I'm looking to get a little more umph out of my car but at the same time not go broke which i'm already close to being. (typical college student for ya). My 95' Z already has headers, no cat-converter, borla cat-back, CAI, and underdrive pulley's. What next mod could i do to boost horsepower without spending a ton. I was thinking about a bigger throttle body or is there a better way to spend my money. Any suggestions???

 

It depends on whether you want it to put down more HP or want it to be "faster". My vote would be a new set of gears

 

I thought about gears too BUT i know that the rear-ends in our cars are like toothpicks if you get to making big power. So in the future if i end up doing drastic performace mods i don't want to have to replace the rear-end and just have those gears laying around that i don't need anymore.

 

If your car is an auto, you'll be fine for awhile with that rear... if it's an auto you could also look at getting a converter.

Auto or Manual.. some drag radials will be nice for the track.

 

start doing some suspention mods, definatly do subframe connectors, it will make the car feel alot more solid, improve traction, and get rid of some of those annoying creeks and rattles.

 

LT4 Hot Cam Kit & Dyno Tune. It'll run you less than a grand most likely as long as you install it yourself. That'll give you the best performance for the buck. Where you're at now you've either gotta do a new converter and tires, or start cracking into the top end for power.

I just finished my cam swap and I'm in the process of putting in a 2800 stall now. I'll let you know how everything works out. I'm trying to do a budget buildup writeup, I know everyone looks to go fastest for cheapest. Being a starving college student that's #1 on my list.

 

A bigger throttle body is worthless unless you have other mods like heads/cam. That money would be better spent on a mail-order PCM tune which will run you 125.00 from www.madz28.com You didn't mention what trans. you had, but if you have an A4, the converter idea as well as a shift kit are good mods. to do. Also, certain suspension upgrades wont cost that much such as tubular lcs's and panhard rod and will stiffen the rearend up quite a bit.

 

Thanks guys. My car is a M6. I was thinking about the PCM tune. That's probably what i'll do. I had the car dyno'd this year when i went down for the Fbody Gathering in Atlanta. It put down 280ph/325ft.tq. The guy told me if i got it tuned i could probably hit 300. I know that you're hp and tq #'s should be closer together than that. Don't think i could get 20hp out of just tuning it though. But if i do that'll be sweet.

 

Youre at the point were most decent mods are gonna cost at least $200. In all honesty the hotcam kit is a great deal for $500 and it would compliment other mods.

 

Budget performance upgrades? You need a leaf blower, and naaaaaaaawwwwzzzz!

Sorry, I just keep thinking of that leaf blower video.

What kind of budget are you on?

-Jake

 

Roach02: I am in the same situation as you (college budget). I just looked around for group purchases/good deals and ended up putting in my cam for around $500. There's always nitrous, but I'm not a big fan of it.

BTW, what color was your car, I was up at the f-body gathering too. Mine was the LOUD red one on the dyno and was with Lethally Injected.

Ryan

 

hey redcamaroz28. yeah i think i remember you. i was up there when your car was on the dyno. I had the White z28 with the chrome zr-1 wheels. said CHEVROLET accross the windshield and it was loud also (only way to have them). I was parked on the next row down from lethally injected. Didn't you do a lot of lap-top adjustments while you're car was on the dyno????
Yeah i've looked at nitrous too but not a big fan of it either. I want the power there all the time not just when i hit a button. lol

 

JakeRobb great video LMAO. Never seen that one. (thinking of how i can cram a leaf blower under the hood and somehow wire the throttle on it up to my gas pedal haha.
I'm on the kind of budget where whatever i buy will go on the credit card. And the balance on it is getting up there so don't want to put much more on it. Probably just go with a custom tune from madz28.com

 

You put your cam in for around $500 thats cheap you must of cut some corners and have some risky parts.

 

I purchased the hot cam kit at cost from a Chevy Dealership (through an employee) and it cost me a little over $600 with all of the gaskets + the cam kit.