What Should I Do First?

[JRODRIGUEZ]

I Have A 2001 A4 Ss W/ Some Slp Upgrades According To The Stickers On The Side Of My Door. Like Ibach Susp, "auburn" (dont Know What That Is) And Exaust (although I Think The Guy Who Owened It Before Me Change It To A Flow Master B/c Thats What It Has Now). I Read The Complete Bolt On List And I Am Still A Little Confused. Keep In Mind I Just Got My Ss In Jan And Have Yet To Learn All The Wonderfull Knowledge Most Of You Guys Already Have. So Please Enlighten Me, Is A Customed Tune The Same As A Programer? And Should I Do That First? Or Should I Begin My Mods And Upgrades In Another Area? Any Help Will Do.
Thanks

[0rion]

I would suggest to read a bunch before doing anything so you have an idea of what your options are. There's a ton of info out there and the people here will be more than willing to help you. Remember, money usually dictates mods. If you have tons of cash throw a blower or turbo on it and be done. If you're married then just work your way through the bolt on and free stuff first up to whatever goal you have.
Most peoples first mod is an aftermarket lid. Can be had for about $100 and personal preference usually dictates which brand. GMS posts at this site and is a sponsor so I would look at their lid or an SLP lid.
Being you have an auto the single best mod you can do is a stall convertor as far as ET gained for your dollar. Again, money will dictate which way you go. I'm a huge fan of Fuddle and run a 3500 in my car. They're in the neighborhood of $400 and will gain you .3-.5 in the quarter. Vigilante is another brand that's much more expensive but is considered probably top of the line.
Long tube headers are another good choice. Tons of different brands out there in a bunch of price ranges.
I'm also a fan of the electric cutout. I have one on mine and love it. It's just a fun toy to have around more than anything else.
There's a complete list of free mods and easy bolt on mods floating around. The ones I listed are just a couple and like I said, it depends on personal preference and money as to what/when you want to do stuff. Ask a bunch of questions and you'll get a ton of answers to all of them.
Tunes and programmers kinda come with the mods. Some stuff you do will require you to have a tuner of some sort to keep the car running right and keep the SES light off. That just depends on the mods you do. There's tuning software that lets you have infinite control over your pcm, there are tuners out there that will do it for you for a not so small fee, there are mail order tunes where you send your pcm in to have a tune flashed to it, and there are handhelds that allow you to make only limited changes to the pcm but the handheld has come a long way in the last few years. Predator for example will let you make quite a few changes and in a mildly modded car will do just fine. If you have dreams of heads/cam and bigger type stuff like that a predator probably isn't the best way to go. Hopefully this helps you some and don't be afraid to ask a bunch of questions. I just touched on a few things you can do but there's alot of other things you can do also.

[99blueZ]

a custom tune is done at a performance shop and a programmer you use yourself. A custom tune is more expensive. You won't need a custom tune until you have big mods like a cam. A programmer might be the way to go since you have an A4. It lets you change redlines, remove tourqe managment, improve shifts. But probably the most common first mod is an air lid. Its only around $90 and they are pretty much all the same. Mine is from SLP. Check this out. http://www.motorsporttech.com/press/...ay2004_02.html

[jmhvenom]

flowmaster sucks first of all. you want it tuned after you do some mods. Look up installuniversity and do the free mods. After that, You should get a lid (SLP, Granitelli, Whisper) for around 100. K&N filter, Electric cutout for around 200 will bypass the exhaust completely and get good gains, Pacesetter offroad ypipe and LT headers will run ya 500 or so.. Depending on the size you have, I would get some 3.73 gears for it that are about 200, and then the biggest gain you will see by far is a torque converter. Go with a Vig stall over 3000rpm. That will good you very far into the 12s, get a good set of drag radials and you will be cookin. Also, get a tune after all that cause you will need it.

[JRODRIGUEZ]

Thanks Fellas. Will Kepp Al Advice In Mind And Contenue To Read And Learn ...