Mod with the best gains?

[i love lamp]

Hey guys! Just wanna start things off by saying that I don't exactly know a whole lot about the makeup of a car's exhaust. I know the basics, but I hear a lot of terminology thrown around like "high flow cats", "headers", "throttle body", "mid pipes", and I figure I will just ask you guys instead of trying to search the forum and figure things out for myself.

I want to get some info/opinions about which mods are going to give me the best bang for my buck as far as performance goes. Don't really have the money for an entire exhaust system, so I'm wondering if there is a particular part i should replace or a combination of mods that I should get that would show some gains in hp and torque without emptying my wallet. Doesn't necessarily have to be a part of the exhaust, but I already have a CAI and I'm guessing (again, not much car knowledge here) that I'm gonna get the best gains from improving the exhaust?

All info and opinions welcome! Thanks in advance!

[Mach]

I would say the best mod is a Insulator! Best bang for buck. I have the 25mm Mace unit. 150 bucks for the Mace. Guys are picking up 20+hp and 25+ft/lbs.

http://www.maceengineering.com.au/ep...oducts/MI621_1

[KMPrenger]

We are finding many ways to get good improvements from the LLT engine recently.

You already have a CAI...mind me asking which it is? There are some crappy intakes on the market, but most of them are pretty decent, and just about anything is better than stock for several reasons.

As far as exhaust, the best bang is Long Tube headers or replacing the stock cats with something like the SOLO high flow cats. LT headers will typically give you 15 to 20 HP at peak and cost between 350 to 1,200 bucks. The difference is the cheaper ones do not have cats. The SOLO high flows cost 700 and have shown gains of 15HP on the dyno at peak.

The RX black Ice insolator (similar to the product mentioned above, but different company) cost $175 and works by keeping the manifold cool so the incomming air stays cool. Works best on a heat soaked engine and can provide around 20 HP, but this is around 5,000 rpm....not at peak. At peak it is maybe around 5 or so HP but getting good gains lower in the rpm range is just as good or better than peak gains much of the time.

Go for the RX ported throttle body (about $150 after you get your core exchange back) to get improved throttle response and some gains down low, but not much at all at peak.

A different exhaust (mufflers) helps make the car sound much better, but typically doesn't provide much for gains.

This should get you started...good luck!

[Amenti]

As KMP said, one of your best bang-for-the-buck mods is going to be an intake manifold isolator, since you already have a CAI. Both a CAI and an Intake Manifold Isolator are inexpensive, give good gains (15+ HP with a CAI, 20+ with an isolator), and can be installed with hand tools in a short amount of time. There's no extra installation cost, which is huge.

After that, the greatest gains would be had from long-tube headers in conjunction with high-flow cats. Depending on what resources you have available, that can be an expensive option, since you probably need to have them installed by a shop.

You won't see huge gains from a Ported Throttle Body; but, it's an inexpensive mod that you can install yourself with minimal effort in a short amount of time, and it gets rid of the throttle dead-zone some people tend to complain about.

Aside from that, you're pretty much left with a tune with either Trifecta or Hypertech. Both of them claim decent gains of 13/14hp; but, most people here have a Trifecta tune, because it (was the first and only option for a while and) has an array of customizable options and the MAN who writes the tune comes out with updates and improvements as he finds them. Trifecta also includes a tune for automatic transmissions that adjusts shift points and makes shifts more aggressive.

Oh, and you could get a torque converter from RX Performance if you have an automatic. You won't see any gains from it; but, it'll make for awesome launches and guaranteed improvement in your 1/4 mile time if you like to drag race. Each torque converter is a new, beefier unit rather than a modified stock converter and is custom built to match the power output of your mods.

[sebi1990]

Did they make the intake manifold isolator for the lfx or is it the same for llt and lfx?

[Amenti]

The intake manifold on the LFX is a different design; so, the current crop of isolators is only for the 2010 and 2011. I'm sure they'll be following up with a 2012+ version for the LFX shortly.

[i love lamp]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

We are finding many ways to get good improvements from the LLT engine recently.

You already have a CAI...mind me asking which it is? There are some crappy intakes on the market, but most of them are pretty decent, and just about anything is better than stock for several reasons.

As far as exhaust, the best bang is Long Tube headers or replacing the stock cats with something like the SOLO high flow cats. LT headers will typically give you 15 to 20 HP at peak and cost between 350 to 1,200 bucks. The difference is the cheaper ones do not have cats. The SOLO high flows cost 700 and have shown gains of 15HP on the dyno at peak.

The RX black Ice insolator (similar to the product mentioned above, but different company) cost $175 and works by keeping the manifold cool so the incomming air stays cool. Works best on a heat soaked engine and can provide around 20 HP, but this is around 5,000 rpm....not at peak. At peak it is maybe around 5 or so HP but getting good gains lower in the rpm range is just as good or better than peak gains much of the time.

Go for the RX ported throttle body (about $150 after you get your core exchange back) to get improved throttle response and some gains down low, but not much at all at peak.

A different exhaust (mufflers) helps make the car sound much better, but typically doesn't provide much for gains.

This should get you started...good luck!

The CAI i have is BBK so I know it's not the best but i figured anything was better than stock. And thanks for the suggestions. I've read up on the insulator and I'll definitely be getting that first. Then I'll probably get some LT headers depending on the kind of deal I can get for the local shop to install them.

[nikos30]

noob talking. Will getting an RX black Ice insolator, a ported throttle body, headers with high flow cats, a Trifecta tune, and a torque convertor work with the IPF supercharger/STS turbo? I want as much power as I can get

[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by nikos30

noob talking. Will getting an RX black Ice insolator, a ported throttle body, headers with high flow cats, a Trifecta tune, and a torque convertor work with the IPF supercharger/STS turbo? I want as much power as I can get

You can do all of that with a supercharger. With a turbo it depends on the setup. Hard to do LTs with mid mounted turbos because they need extra bracing from what I understand, but with a rear mount turbo setup like the STS it may be possible. Not sure.

[gahammerle]

Originally Posted by nikos30

noob talking. Will getting an RX black Ice insolator, a ported throttle body, headers with high flow cats, a Trifecta tune, and a torque convertor work with the IPF supercharger/STS turbo? I want as much power as I can get

The IPF Supercharger kit comes with its own tune based on stock exhaust manifolds. It will not be customized to maximize performance with long tubes. I'm sure you would be able to get the Trifecta tune customized to work with the IPF kit and long tubes, but if you are set on long tubes, why not go with the RX supercharger kit which includes the Trifecta tune and can be customized for the long tubes and other mods?

[nikos30]

I did not even know RX had a supercharger kit for the 2010 camaro v6...

[gahammerle]

Originally Posted by nikos30

I did not even know RX had a supercharger kit for the 2010 camaro v6...

Yep, they have been working on one, and I believe this week are putting it all back together to get some dyno runs in over the weekend.

[nikos30]

Oh well I wont have the money fr a supercharger for a while so it doesnt really matter for now. That is sweet that is comes with the trifecta tune, sounds like ill be getting that if the gains are similar or better than the IPF

[Amenti]

Tracy at RX Performance does great work and is very knowledgable, from what I see. I'm sure his supercharger kit will perform as well or better than anything else out there.

As for me, IPF will probably be my only option for the forseeable future, since they are supposedly planning to CARB certify their kit.