Novanutcase

Question 1 - Do you want to upgrade for performance or looks? (Don't say both because a G won't buy you both!)

If I was you I would save my money and do the following:

Maximum Motorsports or Griggs full suspension upgrade
MGW Short Shifter
FRPP or Motive 3.73 gears
31 spline axles
Cobrabrake upgrade(I used Wilwood SL6's because I road race my car! For street, the Cobra upgrade is more than adequate!)
Accufab TB/Plenum
Vortech or Procharger Blower
As sticky a tire as you can afford!

SDTRAVIOSOSD:

Are you having hanging idle issues with your TB/Plenum swap? How do you like the XCAL3 tune? I'm trying to decide on either the Xcal or the Sniper tuner!

John

TX97GT

you seem to be worried about gas mileage (which I can def. understand). With the right driving, a manual will tend to get a little better MPG than auto. Just another thing to think about before you buy. Plus I think you'd enjoy a 5-speed so much more.

Dragonus18

Yeah dude. Manuel is the way to go. My cousin has a manuel GT and I have a stick GT and it's no fun when you just sit back and only hit the gas. It's a lot more fun when you can be actively interacting while your car is screaming for more. Not to mention on manuels you can downshift which I'm pretty sure you can do on an automatic. Manuel overall is better so you can have more control over your car.

boduke0220

you can do cooler burnouts in a manual lol. nothing like dropping the clutch

MJH78

You'll get 10 different answers I suppose, but if I were in your situation and had $1000. I would do:
exhaust: the 4.6 is one of the sweetest sounding cars on the planet, IMO..so let it be heard. I bought a SS Mac catback for $420 and in the process of a used Prochamber (midpipe) for $90. If you get a manual, an MGW short shifter is a must..the stock shifter is complete garbage. $190 or so for that. I've READ that a tune is a great mod for an automatic..on top of which if you do replace the midpipe and remove the cats, the tuner will eliminate the CEL from having no cats. I opted to not get gears. It's at LEAST a $700 mod with labor, and then you have the issue of having OEM tires and suspension that from my understanding would be important to upgrade ($$$$$) in order to get proper traction.

Hangwire

Only reason i'm getting an auto is because I never learned how to drive a stick. Yea I believe its probably a ****load more fun but I havent taken the time to learn yet. Eventually I will.

Ok so, does cold air intake actually make a difference over a regular K&N filter? Anybody out there that tried both on their car?

How much harder is it going to be to get the car to hook if I go to 4.10s without suspension upgrades? 4.10s have to really really make the tires want to chirp. Will it end up being anoying to fight the car to hook if I dont also upgrade the suspension?

How necessary is a tranny cooler with 4.10 gears? And with 3.73? Am I running the risk of wearing it down a lot faster or breaking it if I drop 4.10s in there without cooling the transmission? Keep in mind future performance upgrades are most likely.

How much will 4.10 gears effect my top end performance?

If everybody is agreeing that headers are a big performance limiter and a choke point. Then.....would it not be a good start to get these headers? Which brings me to a point, whats the true difference in shortys and long tubes? I've heard people favor both.....but shorts seem to cost half as much, must be a reason!

What is a J-mod?

sdtravies why did your gears cost 500? I couldnt find any nearly that expensive on Americanmuscle.com

GTRACER88

You read my mind!! Nitrous! Dynotune nitrous has a wet kit for $400. J mod is a transmission partthat, long story short, moves transmissionfluid faster and makes the car shift faster. When i give it 75%throttle i chirp the tires since it shifts so fast. I really recomend that, anditonly cost $59, installed for 100 dollars. CAI, here we go, people sayyesand peoplesay no. I bought a 50 raceboy CAI and i like it. I feel that it is justa pipe and they are all the same. Now when you go to serious power, then you need a real intake like JLT intake. Throttle body and plenum, i boughtthe new BBK one for 250 dollars. I like it but for just a bolt on, you will not really feel so much. Gears are a must, you will notice them,but for an auto, i would get 3:73.becausewhen you race the 1/4 mile, with4:10's you enterover drive whichare really weak. they usually break when you are going WOT in overdrive. with 3:73 you just cross the lineright before you shift into overdrive. GAS is barly affected, not to such exaggerationto whatpeople say it does so dont be scared.However there are some people who lost significant amount of gas. Do research about shops, iknow a shop that would install my gears for 100 dollars with all fluids. Only time you would really need a Transmission cooleris if you are runninglaps, then i would recomend one, if not, youdo not need it.There are so many choices that you should decide where you want to start. I started with the CAI and exhaust, because i wanted to build mycar to then latergive itF/I.

SVTeeshirt

So take a day and get a buddy to teach you how to drive a stick, just take like 300$ and put it aside for a clutch lol. also one guy up there refered to a manual and a stick as two different things lol.

Hangwire

Really good info so far, especially gtracers. Keep the suggestions coming!

Given that the headers are considered the exhaust system's weakest point, how much would installing LT headers help without getting exhaust or midpipe upgrades? What single part upgrade of the exhaust system would help most?

arkight

really buy a manual car and drive it for 1 hour in traffic you will learn fast how to drive stick it isn't hard very easy if both my sisters can do it anyone can