:yes: I'd suggest just picking up a M6 10 bolt w/ 3.42s.

Wouldn't that be significantly more expensive than just a set of gears?

he can buy a rear end for 200ish (at least around here) and just run the 3.42s

3.42s are a big step up from 2.73s. otherwise he will have about 650 in parts and labor to go to 3.73s

Why are you including labor on the gear swap but not on the rear end swap?

How much would a set of 3.73s and the appropriate carrier cost, parts only?

I dont know were those prices are coming from, but you can get kits outta summit racing from 150 and up for a 3.73 just depends on the brand. Labor isnt that much unless the person thats doing it is an ass.

my buddy is having his installed for 100-150.
I also have a 93z.

Another thing to consider is the 93z has speed density not the mass airflow, so the tuning is alot different and from what everyone has told me the mail order tunes are a waste on the 93z's.

i put headers and a 3 inch exhaust back, with the cat cut to a flowmaster. That made a big difference, but with some more bolt ons and a dyno tune it will be pretty quick.

I plan on buying the whole rear end to swap out. Cheaper that way I can do the whole rear end, do my own laber, and have everything swapped in a couple hours for about 200-250ish. Now if I buy gears seperately, even used, they are around 75 bucks, then the upgraded carrier, install kit, and I'd have to pay someone to do the gears for me. That would cost more than the whole rear end would in the end.

That is what I am looking at too. Can get the GU5 from a salvage yard for 150-300 depending on milleage and should be a fairly easy swap.

Costed me $600 for everything. Minus the rear end oil.

Speaking of carrier, why is 3 better then 2?

go get a quote from any shop, it'll always be right around 600.

I had quotes from about 4 shops, all were right around 600.

Ended up havinga buddy do it for the price of gears and 50

I ran pacesetter lt last year and never scraped them once. I never went over any speed bumps and always watched where I was driving. As long as your car is not lowered I don't think you should have any problem with them.

Pointless to make a daily driver faster? Now I'm just really confused.

"What are the best bang for the buck mods for the LT1", nitrous. Like $500 for up to 200hp, less if you get a used kit.

You could just run a 75 shot like my buddy is doing, it's very noticable, and alot easier to install than a cam and full exhaust to maybe get that much hp, and unlike a mean cam it doesn't affect drivability at all.

Just throwing a suggestion out there like you asked for.

I have looked in to nitrous for a while now, and I have concluded its not really practical for what I am trying to do. However, later on down the road once I get a nice solid bolt-on setup I will probably add nitrous.

I have code GU5, so 3.23. I am guessing those are pretty decent :shrug:

So here is what I am looking at doing:
Full tuneup: Im going to pay someone to change the spark plugs
Stainless headers (not sure what brand yet) with a cutout and some type of custom exhaust (looking at Boom Tube)
Aftermarket air intake, looking at the K&N brand
Dyno tune

Thats probably going to be it for a while. Car has 54K miles right now. Hopefully I dont break anything anytime soon, but when it comes time for a rebuild I am going with a Victory Racing 383.

Im also throwing the idea around of keeping this thing stock and just buying another Z28 with a bunch of boltons already done to it with a M6.

slp

Bang for the buck: NEVER pay someone to do what you can do yourself. Sure, it'll take you longer, but you'll have 200+ for mods... and yes, a shop will charge around 3 hours labor to change plugs on an LT1.

Headers.... Kooks stainless long tubes, don't just look online, CALL one of the vendors or Kooks direct. They are absolutely available for your car. They cost about 1300 and are worth every penny. Mids or shorties are a waste of time. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Likewise, if salt is a concern, anything except stainless is nuts. Coatings chip, pit, and rust, and the only thing better than stainless is coated stainless... because the base won't rust like a steel tube. Stainless by itself holds heat in the tube as well as or better than most coatings... which is the reason for headers in the first place. Heat = exhaust velocity = better scavenging = better flow and power.

Custom exhaust... with a cutout, leave the catback stone stock, get an electric controller for the cutout if you don't have one. Still have (some)stealth closed, and open flows far better than ANY catback. Trust me, on a DD you do NOT want to have an ehaust that is constantly loud... you want to control it yourself with an eletric cutout.

3.42 are ok, 3.73 would be better. 4.10 with an auto would result in big hit in fuel economy and imho, excessive highway rpms. Gears installed will cost 600 or so properly installed... around 200 for decent gears, around 120 for an install kit, around 100 for a carrier (not you, you already have a 3 series carrier) and 180 labor is certainly not out of line. Also remember that little stuff like fluid, additive, and seals cost money too. Gears should be set up by someone who knows how if you want them to run quiet and have a long life. Any idiot (with a press) can bolt gears in... but it takes a skilled installer to get the longest life and quietest setup. (You can also add locking differentials, but that adds significantly to the price. If you're still pulling posi on even traction surfaces, the stock diff is fine.)

As for why is a whole axle cheaper... because you can buy an axle with 3.42s (from an m6 car stock) or a 10 bolt someone upgraded to 3.73 or 4.10 before going to a 9 inch or other heavy duty axle for a couple hundred dollars, and bolt it in yourself with no trouble, and without screwing anything up.

Air intake on my LT1 did absolutely nothing for me. Get a used intake if you must. Ram air types are a damn fool idea, I have seen hydrolocked motors from low mounted intakes on street driven cars.

Finally: not the least expensive, but a high stall converter (mine was 3200 and not a Yank) somewhere in the 3000-3600 range really is going to be a noticeable, seat-of-the-pants improvement.

I did most all the mods here anyone has mentioned to my 94. I spent LOTS on doing the variations. These suggestions are the outcome of the thousands I wasted on my learning curve. Pay attention, or feel free to ignore and pay for your own learning curve.

Sticky tires are a good mod if you either drive the car little, or primarily at the track. But they cost too much to run on a DD; MT ET Street Radials last only about 3000 miles on the street at a cost of around 200 apiece.

Dyno tune is worth it, but will cost around 500 once you have enough time on the dyno for full street manners tuning, not just WOT. (Ooops, just noticed yours is a 93. Tuning may wall cost more) Also... do ALL the big airflow and gears mods before you get the tune. EVERY big mod will require tweaking the tune; see if your tuner has a package where you pay once for unlimited tunes, and then just pay for dyno time to adjust the tune for future mods. As you DD this, you NEED the driveablity worked on... you'll hate your tune if it causes a tenth better but stalls in front of a cop as the light changes. Mail order tunes are a waste of time imho... because every car is just a bit different, and mail order tuners must err on the side of caution. Those that didn't are out of business because their excessively aggressive tunes killed motors.

Oh yeah... and before you start modding, know this: You will never stop once you start. It will cost more than you think it will, always. And the car will never again be as reliable nor as consistent (think bracket racing) as it is now.

I'm just saying, because I know....

BTW... my 94 ran 12.7@108.

And as much as I hate to say it... My opinion is keep this stone stock as is, and buy a 2001/2 LS1 to mod. If you're gonna get wild with it as early as 98 is fine, but for mild to moderate mods, the 01/02 and already have the better intake. Basic mods on the LS1 are more bang for the buck than for the LT1. Yes, you can make an LT1 stupid fast, but it costs more to do than for an LS1.

I had both a 2000 and a 98 SS vert after the 94.