Gangly

The following is a list of basic bolt-on modifications that can be done to enhance the performance of your LT1 without dipping too deep into the pocket or needing the use of extensive tools.

Intake Components: Moroso, K&N, SLP, IRS, Hypertech(Air Foil), etc.
Cold Air Intake(CAI) - $150 to $300 - Replaces the stock Air Box and Filter with larger filter(K&N Usually) and better flowing intake tract that connects to the MAF Sensor.
Mass Air Flow Sensor Ends(MAF Ends) - $50 to ? - Replaces stock MAF ends and Maf screen with a ported set of MAF Ends that still utilize the original MAF Sensor.
1LE Elbow - Approx $70 - Replaces the stock unit with a smoother unit that does away with the silencer(the donkey dong on the bottom of the stock elbow).
Air Foil/Air Charger - $30 to $60 - Bolts to the front of the Stock Throttle Body to smoothen out the airflow going into the intake.
Throttle Body(TB) - Starting around $320 for a 52MM or 58MM BBK which is the most often purchased TB, or you can port them yourself free of charge if you have a dremel at your disposal.

Exhaust Components: Hooker, Mac, BBK, SLP, Borla, Flowmaster, FLP, Edlebrock, Magnaflow to an entirely fabricated exhaust system(Kooks)
Catback Exhaust - $250 to Custom - A performance exhaust system that starts after the catalytic converter and generally includes all pipes, the mufller, and tips.
Headers - $300 to Custom - Shorties include Hooker, Mac, Edlebrock, BBK, etc. and Longtubes include Hooker, FLP, etc. and custom setups from Kooks and other manufacturers.
Y-Pipes - $250 to Custom - Y-Pipes are generally included in Shorty Header systems but not always and are rarely included in Longtube Header systems. Y-Pipes are shaped like a "Y" and connect both header collectors to the I-Pipe which connects to the Muffler System.
Cutout/Electric Cut-Out $30/$200 - Exhaust dump best placed infront of the cats or as far down the I-Pipe as possible if you wish to stay emmisions legal.

Suspension: BMR, ALSTON, HOTCHKIS, LAKEWOOD, LG, ETC
Sub-Frame Connectors(SFC's) - $All Ranges - Tube'd or Box'd versions that connect the front section of the car's frame to the rear section of the car's frame providing a more stable, tighter, and properly handling ride.
Sway Bar Kits - $350 to ? - Keeps the car from "rolling" in the turns.
Lower Control Arms(LCA's) - $95 to Custom - Connects the axle to the rear subframe. Aftermarket LCA's replace the stock stamped steel LCA's with more solid/rigid units that are generaly bought to greatly enhance straight line performance. Generally used to eliminate wheel-hop as well.
Panhard Rod(PHR) - $100 to Custom - Used to align the rear end once the car has been lowered or heavily modified suspension wise. Greatly increases the cornering stability and helps keep the back end of the car centered under hard cornering situations.
Torque Arm - $150 to $600 and up - One end connects to the rear end of the transmission and the other connects to the Rear End housing. Helps keep the car "planted" without robbing the car of Tq and HP.

Gears: GM, Motive, Richmond, Moser, Strange, etc.
3.23:1, 3.42:1, 3.73:1, 4.10:1 - $179 to $300 - You can greatly increase a vehicles acceleration while only slightly reducing top speed by changing the gear ratio from a taller gear(3.23:1) to a shorter gear(3.73:1).

Misc. :
160 Degree Thermostat - $20 - A thermostat which opens at a lower temperature allowing the car to run cooler, usually used in conjunction with a Hypertech Power Programmer or a Fan Switch that allows you to turn the fans on earler as well.
Underdrive Pullies(Crank and Alternator) - $60 to $100 - These pullies are resized and replace the stock pullies allowing the motor to free up some lost HP that was formerly used to turn the accessories. The pullies free up HP by turning the accessories slower requiring less effort from the motor.
MSD Ignition Box(MSD6A or MSD6AL) - $150 to $250 - Provides a stronger and more accurately timed spark to more efficiently burn mixed gases in the combustion chamber.
Maunal Fan Switch - $75 to Nothing- Used to manualy turn the radiator fans on and off when needed. TO do so for free, all you need is an automotive relay, switch, and some wire....10bucks at radioshack
Short Throw Shifters For M6 Cars(B&M, Hurst) - $160+ - Installed to provide a shorter and more accurate shift.
Hypertech Power Programmer - ~$330+ - Used to lower fan activation temperatures, rev limiters, fuel curve, gear ratio's, change in tire size, etc.
Tunercat - An alternative to hypertech that will allow you to manualy adjust a larger variety of settings within the PCM.
Weight Loss - FREE!!! - Any thing that you can do without on the car and are willing to yank out. Weight is the ultimate name of the game and you will see the most gains from weight loss..weight is 90% of racing.

.........The most often asked question is "what are the first mods I should do to increase my car's performance?". Basically, all a car wants/needs to make more power is air. Increase the amount of air going into and out of the motor and you will increase the power output. Best way to do this is to increase the volume of air going into the motor while also maintaining a high air velocity. The first few mods installed on the car should be purchased to accomplish this. First and foremost, the most productive component you can install to get the most power from your stock car is the CAI. From there, most people move on to installing the Catback exhaust. Dont buy a complete longtube exhaust system with custom piping, no cats, and cutout expecting to see maximum gains when you havent touched the intake system yet. You always want to try and balance out the intake and exhaust system so that you have an equally balanced motor, otherwise you are leaving power out on the table. First few power mods should be a complete intake system and complete exhaust system(CAI, MAF Ends, Airfoil or TB, Header, Y-pipe, Catback or Cutout). Once you have accomplished this, then you have a good solid base from which to build a stout, internally modified motor. Basically, being able to get the air into and outta the motor as fast as possible will create the most power. If you plan on roadracing, the best thing you can do to increase the performance of your car is to add a nice suspension setup for it. Just like in the quartermile, large amounts of power in a car without suspension is useless, but even moreso on a roadcourse. Putting the power to the ground is just as important as making power. Generally speaking, to increase straight line performance, LCA's are most effective while PHR's, Sway Bars, and SFC's are most effective in eliminating body roll and flexing. Spring and Shock kits are most effective in eliminating bounce, weight transfer, body roll, dive in braking, etc..........

Gangly

Lemme know what you guys think. I'm sure there are a few basic boltons that I left out so if there is something that you think should be added, feel free to let me know and we will try to get it up there as soon as possible.

Vendetta

Very nice Aaron... the sticky was a good idea.

9T7 Trans Am

iTrader: (2)

How about adding the following:

160 Degree Thermostat $20
Electric Cut-Out $200
Underdrive Pullies $100
1LE Elbow $70
MSD Ignition Box $150
Maunal Fan Switch $75
Short Throw Shifters For M6 Cars $? (Have An A4)
Hypertech Power Programmer (Does Anyone Use These Anymore?)

Also, Make the car lose some weight (Seats, etc.) if drag racing is your bag.

Just my 2 pennies, definately a good post! Happy Modding!

Gangly

Done!

Soon to own TA

Thanks alot Gangley. Im gonna buy a 97 Trans am sometime in the summer. Thanx for letting posting mods that can be done to the LT1. Also, Im going to UTI in Illinoise. Im am doing the Performance program with HOt ROD..do you think there is a chance for me to get a job with SLP after i graduate?

Gangly

Couldnt hurt to have a background in car performance when you apply....good luck!

94Formula/TA

SLP Headers for the LT-1 are shorties if i'm not mistaken. Good Post.

ChrisB

MAF Ends - Don't do them - make the car run worse at part throttle, may help or hurt at WOT. You can achieve the proper WOT fueling for 120 bucks with tunercat and a cable.

1LE Elbow - No power gain at all - don't bother, unless your stock elbow is torn.

Air Foil/Air Charger - Worthless!

MSD Ignition Box(MSD6A or MSD6AL) - ignition box isn't needed on a NA car, really only with a power adder - and if you are arunning a power adder it's cheaper to buy the Digital six with the built in retard, 2 step, etc. than add all those features to a msd 6/6al. If you are going to get an ignition get the digital 6.

Maunal Fan Switch - $75 is a rip for this. To do it "properly" you need an automotive relay, switch, and some wire. 10bucks at radioshack. But really just get tunercat and a cable and program your fans to turn on automatically.


Hypertech Power Programmer - ~$330+ - a huge rip, Hypertech programs are pretty worthless, or hit or miss at *best*. Spend half the price and get tunercat. You can even pick up a old pI laptop and come in under the total (or just use your desktop and a long cable.).


For recommendations on what to do the biggest factor is if you want to stay emissions legal or not.

If you have to stay legal I think the AS&M's are the best headers with a CARB number - otherwise hookers/jethots no question.

For the intake side most of the CAI's are the same, though I would stay away from the G2 unit - go with slp, moroso, or K&N. Again, no maf ends, and tb airfoil is worthless also. You only need to bother with the 1le elbow if your stocker is toasted. You can to the coolant/tb bypass assuming you don't live in a sub-zero climate.

I would get tunercat and a cable from Andrew asap. Set your fans and you can use the cable with software out there to scan your car also. You only need a p100 or so to make it work, which you can pick up for 100 bucks or less on ebay. You can make a/f changes of course also, but you really need some form of feedback, be it wideband, dyno, or track to get that down.

If you have an automatic a higher stall torque converter should be at or near the top of your list - that would probably be the first thing I would do.

Vents

iTrader: (9)

that'n tires..

Gangly

Chris B, MAF ends dont hurt performance in any way, an aftermarket MAF Sensor like the Grenatelli(sp?) however has shown negative results. Hypertech is a good tool with which to raise rev limiter, change gear ratio, turn on fans etc whe a tunercat and laptop arent options. Airfoil gained 4.8 rwhp on my car from back to back dyno's so they arent worthless. Fan switches can be home made, I forgot to put them up there, thanks for reminding me. The converter would be the absolute first thing I would install in an automatic as well, but its not a basic bolt-on that a beginner or novice would be able to install by themselves so I left it off. Remember, this list isn't suggesting that you do any of these mods over another, it is up the to individuals discretion as to whether or not they chose to do the mods, this is just a list of available mods to chose from along with a very short/sweet discription of each.

ps, the tunercat and home made fan switch are now on the list, thanx for reminding me of those, i forgot.

ChrisB

I have tuned tons of LT1's - MAF ends are a no-go, just like they are on ls1's - for the same reason. Sure, you may pick up a bit more power from a leaner mixture - or you may end up running richer, depending on how the car learns, plus your part throttle will be worse - and if you have an automatic you *will* reduce line pressure.

You really should just buy tunercat 80 bucks for software, 80 for a cable (or build your own for much less), and you can use your desktop and a long cable worse case, or even pick up a 100 buck laptop on ebay. You can lean out your PE vs RPM and achieve the result you were looking for properly.

Hypertech is fine for setting the rev limiter or gear ratio or fan temps - it's tuning sucks though, and for the price, again, it makes no sense to pick one up. If you don't want to do it yourself you can get a custom program dirt cheap now.

Gangly

everybody knows hypertech isnt good for tuning, but when you can buy them used for 100 bux, it beats buying 80 bux of software, 80 for cable, and a computer if you dont have one or a laptop if your computer isnt accesable to your garage or car. Its a far better deal when all you are trying to accomplish is raising your rev limiter or changing gear ratio's like I did...the tunercat couldnt have done that any better or cheaper. Many newbies arent going into the tuning of their car, just basic adjustments. The hypertech and tunercat do that flawlessly, but the hypertech is cheaper used and requires far less effort/equipment to use. If a newbie had the skills and knowedge to use tunercat and wanted to to indepth tuning, its a far superior product than hypertech and I would urge them to go that route or LT1Edit, but for basic small adjustments, Hypertech is easier and cheaper when bought used in my opinion. My opinion is different from others and Im sure its different from yours. However, I definately appreciate the input you have provided, it will help all newbies, and please continue to add whenever you feel it can provide further assistance to everybody.

stangkiller

i have a 94 A4 Z28 with shortys, flowmaster 3 inches all the way through without cat. k&n cai, 52mm tbody and granatelli maf sensor, hypertech III b&m shift kit, and msd wires. My question is can i get rid of the AIR and the EGR like the LS1 guys, and is my maf sensor junk? should i replace it w/ oem and no screen?

Gangly

you can chunk both of them but you will most likely get a SES light. OBD1 is not as sensitive so you might not throw an SES light but chances are that you will. In many instances the GMAF hasnt provided good results on modded cars, but every car is different and it may work properly on yours. Best way to find out is to dyno it or scan the computer while you are driving the car.

TSAEB

iTrader: (5)

i just bought a 93 z28, 6 speed, about how much weight, hp, and torque does that car have (almost stock except i bought it with exhaust 3", no cats)...can ya give me a quick history about my car...thanks...

atljar

iTrader: (2)

Good post...we need one of these over on cz28.com, lol.

Headers...SLP headers are shorties, not longtubes. Macs are midlengths, as are ASM which you dont have listed. Longtubes add jethot, FLP.

TB- may want to add stock bored 52mm bodies. Find them on ebay for 150 or so and work just as well.

Hypertech/tnercats argument - i would just edit the tunercats description. With this you can change EVERY ECM parameter possible. Best tool for advanced tuning. Then make hypertech the "alternative" and tell what it can do.

Good job

Mike Frey

How come? I realize the G2 is expensive compared to the others mentioned, but when I bought mine, in 95, they and SLP were the only game in town. Seeing as LGM was across town, I went with them. I don't have dyno numbers, but the G2, along with the recommended mod to the stock half of the filter box seem to add some power.

SAR2K

iTrader: (4)

My $.02 on LT1 Bolt-Ons:
As far as the MAF is concerned I've had the best luck with a stock MAF just being descreened. My car did not like the aftermarket MAF or ported ends. The screen is a 125 CFM restriction (according to GM engineers). If I get time soon I will set one up on the flowbench and flow it with & without the screen to see how accurate the 125 cfm figure is.
Suspension:
The only items I replaced/added (that made a significant difference) were the stock rear shocks and LCAs. The standard F-Body rear shocks are WEAK. Once I installed my first converter (Vig 2800) I had wheel hop from hell. I installed a set of factory SS/WS6 shocks off of Gordo's (GTS SS) 98 SS and these totally eliminated that problem. I was cutting consistent 1.66 60's after that. Soon after I broke one of the LCA bushings on the passeneger side. I installed a set of aftermarket LCAs since it would have been just a much to just replace the stock bushing. I suggest BMR adjustable LCAs (in hind sight) incase you ever get trick with the rear geometery at a later date. After I upgraded my converter to a 3600 stall I started having traction issues again. This was resolved by installing a set of BMR bolt-on LCA relocation brackets. I can't stress enough how great these brackets are in helping you really plant the tires... honestly one of the most important items I've added to the car in the big picture. This helped plant the tires and gave me consistent 60' times in the 1.55 range. Next I switched over to HAL rear shocks which allowed me some "tuning" ability on the launch and the ability to compensate for any varying track conditions. This was all splitting hairs, but I was able to get the 60' time down to 1.53 (still all bolt-ons) on a very cold track surface.
During all this the stock tranny mount decided to let loose one night on a launch, so I replaced it with a poly mount from Energy Suspensions. It gives a little more road noise, but is well worth it since I get more rigidity in the drivetrain for launches.
By the time I made my last runs as a Bolt-On car the list of suspension mods were: HAL rear shocks, BMR relocation brackets, LCAs, BMR adjustable panhard rod, poly tranny mount & torque arm bushing, BMR tubular K-member, BMR subframe connectors, & dropped the front sway bar. All other components were stock with 80,000+ miles.
I've pretty much done every bolt-on that's out there for LT1s and tried various ideas I had... some worked and some were useless, LOL. I went so far as to have the stock injectors rebuilt & flow matched... can't hurt, LOL.
Anyway I had more fun with my TA when it was a bolt-on car than I'm having with heads & cam now... so much so that I just started on building another bolt-on LT1 car to break my old record.
If I think of other stuff I did that I don't see in this thread I'll add to the list.
Later folks!
Steve...

LT1Burnout

[QUOTE=Gangly]Lemme know what you guys think. [QUOTE]

professional

u 2 SAR2K!! very good stuff!!