May pull my 1996 CE C4 from sale and go for some simple performance mods. It has KN Filter and walker mufflers. Without major changes to exhaust (in MO have emissions to pass) anything else to recommend. Does anyone think drilled and slotted rotors hurt the car, dont want to change the CE calipers

 

drilled and slotted wont add a single thing to the car, waste of money.

You want better performance, do rear end gears.

Ive researched everything for my 96 CE with LT4. Seems its a TON of money to throw at the motor for not a lot of power improvement, and thats IF I can find somebody who can and will tune the thing. So I finally settled on doing gears, which is my winter project.

 

well you are a little ahead since you have the c4, my is not lt4. Already have performance axle may consider gears

 

You can customize your stock metal air intake box by opening up the top vented cover. Just use a jig saw with metal cutting blade to cut around the vented rectangle. This is a cheap way to get more air in and might help. Some here on the forum would say to replace the muffler resonator with an X-pipe.

 

Which axle do you have? Probably G44 which is 3.07.... 3.73 would wake that car up big time.

 

How long do you have to pass emissions till? https://www.dmv.com/mo/missouri/emissions-testing

The way I am reading it, you have a 1996 so it is NOT newer than, it is a 96. Or am I reading this wrong?

 

That link is wrong. It's not the official site for MO vehicle inspection requirements. https://dnr.mo.gov/gatewayvip/v-owne...st.htm]This is. Basically, OBD2 began in 1996 and all OBD2 cars in the listed counties need to pass emissions tests every two years. You might be able to get an exemption if you've own the vehicle for more than two years and it's passed emissions during that time and you're driving less that 6k miles in a year, or if the car is at least 25 years old.

That said, it's not hard to pass emissions after mods. You just have to buy and use the Jet DST suite of tuning software (it's basically Tunercat for OBD2 cars) and select "do not report" for the diagnostic tests you wouldn't pass. I believe you can also use it to recalibrate the speedo after changing rear gears.

OP, I agree with those saying you could benefit from a rear gear swap to a shorter ratio. Likewise, a looser torque converter would help it launch harder. You could also wake up that engine with a mild cam like the Hot Cam. If you are interested in changing the braking characteristics, just work with different pad compounds. As noted, drilled and slotted rotors won't do a thing, but pad compound changes will. If you're interested in handling mods, We can discuss spring and shock upgrades. A 96 was a very softly sprung car, and it benefits from stiffer springs. And tires are always the single biggest improvement you can make for improving cornering/braking/launch performance.

BTW, I'm in your area and do a lot of autocrossing in my pretty-non-stock 96. If you are interested in stretching your car's legs in a legal and safe way, please consider attending some local autocross events. You are welcome to PM me to get some info. This is a good way to also start seeing what changes are effective for improving performance outside of a drag strip.