# Top 5 best "bang for your buck" power upgrade modifications?



## caveman2 (Mar 27, 2009)

What are some of the most cheap and effective modifications a do-it-yourselfer would want to look into? Money isn't an object here. The question is $ v. HP


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## Aramz06 (Mar 2, 2008)

Honestly I would say bolt on supercharger or headers.


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## bwiest (Nov 30, 2008)

Yea I think headers and a tune are pretty much the best you can do.


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## fattirewilly (May 26, 2006)

caveman2 said:


> What are some of the most cheap and effective modifications a do-it-yourselfer would want to look into? Money isn't an object here. The question is $ v. HP


Build a spreadsheet, I'm not looking up prices or HP but you'll get idea, see below

Mod price HP gain price/Hp
Headers $1500 35  $43
Maggie $5500 150 $37
Intake/CAI $250 10 $25

I'd say $/HP, nitrous is hard to beat, if you're into a part time mod. Also, weight loss (to a point) is kinda like free horsepower. 

Headers, CAM, and heads are a good combo to, here's how Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine got 86 HP for about $2,000.

http://www.gtoforum.com/f37/ls2-upgrades-19622/


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## Goat5 (Jun 16, 2007)

*Haddad Motorsports*

Maggie 112 kit with corvette 1:1 and 2.9 drive pully, kooks 1 7/8" long tube headers, cat-less magnaflow exhaust, LS-7 clutch, 2-bar dyno tune. 505 RWHP, broad torque curve maxing at 530 ft-lb. Nitto 555 drag radials help keep some relationship with the pavement. Docile in everyday driving. Not for the inexperienced when into the throttle.

This needs to be done right, especially the tune. Mike and Steve at Haddad already know what works together, and whatever you think you want they have already done, so not a lot of risk in getting the wrong combination of parts. And Tad, their tuner, is a wizard on the tuning nobs. Haddad also has everything needed to do installations, including bays to remake your suspension to handle this much power, and align the whole thing. (I'm holding off the suspension while I raise more cash -- the GTO suffers unnecessarily for not being sprung correctly.)

I'm not a shill, just passing on the info for people who want to have their installations done without having to worry that something will go wrong. In fact, I even had to beg for my Haddad Motorsports T-shirt -- they don't usually hand them out to weenies. I don't know that they are more or less expensive than anyone else, but I found them pretty reasonable.

Interesting discussions with a couple of people there about NA vs forced induction: seems there's this attitude held by the purest tuners that sucking is more manly than blowing. I didn't know that, but after my car came off the dyno, and Mike drove it around a bit, there were some that went back to look at normally aspirated results on cars recently generating the same type horsepower on their dyno. The supercharger route seems to produce much more torque over a wider band and at lower RPM for the same HP in NA engines Purism aside, a blower would seem the best approach when the horsepower target is in this range, although going into the engine does allow beefing some things up to.

Gary Livick

http://www.gtoforum.com/images/smilies/party.gif






fattirewilly said:


> Build a spreadsheet, I'm not looking up prices or HP but you'll get idea, see below
> 
> Mod price HP gain price/Hp
> Headers $1500 35 $43
> ...


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