Where to start in the expensive, yet wonderful world of modding?

[Dreamer2430]

Hey guys. I know that a lot of people have built/stroked motors and a lot of other super car add-ons. My question is, what order do you do all this stuff in? Is it best to add the motor first then other HP adders? To me it would make the most sense to get the motor and build around that, but I also know that most of the other stuff I’m looking at adding is less expensive, easier and quicker to install than a stroked/built motor. But can the heads, cam or even the simple things like a CAI and LT headers be kept if I do the motor later? My car, like a lot of us, will be something that is slowly upgraded, maybe one or two things a year if they aren't terribly expensive and probably only 1 upgrade if it's really expensive (F/I or stroked motor). Thanks in advance.

[sspaul]

i would do the cai, lt's, exhaust first, these mods should be ok when you decide to do other mods.

[KungFuHamster]

Nitrous!

[v6sonoma]

Start with exhaust. Once you perk up the sound you can move on from there. Basically it comes down to funds and your ultimate goals. If you have the cash it's best to do as much as you can at once so you don't have to keep tuning it. If your on a budget you can do things like shifters and intakes for cheap and save up for the big guns (headers, cam, super charger, etc.)

[mikeSS]

i think the best things frist is..... CAI cat back LT headers tune

[IMADreamer]

Plan it out, don't just start somewhere. You will end up throwing money away. Decided what your ultimate goal is, whether that's power, a quartermile time, whatever. Then decide your budget. Do you only want to spend x amount total on the car or do you have x amount a month to spend? Also don't just think horsepower, there are other ways to make your car quicker, in some cases much quicker, like a 4.10 gear.

I know my answer won't be popular and it's probably not what you want to hear, but take it from someone who has seen a lot of money wasted on parts that may get changed out down the road because forced induction came into the picture.

Once you've decided are you going stroker, supercharger, turbo, or nitrous down the road then you can get those supporting mods like exhaust or whatever.

[hrpiii]

Originally Posted by v6sonoma

..Basically it comes down to funds and your ultimate goals. ..

BINGO!! What would YOU like to do first to YOUR car. Just create a list of mods you want to do to your car and prioritize them on what you would like to do. It's hard to do it all at once unless you have plenty of funds. You can go with appearance, performance or audio upgrades. What is going to make you step out of your car and go "Hey, look at my XXXX I just upgraded.. Sweet!!".

I went with some protection first, as a DD. I had a clearbra installed. My goal was to protect that car first, add on after. Maybe your biggest/quickest performance mod would be a CAI, it really wakes up the engine.

Good luck!!

[Dreamer2430]

Thanks all. I guess compatibility is what I'm worried about. I have a giant list of mods that I like, but I would hate to pick out the CAI and headers that I like only to find out that if I decide to add the super/turbo kit that I like I can't use the nice CAI that I bought. Same situation could be said for a cam. I would hate by the cam that I've been looking at only to find out that it only works with and LS3 and I wouldn't be able to drop in that 427 LSX that I would love to have. See where I'm going with this.

[RedJewelSS]

Originally Posted by IMADreamer

Plan it out, don't just start somewhere. You will end up throwing money away. Decided what your ultimate goal is, whether that's power, a quartermile time, whatever. Then decide your budget. Do you only want to spend x amount total on the car or do you have x amount a month to spend? Also don't just think horsepower, there are other ways to make your car quicker, in some cases much quicker, like a 4.10 gear.

I know my answer won't be popular and it's probably not what you want to hear, but take it from someone who has seen a lot of money wasted on parts that may get changed out down the road because forced induction came into the picture.

Once you've decided are you going stroker, supercharger, turbo, or nitrous down the road then you can get those supporting mods like exhaust or whatever.

bingo

[X-treme Horsepower]

cold air intake long tubes cat back and dyno tune are the first steps but are well worth the money only you wont be able to lose at a later date if you do forced induction is the intake depending on what supercharger you go with
for example with pro charger or vortec you wont be able to reuse the cold air intake
but if you run a maggie or kb or really any of the roots style blower more than likely you will be able to re use the cold air intake
if you have any questions or would like some pricing or anything feel free to email or pm me

[Doc]

The best place to start is the rest of the car before you add power. You'd be amazed at how much different the car can feel with the power it already has if you start upgrading other areas. A lot of people start with the big punch of adding power, then realize they need other minor things like...brakes. Get the chassis, suspension and brakes upgraded first which you can use no matter what kind of power upgrades you finally decide on.

My recommendation; either a Pedders (which I chose) or Pfadt or something comparable suspension upgrade including coilovers, bushings and swaybars. Better brake rotors; either drilled and/or slotted or if you have the money, 2-piece drilled and slotted. Stainless steel braided brake lines. Lighter wheels which can cost anywhere from a few hundred each to a couple thousand each depending on your budget.

Once you've improved the suspension and brakes so it's ready for more horsepower, then it's time to start modding the engine. You can always do a CAI and catback early on if you like to give a modest power improvement and of course better sound. But keep in mind depending on what kind of power mod you go with you may be wasting money on those 2 things because the power mod you choose can't use them.

A change to a 3.73, 3.91 or 4.10 gearing in the differential can make a dramatic improvement in acceleration with the power you already have, depending on what type of performance goal you're aiming for.

Figure out early what application you're planning for; street, strip, roadcourse, autocross or a combination and plan what type of power increase will give you the best results. However chassis, suspension and brake upgrades are always needed no matter which one or more of those you choose. Get your car's suspension and brakes ready for the power before you add it.

Just my 2¢

[JHL88]

Originally Posted by Doc

The best place to start is the rest of the car before you add power. You'd be amazed at how much different the car can feel with the power it already has if you start upgrading other areas. A lot of people start with the big punch of adding power, then realize they need other minor things like...brakes. Get the chassis, suspension and brakes upgraded first which you can use no matter what kind of power upgrades you finally decide on.

My recommendation; either a Pedders (which I chose) or Pfadt or something comparable suspension upgrade including coilovers, bushings and swaybars. Better brake rotors; either drilled and/or slotted or if you have the money, 2-piece drilled and slotted. Stainless steel braided brake lines. Lighter wheels which can cost anywhere from a few hundred each to a couple thousand each depending on your budget.

Once you've improved the suspension and brakes so it's ready for more horsepower, then it's time to start modding the engine. You can always do a CAI and catback early on if you like to give a modest power improvement and of course better sound. But keep in mind depending on what kind of power mod you go with you may be wasting money on those 2 things because the power mod you choose can't use them.

A change to a 3.73, 3.91 or 4.10 gearing in the differential can make a dramatic improvement in acceleration with the power you already have, depending on what type of performance goal you're aiming for.

Figure out early what application you're planning for; street, strip, roadcourse, autocross or a combination and plan what type of power increase will give you the best results. However chassis, suspension and brake upgrades are always needed no matter which one or more of those you choose. Get your car's suspension and brakes ready for the power before you add it.

Just my 2¢

+ 1 start with suspension first/wheels/tires then work your way up. always a good idea