Help Me Out
 

I just got an 05 red V6 in November and would love to do some things with it for performance and appearance. This is my first new car but I know next to nothing about cars or how to work on them...so any suggestions about hopefully easy and relatively cheap things to do and how to do it would be greatly appreciated. I'm just trying to learn. I love my new car but like I said, I know nothing about how to work on it.

Welcome to MF. Try out the search feature and you will find more info on your 6 than you can handle.

Hey Texas. A former First Cav soldier myself here. Went to the first gulf war circa 1990 with the Cav. How is life at Fort Hood these days?

Welcome to MF! There are many options for you for both appearance and performance modifications. I recommend a dual exhaust from the cats back. Newtakeoff.com has a complete kit that is easy to install. I also recommend getting a CAI (cold air intake) and SCT tuner from AmericanMuscle.com those should keep a smile on your face for a long while!

The best thing you can do for your car is a tune and a cold air intake. It'll not only improve your numbers, but also improve fuel economy (if you can resist the temptation to stand on the gas with the hp and lb/ft tq improvement). A lot of sixers go with the cat-back exhaust, some preferring H pipes, others with X pipes and there are a multitude of available mufflers for our 05's to 09's. After that, people will say that a traction lock (T-Loc for short; gives you power to both wheels instead of the rear right alone) and a set of new steeper gearing (4.10's or 3.73's) to increase acceleration, is the next great mod.

I myself have the cold air intake, tune, and a full exhaust including headers (less restrictive exhaust collectors). My fuel economy hasn't suffered (when I'm not hitting high rpm's for the heck of it) and my numbers have certainly gone up.

I guess what it all comes down to is how much do you want to do? Do you want moderate gains or as much hp and tq as possible? How important is fuel economy to you?

Perfect advice. Now you just have to decide which brands to select for each of these components. Don't buy a cold air intake that doesn't require a tune. For example, you can get a combo package (CAI and tuner) on AmericanMuscle for around $550-$600. If you decide to change your gears and the T-loc, do some research on the various options. Your best bet may be to replace the complete rear axle instead of rebuilding your existing one. You can get the entire rear end for ~$900.

IMO opinion considering appearance.

Start with tinted windows
Get quarter window louvers, maybe rear window louvers
Cervini Chin spoiler
Nice 18-20" rims (Preferably black IMO) with fat tires
Good looking spoiler
Some sort of vinyl or stripes
Sequential Tailights
Blackout Panel
Either keep the hood scoop or sell it and get a 3inch cowl hood
GT front bumper with billet grille or just a billet grille

Welcome!

Cold air intake with a tune -American Muscle - $600
8.8 rear axle with 3.73s - New Take Off - $850 (you may want someone else to install it, although it is not hard [125])
Dual exhaust - Fabbed up by a muffler shop - $300 to $400
Better tires - At least $600 for the tires. Anything less and the tires are crap.

Those are the >$1000 mods. They are very common for sixxers around here. Good luck!

I start with Exhaust or Cai. Your call If you get a full true dual exhaust it will be more expensive. and ur gas mileage will improve more with a Cold Air Intake which is really easy to put on. its your call