Here is a list of basic bolt-ons that will give you good power increases.
1. Cold air intake and tune* - This will give your vastly increased throttle response, and a good bit more power. You cannot go wrong with any of these three. Personally, I have the JLT and it is not the nicest of the bunch, but it still gets the job done. C&L, JLT, or Steeda. All three of these intakes require computer retunes. The cars that have automatic transmissions will benefit the most from this mod. The tune completely changes how the transmission shifts for the better. Regardless of what transmission your car has, when you get done uploading that tune and you take her for a spin, the smile won't leave your face. I guarantee you that.
Note- It is recommended that you purchase your CAI and a tuner at the same time.
2. Tuner - This is required after most mods. It changes certain engine parameters to get the most out of your new mods. There are several companies that offer good mail order tunes, those are American Muscle Bamachips, Brenspeed, VMP Tuning, and Tillman Speed.
Keep in mind that these mail order tunes are great for the basic mods that are listed here, but as you start adding more serious stuff, such as cams, nitrous or a supercharger it is recommended that you get your car custom dyno tuned.
3. Axle back exhaust - No power gains here, but it will add a nice tone to your exhaust. Check out YouTube and the exhaust sound thread for ideas.
4. Mid pipe** - This will give you a small power increase. There are three styles. H-pipe, X-pipe and Prochamber. The style you choose should depend on your choice of axle backs. X-pipes make slightly more power than the other styles, but not enough to influence your decision on what style to go with, you decision should be based off of sound. H-pipes tend to deliver a deeper, throaty sound while x-pipes are more of a raspy sound that isn't as deep as the h-pipe. The pro chamber is more or less in between the other two. After you choose which style you want, you have to decide if you want and off-rad pipe, meaning there are no catalytic converters, or catted, which means there are catalytic converters. The off-road designs will make the exhaust louder, and will gain more power over the catted designs. The catch is that they are not legal to drive on the street. You can get away with it in states that do not require emissions inspections, and there are ways around the emissions testing. I am not advising you do either one, you have to do some homework and see which option is best for you.
The catted options will keep your car road legal in all but the strictest of states, California as an example. The exhaust will not be as loud when running cats.
5. Short throw shifter - This will help you bang through the gears faster, with less chance of missing one. The slack and the sloppiness that is in the stock shifter will be gone, and there will be a more positive feel and engagement. The most popular brands are MGW, Steeda, and Hurst.
6. Underdrive Pulleys - These will slow down the engine driven accessories and free up a few ponies. Not recommended if you are running a high-powered stereo. Steeda is the best.
7. Gears** - These are an awesome mod. There are no HP gains, but they multiply the torque that is already made making the car rev and accelerate faster. The two most popular ratio choices choices are 3.73 and 4.10. There is little difference in fuel economy between the two. If you ever plan on adding a supercharger, the 3.73s tend to be the best option, but this is another scenario where you need to do your own research and find out what will work best for you. If you never plan to add any kind of forced induction, 4.10s are the best option. FRPP is the best and most popular. Expect to pay around $300 for installation. DIY is not recommended unless you really know what you are doing.
8. Aluminum Driveshaft - These are good for a couple tenths off of your quarter mile time. They shed about 25 pounds of rotational weight off. The Spydershaft is a popular choice. There are several other brands available as well, those being Coast, The Drive shaft Shop, and Dynotech.
9. Lowering Springs - These will shed that annoying 4x4 like wheel gap for a nice, clean look. For a street cruiser or daily driver, I would recommend a progressive spring with a mild drop such as the Eibach Prokit or the BMR springs. These springs still afford good ground clearance, offer a comfortable ride, as well as good looks.
For those of you that are more serious about handling, the ones that are going to be autocrossing and such, you need to do your own research to find out what will work best for your specific needs.
10. Shocks and Struts - Aftermarket performance shocks and struts will give you less body roll, and will keep the car more stable and composed at high speeds, and other performance driving situations. For someone who does not race their car, but still enjoys a good curvy road these are a good choice for you. They will still offer a great performance increase while maintaining a comfortable ride.
As I said earlier, those folks who are going to be competing, or simply want their car's handling to be the best it can be, you need to do some more research on your own as to what suspension components will work best for you, and deliver the results you are looking for. There are far too many variables to offer up a one size fits all suggestion, that type of stuff needs to be answered on an individual, case by case basis.
11. Lower control arms - These will eliminate the wheel hop and allow you to hook better and launch harder. The ones who will benefit most from these are the drag racers, but these will help eliminate some of the slop in the suspension caused by the soft factory bushings and stamped steel control arms and have a positive effect on handling. Good brands are BMR, Steeda, CHE.
12. Long tube headers* - These allow to exhaust to flow much more freely, and in turn nets good power gains. Some popular brands are Kooks, ARH, Mac, JBA and BBK.
13. Tires - Let's face it, the stock tires just plain suck, especially the Pirellis that come on the 17 inch wheels. Upgrading your tires to summer performance tires provide a noticeable difference in every aspect of performance. A good size for the stock 17 inch wheels is a 255/50-17. A good tire is the Nitto NT555. For those of you with the factory 18 inch wheels, a good size option is a 255/45-18. Tires that I would recommend are the aforementioned Nitto NT555 or the BF Goodrich KDW NT.
Those tires listed above are the ones I would recommend for your daily driver. They will enhance off the line traction, and cornering grip, but not as much as a purpose built tire. If you are looking for one of those specific traits, there are better options. These tires are best described as a jack of all trades, master of none.
* Requires a re-tune
** For gears, speedometer needs to be reprogrammed, for midpipe, it depends if it is offroad or catted.
Some things to stay away from:
-Throttle body spacers, they do nothing.
-Throttle bodies themselves, unless you are putting over 500hp to the ground
-Catbacks, all they do is replace piping that is already on your car, with piping that doesn't flow any better.
One last piece of advice, before you start buying mods, you need to sit down and figure out what your goals are. Once you know what you want to do with the car, you need to figure out how you are going to do it. You need to plan out what you are going to do with the car so you don't end up buying something that you are just going to have to take of later. For example, you wouldn't want to add longtube headers if you plan on adding a front mount turbo system in the future, or buy wheels that won't fit the big brake system you want to add.
By planning out what you want to do with the car before you start modding it, it makes the whole process easier and it will save you time, and money.
Happy Modding
1. Cold air intake and tune* - This will give your vastly increased throttle response, and a good bit more power. You cannot go wrong with any of these three. Personally, I have the JLT and it is not the nicest of the bunch, but it still gets the job done. C&L, JLT, or Steeda. All three of these intakes require computer retunes. The cars that have automatic transmissions will benefit the most from this mod. The tune completely changes how the transmission shifts for the better. Regardless of what transmission your car has, when you get done uploading that tune and you take her for a spin, the smile won't leave your face. I guarantee you that.
Note- It is recommended that you purchase your CAI and a tuner at the same time.
2. Tuner - This is required after most mods. It changes certain engine parameters to get the most out of your new mods. There are several companies that offer good mail order tunes, those are American Muscle Bamachips, Brenspeed, VMP Tuning, and Tillman Speed.
Keep in mind that these mail order tunes are great for the basic mods that are listed here, but as you start adding more serious stuff, such as cams, nitrous or a supercharger it is recommended that you get your car custom dyno tuned.
3. Axle back exhaust - No power gains here, but it will add a nice tone to your exhaust. Check out YouTube and the exhaust sound thread for ideas.
4. Mid pipe** - This will give you a small power increase. There are three styles. H-pipe, X-pipe and Prochamber. The style you choose should depend on your choice of axle backs. X-pipes make slightly more power than the other styles, but not enough to influence your decision on what style to go with, you decision should be based off of sound. H-pipes tend to deliver a deeper, throaty sound while x-pipes are more of a raspy sound that isn't as deep as the h-pipe. The pro chamber is more or less in between the other two. After you choose which style you want, you have to decide if you want and off-rad pipe, meaning there are no catalytic converters, or catted, which means there are catalytic converters. The off-road designs will make the exhaust louder, and will gain more power over the catted designs. The catch is that they are not legal to drive on the street. You can get away with it in states that do not require emissions inspections, and there are ways around the emissions testing. I am not advising you do either one, you have to do some homework and see which option is best for you.
The catted options will keep your car road legal in all but the strictest of states, California as an example. The exhaust will not be as loud when running cats.
5. Short throw shifter - This will help you bang through the gears faster, with less chance of missing one. The slack and the sloppiness that is in the stock shifter will be gone, and there will be a more positive feel and engagement. The most popular brands are MGW, Steeda, and Hurst.
6. Underdrive Pulleys - These will slow down the engine driven accessories and free up a few ponies. Not recommended if you are running a high-powered stereo. Steeda is the best.
7. Gears** - These are an awesome mod. There are no HP gains, but they multiply the torque that is already made making the car rev and accelerate faster. The two most popular ratio choices choices are 3.73 and 4.10. There is little difference in fuel economy between the two. If you ever plan on adding a supercharger, the 3.73s tend to be the best option, but this is another scenario where you need to do your own research and find out what will work best for you. If you never plan to add any kind of forced induction, 4.10s are the best option. FRPP is the best and most popular. Expect to pay around $300 for installation. DIY is not recommended unless you really know what you are doing.
8. Aluminum Driveshaft - These are good for a couple tenths off of your quarter mile time. They shed about 25 pounds of rotational weight off. The Spydershaft is a popular choice. There are several other brands available as well, those being Coast, The Drive shaft Shop, and Dynotech.
9. Lowering Springs - These will shed that annoying 4x4 like wheel gap for a nice, clean look. For a street cruiser or daily driver, I would recommend a progressive spring with a mild drop such as the Eibach Prokit or the BMR springs. These springs still afford good ground clearance, offer a comfortable ride, as well as good looks.
For those of you that are more serious about handling, the ones that are going to be autocrossing and such, you need to do your own research to find out what will work best for your specific needs.
10. Shocks and Struts - Aftermarket performance shocks and struts will give you less body roll, and will keep the car more stable and composed at high speeds, and other performance driving situations. For someone who does not race their car, but still enjoys a good curvy road these are a good choice for you. They will still offer a great performance increase while maintaining a comfortable ride.
As I said earlier, those folks who are going to be competing, or simply want their car's handling to be the best it can be, you need to do some more research on your own as to what suspension components will work best for you, and deliver the results you are looking for. There are far too many variables to offer up a one size fits all suggestion, that type of stuff needs to be answered on an individual, case by case basis.
11. Lower control arms - These will eliminate the wheel hop and allow you to hook better and launch harder. The ones who will benefit most from these are the drag racers, but these will help eliminate some of the slop in the suspension caused by the soft factory bushings and stamped steel control arms and have a positive effect on handling. Good brands are BMR, Steeda, CHE.
12. Long tube headers* - These allow to exhaust to flow much more freely, and in turn nets good power gains. Some popular brands are Kooks, ARH, Mac, JBA and BBK.
13. Tires - Let's face it, the stock tires just plain suck, especially the Pirellis that come on the 17 inch wheels. Upgrading your tires to summer performance tires provide a noticeable difference in every aspect of performance. A good size for the stock 17 inch wheels is a 255/50-17. A good tire is the Nitto NT555. For those of you with the factory 18 inch wheels, a good size option is a 255/45-18. Tires that I would recommend are the aforementioned Nitto NT555 or the BF Goodrich KDW NT.
Those tires listed above are the ones I would recommend for your daily driver. They will enhance off the line traction, and cornering grip, but not as much as a purpose built tire. If you are looking for one of those specific traits, there are better options. These tires are best described as a jack of all trades, master of none.
* Requires a re-tune
** For gears, speedometer needs to be reprogrammed, for midpipe, it depends if it is offroad or catted.
Some things to stay away from:
-Throttle body spacers, they do nothing.
-Throttle bodies themselves, unless you are putting over 500hp to the ground
-Catbacks, all they do is replace piping that is already on your car, with piping that doesn't flow any better.
One last piece of advice, before you start buying mods, you need to sit down and figure out what your goals are. Once you know what you want to do with the car, you need to figure out how you are going to do it. You need to plan out what you are going to do with the car so you don't end up buying something that you are just going to have to take of later. For example, you wouldn't want to add longtube headers if you plan on adding a front mount turbo system in the future, or buy wheels that won't fit the big brake system you want to add.
By planning out what you want to do with the car before you start modding it, it makes the whole process easier and it will save you time, and money.
Happy Modding
Now it's time to put in some work