Alright i just graduated from high school and i have about $600 in spare cash from my graduation money. I'm having a lot of trouble trying to decide what direction to go with the money im torn between gears(3.73), convertor, cai, headers, shift kit, tuning, or others. What do you guys think?

By the way as it says in my sig i have catback, high flow cat, 8mm plug wires, 160 thermo, k&n filter,

 

i say try to get ahold of a deal on some long tubes and cai. but if it was me a would personally go for lt's and cutout because ur gonna be choked by those flowmasters

 

Subframe connectors. A must have. Then I'd say get a cold air intake, headers and then gears. I've been partial to the opinion that you're stock gears will break eventually and that's when you should do your gear swap.

 

little more info on the sfc's please..............what kind of gain? how much money? what brand?

 

No gains. Maybe... maybe ... a little better ET but it adds extra strength to your chassis which is what is most important. It also completely changes the feel of your ride and makes it handle better. Ask around and you'll find that everyone that has them on their car is satisfied.

Most people prefer either the BMR ones or the Kenny Brown Double Diamond design. The BMR ones go for $159.95 (boxed design) and the Kenny Brown ones for about $240. The Kenny Brown ones are heavier, too.

 

are those bmr's weld-in?

 

Yes. BMR stopped making the bolt-in type. Kenny Brown ones are weld-in as well.

 

I would probably go headers...and thats gonna suck up the majority of your budget. I bought used headers for $250 and I still spend $500 in the end with new O2's, wires, plugs, etc.

 

ttt

 

Moroso CAI or K&N will give you every bit of about 10-14 rwhp, then longtube headers like Jethot or Hooker will give you about 18-22 rwhp (FREAKIN AWESOME MOD), and of course gears will make your car feel like night-n-day...well 4:10's will. If your in an auto I think they like the 3:73's.

CAI - $ 190.00
Longtube headers - $519.00 (Jethot brand)
Custom ypipe - $100 to 200.00 at a good muffler shop
Gears - $500.00 to 700 Total installed with a set like USGear or Strange, with install kit (includes all bearings and races) and labor

 

Thanx for the help so far. On the "for sale" message board ive found a k&n fipk for $60 and a set of edelbrock shorties for $150. Ive heard that shorties are pretty much useless. Should i take them or no?

 

I would say to try to find a deal on a good used set of headers. shorties would be easier to find and less expensive, but you will definitely get more out of lt's. A friend of mine built his own CAI for about $45 from lowes and he had to get a filter at auto zone. I didn't do this, but he said he likes it on his 95 formula. if you search the internet for it, you can find the plans. i dont know much about how reliable it is or what. I am going to be a senior in high school next fall, so I know what its like on a budget. I did my own gears and it worked beautifully. Saved me about $300 if I had them installed. it took me a couple days. you can find great articals on the internet about how to do this. the only tool i needed and didn't have was a micrometer, which i borrowed from my brother in laws dad. that was an awesome mod. I don't know much about you A4 guys, but i have heard that convertors will work wonders for your car. more so than shift kits, but again, idk.

 

It's nice that you have $600 bucks, but save up for a rainy day and for something like nitrous or a supercharger. $600 dollars is alot, but little when it comes to building up your engine. Imagine if you have $1500 saved up and you need $500 in order to buy the part you want. You'd be wishing that you saved that $600 dollars instead of spending it on something small when you can eventually get something big.

 

i appreciate the advice but i would rather stay naturally aspirated right now. maybe somewhere down the line i will get into forced induction.

 

SHORTIES USELESS???

Hell no, I love mine. Granted I wish they were ceramic coated, which i highly recommend u do if u get headers. Shorties provide good torque and a good sound as well.