New L99 owner--Your bolt on/tune advice would be very welcomed!

[Fireslayer]

Hi,

First post from a new L99 2010 silver ice 2SS owner. I've had the car for a week now and love it. I've done very little except read this forum for hours on end since I've found it. Great place and I'm amazed at the expertise and great attitudes that's lacking in some other hobby type forums I frequent.

I'm already considering some bolt on upgrades and I have many questions. I've already made sure my car was on the high octane MAP with the fuse pull. Geez, what a long thread that was to read! A great thread....but a long one!

I ended up with an L99 since it was a deal I couldn't refuse. I was torn between the LS3 and L99 but the deal was there on the L99 and I don't feel so guilty about buying a car that my wife couldn't drive. I know, I may regret this later on!

I really thought the L99 would run a bit harder than it does. Don't get me wrong it does real well--especially compared to the POS Corolla and Altima I've driven the past 10 years. Formerly had a nicely built 70 'stang and a stock 2001 GT stang. Yes, I've come over from the darkside! Nonetheless, I've read about all these great mods available that are more than the "double pumper" Holley's, electric ignition, and old school upgrades that I was use to 20+ years ago. BTW, I'm 38. Not a dinosaur but boy things have really changed from my former car days.

So, after a long and boring intro, I'll move on to some questions I'm sure you guys can weigh in on. Here are my goals:

EXHAUST: Increase HP as much as possible without sounding like a NASCAR. My wife and two kids will ride in this car as well....so it can't be too radical. Drone needs to be addressed as well. I'm scared as heck to void the warranty being I have payments to make and I've drove a POS for the past 10 years. I really don't want to go back except for winter! I think "bolt ons" will stand a much better chance at beating a warranty issue than getting "internal" with the engine. I like the idea of headers and the gains that come with them but it can't be too loud. It definately needs more rumble, especially at WOT, but still reasonable for daily cruise modes.

CAI: I think I have this covered from the Jannetty thread but plug away as you'd like.

Tuners: It's hard to shake a stick at Jannetty's threads and his consistent professional input to this forum. That takes lots of time and his skills are obviously there. I will most likely reward him with my hard earned dollars for these reasons.

Ok, these seem to be the obvious bolt ons. I'm open minded to others and I would like to hear from you guys. Of course, we all love cheap, reliable, daily driver HP gains.

Many thanks!

[The Stig]

first congrats on the new camaro and welcome to camaro5.

Exhaust: you won't really see any HP gains from a catback/axle-back, pretty much they are for sound. You can search around and find an exhaust that you like, most are OK with drone and such. May I suggest the Borla Touring exhaust, it's a bit louder than stock but not unbearable. When you install a bolt on part you only void the warranty for that part. Meaning they will still do warranty work on the rest of your car. If you want to stay away from loud and NASCAR then you might want to get shorty headers as LT headers are a bit noisy.

CAI: Jannetty thread has everything you need. I personally am running an Injen, but at the end of the day it is really a matter of personal choice.

Tuners: Ted is great to work with and his mail order tunes are phenomenal, can't go wrong.

[1WILDSScmrg]

I have a CAI intake and Flow Master 44’s with the resonators cut out. It sounds great. If you want it to be a little quieter just keep the resonators on.

[siriusdish]

Dyno tune, NO mail order!

[BowlingSS]

Welcome to the site. Since you do not want to tune you are limited to your mods. I would not consider headers.

A catback will make it sound better but not much or none on the HP gains.

A good CAI will help some. I have a CAI, Inc with an ADM scoop. It also cleans up the engine bay.

I also have a catch can and breather. The catch can really catches oil from getting into the intake.

I also have a L99. I have just added a XSPower System. I am working on a tune right now. The trans tune made all the difference in the world.

I would also check you MAF to make sure it is a strong one. It helped my baby run better from take off.

Good luck on modding your car. Let's see a picture.

Bill

[The Stig]

+1 on the catch can. I would highly recommend one.

[Juiced1]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the new ride.

We would recommend a intake and a catback. You won't see much gain out of your catback so look into one that you can live with the sound on. If you don't like drone or anything crazy loud Corsa is a great option. As far as the intake is concerned we recommend CAI or Roto-Fab. They are our better sellers and get tons of good reviews. When you're ready we can create a nice custom package deal for you with a Camaro5 discount!

[JCL-2SS]

I went to Jannetty and couldnt be happier, was just there for Dynatech headers, high-flow cats and a retune, the results were great. i also have the flowmaster catback and a CAI intake, underdrive pulley, check out my sound files i posted

[Fireslayer]

Thanks for the welcomes and the replies! I just reread my original post and I think I should add some more.

I would like to shoot for a 30-50+ HP gain. No cam, no NOS, no supercharger. Exhaust, intake, tune (mail or dyno), and maybe a throttle body or pulley. I'd like to find a "package" or something that will work well without a bunch of monkeying around. I'm not a drag strip guy or street racer--although I am a fan of the Fast and Furious movies Nonetheless, fiddleing around with a car on a regular basis isn't something I want to do--would of bought vintage if that was the case. I'd like to "bolt on" once and be done.

I would like to be under or around $2K when finished. Hope this helps.

Ok, some more questions: Shorty headers--they are more quiet I assume? What kind of HP difference exist between them and traditional headers? I guess "traditional headers" are "LT's"??? Long tubes?

Could a shorty header system of some sort with CAI and a "mail" tune get me up to 50+ HP. I'd love to hear about some gains from baseline stock with something along these lines.

Is an email tune, from the likes of Jannetty or others, as good as a dyno tune? I wouldn't be willing to pay hundreds more to squeeze out an extra 3 HP that the dyno tune would give me in comparison to the SCT or email tune. 20 years ago--no wife, kids, mortgage--would of been a different story.

I've listened to some sound clips on youtube but there's too many variables, IMO, to gain any real accuracy from these. I did listen to a guy's LS3 with the GM catback exhaust and CAI at the grocery store. It sounded really nice. He told me it was good--according to them--for an extra 30 HP. I'm sure they wouldn't lie to him. Anyways.....thanks for the input. I appreciate you guys taking the time to reply.

[Gbusy06]

Welcome; I would encourage you to look at the 1/4 mile times and mods for starters. I like my Lts, vararam cai and mail order tune. With this combo, I ran 12.20s. I do have a stall now too. With the stall, I only picked up a 10th with a 12.12(on stock radials in good air). I added drag radials but too warm now to realize benefits. Oh, I have owned mustangs too. I like them all!!!

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Fireslayer

Ok, some more questions: Shorty headers--they are more quiet I assume? What kind of HP difference exist between them and traditional headers? I guess "traditional headers" are "LT's"??? Long tubes?
Shorties are quiter than long tube headers yes, but you lose gains. LT headers can get you roughly 50+ rwhp where as shorty headers you are probably in the 20-25 range
Could a shorty header system of some sort with CAI and a "mail" tune get me up to 50+ HP. I'd love to hear about some gains from baseline stock with something along these lines.
eh.....possibly? It'd be close. I can't see you getting anything more than 50 though, beyond that is pushing it.
Is an email tune, from the likes of Jannetty or others, as good as a dyno tune? I wouldn't be willing to pay hundreds more to squeeze out an extra 3 HP that the dyno tune would give me in comparison to the SCT or email tune. 20 years ago--no wife, kids, mortgage--would of been a different story.
yes and no, a dyno tune can be considered better because the tuner is able to work with the car until he gets it right. But Ted lets you data log and through sending the data back and forth I'd say he could get you a tune just as good as if it were on a dyno
I've listened to some sound clips on youtube but there's too many variables, IMO, to gain any real accuracy from these. I did listen to a guy's LS3 with the GM catback exhaust and CAI at the grocery store. It sounded really nice. He told me it was good--according to them--for an extra 30 HP. I'm sure they wouldn't lie to him. Anyways.....thanks for the input. I appreciate you guys taking the time to reply.
They lied, no way he's getting +30 hp from a catback and a CAI.

My comments are in red

[Birm]

Originally Posted by stieger

My comments are in red

+1 on Steigers comments...30hp is a stretch...

[Supercharged SS]

Jannetty has a package already to go for you and his customer service is the best for these cars. You'll be much happier and better of with the SCT handheld. It will allow you to grow and add parts without having to keep paying for dyno tunes among other attributes. And as for those that say a dyno tune is better.....well let's just say my car is tuned with the SCT and logs at the track and I couldn't be happier. A dyno tune isn't the be all end all. Ted is the master of the A6 tune.

[axis]

Shorty's gain you little to nothing and are considered a sound/sight mod. Catbacks are strictly a sound mod. The only places to get HP, without going into the engine, are intake, LT's, and a tune. A small amount has been noted from a ported TB. A good intake and tune will net you around 20-30whp. Since exhaust won't net you much if any, i'd look for a axle back since the difference between a catback and axleback is just piping. Obviously the axleback is cheaper. There is a weight savings from cutting out the OEM resonator/Hpipe section and replacing it with a X pipe.

On a side note, you might consider some suspension upgrades. These cars BEG for a better set of sway bars and to be lowered. You'll be suprised at just how much better your car will handle with springs and sways. They are also easy upgrades that can be done in your driveway.