2010 2LT rs easy mods

[martyhalmi]

What are some easy or relatively cheap mods i can do to gain hp?

[The Stig]

CAI, catback exhaust, high flow cats, flame decals. Thats at least 75 rwhp from the flames alone.

[Cristoff]

Relatively cheap is VERY subjective. What kind of dollar amount are we talking?

[martyhalmi]

a couple thousand would probably be the limit, im only 17 and this is my first car so i dont have that much cash.

[Cristoff]

Yeah, then I would refer you back to Steiger's post (except for the flame decals of course...)

He has it pretty pegged in that dollar range!

[martyhalmi]

yea im looking at his suggestions and theyre in my range so thanks

[KMPrenger]

Cold Air intake forsure.

Whether you do a cat-back versus an axle-back really is hardly any difference in gain...maybe a couple HP so as far as exhaust just go with whatever you like. Exhaust main benefit is sound and not performance.

The other big ticket item is installing long tube headers (which pretty much require a tune to stop the check engine light from appearing...the tune won't add much as far as performance though) or you can go with shorty headers. Shorties shouldn't cause a CEL if done right, will enhance your exhaust note, but only make about 1/2 to 2/3 the gain of LTs.

Only reason a tune might become absolutely necessary is if for some reason after all the mods your car begins to run an unhealthy Air/Fuel ratio which will hurt your power....a tune would bring that back in line.

Best estimate, with CAI, LTs, and exhaust I'd say your looking at a gain between 20 - 30 HP at peak. Should have slightly better gains lower in the RPM range.

OR if you have a manual you may want to consider skipping all of the above and just installing 3.73 rear end gears (which will give you as much or more TQ 'gain' as all of the above will) Of course it doesn't add more TQ, just makes the TQ your car already has much more useable. Then after that, determine if you'd still like to do a CAI or exhaust.

[Ghost1LE]

Congrats on the new car and welcome to Camaro5. I'm 17 also and this is also my first car. It's an amazing car, and I'm sure you know that. I can see your car in the avatar and it looks like you have aftermarket rims, they look nice do you have any full size pictures of them? I would say the same as the others, CAI, Exhaust, high flow cats, and I just picked up my car from getting a heritage grill installed and I love it, I would definitely recommend it.

[usa1camaro1969]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

Cold Air intake forsure.

Whether you do a cat-back versus an axle-back really is hardly any difference in gain...maybe a couple HP so as far as exhaust just go with whatever you like. Exhaust main benefit is sound and not performance.

The other big ticket item is installing long tube headers (which pretty much require a tune to stop the check engine light from appearing...the tune won't add much as far as performance though) or you can go with shorty headers. Shorties shouldn't cause a CEL if done right, will enhance your exhaust note, but only make about 1/2 to 2/3 the gain of LTs.

Only reason a tune might become absolutely necessary is if for some reason after all the mods your car begins to run an unhealthy Air/Fuel ratio which will hurt your power....a tune would bring that back in line.

Best estimate, with CAI, LTs, and exhaust I'd say your looking at a gain between 20 - 30 HP at peak. Should have slightly better gains lower in the RPM range.

OR if you have a manual you may want to consider skipping all of the above and just installing 3.73 rear end gears (which will give you as much or more TQ 'gain' as all of the above will) Of course it doesn't add more TQ, just makes the TQ your car already has much more useable. Then after that, determine if you'd still like to do a CAI or exhaust.

I've got to agree with what he's got and include the cat/axle back is mostly for sound but also removes a chunk of weight with the huge mufflers.
The shorty headers give a descent gain(if you check the v6 1/4 mile fast list you'll see a lot of the top cars are running shorties http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61392).
The cold air intakes produce some horsepower, are easy to install and also produce a nice sound benefit. There's a lot of vendors on here and most people will tout what they have is the best so I'll let it go at that. The JRE CAI independent test is at the top of the page.
And finally, a cheaper way to go and increase the rear-gear ratio is to go with a shorter tire. Be advised though that if you get a shorter tire it throws off the speedometer and you'll have to go with a drop spring to keep from having a huge gap from the top of the tire to the fender.

And congrats on the Camaro.