advice on performance upgrades.

jhopdawg · 08-28-2005, 03:27 PM

Hey I just bought a 2000 black ws-6 trans am. I am looking to put a little bit of money into it. I would appreciate suggestions on what things I should do first without breaking the budget. I was thinking some koni adjustables, exhaust, and maybe some computer work. would sway bars help much? how about upgrading to auburn rear differential? also advice on products for the things I want to do. thanks for any help. I am not interested in superchargers or nitrous. too much. thanks again.

BBATCAR · 08-28-2005, 07:32 PM

CatBack and intake/Air lid first assuming your car is stock, if it is a WS6, you can remove the baffles and seal the hood to the air box. Good gain with these two + 30 miles more per tank full,,I actually changed the muffler on my WS6 to a Magnaflow and got good gains for $200. Added tips later. Lid is about $100, seal to the hood only a couple bucks doing it yourself.

I then changed the front rotors, due to multiple warping. I went with Baer Eradispeed with stock pads, $400 but what a difference. Subframe weld-in connectors are a must $200-$300, after that ??? Gears, shocks, suspension, etc...

**Zboner** · 08-28-2005, 07:48 PM

Originally Posted by jhopdawg

Hey I just bought a 2000 black ws-6 trans am. I am looking to put a little bit of money into it. I would appreciate suggestions on what things I should do first without breaking the budget. I was thinking some koni adjustables, exhaust, and maybe some computer work. would sway bars help much? how about upgrading to auburn rear differential? also advice on products for the things I want to do. thanks for any help. I am not interested in superchargers or nitrous. too much. thanks again.

start saving for a new clutch, it wont be long at all

**2KTA** · 08-28-2005, 11:12 PM

one step at a time.... get you a decent exhaust and then an air lid! i have a borla catback and i heard it sounds great with some longtubes and an offroad x pipe, but to each his own!

**bbfirebird** · 08-29-2005, 06:51 AM

1. Subframe connectors- stiffens the chassis, eliminates some squeaks & rattles, helps in weight transfer and traction. A must-have mod.
2. Air lid- one of the best bang-for-the-buck mods you can get. About $100, and a noticeable improvement in throttle response & power.
3. Catback- do this for the sound. Since you have a WS6, you already have a 2.75" exhaust. Going to 3" isn't going to give you a noticeable increase in power, but it will sound much better.

The rest of the mods you can do depend on what you're planning on doing with the car. The best thing to do is come up with a list of what you want to do to the car over time. This will save money because you won't buy mods that will become needless later on because of other mods.

jhopdawg · 08-29-2005, 11:45 AM

I have been looking and I found a hotchkis suspension kit that does it all I think. It's $1300 but it has subframe connectors, sport springs, adj. pan hard rod(?no idea what this is?), sport sways, strut tower brace, and rear trailing arms. all matched components. any feedback on performance of this product?

I am really happy about everyones input. thanks.

so I am for sure buying an mti airbox lid and a granatelli mass air flow sensor, probably a predator programmer, and a catback system(undecided brand).

undecided- auburn differential, brakes, clutch
what is a smooth bellows? it goes in line with the air box but what would it give me performance wise?

thanks for helping a newbie.

**third_shift|studios** · 08-29-2005, 11:56 AM

DUDE! a programmer is 400$...just pay the 250 to get it tunes elsewhere by a pro.

Frankly, i'd wait until things break before you upgrad them-like the breaks and the clutch and the differential-spend the money later when you need too.

smoothbellow: look behind your airbox, see the rubber thing with all the folds in it that attaches your air box to the throttle body? those folds (bellows) trap/prevent air flow. A "smoothbellow" is a piece of rubber that has no folds (bellows) thus: is smooth

if you're gonna mod your exhaust-just do it right and ripp out the stock shit. Seriously, i think it'll sound and perform scads better if you just do it right, right off the bat instead of doing the y-pipe and back, then latter spending the money b/c you'll hear somebody's with headers and true duals and be like 'FUCK I SHOULDA DONE THAT!!!"

**bbfirebird** · 08-29-2005, 12:11 PM

stay away from the mass air flow sensor and the smooth bellows. a lot of people seem to have problems when they mess with the mass air flow sensors, and the smooth bellows is basically just a cosmetic product. might add like half of a horsepower.
buy a ported/polished throttlebody before a mass air flow and smooth bellows. you'll notice more of a difference. do a search for "shaner". i have an s3 throttlebody and it's great.

Beast · 08-29-2005, 03:15 PM

Suspension mods are always money well spent, and it looks like you're moving forward in the right direction there. I would suggest a set of Pace Setter headers and Y-pipe, a QTP electric cutout, and if you have the money and the know how (~$600 all parts combined (cam, springs, pushrods, gasket etc)), I would do a cam install... THEN get it tuned. All of that totals about $1300, and you should gain 60 HP - 100 HP if you pick the right setup.

Mark

**third_shift|studios** · 08-29-2005, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by Beast

Suspension mods are always money well spent, and it looks like you're moving forward in the right direction there. I would suggest a set of Pace Setter headers and Y-pipe, a QTP electric cutout, and if you have the money and the know how (~$600 all parts combined (cam, springs, pushrods, gasket etc)), I would do a cam install... THEN get it tuned. All of that totals about $1300, and you should gain 60 HP - 100 HP if you pick the right setup.

Mark

DAMN!!

jhopdawg · 08-30-2005, 08:57 AM

thanks for helping a newbie, your input has been very helpful to me. thanks a lot guys!!!!!!!!!!!

**Zboner** · 08-30-2005, 09:08 AM

yes dibt waist time or money on a bellow, there shit, it would be better to light a 50 dollar bill on fire and watch it burn, you yould get more pleasuer out of it that way

**third_shift|studios** · 08-30-2005, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by Zboner

yes dibt waist time or money on a bellow, there shit, it would be better to light a 50 dollar bill on fire and watch it burn, you yould get more pleasuer out of it that way

wow, tell us how you really feel.

Parkerinc · 09-01-2005, 02:09 AM

Originally Posted by bbfirebird

stay away from the mass air flow sensor and the smooth bellows. a lot of people seem to have problems when they mess with the mass air flow sensors, and the smooth bellows is basically just a cosmetic product. might add like half of a horsepower.
buy a ported/polished throttlebody before a mass air flow and smooth bellows. you'll notice more of a difference. do a search for "shaner". i have an s3 throttlebody and it's great.

Ditto to what he said, bellows make no change at all as far as HP and the Mass you have is good for a lot more horse tan you have now, wait and replace it when you get close to 500Hp....just my .02.
Having said all of that I agree with the SFC that should be the first thing on the car to avoid air leaks, t-top fit, more solid ride, better handling and so forth. From there a lid is a must along with my Fav inexpensive mod, QTP electric cutout, not a huge Hp gain or anything just a great sound. Free things you can do are EGR/air delete and a few more that escpape me at the moment. Have fun with your new girl I am sure youll love it.