Beginning to Mod this Year!!

[F-Body Ted]

ok so heres my story. i'm a senior in high school and i am 17 years old. my school has this awesome program where i pick any topic i want adn i research it all year for a grade. and i have to be an intern at a place. so of course i chose cars and engineering and automotive performance. i am an intern at a good friend of mines performance shop. and over teh couse of the year i want to mod my car so they can teach me how to do modifications and what not. i was wondering what are some basic mods i should do to start. and by the end of the year i need to do something big as a project like a cam install, heads, etc etc. lemme know what you think i should do. so far i have a whisper lid and flowmaster cat back. i was thinking of doing the following things:

-160 degree thermostat
-cold air induction
-manual fan switch
-mabye gears and torque converter

i'm just looking to make my car quicker and more fun to drive. please gimme your suggestions on what to do over the course of the year and what to do for a final project!!! thank you. and i have a 2002 Camaro A4 by the way.

[NOS2006]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

What good does the manual fan switch do?

[hockeyman]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

What good does the manual fan switch do?

It turns the fans on earlier than the stock thermo sensor. The stock sensor kicks in when the engine temp is over 200 degrees. If you install a manual fan switch, you control the engine temp. Just don't forget about it or you'll be sorry! Especially if someone else ever uses your car and doesn't know about it.

[slow6]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

if you are gonna get gears better get a LSD/posi too!
if you do get gears, the torque convertor will help it out
if you get a torque convertor then a cam would help it out
if you get a cam, then heads would help it out
good luck

if you get gears youre gonna have to get the computer tuned for them.
get a mail-order tune

[av6xperience]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

here's what i would do, start with cool air induction. then upgrade the spark plug wires, usually any platinum plug works fine and you more than likely have them as they are so common, then i would get a high flow cat, then go for the gears lsd posi and torque convertor, then a tune chip, then if you still have time and/or money get a cam and/or heads. you should be happy by then :naughty:

[F-Body Ted]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

cool cool thanks for the feedback. what i would love to get are headers but from what i hear they are a pain in the *** to install and are not really worth the money it takes. i think i will be fine on money for the gears, lsd posi, torque converter, and cold air inake. i jsut dont know about the cam. i would love to get one due to the obvious performance gains and who doesnt love the lopey sound :) but how much does a cam cost on average and install and all that, i will be doing the install with the help of the people there so cut the cost in half or so. thanks again though

[slow6]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

here's what i would do, start with cool air induction. then upgrade the spark plug wires, usually any platinum plug works fine and you more than likely have them as they are so common, then i would get a high flow cat, then go for the gears lsd posi and torque convertor, then a tune chip, then if you still have time and/or money get a cam and/or heads. you should be happy by then :naughty:

posi = lsd (same thing) I know what you meant though, just wanna clear it up
I would do gears & LSD at the same time, of course
I've heard bad things about platinum tipped plugs
I would not get a tune chip unless that is your only choice

Cam install for me would run real cheap, maybe $400 would be plenty for everything

[vanbibber]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

id stay away from platinum plugs.

[slow6]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

NGK-TR55s or whatever (depending on your mods/needs), plugs (and the whole electrical ignition) has been talked about many times

[F-Body Ted]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

so instead of platinum plugs what should i get? is it called irideum (sp)?also to go along with the cam what should i do? i know pushrods are a must right? mabye rollers? and is the ZZP water pump pullie worth it? thanks again :)

[97rs4life]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

dont bother with the zzp water pump pulley, our cars are underdriven already and you won't see much if anything from it.

[av6xperience]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

go ahead and do pushrods and rollers if your going to get into it to swap a cam but yes our cars are a lil underdriven stock, i was going to get a underdrive pulley then told it would be a waste

[livin' loud]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

i need help on choosing a cam for my 99 camaro 3.8 automatic i want hp and torque and this seems like a good way to go if anyone can send some links on which one to get i would appriciate it
send to mulloynet@netzero.net

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2442428

[F-Body Ted]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

this is like the cam bible, http://forum.camarov6.com/showthread.php?t=46236 , i have been reading it for a little and it really is useful. your car looks really nice, where in maryland is deale? i live in columbia.

[livin' loud]

Re: Beginning to Mod this Year!!

anne arundel county south of annapolis