Opinions Please

[1996fbody]

Well I've got about 2000$ in taxes coming back and a bone stock 96 Z28 with 83,500 on the ticker. What should i do? I would like to do exhaust headers on back but i dont know how to do that with smog. Also i was thinking putting it on the bottle (need parts list from injeener). So what do you guys think? Any help will be considered.

[Z Ya Later]

Build with the basics. Cat-back and CAI are good starts, as are digging into the suspension and chassis. Here's a quick formula for you (mind you, I love and recommend SLP parts )...

SLP CAI...$179.95 LMPerformance
SLP Throttle Body Air Foil...$34.95 LMPerformance
SLP Ceramic-coated headers...$592.99 Texas Speed & Performance (street legal)
SLP Loudmouth...$314.96 LMPerformance
SLP Sub-frame Connectors - Bolt-on...$298.99 Texas Speed & Performance
- Weld-on...$198.99 Texas Speed & Performance
Spohn LCAs - Steel...$110 LMPerformance
- Chrome Moly...$150 LMPerformance
Spohn Panhard Rod - Steel...$85 LMPerformance
- Chrome Moly...$105 LMPerformance
1LE Aluminum Driveshaft...$269.74 GMPartsDirect (includes shipping)

With the most expensive parts there, your total would be $1946.58 before shipping (except for the driveshaft) and any applicable taxes. That oughtta get you goin' in the right direction. Mind you, you can also have your own cat-back fabbed up for about the same cost as the LoudMouth if you don't like the sound. Minus the headers, I'm running everything listed and love the way the car feels now. Good luck on your choice and I hop this helped.

[94 formula]

I'd personally recommend CAI, headers and cat back to start with. Any name brand CAI should be fine. My recommendation for headers is LT Pacesetter's. This is just from my own experience. I put a set on my 94 formula and love them. I also helped my brother put a set on his 99 Z28 and he's had no problems and is very impressed. If you don't have your car lowered go with the LTs you'll get more performance and pacesetters have the best price. Also with any money left over go with suspension mods.

[Z Ya Later]

Only problem with LTs in this case is that they won't smog.

I would like to do exhaust headers on back but i dont know how to do that with smog.

[Master of Stiks]

As far as build up goes work smart. Most guys will throw thousands of dollars into thier engine without ever taking the time to make sure basic safety measures are followed. If you have a 600 hp engine sitting in an otherwise stock car the end result will be a ruined engine and a ruined car, and possibly a dead you. Always start with the chassis first, work from the foundation up. Strut tower braces, subframe conectors and a roll bar if your serious about racing, will take care of the structural frailty that the 93-02 F-bodies have. Then move on to brakes, new rotors calipers, and braided hoses, no good to have a beast that you can't stop when duty (aka policeLOL) calls for it. From there I would hit the suspension hard with all adjustable torque arm control arms and panhard rod, most of the front end is built well on the 93-02 so unless your a really serious racer you should be fine. Make sure your shocks and struts and springs are up to par as well, and if your setting up for drag I'd go with a setup that is designed especially for the strip. Next I would move to the tranny and drivetrain, either way you look at it the tranny gets beat hard, so make sure that you have a tranny that will handle the horse power you plan on sending to it. The auto 4L60-E is rated to handle about 350 foot pounds of torque anything above that your looking at professional rebuild, and overhaul of the tranny to handle the higher power. The T-56 six speed was built specially for the 93-02 F-body, but was swiped by Chrysler for the new Viper V-10 before the new F-body was even released. This tranny will handle anywhere from 425-450 foot pounds of torque, but I would recommend beefing it up if you plan on running that much power for long. A new rearend is definately in order as well, 12 bolt posi with whatever gear ratio fits what you are planning on doing. Or the Ford 9" is the best on the market hands down, but then you get wierd gear ratios and components that you have to customize. Well after you have patiently reworked your car from the ground up, it's engine time. That is solely up to you though. In general the more money you spend on your engine the more horse power you will get, I think it is a mathmatical rule.LOL Cosmetics are always fun to do also, but that has nothing to do with safety, so do it when you feel it. Have fun and use your head, you will save time and money in the long run.

-Stiks

[Injuneer]

I'm not sure I'd recommend a roll bar before going to engine mods.... . I agree you need to balance "go" with stopping, handling, drive train reliability and traction but don't panic the guy.

The T56 will handle much more than 425-450 lb-ft. I was pushing 800HP/800lb-ft through mine, with 5K clutch dumps, and when I did the TH400 conversion I sold the whole package - McLeod Street Twin included - as an M6 conversion package. I also had (still have) a spare T56 that came out of George Baxter's 9.04-second 4,000# 30th SS convertible, when it was "only" at the 850HP level, and its still in good condition..... I wouldn't worry about the capacity of the T56 at the performance levels you can get out of $2K in mods. Clutch is gonna need an upgrade, but the T56 is killer.

Roll bar in a street car..... not necessarily safe. What happens to your passengers - front and rear - when they contact the bar in an accident. The standard padding is designed to protect helmeted heads, not bare heads. I cringed with my wife in the passenger seat... and that's with a full 5-point harness on the pasenger seat.

A shock tower brace (there are no "struts" on a 4th Gen F-Body) is probably one of the most questionable add-ons for the 4th Gen. Again, I've seen 1,000+HP setups survive without them. I've always had one, but I'm not so sure it does much.

Again, at the level he's looking at, its hard to spend you whole $2,000 on a 12-bolt, and have nothing left over for mods. The 10-bolt is a crap shoot.... I've seen people take cars into the 10's with them, others seem to be able to grenade them at stock HP levels. 9-inch? Over maybe 850HP its a good idea, below that it wastes power and adds unneccesary weight. Again.... at 800HP the Strange 12-bolt has been good to me. But.... I ran the stock 10-bolt at about the 450HP level (bolts-ons + nitrous) and it held up fine. Avoid slicks with an M6. The A4 is a lot more foregiving.

An adjustable TA is a questionable call at "bolt-on" HP levels.... again there are people running 10's on the stock arm. Adjustable LCA's? - why.... what can you "adjust"? Yes, I used them to relocate the rear axle to get some added clearance for 28" slicks, but I can't think of anything else they would be useful for, unless you has an assembly problem that resulted in an incorrect thrust angle. Non-adjustable are fine. Probably the biggest bang-for-the-buck mod for traction would be a good set of LCA relocation brackets. That and a set of tubular LCA's are a cost-effective first step.

Brakes..... again, the only mods I have are some Baer rotors and PF pads in the back, along with PF DOT 3 fluid. Stock brakes pull the car down from 130mph trap speeds quite nicely. The 4th Gen brakes were relatively highly rated compared to other cars of the era.... The LS1 upgrade would be a good cost effective approach.

I agree..... don't put all the money into the engine.... use a balanced approach, but to suggest that no engine work be done until you have a roll bar and a 12-bolt is a bit extreme, IMHO.