I wanna go faster
 

well the title says it all lol

right now i have a 4L60E 97 Trans Am with an SLP cold air intake Flowmaster muffler but thats it

i wanna know wat u guys think would be the best next step in makin this thing really fly

EDIT: i didnt put the flowmaster it was there wen i bought the car and im probly gonna take it off for a better exaust system somewhere down the road

What is your budget like?

Headers, Exhaust, Gears, & Tune. That should get you some decent Bolt on power and give the car a nice boost.

Pacesetter Long Tubes are probably your best bang for the buck. I would purchase them coated, and you can go with any of there y-pipes. I run there Off-Road (No Cats) and the install was super easy. Just make sure before you pull your manifolds you soak them in a good solvent like PB blaster, WD40, or Liquid Wrench.

For a cat back, I think one of the most popular (and best sounding) for an LT1 is the magnaflow 3" "Wide Open" or just about any 3" cat back will work and make just about the same power.

For an Auto you could either go with 3.73's or 4.10's.

You could also finally get a mail order tune once you have everything done and that'll help free up some power and help shift your automatic.

Best seat of the pants upgrade in my opinion was a set of headers...I'd save up and do the whole exhaust at one shot. I'd recommend the Pacesetter coated longtubes with their y-pipe and the catback of your choice.

After that a good plan would be gears, torque converter, and a computer tune(I recommend madz28.com)

ALSO, it won't make you any faster but you should look into a transmission cooler to keep that 4l60 alive

are the Pacesetter Long Tubes the best out there? im not worried about a budget because i rly want this car to have all the best and if its too much i have no problem saving up for awile

In addition to what was already replied:

What type of use do you intend for the car? Is it a daily driver, short trips, long hauls or weekend warrior?

Is fuel mileage or streetabily an issue? Do you need to keep the car emmissions complient?

Need to know this so that we make the right suggestions.

itll probly be a daily driver for awile but i want it to be the fastest daily driver on the road lol

and emissions is not a problem

my ultimate goal is for this car to be able to beat a Z06, i want it to be able to run under a 10.8 and maintain drivability and i have no problem putting performance suspension to make that happen

10's are big numbers and you def wont get those with just basic bolt ons.

i realize that and in no way do i intend to make it that fast all at once, im gonna add things step by step but i want each step to be the best part i can add and somewhere down the line i wanna add a ProCharger to really help it hit those numbers

its a daily driver FOR NOW but down the line wen it starts getting fast enough ill buy a daily beater

wat do u guys think of the SLP Short Headers?

They are nice, but you'll get more power out of a set of long tube headers.

- Justin

wat do u think are the best Long Tube Headers?

I know several people that like the pacesetter long tubes (like the two mentioned above), but I don't have any hands-on experience with LT1s. I have Hooker Super Comps for my car, but that's for a Gen I motor in a 3rd gen.

- Justin

as ive been lookin through different sites Hooker is the only other headers ive seen that are Long Tube other than Pacesetter, do u think they would be better?

I dunno man, like I said, I don't have any real hands-on experience with LT1s, so I can't make a good recommendation for you.

I'm sure there will be other LT1 guys chiming in here with some good advice for you.

- Justin

k, also wen i get the Y-Pipe an offroad one woud give more power cuz of not having a catalyctic converter right?

In all seriousness, 10's are a very hard number to reach. Someone that lived down the street from me had a 97 SS, 396 stroker, cam, bolt ons, geared, and a 175 shot and only ran 11.3ish ... Best thing to do to beat a Z06 in a 97 Trans Am is to swap that goddamned LT1 out and chuck in an LSx :lol:

If u want an all out track car that can still be driven on the street, only suggestion is to buy two 12 packs, grab a couple sockets + wrench, screwdrivers, and put that car on a diet... aka Massive Weight Redux :lol:

lol honestly 10.7/10.8 is my dream for this car but i would be more than happy with low 11s

wen i get some serious money i plan to buy a project car to turn into an all out drag car i want either a 70/71 Chevelle or GTO and just drop in a Big Block and go from there

but for this car i wanna keep the LT1 and just make it as fast as i can while keeping it drivable

I personally don't care for the pacesetters. They're not bad for the price, buy they are all slip-fit connections which can be a pain to keep tight seals on. Jethot makes a header that is very close ( knock off ) of the Hooker supercomps but at a better price.

To me the options, look into Jethot, Hooker or Kooks. They all have thick flanges where they bolt to the heads and collector flanges.

I wanted to keep my car (semi) leagal in PA. I'm running the Jethot Long tubes with emmis. fiitting (fittings are optional). The 3" collectors going into a mufflex built 3" Y-pipe with 3" cats, that merges into a 4" collector and 4" cat back into a 4" in - 4" single out Spintech muffler. It's a tight fit under the car, but I don't think you'll find anything that flows much better then that in a full exhuast, and I still pass E-town noise restrictions? Some of the people here have heard my car and I've only gotten compliments on the sound.

For getting into the 10's. I aggree with what the others said ( Other then those that think you need to swap out the LT1 for an LS1 ). :knock:

But weight reduction means you can get there with less HP.

You're going to need to look into a stroker and a power adder and suspension work. The basic mods I have are in my sig.

This is a full street car, no a gutted car! I've retained all the power option, seats, windows, AC, Cruise, stereo etc. Only thing removed was the back seat to make room for the S+W cage floor braces, and the front bumper support for clearance of the 3-core intercooler. And I'm no light weight either at 225lbs. I'd guess car+ drive total about 3800lbs, maybe more?

I haven't made any hard passes. I'm using Nitto DR until I upgrade the rear, so I launch just off idle and roll into the boost to keep wheel spin down. I'm running low 12's this way but trapping at 124MPH so low 11s shouldn't be a problem with slicks. And my engine is built to handle allot more boost then I'm making right now!

So how's that for a full weight LT1 ??? :helmet:

jeebus...124mph...thats 10s dude

and to the OP dont waste your time on shorty headers unless you need emissions

if you want the most immediate gain for your $$$ to get started, get a good stall(think 3600ish), a shift kit, and some 4.10 gears.
then move along to taking care of the chassis prep until you have the cash together to build a mean engine. things like a better rear(12bolt, S60, 9inch), upgraded torque arm, control arms, control arm relo brackets, tubular k-member.........the list goes on and on.
the other major decision you have to make is how do you want to be "fast". doyou mean "fast" in terms of drag racing from a stand still? fast through the twisties? a compromise of both?
if you really wanna beat up on Z06's in every sense, you will need to spend a lot of time researching your suspension decisions so you can hook good in a straight line and still carry good speed through corners.

alrite thanks for the advice everyone

ill probly be sending u PMs from time to time for some advice on where to get some things as i need em lol

cam, tq converter,headers,head work