most bang for my buck?

i own a 2002 z28. its totally stock and i'm not a millionaire...... what is the most cost effective way to get a noticeable power increase??

N02, A.K.A. Nitrous Oxide.

do you have to modify anything else in the engine to accomodate that? i.e. hidden costs other than the bottle

well you would want to buy the kit, not just the bottle. the kits come with all the hardware you will need to install it for your particular application. they will have different options as far as what size jets you can use.

i dont have any experience with 4th generation Camaros, but typically on a factory engine you dont want to use any jet larger than 125hp shot to prevent internal engine damage or blown head gaskets (being safe I would say 50-100shot for you). most kits come with several jets and will cost you around $400-$600.

if you wanted more nitrous then you would want to strengthen you engine which would involve more $$$. otherwise, no hidden costs.

(also adding a purge valve/kit is a good idea. check www.summitracing.com for prices and specs)

Gears. Don't change power but they change acceleration and make more of your power and will definitely leave a grin on your face. Auto or manual?


Nitrous, yes it's the best cost to power ratio, but your power is the same as it is now except when you're pushing that button.

do you have to modify anything else in the engine to accomodate that? i.e. hidden costs other than the bottle

I would also suggest a window switch so you don't spray to early or bounce off the rev limiter. There are a few other things, but I can't think of them right now. They are for safety and such that some kits don't come with.

how much power are you looking to gain? you can always do things to increase your intake air flow and exhaust... depends on what gains you want to see... but nevertheless that's always the best place to start

my car is an automatic.... yeah yeah yeah... i got a great deal on it. nitrous sounds great and all but i'm really worried about doing long term damage to my engine. i want to be able to sell my camaro to get a vette in a few years so messing up the engine isn't in my plans... so if that is "the most bang for my buck" do i really risk doing damage? say i don't go for the nitrous at all, what else is there to do the job, people have told me i need a chip, intake, exhaust etc. but what is the best thing see results?

Well, considering your car doesn't really take 'performance chips', I'd say they know about half of what they are talking about.

And there really is no 'best' mod, they work together to make the car perform better. Besides nitrous, turbos, or a blower, I guess that leaves internal work and heads and cam. I say you start with basic bolt-ons and move on from there. I think you are getting a little ahead of yourself.

def. do your basic bolt ons first. They are supporting mods for the stuff the give the bigger gains. Things like lid, longtube headers, gears, exhaust and there are other little things that you can do. Also if you can find someone with ls1edit or the like you can adjust your shift points and make the trans shift harder as well as give the engine a little more timing. But make sure you have the appropriate amount of timing if you are going to do the nitrous or you could do serious damage. www.ls1tech.com (http://www.ls1tech.com) is where you need to look. A stall converter shakes things up a bit too even with the stock cam.

I personaly started with cold air intake although i am against it unless you know how to properly maintain it (it will restrict more later if you clean it wrong, and yes you have to clean it) but that and like other said exhaust pipes. then deffinately i would say supercharge or turbo, which will put you back at least a grand. The problem with this is you have to do your homework, find out your compression ratios before and after, make sure your fuel octane is alright. Find out if the turbo will be to powerful for your heads or you will deffinatly do some damage. And if you go to this level make sure you inprove your brakes so you can actually stop.

whats your budget and then we can help you better.

btw a supercharger or turbo kit for his car will be in the 3 to 4 grand area. not cheap but very effective.

I personaly started with cold air intake although i am against it unless you know how to properly maintain it


:banghead:

i'm not really on a budget, i'll just have to spend more time saving for a more expensive mood. that's why i want to know what to do.