I am thinking of picking up a 2002 coupe (auto). It currently has the LG longtubes as the only mod. I want to install mods so it can have some punch and want it to sound mean. I love the way they sound with a cam. what do you recommend? maybe a 5-7000 budget what will this get me? or is it not worth it. thanks

 

What's your goal?

 

My 99A4 coupe has all the bolt on mods. I have had it nearly 9 years longest car ever for me cause it is so friggin good. 5-7 in mods no need. Make it as you want it it really doesnt need to go any faster. It took me a long time to realize that. Buy it enjoy it and then do what you want. The A4 is the better drive train in my opinion and experience. If you mod too much you lose reliability and have to mod to accomodate the mods the A4 is good to 400rwhp Best of Luck

 

$5,000. - $7,000. ??? Buy a crate motor. Or for much, much less money cam it if you want, (I wouldn't want to put up with the rough idle myself) "X-Pipe" and cat-back system of your choice. That'll make her loud and marginally faster.
Use your savings for "noise pollution" tickets and rear tires.
Best wishes.
Glen

 

I too had a 99a4 before i bought my 02 z06.. What gear ratio does this car have? Stock 2.73 or optional G92 performance axle 3.15? Did the original owner put different gears in it maybe.. The gearing makes a big difference.. There are several options with the 5-7k you have to spend. Forced Induction, such as a supercharger? Heads and a cam with a good tune will get you well over 400rwhp.. What ever you decide you will need a new transmission for sure, so save a few grand for that. RPM Transmissions has the best reputation for building bullit proof 4l60e trannies... The A4 is the link weaklink with the c5 driveline, they are good for maybe 350rwhp, , Mine went out at around 40000 miles with 321rwhp. Heat is the killer of the a4 (2nd and 3rd gear clutch paks) Make sure to include a 2800-3200rpm torque converter and a seperate tranny cooler. with the rebuild

 

thanks for the responses

my goal is anywhere from 430 to 470 and 500 is not a must number. i just want to make it something that i am going to enjoy.

the car is pretty much stock and well taken care of.

when a torque converter is installed- does it still drive like an auto? do I have to hold a certain button or something?

Also, I heard that a supercharger is expensive on these for parts and labor- true?

I just want to see what direction most of the auto guys went- thanks

 

If u are gonna obtain your goal 430 to 470 rwhp then u are gonna have to have a huge camshaft over a 600 lift ,Not saying u cant obtain it.This will be a pain in the **** to drive on the street ,stop & go traffic ,Get a good tuner that can keep the car from bucking ,the Aftermarket converters for the a4 range from 2400 stall to 5500 stall ,i would put a 3200 yank or 3000 viglante,If u opt for a vig ,putting a 3000 would be like putting in a 3300,also change the gear ratio in the rear to @ Least a 3.42 & would probably opt to a 3:73,this gives u the best of both worlds @ the track .in the eight mile &quarter mile,in the eighth mile with the 3.42 gears it not quite enough for a H & C Cam car imo,but the 3.73 is just right ,Also this is just an opinion everyone has one ,& most vette owners that have made the swap Love the bigger converter & more gear,Also u see if u can drive a vette with the converter all ready in the car,this way u can make a decision based on the car u just drove ,not on what someone told u ,Someone told me when picking a converter go bigger,i went with a 3200 the 1st time & should have went with a 3600 ,it also depends on what your goals for the car is ,u may decide that 450 rwhp isnt enough & u may want more power ,if this is the case & u can afford it u can pick up a forged shortblck for around 3500 to 4k ,u can pick up a used converter on the forum fairly cheap ,Its a little easier to obtain the higher hp #s with the 6 speed,but the A4 is not an Dyno Queen ,u will kill a 6 speed @ the track with an a4 with the same setup ,but it doesnt dyno as high as the 6 speed.this has been my observation over the yrs with my a4,I reccomend a Nos 5177 kit dry kit, on top of the heads & cam or go straight to the Centr blower & a blower cam & 500rwhp should be very easy to obtain ,Have a happy new yr Ps u dont have to hold a button & it drives like stock until u stick your foot in the gas pedal,Btw u can pick up a New Supercharger kit for around 6500 dollars, & u will have to have it installed or u can install it ,this is 2k for a reputable shop to install there kit,also 500.00 is what it will cost u to tune the car the 1st time ,after this most shops will drop the price when they see u are spending your money with them .either way modding a c5 a4 is very expensive,the others are right ,u will kill your tranny on that amount of Rwhp & rwtq,be rdy to spend 2k on a nice tranny ,Mine went out with 350rwhp & 350rwtq ,tq & Heat is what kills these trannys

 

If you don't have 3.15's get 3.42's installed. Get a pro to tune it and you'll be right around 340 rwhp. From there the options are limitless. You might want to check out the Performance Results and FI/Nitrous sections for hard numbers. Use the search feature, it will get you the info a lot faster than waiting for a reply.

 

If you are on the east coast. The vendors out here have great supercharger specials going on. I have a head/cam package and love it.

 

If i were you and wanted to spend money in that ball park then i would suggest looking at turbo charging.

If you go with an aggressive cam you will also need a stall converter and then you might as well change out the gears at the same time.

Why are you chasing HP numbers? Do you race at the drag strip or street? Are you simply wanting to change the sound of your corvette with the cam?

 

The car has 2.73s I am in San Antonio

I do not want a cam that makes the car unenjoyable- but i do like the sound of a cam. not sure what cam would be perfect to keep it enjoyable. I do not race, but do want something that will keep up with most street cars. i do want to get the most out of the automatic, but i guess it will require me to get a built tranny with a converter. I would be happy with a nice sounding vette that has some bite and know that i have those extra horses that might be needed

 

If you aren't going to race, you don't really need a built transmission. I have a couple of seasons drag racing and I am still on the stock transmission. A higher stall converter, gears and a mild head/cam package is a very streetable combination. There are lots of cams out there. The key is to get a good solid tune. That is more important than the exact specs.

 

I would give henderson performance a call in new braunfuls

You would really love changing gears to 3.42 or 3.73 perhaps a 2800 vig stall.

If you go with a high stall you will end up with a slush box and probably not what you want.

If you just want a mild cam then perhaps englend green "ninja cam" out of houston will be a good choice as it does not require a stall converter.

If you have not had a tune done after the addition of headers that should be done and a for sure change of your gears.

I would put those 2 at the top of your list for instant seat of the pants change.

 

I would go with a blower. Even at low boost (5-8psi) it will give you moe power then any radical H/C package will. Also, it will give you stock-like drivability until you get into boost. A&A has some GREAT deals on their SC kits. Good luck!

 

5k-7k can go real fast.

Do you plan to do the work yourself, or have a performance shop do the work?

If you do it yourself, you can buy budget or used parts, but of course, buyer beware of budget or used parts. I've been burned in the past with some used items, so choose carefully.

To get to your goals for a Head/Cam car you should have a bunch of supporting mods.
Cold Air Intake: Vararam $300
Headers: American Racing $1800 (LG Pros $2000)
Torque Converter: Yank SS3200/SS3600 $775
Gear Upgrade: GM Z06 3.42 carrier $1300
Exhaust Upgrade: Borla Stingers $800 (Corsa/GHL $1100)

So by using all top shelf components, your at ~$5000, just for parts. Having all that installed brings it closer to ~$6500.

That $7K just got eaten up real fast, believe me, I know because above is exactly what I've done with my car.

Now, you'll pay at least $1500 for a cam install, more like $2500 if you get better springs, etc. Plus you'll have to pay for tuning, which is usually in the ball park of $300-$500. Good heads cost $$$$ (Trickflow/AFR), and then you'll probably want a FAST intake. List never stops.

Of course this post will be flame bait since everybody and thier grandmom will post up how you can do it cheaper. Of course you can. That's not the point. This is what it takes for quality components for someone who only knows how to open a checkbook. If your handy, and willing to do some work, yes you can do it for a little bit less.

And you can even skip some steps. You don't NEED headers with a cam, but to get the most benefit, you do. You don't need gears, hell.....you don't even NEED a TC after a cam install, but I'm here to tell you, you'll end up hating your car without one.

On the other end of the spectrum, a supercharging kit will get you around 100hp gain, even without the supporting mods. All in what you want to do.

 

You should drive up to biff buzbuys burgers on a friday night about 6 oclock 35 and toperwein behind the whataburger.

Can meet up with a lot of other corvette guys for more advice and check out what they have done.

 

Get serious - nitrous & forget all else!

 

Ive got an auto, with 3;73 gears and 404rwhp,for the 4 grand that i spent in getting that power,i wish i would have went to the used parts section and got a supercharger from there for 4 gs and another 1000 for install and tune, and been wayyyyyyyyy happier, find you a used supercharger ,
thats all you'll need,
good luck.

 

wow a lot of info- thanks.

so definitely the gears and tc. i might just look for a used supercharger and be done with it.

as much as i would like to do heads and cam, it looks like the sc is the way to go since i am not a nitrous guy.

 

I am familiar with biffs. I will see when I can make it out. do you take your car to henderson performance?