Tom
03-07-2010, 05:45 PM
Here is a list of basic bolt-ons that will give you good power increases.
1. Cold air intake and tune* - This will give your vastly increased throttle response, and a good bit more power. You cannot go wrong with any of these three. Personally, I have the JLT and it is a great piece. C&L, JLT, or Steeda. All three of these intakes require computer retunes.
Note- It is recommended that you purchase your CAI and a tuner at the same time.
2. Axle back exhaust - No power gains here, but it will add a nice tone to your exhaust.
3. Mid pipe** - This will give you a small power increase. There are three styles. H-pipe, X-pipe and Prochamber. The style you choose should depend on your choice of axle backs. X-pipes make slightly more power than the other styles, but not enough to influence your decision on what style to go with, you decision should be based off of sound.
4. Short throw shifter - This will help you bang through the gears faster, with less chance of missing one. The best brands are MGW, Steeda, and Hurst.
5. Underdrive Pulleys - These will slow down you accessories and free up a few ponies. Not recommended if you are running a high-powered stereo. Steeda is the best.
6. Gears** - These are an awesome mod. There are no HP gains, but they multiply the torque made making the car faster. The two most popular choices are 3.73 and 4.10. Stay away from Motive. FRPP is the best and most popular. Installation is around $350. DIY is not recommended unless you really know what you are doing.
7. Aluminum Driveshaft - These are good for a couple tenths off of your quarter mile time. They shed about 25 pounds of rotational weight off. The Spydershaft is a popular choice. There are several other brands available as well, those being Coast, The Driveshaft Shop, and Dynotech.
8. Lowering Springs - These give your car a nice, clean look. You will need a few other parts to do it properly. Some good brands are , Steeda, and . I highly recommend the BMR lowering kit. It includes everything needed to properly lower the car.
8. Lowering Springs - These will shed that annoying 4x4 like wheel gap for a nice, clean look. For a street cruiser or daily driver, I would recommend a progressive spring with a mild drop such as the Eibach Prokit or the BMR springs. These springs still afford good ground clearance, offer a comfortable ride, as well as good looks.
For those of you who enjoy the twisties, I would recommend a spring by Steeda, either the Sport or competition springs. The comp springs have a higher spring rate which is better for handling, but not for ride quality.
9. Shocks and Struts - Shocks and struts offer a marked difference in handling and control, especially with lowering springs. For someone who just cruises the streets or daily drives their car Bilstein shocks and struts work well with a progressive spring.
For those who enjoy a road course or curvy road I would recommend Koni Adjustable Shock and Struts paired with Steeda springs. There is also a more cost effective adjustable stock and strut combination, those being Tokicko D-Spec shocks and struts. These are less expensive, but not as good of quality as the Koni pieces.
10. Lower control arms - These will eliminate the wheel hop and allow you to launch harder. Good brands are BMR, Steeda, CHE.
11. Tuner - This is required after most mods. It changes the computer tuning to work with your new mods and extract power. There are several companies that offer good mail order tunes, those are Bamachips, Brenspeed, VMP Tuning, and Tillman Speed. I have a Brenspeed tune, and I am very impressed with the tune and his customer service.
12. Long tube headers* - These allow to exhaust to flow much more freely, and in turn nets good power gains. Some good brands are Kooks, ARH, Mac, JBA and BBK.
13. Tires - Let's face it, the stock tires just plain suck, especially the Pirellis that come on the 17 inch wheels. Upgrading your tires to summer performance tires provide a noticeable difference in every aspect of performance. A good size for the stock 17 inch wheels is a 255/50-17. A good tire is the Nitto NT555. For those of you with the factory 18 inch wheels, a good size option is a 255/45-18. Tires that I would recommend are the aforementioned Nitto NT555 or the BF Goodrich KDW NT.
14. Supercharger - Biggest bang for the buck horsepower wise, but generally in the 4-7k dollar range. Some popular ones are Roush, Vortech, Edelbrock, Kenne Bell, and Saleen.
* Requires a retune
** For gears, speedometer needs to be reprogrammed, for midpipe, it depends if it is offroad or catted.
Some things to stay away from:
-Throttle body spacers, they do nothing.
-Throttle bodies themselves, unless you are putting over 500hp to the ground
-Catbacks, all they do is replace piping that is already on your car, with piping that doesn't flow any better.
1. Cold air intake and tune* - This will give your vastly increased throttle response, and a good bit more power. You cannot go wrong with any of these three. Personally, I have the JLT and it is a great piece. C&L, JLT, or Steeda. All three of these intakes require computer retunes.
Note- It is recommended that you purchase your CAI and a tuner at the same time.
2. Axle back exhaust - No power gains here, but it will add a nice tone to your exhaust.
3. Mid pipe** - This will give you a small power increase. There are three styles. H-pipe, X-pipe and Prochamber. The style you choose should depend on your choice of axle backs. X-pipes make slightly more power than the other styles, but not enough to influence your decision on what style to go with, you decision should be based off of sound.
4. Short throw shifter - This will help you bang through the gears faster, with less chance of missing one. The best brands are MGW, Steeda, and Hurst.
5. Underdrive Pulleys - These will slow down you accessories and free up a few ponies. Not recommended if you are running a high-powered stereo. Steeda is the best.
6. Gears** - These are an awesome mod. There are no HP gains, but they multiply the torque made making the car faster. The two most popular choices are 3.73 and 4.10. Stay away from Motive. FRPP is the best and most popular. Installation is around $350. DIY is not recommended unless you really know what you are doing.
7. Aluminum Driveshaft - These are good for a couple tenths off of your quarter mile time. They shed about 25 pounds of rotational weight off. The Spydershaft is a popular choice. There are several other brands available as well, those being Coast, The Driveshaft Shop, and Dynotech.
8. Lowering Springs - These give your car a nice, clean look. You will need a few other parts to do it properly. Some good brands are , Steeda, and . I highly recommend the BMR lowering kit. It includes everything needed to properly lower the car.
8. Lowering Springs - These will shed that annoying 4x4 like wheel gap for a nice, clean look. For a street cruiser or daily driver, I would recommend a progressive spring with a mild drop such as the Eibach Prokit or the BMR springs. These springs still afford good ground clearance, offer a comfortable ride, as well as good looks.
For those of you who enjoy the twisties, I would recommend a spring by Steeda, either the Sport or competition springs. The comp springs have a higher spring rate which is better for handling, but not for ride quality.
9. Shocks and Struts - Shocks and struts offer a marked difference in handling and control, especially with lowering springs. For someone who just cruises the streets or daily drives their car Bilstein shocks and struts work well with a progressive spring.
For those who enjoy a road course or curvy road I would recommend Koni Adjustable Shock and Struts paired with Steeda springs. There is also a more cost effective adjustable stock and strut combination, those being Tokicko D-Spec shocks and struts. These are less expensive, but not as good of quality as the Koni pieces.
10. Lower control arms - These will eliminate the wheel hop and allow you to launch harder. Good brands are BMR, Steeda, CHE.
11. Tuner - This is required after most mods. It changes the computer tuning to work with your new mods and extract power. There are several companies that offer good mail order tunes, those are Bamachips, Brenspeed, VMP Tuning, and Tillman Speed. I have a Brenspeed tune, and I am very impressed with the tune and his customer service.
12. Long tube headers* - These allow to exhaust to flow much more freely, and in turn nets good power gains. Some good brands are Kooks, ARH, Mac, JBA and BBK.
13. Tires - Let's face it, the stock tires just plain suck, especially the Pirellis that come on the 17 inch wheels. Upgrading your tires to summer performance tires provide a noticeable difference in every aspect of performance. A good size for the stock 17 inch wheels is a 255/50-17. A good tire is the Nitto NT555. For those of you with the factory 18 inch wheels, a good size option is a 255/45-18. Tires that I would recommend are the aforementioned Nitto NT555 or the BF Goodrich KDW NT.
14. Supercharger - Biggest bang for the buck horsepower wise, but generally in the 4-7k dollar range. Some popular ones are Roush, Vortech, Edelbrock, Kenne Bell, and Saleen.
* Requires a retune
** For gears, speedometer needs to be reprogrammed, for midpipe, it depends if it is offroad or catted.
Some things to stay away from:
-Throttle body spacers, they do nothing.
-Throttle bodies themselves, unless you are putting over 500hp to the ground
-Catbacks, all they do is replace piping that is already on your car, with piping that doesn't flow any better.