Quick Q About Mods...

**navyLS1** · 10-18-2009, 07:05 AM

...I'm new. I bought a Trans am from a guy with a bad rep, so I stripped it down and out to clean it and before I put it back together I painted it. I love the car but looking to upgrade. I have a WS6 hood but not the cold air intake system. It also has a performance clutch and 3.41 gears. Off road y-pipe and flowmaster muffler.

So here's my questions:
1 - What's a good aftermarket cold air intake?
2 - Does the replacement underdrive pulley make a difference in power?
3 - What's a good mild cam size, and/or company to get?
4 - Anything else I haven't tought of, feel free to add

I'll post pics whenever I figure out how.

**Numba1TA** · 10-18-2009, 08:16 AM

I feel that the K&N FIPK is a good cold air intake. We have good sponsors here and you can find just about anything you need. I suggest getting some LT headers or some kind of performance cat-back and upgrade to 4.10 gears. should be a good starter,

**joedude02** · 10-18-2009, 08:50 AM

definitely get gears. i see that you're in the navy. the base hobby shop can get those installed for cheap. that and a good clutch, but be ready to upgrade the MC or mod it. use the sites search feature. tons of info on your exact question.

hmmm.... after my second observation the 'navy' may just be the color of your car. my bad, so if you don't have that privilege to use military base hobby shop, beware of scam auto shops.

**navyLS1** · 10-18-2009, 03:29 PM

hahaha sorry to mislead anybody by the name. The color of the car is Navy. I do most of my mine own mechanics and body work because I know about the shady jobs shops will do. But I've heard 4.10s in these are too much for a somewhat daily driver/weekend toy...

BTW, how do I load a picture?

**Pickle86** · 10-18-2009, 03:38 PM

http://imageshack.us/
use this to post pics.

**joedude02** · 10-18-2009, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by navyLS1

hahaha sorry to mislead anybody by the name. The color of the car is Navy. I do most of my mine own mechanics and body work because I know about the shady jobs shops will do. But I've heard 4.10s in these are too much for a somewhat daily driver/weekend toy...

BTW, how do I load a picture?

i read here that someone figured out that they only lost like 2 mpg with the 4.10's. definitely do the 4.10's since you got a M6. the best bang for your buck.

**97ramair** · 10-18-2009, 03:47 PM

4:10s arent too much actually they are a lot of fun but be prepared to lose some top end speed. Go w/ LT, throttle body, intake, etc. Bolt ons are good but if you want serious power then you're gonna have to shell out some $ for NOS, or charger, or some engine work. At that point though $ flows b/c you're gonna neeed a rear. A dyno tune will bring out some hp too and make sure evrything is in check.

**blackbirdbrain89** · 10-18-2009, 03:52 PM

4.11s are going to be weaker then 3.42, mild cam and bolt ons is more then what a 7.625 rear can hold up, people break the stock rears on stock power all the time by adding a cam with out an axle, u better have a 2nd car.

... u can add long tubes and intake and u wont be as likely to break any thing but the ls1s come alive with a simple cam swap, u better off beefing up ur drive train b4 u add heads or cams or no2, blower, trust me i broke my stock rear 5 times once at the track with 255 street tires the rears are junk invest ur money wisely

**FORD RECOVERY EXPERT** · 10-18-2009, 04:09 PM

KYSPEED.com

**02transamce** · 10-18-2009, 06:49 PM

+1 on the exhaust,long tube headers,y-pipe,and a good performance catback really help a ls1 breathe.i know you said cold air intake,but a slp lid and k&n filter combo is widely used on some very fast f-bodies and is less expensive than a k&n cold air kit(fipk).

**Kaotic_ws6** · 10-19-2009, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by 97ramair

4:10s arent too much actually they are a lot of fun but be prepared to lose some top end speed. Go w/ LT, throttle body, intake, etc. Bolt ons are good but if you want serious power then you're gonna have to shell out some $ for NOS, or charger, or some engine work. At that point though $ flows b/c you're gonna neeed a rear. A dyno tune will bring out some hp too and make sure evrything is in check.

ive got 4.10s and there awesome. youve still got enough top speed to s**t your pants.

**Kaotic_ws6** · 10-19-2009, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by blackbirdbrain89

4.11s are going to be weaker then 3.42, mild cam and bolt ons is more then what a 7.625 rear can hold up, people break the stock rears on stock power all the time by adding a cam with out an axle, u better have a 2nd car.

... u can add long tubes and intake and u wont be as likely to break any thing but the ls1s come alive with a simple cam swap, u better off beefing up ur drive train b4 u add heads or cams or no2, blower, trust me i broke my stock rear 5 times once at the track with 255 street tires the rears are junk invest ur money wisely

ive still got my stock rear and i put the pounding to it!

**silverWS6** · 10-19-2009, 09:28 PM

Originally Posted by Kaotic_ws6

ive still got my stock rear and i put the pounding to it!

Me too!

starting to hear a litle whinning though

**Kaotic_ws6** · 10-19-2009, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by silverWS.6

Me too!

starting to hear a litle whinning though

yea but i figured mine wouldnt last at all! with 420 rwhp, but its holdin up like a champ. what mods you got?

**35th-ANV-SS** · 10-19-2009, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Kaotic_ws6

yea but i figured mine wouldnt last at all! with 420 rwhp, but its holdin up like a champ. what mods you got?

What tires do you have? The answer to this question will be the reason why is my guess.

**Kaotic_ws6** · 10-19-2009, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by 35th-ANV-SS

What tires do you have? The answer to this question will be the reason why is my guess.

ive got bridgestone potenzas, 305/30zr/19s out back. suprisingly they dead hook from a 20 and 30 roll. but the cost 409 a tire

**suede** · 10-20-2009, 12:06 AM

1. Volant...
2. Power somewhat yes, but you'll notice it rev up faster more than anything
3. Custom grind.... not hardly any more than a stock grind and will be way better than any shelf brand

as far as gears go, beware that its going to put more stress on your axles and they may snap, so you may want to wait till you upgrade your rear before gears, but it all depends on your plans

your setup would benefit pretty well with some long tube headers too...

**navyLS1** · 10-20-2009, 07:19 PM

Thanks for advice. This leads me to another question, long tube headers...I've always been told they're pointless unless your pushing 500HP/Torque. So is it the sound that everyone enjoys or does GM 350s react totally different to headers than Ford's 302/351?

What about shorties? Anybody running them?

**35th-ANV-SS** · 10-20-2009, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by navyLS1

Thanks for advice. This leads me to another question, long tube headers...I've always been told they're pointless unless your pushing 500HP/Torque. So is it the sound that everyone enjoys or does GM 350s react totally different to headers than Ford's 302/351?

What about shorties? Anybody running them?

The stock intake on our cars, along with the exhaust, is VERY restrictive. You will see some nice HP gains from LTs. All I have done to mine (engine/HP wise) is LTs, ORY, Lid, and exhaust and I DYNO'd 330whp and 342wtq on a Mustang DYNO. Typically LS1's DYNO around 280-290 on a Mustang DYNO (308-319 on a DYNO Jet). That is going through a Moser 9" rear end, which is the least efficient of the bunch as far as drive train loss goes.

So as you can see, I picked up quite a bit just from basically letting it breathe. Oh, and the sound of headers with exhaust is