Help please

['00T/A]

hey everybody im in a bit of a delima with my T/A, im in highschool and money is tight and im trying to decide where to spend it first, ive got about 2 grand saved and when i was ready to start spending i was overwhelmed with the amount of things i wanted to do, and the cost of those things....if you guys could provide some advice it would be greatly appreciated....first i was looking at a full exhaust system(pacesetter LTs with texas speed mid pipe and borla adjustable catback), total is about $1300. but then i also really want the ram air hood, which painted comes out to about $1200. but i also want to lower my car and do various suspension work(shocks springs subframe connectors sway bars and torque arm) not sure how much this one would run me, i havent priced it all yet, and lastly but on the back burner i also want some Z06 wheels, around a $1000. if anyone could give me some advice i would greatly appreciate it thanks alot

btw my car is a 2000 A4 pewter trans am non ws6
mike

[joejenkinsglass]

you are brave asking for opinions/advice my 2 cents= if the car isnt paid for do that first then suspension most headers are easier to install with tubular k-members

[nhraformula]

for an A4 car, a stall converter is the best mod you can do.
for example, i paid about 1300 total for my tci stall, trans cooler, shift kit, labor and tuning.
with the 700 hundred you have left, you can get a high dollar exhaust like borla or corsa, but you also can get a hooker or magnaflow for around 400 and they give about the same h.p gains as all the other exhausts.
with the 300 left, you will need a set of nitto 555r tires so you can hook.

[2000T/A Guru]

I wouldnt go with a stall first

['00T/A]

what would you do T/A guru

[Y2KPewterSS]

I would do a stall and exhaust first to an automatic LS1. The stall will show more gains than exhaust.

[Jray67]

Depending on how far you are going with the car, the most seat of the pants feel is going to be with a gear. I would go for the upgraded rear though, 12 bolt or 9 inch. Only bad thing is it would suck up all your money in one shot, but you would never have to worry about it again. You could try just a new gear set in your 10 bolt, but I broke 3 sets with just bolt ons. I have a 6 speed though. I am not sure about what ratio. 4.11 is the only way to go with a 6 speed. I heard alot of A4s running 3.73. You will have a blast no matter what you do with the money. Good luck and have fun.

[0utLawTransAm]

slp has a head cam package for about 1700 that will give almost 80 - 100 hp that what i would spend it on

['00T/A]

damn ill have to check out that package

[0utLawTransAm]

go to slponline.com come with everything u need to do the install and go to ls1howtwo.com for how to do it they have a full right up on it with many pics and edvice only take 1-2 days for a novice

['00T/A]

i wasnt seeing any package for that cheap, cheapest i saw was around 2500

[Redphoenix1998]

Personal opinion, if you're going to mod with a cam later, I wouldn't spend the money on a stall yet. I'd would do the basic bolt ons first, header to catback and intake lid. With the leftover, get a lower control arm panhard rod rear suspension package and you'll be good. So with that said, you said you can score the exhaust for 1300 right? So add in a lid. LS6 intake that's about $1700 and LCA's and Panhard rod for about $200, you'll be right there. Then if you have some extra, get a ported TB, a few free mods, and you've got a decent T/A that can put the power to the ground, sounds good, and flows well. that's my opinion

[Redphoenix1998]

Oh and then go to LS1howto.com or research how to do your own labor to save even more money. It's easy. Then if you really get Brave, Save up another $1200 or so cause you'll be ready for a cam, tuning, and stall matched to the cam

['00T/A]

yea that sounds like a pretty good plan, ill let you know how things work out, thanks for the advice every body

[Redphoenix1998]

no problem

[silverTA2002]

Don't forget about labor. That can be very expensive. Here's an idea on how much things costed for me. You can take out labor if you do everything yourself.

PARTS LABOR
Holley Powershot filter $50
SLP airbox lid $120
Shaner S3 ported throttle body $100 $100
Jet Hot long tube headers $600 $500
Jet Hot catted Y pipe $400
Dynomax ultraflow muffler $150 $100
3" round stainless steel tips $100
Comp cams 220/224 .581 114lsa cam $300 $300
Hp tuners full custom tune $500
TEA stage 1.5 5.3 ported and polished heads $1,800 $500
Dual valve springs, titanium retainers, chromoly pushrods

Suspension
Hotchkis strut tower brase $150
Hotchkis boxed lower control arms $300
UMI boxed subframe connectors $150
Edelbrock panhard rod $140 $200

Other
Throttle body bypass
Skip shift eliminator $35
Moser 9" rear end, 31 spline moser axles, Motive 4.11 gear $2,000 $800


Then of course there are all the random things like fluids, gaskets, timing chain, new oil pump, etc. that go with any major install. It always ends up costing more than you think. But, in the end, these cars respond great to mods.

[Heartbreak1]

hey everybody im in a bit of a delima with my T/A, im in highschool and money is tight and im trying to decide where to spend it first, ive got about 2 grand saved and when i was ready to start spending i was overwhelmed with the amount of things i wanted to do, and the cost of those things....if you guys could provide some advice it would be greatly appreciated....first i was looking at a full exhaust system(pacesetter LTs with texas speed mid pipe and borla adjustable catback), total is about $1300. but then i also really want the ram air hood, which painted comes out to about $1200. but i also want to lower my car and do various suspension work(shocks springs subframe connectors sway bars and torque arm) not sure how much this one would run me, i havent priced it all yet, and lastly but on the back burner i also want some Z06 wheels, around a $1000. if anyone could give me some advice i would greatly appreciate it thanks alot

btw my car is a 2000 A4 pewter trans am non ws6
mike

LMAO Dude, I was in the same situation when I got mine. The difference was I already had my hood so all I needed to do was get it painted.

I decided to go with my wheels and tires first. I needed new tread bad so I decided to ditch the aluminum twisties at the same time and go for a set of Black Chrome C6's. All thats really done to my car right now is appearance stuff and I still love it. Its got enough power to start with that you can hold off until your done giving it that added flair. Im almost done with appearance stuff, all I have left to do is my lowering springs and some small paint work stuff (CETA, Front license plate filler). After that im plunging into an exhaust and later a torque converter.

Just something to think about.