C5 2000 Black auto.. I love it, but I want to reach over 410 HP. Then I'll stop messing with it.. I know I'm probly going to add Brola, I love the sound. What els can I add that dosen't cost mulit 1000s? Like a supercharger or Turbo.. can't afford those right now.. I was going to add a MS 4 cam.. but a mech said it would hurt driveablity a lot and since im auto I need to add a stall converter so it wont lurk forward every stop, and a stall converter would mean I'd have to get high RPMs before I could take off, and high RPM's are hard on the motor. So what little things can I add to bost HP that wont hurt my car? I know engines but not as well as I thought I did lol...
Any help would be awesome, Thanks

 

Headers and a tune would be a great start. The stall converter isn't going to do anything for dyno numbers, but your car will be much faster. You'll defintely need a stall if you plan on putting in a larger camshaft. If you want to keep your driveability, I would go with something quite a bit smaller.

Seth

 

put a cold air intake too

 

Thanks! I really dont care about dyno numbers, just about how fast it can go on the street. A stall converter would make it so I have to get my RPMs real high just to take off.. isn't that bad on a motor? What dose driveablity mean really? I was guessing how it can take corners and your handeling but I might be wrong. Whats a smaller cam that will add good horse numbers but not hurt driveablity?

BTW what's a tune? I know it goes faster.. but what do they do to my engine. I googled it but just got stuff on basic tune ups, check oil, ect.

Thank you very much!!

 

Headers, X pipe with high flow cats,cold air intake, a good cam package(custom recommended ), a stall, NGK spark plugs, and a tune should get you a low 12 high 11 sec car.

And a tune is when the tuner adjust the spark and fueling tables in your vcm to obtain peak performance. And a properly spec'ed stall doesn't mean you will be turning high rpm's to get your car moving.

 

Ahh, Thanks! X-Pipe helps with speed? All my friends told me its for sound and dosen't really add much HP.. but what do they know lol...

Now.. Do you guys have any recommendations with any of these things besides the NGK plugs.. I kinda know what those are lol :o

Thanks!!!

 

No, not really. A stalled car will take off at a much lower rpm than it's stall speed. I run a 3400 stall in my 2000 TransAm and it has a solid take off rpm around 1400 rpm. If you get in the throttle the converter will flash to around the stall speed and let you use the power your motor makes at that rpm. Really simple explanation.... just letting you know that a stall doesn't turn on and off at the stall speed.

BTW - most bang for your buck on the street (I feel) will be a converter.

 

Let me add one more thing... I wouldn't be afraid of Nitrous. A 3400 stall with a 125 Dry shot. That pair would let you launch from a dead stop on gas and would be a beast. Dry kits sell new for about $600, $300-$400 used and stalls sell around the same price. An easy 11 second car for (used prices) $600 or (new) $1000 can't be beat.

 

I have been scared of NOS forever.. I heard a small shot puts the wear and tear of 5K miles.. and its a very good way to blow ur engine.. I mean yea it makes you go fast.. but I want to keep my car for along while.

 

Dream on......

Once you get the bug, it is incurable. You will have many sleepless nights thinking about the next score. Also how to hide the cost from your wife. You may as well start a secret bank account to stash money in for more mods.

 

Kevin,

There are a lot of different ways to make your car faster. Which way you go depends on your overall goals.

The first thing we need to know is your budget. That will drive what kind of answers you get.

The next thing we need to know is if you are mechanically inclined. Will you do the labor yourself, or pay someone else to do it? If you have limited skills, it would make sense to have you put in a cold air intake vs. headers vs. a cam/rear gears/stall converter.

I have a '97 Auto, and I drive the ***** off that car. I just hit over 160K miles, and it sill runs strong. The first 'upgrade' I did was a Vararam cold air intake and a Hypertech tune. I shaved about 6/10ths off in the 1/4 mile with that little bit of work.

I wouldn't recommend that you get a Hypertech... go with a Predator or even better: A professional tune. A tuner can remove torque management from your computer, which really wakes up the automatic cars. (I have not done it yet, but it's in the works.)

The next mod I did was LG Motorsports Street series headers. I dropped about a half a second in the 1/4 mile, everything else being equal. I did a tune up at the same time, but I doubt that had much to do with the decrease in 1/4 mile times... and it sounds GREAT now.

I now have purchased a Z06 rear end, so the acceleration will increase substantially. I'm going from a 2.73 to a 3.42 rear end, so it's going to rock. At the same time, I plan on installing a 2800 stall converter and removing torque management. That should be good for another half second in the 1/4 mile, I'd bet.

Understand that each time I had done a little homework, bought the upgrades with future upgrades in mind, and did the work myself. I did the headers first, and plan on doing the torque converter next, before going with a good cam. A good cam would be wasted without those things being done first.

So give us an idea of what you want to accomplish, and we can help point you in the right direction.

Mark

 

i have the same early mods as ^^^ that guy. vera ram intake / air bridge/ LG street long tube headers and LG X pipe / diablo sport preditor tuner. that dropped me to an 8.2 at the 1/8 mile in my 02 auto vert. i also have the billy boat bullets which are loud as hell. i like the borlas too. both sound good. borla = smoother. billy boats = louder. my next step is 90mm throttle body and 90mm intake manifold / granatelli MAF. i will let you know my 1/8 mile time after thats done.

 

i dont think your gonna get 410hp without spending a few G's.
to get 410hp on a 2000 A4 all motor, you're gonna need a few things....
catbacks, headers, CAI, intake manifold, injectors, heads, cam, stall, UD pully, timing chain, tune, plus fluids, gaskets and bolts.

its hard to put a price on these items cause they do vary.

 

Another thing to consider is if the OP wants 410 at the flywheel or at the tires.

 

Yes the X pipe will help with speed. It's part of the header system and is a larger diameter than the stock H pipe. I like the American Racing 1 7/8 headers and X pipe with high flow cats. I've sold several sets with great gains on every car they were put on. We have custom cams that have put cars in the 400rwhp range without sacrificing drivablity and lowend torque like most of the big shelf cams. I would recommend eighter a Yank or Precision Idustries torque converter. A 3000-3200 would probably be good for what your looking for. If you do the cam you will need a timing chain, pushrods, valve springs, and oil pump(op).

 

Vararam, LS6 intake (if you do not ahve one already), LT headers that include high flow cats with X-pipe midsection, Big cam and the suuporting cam goodies (dual springs, hardened pushrods..) and you will be there...

Cams especially big cams can be tuned to drive very well in my experience anyways. Just need to have an experinced tuner on the job. My 99FRC has the Gulfcoast performance (EnglandGreen) Whiplash cam with a tune from the cam designer loaded and I am amazed how well the car drives, Considering the cam profile.

 

Budget- A lil over 500 bucks a month. It might not be alot but, its whats left over I can get, after everything is paid and the family is happy. I can save very well too and don't mind waiting a little longer to get a better part. I just don't want to spend 5-10K on one part right now, because that will take forever, and I'm exicted about this I want it now! lol

I'm not good with motors, I'm a computer tech guy, not a mech lol.. I do know how the basic motor works and have a good friend who is a good mech who can help, along with my father who is a boat mech. And if it's going to be a big job, I'll take it to the speed shop and have them install it.


My goal is to have a fast car.. idk how els to say it besides I would like it to have a badass 1/4 mile time and still be able to handle very well. I have had mustangs and then got a vette. I noticed a HUGE diffrents in there handeling, vette being the better.

I'm very willing to put 1000s in it, but over time.

So.. Im guessing the first thing is add would be a LS6 intake.. I kinda got any idea of what to add but have no idea what order lol..

This forum has been VERY helpful, thank you guys/girls VERY much!!

 

Your loss. A little research over in the Forced Induction / Nitrous forum might would ease your worries. An LS1 computer controlled engine is not your daddy's carburated small block. 450hp of wear and tear on an engine is 450hp of wear and tear. Only difference with nitrous power is you don't receive the wear and tear while it's not being injected..... so you actually have less damage to the engine on a day to day basis. Only down side is having to fill the bottle.

BTW - I run one blown six speed and one stalled auto nitrous LS1. Love them both.

 

Save up about $4500 THEN go shopping. That will give you plenty of time to read and research as well. A great point was made in a previous post - check out the FI/Nitrous section of the forum. Might want to check out the Performance Results section as well.