What are some things I can buy, change, add to my 1997 LT-1 to make the most HP Gains for Under $300???

 

get some gears you will notice the diff

 

you might want to post your mods that you have now is it a a4 or m6?

 

gears and install package is around 300, NOT including install labor. as for hp gains.

Cold air intake

if thats already done, set of shorty headers, with a straight pipe inplace of the CAT, do not gut the cat, replace it.

 

Cold air intake (used for around 100), pcm tuned for 93 octane, it adavances timing slightly (about 60 from one of the two well known guys on this board), remove catalytic converters and have a straight pipe welded in their place(probably 150 for labor at a muffler shop)...you'll need rear o2s tuned out to avoid an ses light on a 97. All that together should net you around 20 to 30 extra hp.

 

I have A G2 Intake (Not Cold Air) and a K and N air Filter, Borla Exhaust, and I just put in NGK Iridium IX Spark Plugs, and a new fuel filter. That is about it as far as Performance Goes. I did Put on Cross drilled / Slotted front and rear rotors, and ceramic brake pads. I lowered the car 3" in front and 2" in Back with Eibach Lowering Springs. I Just had a New CAT put on for $350 so I Am not going to take them off now.

And Yes its an Auto with the 2.73 Rear End, I have talked about changing that though in the DRIVETRAIN forum.

Would I notice a difference if I get a Cold air intake with the K ANd N filter over the set-up I have now?

 

uncoated pacesetter LTs

 

What are uncoated pacesetter LTs

 

brand name is Pacestter longtube headers. Headers are the best bang for the buck. If you decide you go with LTs, you will have to move the cats or remove them. Shorties are the only way to keep the cats in the stock locations.

I buoght a used set of SLP shorties from 240. They were in awesome sharp and were the biggest HP increase I have done yet. The guy I bought them said he didn't see a big difference when he switched to long tubes.

 

If you've got some miles on it, the $300 is well spent on plugs, wires, and Opti cap & rotor.

 

ok, i have personal experience with this. i bought hooker long tubes for 300 dollars used. aside from that i spent another grand on OTV wires, plugs, gaskets, off road y pipe, O2 simms, O2 extensions, header bolts, LT4 KM. and it still needs a 150 dollar tune. im not saying i needed everything but when you do a thing like headers, replacing key things like plugs and wires and reducing false knock, really is the key to making them work how theyre supposed to. what im getting at, is dont spend 4,000 on a new supercharger kit and be upset when you end up spending another grand in miscellaneous bull crap and its not what you thought it would be cause other things are holding it back. see what im saying? if i was you, save up a few extra hundred and stuff the rear with some 3.73s. good luck

 

Amen on the miscellaneous header parts.

I bought Pacesetter coated LTs for $550 with a off road pipe to my door.
Then O2 extenders for $40
Then Dead Soft Gaskets $40
Then Plugs $15
Then a PCM tune $140
Then bolts $20
Then Block off plates $30

A $200 wet nitrous kit is a WHOLE 'nother money pit story.....

I'd save it till you had $6-700 to play with and that way you can go ridiculous. But if you don't have patience....

Put my vote down for a mail order tune, over the valve cover wires, and some shorties if you can stretch it.

 

the G2 "cold air" kit is crap.

it's better than stock...but not much. i honestly don't think it would be worth the money to swap to a new setup at this point. maybe see how much you can sell the G2 for...

i had it on my 96z and i cut out the whole face of the air box. basically expososing the entire air filter to open air. i think it helped. you could also fabricate a blockoff plate to prevent the system from drawing so much air out of the engine bay. it could be easily done with some sheet metal and tin snips (then maybe paint it black to blend in) or with some kind of plastic or foam board.

i would say your best bet would be headers or gears. probably the most noticable would be the gears. it will really wake up the auto. after that you should save up for a good torque converter. alot of guys show improvements of .5sec in the 1/4 with a stall and gears. you'd have to do a ton of hp mods to equal that.

 

Do you know what 1993-2022 camaros came with a 3.42 or a 3.73 because it would be cheaper to pull a whole rear end out of one from a junkyard. The gears new are like $230 and like 400-600 to have installed. I figure i could get a whole rear end for cheaper and install it my self.

 

All 1994+ 6 speed f-bodies came with 3.42s and no year came from the factory with 3.73s.

You shouldn't be paying more than $250-$300 for someone to install the gears. Gears should cost $500-$550, installed. Shop around and talk to some different shops.