of just about every catback with and without headers.

 

Since its got a couple miles on the car already, i'd start with Plugs, Belts, and fuel filter.

 

I definitely agree. Take care of maintenance before mods, because you'll have to do them anyway.

The first mod you should get is a lid. Most modified LS1 cars have this. If you don't care about having a fancy-looking lid, get one from www.quartermileperformance.com for $75. I have this one and it's great.

Research before you mod. When I got my car, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do with it yet, but I wanted it to sound better, so I bought a Magnaflow muffler for $90, so when I eventually do true duals (like you want to do), I won't feel bad about losing my $90 as oppsed to losing $700 if I went with a full catback and then tore it out.

Like I said, take care of ALL your maintenance first and then research your mods to determine which ones are right for you.

 

cutout, lid, exhaust and intake are all good starts.