taking delivery in July! Looking to start with small inexpensive mods.

[jackka]

I finally sold my soul to the devil (I used to think getting a brand new sports car in one's twenties was the worst thing one could do in a financial sense) and ordered a 2011 Camaro last saturday.

2LT, 6-m, RS, Sunroof, black on black

This will be my first new car and I feel like I have a child on the way. lol


As far as modding and customizations, I don't want to do anything too expensive for now and will just do some small essential stuff or relatively inexpensive mods that will give big bangs for their buck.

I'm not really power-hungry with my car, so will not be looking at mods that sacrifice general efficiency for power.

1. window tint - I'll be looking for a good brand soon. My friend told me Darkmatter brand(?, can't remember exactly) helps block out the heat.

2. performance air filter - I think I will replace the stock one with a K&N. K&N seems to be the best name in the field. Air filters are probably the cheapest and easiest mod that actually makes a difference.

3. sunscreen for front window - I think I read about a custom made one for the Camaro here in the forums a while back. I will probably order one before taking delivery as long as the price isn't too crazy. Me being in Alabama and with the summer heat coming and the black car paint, hopefully this will help at least a little and I won't have to get into a blazing oven to go home everyday, lol.

4. exhausts - I am definitely not looking to spend a ton of money, but I think the stock ones are just really unnecessarily heavy and inefficient. I've read a thread about a guy getting his stock ones cut away and replaced with a set of resonators which gave his V6 awesome sound in the linked video, more power, and a huge mpg jump on the highway. It wasn't as expensive as the usual exhaust mods either. So, given all the benefits and relatively low cost for an exhaust mod, I will probably spring for those as well.

Also thinking about the Hurst short-throw shifter and a turbocharger or two, but that will definitely not be any time soon, if at all.
I think I will like the stock shifter fine because I've never had a short-throw shifter, but would maybe like to see what the difference is to determin if it would be worth the money. (it was a factory option part for the 2011 model for $385)
As far as the turbo, I was really impressed with the Turbonetics twin turbos on the Jay Leno Camaro being able to pull SS level horsepower at no penalties to gas efficiency. Not sure how much it would cost though.


I know I'm definitely not getting a skip-shift eliminator. I just don't see the need for it because I will probably shift from first to fourth in daily driving and if I wanted to really accelerate fast, I would just stay in first gear for a while anyway.

Any mods or upgrades that you guys would recommend other than the one's I've listed?

O, and a quick question. Would it be safe to get an air filter upgrade and an exhaust mod without getting any kind of computer remap? I know that with bikes, the engine would overheat to dangerous levels without an ECU calibration after such mods.