More Horsepower

Alright, I just picked up a 2000 V8 LS, and I think it's GREAT! However, I want it to go faster. I'd lilke to boost an additional 50 hp, any suggestions as to the most cost effective way to do this?
I've also noticed that it's a little sluggish from a dead stop, is this common? Is there any way to solve this problem?

Cost-effective performance is sort-of an oxy moron. You are trying to put more power through parts that often times are not designed for more power. Since you have a V8, you have the automatic transmission. The auto trannies are known to be a weak point in these cars, and I've read that can be a $3-5k expense right there. If you're looking to get 50 more HP to the wheels, you're probably putting about 75 HP more into the tranny. The extra power will cause extra heat, etc. I think you get the point.

You might be able to get increased power for relatively little initial expense, but you will probably end up with a large expense down the road.

Now to answer your initial question, I'm not sure the most cost effective way to increase HP on the LS. Cold air intakes will get you some boost in performance, but not 50 HP at the wheels. You could get bigger injectors I suppose, wideband O2 sensors, and an auxiliary fuel pump, re-map the PCM fuel and timing curves, etc., but that won't be very cheap.

Currently available bolt-ons:

SCT Xcalibrator (chip): +15-20 hp ($300-$400)
Magnaflow cat-back : +10-12 hp ($500-$800)
"Cold-air" intake kit : +10-12 hp ($200-$500)

Now, remember a hp increase doesn't always equal a torque increase. Torque is what gets you off the line. There's no getting around the 4,000 pounds that an LS weighs. It takes sum serious grunt to shock that much weight into a dramatic vector change! The 3.9 really isn't built to be torquey. It spins up nicely to 6500, though, once you let her breath with the intake and exhaust mods. The XCal also helps alot with more aggressive timing and shifts.

Nobody has yet found enough power to warrant a bigger MAF, injectors, or fuel pump.

There's alway NO2 for a quick trip to the store, but that gets expensive quick when you factor in the added stress on the entire drivetrain and bottle refills.

There is a blower in the works (QuikLS is working on it).

If you know a good import tuner engine shop, there's about 30-50 hp left in the heads and exhaust manifold, if you want to go porting.

Rear gears can be bumped up to 3.58...(look in the scrap yard for early '00 cars)

FYI, the torque capacity of the auto trans is 550 ft-lbs at the INPUT shaft. After the converter gets done multiplying torque from the crank, that works out to about 350-400 flywheel hp. Factory rating on the engine '00-'02 is 252, so that means you can "safely" add about 100 hp to the engine w/o pushing the trans over capacity.

Thanks guys, you've been a big help.

First off I want to thank Mr.Gorman for that great info on the Ls, you definately know your stuff, I am trying to learn about hi performance stuff I can do to my vehicles and now I have changed my mind on customizing my 2000 Ls. Answering the main posting Im asking did you buy your car to race on a track? If you did all the best to you, but youre not going to find much to buy for your Ls to make it faster, and unless lincoln made it I wouldnt mess with it except filter and exhaust. Just save the trouble and go do some minor stuff that wont comprimise your reliability. It sucks when your car breaks down doesnt it?

Thanks for the compliment, but everything I know about the LS, I learned from sombody else. LLSOC has been an invaluable resource for me. I must thank all those who have gone before me. Lou, Ken, Noah, Brian, Mike, Jeremy...you know who you are.

Thanks for the compliment, but everything I know about the LS, I learned from sombody else. LLSOC has been an invaluable resource for me. I must thank all those who have gone before me. Lou, Ken, Noah, Brian, Mike, Jeremy...you know who you are.
Well, thanks for the props but I learn more from everyone else too!

As Chris stated above, your quickest bang for the buck are the SCT flash tools, exhaust and intakes. Other than that there isn't much more you can do until the supercharger gets worked out.