Advice Welcome - Maintaining a 1996 WS-6 with 100k miles

[rondeth]

Greetings, all. I'm looking for a bit of advice/input regarding my car.

It's a 1996 Trans AM WS-6 with 103,000 miles on it right now. I purchased the vehicle at a good price last summer, and have fallen absolutely in love with this thing. I've learned quite a bit about the car, but no one would ever mistake me for a 'car guy'.

I've just spent the money to get an oil leak fixed around my intake. Last year, I put new plugs, wires, egr, pcv valve, air filter, etc on it...well, with my brother-the-GM-mechanics help, anyway.

Current mods to it include headers and a borla exhaust system. The cat is new, I live in an emissions county here in TN and had to put it back on.

I don't want to turn this car into a 'racer', I want to continue to enjoy what power I have in my daily commute. I have some spare $$$ available. With this car at this age, what should I be looking at? Replacing suspension parts? Proactively replace the water pump to prevent it wiping out the opti? Any advice welcome, folks. I'm asking here since I figure this is where the experts are regarding these types of cars. Cheers!

[ConElite]

Hey Buddy, Welcome to the forum.

There is a lot of things that you can do for the Suspension and power adders, but again the question is:
"What are you looking for (Ie. Speed or Road ((handling))?"
"How much Money are you willing to Fork out?"

These two questions will set you in the right direction. There is a difference in the two. You can do a little of both as well. The Main things would be for sure the Re-location Brackets, some Lower Control arms, Panhard bar. Then you can do an Intake and all the Free Mod's like the Throttle Body By-pass. From there then you decide If you want a really quick car or one that handles like a Formula 1.

[rondeth]

More specifics

Thanks for the welcome!

Yep, should have been more specific. Basically, I dig the stock setup...I don't feel I'm experienced enough to experiment too much. I'm interested in doing the right things to keep a car with this many miles in proper working order for a long time without garaging it...'hidden' little things about these cars that I may not know. Should I concentrate on pre-emptively fixing problematic systems, or wait until failure? Is the suspension important to more than just my comfort...e.g. will it do anything to the car I (as a newb) don't see? Should I upgrade the radiator in an effort to cool down the engine department?

I know that's a lot of questions, but they're more rhetorical in nature. I'm really out of my element here. I will google around regarding the things you replied with, though...all part of learning. Just cruising for advice/pointers/whatnot.

As far as $$$, $1000-2000. Not a ton, granted...but I don't get a 'spare' chunk that often

BTW, thanks for responding!

[ConElite]

Wow thats a good amount of money. I would At least do the Re-location Bracket and Some Lower Control Arms and Panhard.
There is a Number of different companies that sell the sets for very cheap. As for the prevention of things going bad down the road then there is nothing u can do. You can Change the Thermostat to a 160 degree. I doubt you would have to change the Radiator. You can get a Fan Switch if you'd like.

[FroSSty]

Welcome to THE F-body.com Family!

Some of the first things to do are the cheap mods like throttle body bypass, complete fluid change and etc. I believe the first mods to consider are to add subframe connectors, front strut tower brace and maintenance items such as steering components and maybe polyurethane bushings throughout. Then I would consider lowering the car and adding the relocation brackets, panhard bar, lower control arms and a good set of shocks.

Good luck with her...Treat her well and you will be pleasantly suprised with what she'll give back...Many miles of hassle-free enjoyment.

[ConElite]

I recommend a Master Poly bushing Kit front and rear. If your going to get the Subframe connectors, its going to stiffen the entire car and make it a little rougher ride. Same goes if you lower it. It depends on what kind of driver you are. I personaly love the stiff ride and GREAT steering response, But it is a lot harder ride than stock. Thats why Im working on a little bucket to drive around. Its a little tiring to drive 1.5 hours every day (to and from work). The good thing is you got the Dreaded oil leak out of the way. But I strongly recommend get the relocation Brackets first thing. Regardless if you lower it or not, they help to prevent wheel hoop. Then if your simply going to do minor mod's some Weld in Subframes and Control arms and your set. Yeah I would run all new Fluid through everything, including brake system

[Dave M]

Suspension is always a good place to start on these cars, as there's lots of room for improvement. Poly bushings throughout, and upgrading the rear suspension pieces (lower control arms and panhard rod) would put you on the right track.

Since it's a WS6, you don't need to worry about an intake. I wouldn't worry about things like lowering it, or sway bars. It doesn't sound like you're at that point yet, and the WS6 is very capable in stock form. I'd put at least a cat-back on it, throw a K&N filter in the airbox, replace the rear suspension pieces, get poly bushings all around, put a shift kit in it if it's an auto, maybe even a stall converter. If it's a stick shift, I'd get a short throw shifter. Then I'd probably replace the waterpump and opti proactively if they've never been replaced. Invest in some Zaino and that'll probably be about all your budget. I'm assuming you'll be paying for installation since you're not a "car guy", and that will eat up a lot of your funds quickly. If you do the work yourself you could afford to do a lot more. You could consider headers/y-pipe if you do an exhaust, but that would stretch your budget if you're not doing the work yourself.

[rondeth]

Wow, lots of input

I must say this is one of the more productive forum interactions I've ever encountered

That said, thanks so much for all this info...it will take me some time to go out and research and learn about all of it and make a plan of attack. I wish I could do it myself, of course...my brother is an ace mechanic, but he lives in Iowa and I call Nashville home.

Cheers, everyone!

[Dave M]

I must say this is one of the more productive forum interactions I've ever encountered

That said, thanks so much for all this info...it will take me some time to go out and research and learn about all of it and make a plan of attack. I wish I could do it myself, of course...my brother is an ace mechanic, but he lives in Iowa and I call Nashville home.

Cheers, everyone!

You'll find this is one of the best forums on the net, period. Both in friendliness and helpfulness. There's a lot of knowledge on this board. A sugegstion... make a signature that includes your car's info, year, make, model, miles, mods, etc. That will help us help you whenever you ask a question. You can make a signature under the "user cp".

[rondeth]

Thanks

I had tried to that (put my car info in my sig), but got an error every time I tried. I'll try today again.

Reading through the archives of this board is an educational experience in itself...I may have to force myself to get any work done today!

Cheers!

[Dave M]

Yes, there have been problems with the CP. Keep trying.

[FroSSty]

I had tried to that (put my car info in my sig), but got an error every time I tried. I'll try today again.

Reading through the archives of this board is an educational experience in itself...I may have to force myself to get any work done today!

Cheers!

Near the top of the page next to the search button, there is a "quick links" button. Click on that and then edit signature. That will get you going as well as your profile and etc. After you edit your signature, it will probably say that there has been an error but it will save it.

Current mods to it include headers and a borla exhaust system. The cat is new, I live in an emissions county here in TN and had to put it back on.

He has headers and an awesome catback ..