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Easy Horsepower?
- Thread starter prizz15
- Start date
Beans
Addicted CEG'er
Well you want to go ahead and read the READ FIRST stickyed at the top of the thread, but i would recommend..
Gutted precats - free
optimized ypipe - also free.
oh and do a UIM/LIM rebuild
Gutted precats - free
optimized ypipe - also free.
oh and do a UIM/LIM rebuild
beyondloadedSE
Hard-core CEG'er
A tune would be good too. Its only a few hundred dollars.
68fordman
CEG'er
A tune would be good too. Its only a few hundred dollars.
i like the ONLY A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS, to me thats fairly expensive
hotdimmes
Hard-core CEG'er
well compared to a full exhaust with headers/ypipe/catback which goes beyond $1000 new...a tune starts looking pretty cheap. You can't get something for nothing.
beyondloadedSE
Hard-core CEG'er
i like the ONLY A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS, to me thats fairly expensive
Im honestly speechless. A tune from Nautilus is $200. :shrug:
To think that people actually used to be able to buy these cars for $22K new.
optimized y-pipe is the best for increasing low end torque
SicSE
Veteran CEG'er
I agree that $200 is a lot of money, but relative to performance enhancers, it's at the very low end of the scale. You've already got a short ram, which is probably going to be your best bang-for-the-buck and most of your typical "next upgrade" options are only going to get more expensive.
The only viable, unmentioned option I can think of for any everyday Joe would be spark plugs. What kind are you running & how many miles do they have on them? You might be surprised at what you can gain from a little gap adjustment, or new plugs if your current ones are worn out. You could also index them for cheap, though the gains are minimal at best and it's rather time consuming.
TB optimization could be another option, but again, very minimal gains if any.
The only viable, unmentioned option I can think of for any everyday Joe would be spark plugs. What kind are you running & how many miles do they have on them? You might be surprised at what you can gain from a little gap adjustment, or new plugs if your current ones are worn out. You could also index them for cheap, though the gains are minimal at best and it's rather time consuming.
TB optimization could be another option, but again, very minimal gains if any.
pgt
CEG'er
I also say LIM/UIM clean out, rebuild. Clean the throttle body, clean the mass air sensor. Check wires, plugs. Thats about the cheapest
SVT3391
CEG'er
The cost of tune may be $200, but factoring into the cost of an XCAL2, you are looking north of $550. :shrug:Im honestly speechless. A tune from Nautilus is $200. :shrug:
To think that people actually used to be able to buy these cars for $22K new.
hotdimmes
Hard-core CEG'er
The cost of tune may be $200, but factoring into the cost of an XCAL2, you are looking north of $550. :shrug:
you don't need an xcal2 to get a tune. You can just get a superchip or something that's way cheaper and doesnt have all of the xcal2's possibly unneeded functionality.
Swazo
Hard-core CEG'er
$200 in car mod'ing is a drop in the bucket. If that's too spendy, don't mod it :shrug:
The free mods (which are a good step in the right direction and do liven up these cars quite a bit IMO) are already listed, as long as you can do your own work. If not, you're SOL if you don't want to even spend a few hundred. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. If you try to cut costs, a lot of the time you'll sacrifice quality and end up with something that will make you regret.... or get you laughed at by those that are in the know.
Things that were fairly cheap that I liked on my SVT was UD pullies, short shifter, intake/K&N and all the previously listed freebies. That all made the SVT lots more fun and peppy.
The free mods (which are a good step in the right direction and do liven up these cars quite a bit IMO) are already listed, as long as you can do your own work. If not, you're SOL if you don't want to even spend a few hundred. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. If you try to cut costs, a lot of the time you'll sacrifice quality and end up with something that will make you regret.... or get you laughed at by those that are in the know.
Things that were fairly cheap that I liked on my SVT was UD pullies, short shifter, intake/K&N and all the previously listed freebies. That all made the SVT lots more fun and peppy.
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RandyCSVT
Hard-core CEG'er
nitrous. You can get a nitrous kit for $400, and it is an instant however many HP/TQ you want. You wont be able to keep the car stock and use a high HP jet.
My list of worthwhile mods include: suspension, exhaust, short shifter, nitrous.
My list of worthwhile mods include: suspension, exhaust, short shifter, nitrous.
98SVTC
Hard-core CEG'er
What is your definition of "low end" and what are you trying to accomplish? You mention improving horsepower but that's not a "low end" item if you define low end the same way I do.I want to get more low end punch out of my svt without going crazy on the wallet. What is the easiest way to improve horsepower? Currently mine is stock other than a short ram intake.
Karl
SVTJON87
Hard-core CEG'er
What is your definition of "low end" and what are you trying to accomplish? You mention improving horsepower but that's not a "low end" item if you define low end the same way I do.
Karl
the way most people do. lower end TQ (power):shrug:
elraido
I kant speel
Throttle body and ypipe optimization. Extreamly cheap (can get both done for ~$100). Then headers....~$250 for uncoated ones from MSDS but they can be a pain to install. You would be looking at around ~15 hp from those. Or just say 3.0L it :laugh:
It would seem the stock exhaust on the car is somewhat of a bottle neck. Steeda made sets of a true dual exhaust for the car and he put down 15 hp and 20 tq extra (dyno proven). That doesn't even include the headers. So I would say ~20-25 hp and ~30 tq would be gained to the wheels if you replace the whole exhaust system. Why SVT didn't do that to begin with, I don't know.
It would seem the stock exhaust on the car is somewhat of a bottle neck. Steeda made sets of a true dual exhaust for the car and he put down 15 hp and 20 tq extra (dyno proven). That doesn't even include the headers. So I would say ~20-25 hp and ~30 tq would be gained to the wheels if you replace the whole exhaust system. Why SVT didn't do that to begin with, I don't know.
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fordman302
Hard-core CEG'er
If you cant afford a cat-back just remove the stock Reso and replace it with a 4" round Magnaflow or a straight pipe..Not sure how much of a improvement it is if its any..
98SVTC
Hard-core CEG'er
As do I, except everyone is giving advice for horsepower gains, not torque. Also, the OP's post title is confused - looking for easy horsepower instead of the low end torque asked for in the body of the post. IMHO, small displacement high revving engines and torque are sort of mutually exclusive. To achieve additional torque, the simplest way is to increase the moving mass of the engine which usually means increasing the bore and stroke or a heavier flywheel or both. Folks on this site seem to have a aversion to stock weight flywheels much less heavier ones. I guess what it boils down to is you have to pick one trait or the other or take a balance of the two and call it a day. That's what the factory already did. FI would increase both but it won't leave the OP's wallet unmolested and it isn't 50 state legal.the way most people do. lower end TQ (power):shrug:
Karl