98 GT at that certain point....

96GTRagTop

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My best friend knows minimal about cars and I've pretty much modded his car out, told him what to put in it, and when. Well he's at a point now, where there's nothing he can really do to the car 4 him to notice and differnece without spending some cash. He wants things done PRO too, so that right there kills.

here are his list of mods-
gay metal CAI with K&N filter---------------Mac Cat Back
FRPP 3.73 ----------------------------------- Mac Pro Chamber o/r H
Steeda Tri-Ax ------------------------------- Steeda UDP
PI Intake

We've been quoted at approx 2000 for a NPI aftermarket cam install, but were told to only expect an increase in about 20 rwhp. For a aftermarket PI cam install, we were quoted at about 2500, but were told to only expect the same 20 rwhp differance over stock NPI cams.

He also is then going to have to have the car dynotuned afterwards, and thats going to cost 500-750, depending on his choice of software.

Now he wants the car lowered and at the same time I'm going to have him put control arms in. But thats most likely not going to be until next spring.

I've pretty much got full access and an easy button to push when it comes to modding his car. I just need to know what to do. He wants to get the thing to 300rwhp NA, but i'm being told thats close to impossible with NPI heads.

I've got a list of what he needs done to the car before he goes full bolt on.......

what i meant when i entitled the thread "at that certain point" was because he's ready to spend $ to get some pretty decent gains.

Ujstlost last night, when talking about my car brought up the fact that if you do the mod that gives u a decent amount of power right off the bat, ur going to see so much better results with the supporting mods. We put exhaust n a shifter on his car and he was happy for a week. We put gears in it and he was pretty content for a week. PI intake and UDP made him smile, but only for 2 days.

He bassically dropped $2500 bux into his car, and he feels that he would have been happier doing everything all at once, as apposed to over 5 months. I guess that smart idea thingy in his head clicked, and he dicided to just drop 2k in at once. But he wants RESULTS.

We thought cams were the way to go, and we want to try and keep them in NPI heads. We figure right now we lowballed him at 220rwhp. We want to get him to around 275 with NO head work and NO nitrous. We'd love to see 300 but I've been told I'd have better luck licking my own ass.

Keep in mind I'm aware we won't get those numbers without full bolt ons, but i was told that even with that and cams i'm all up in the grundle.
 

Dalamar

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you hit it, your at that certain point. to get more from the drivetrain you will need to spend more money.
Either Nitrous or a supercharger, bolt on's beyond exhaust, PI and gears are a waste of money for the gains you get.
(exhaust is more about sound than power :) )

it's forced induction time.



it's going to take money to run with the new cars, especially with the NPI combo.
 
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96GTRagTop

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can't be done.......hell, i'm already convinced and plan on going blown as soon as i can afford it.......

he wants all motor.........and doesn't want to part with the 4500 bux plus dyno tune.

i'm trying to convince him to finish off his bolt ons, and spend the 750 bux to get his car dyno tuned with SCT software. He maybe able to pick up 20 rwhp with a dyno tune, coil packs, JLT, and ACCufab combo.
 

LI98GT

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So what's his reason for sticking with NPI heads? PI heads will open up some cam options that are just not available for NPI heads and get him a lot closer to his goal, even at that to get at the magic 300 mark, would probably need to be worked PI heads at that. I still have my NPI heads, but I don't have any emotional or sentimental feelings towards them, just a financial thing. Another alternative is if he can find a set of SVO heads, that's kind of a unique combination he can have if that's what he's shooting for.
 
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96GTRagTop

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it's pretty much a money issue. I think he's just gonna finish the bolt ons, do the suspension and be done with it.

Maybe a year from now he'll have some cash saved and be willing to part with it so he can make serious power. Besides, it's would be cheaper to get the car dyno tuned the second time because he'll already have the software.

Thats his big issue right now, that it'll cost him about 2500-2700 to get the car tuned right.
 

QwanSanchez

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uh you might want to inform him that a basic PI head swap, plus a cam will get him alot more power for less money then your talking abot spending. No offense to your friend but if he really is going to spend that much money on the things he listed hes a f^&king idiot and throwing money down the drain. :nonono:
 

ripper

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With his mods he doesnt need a dyno tune. And I agree with LI98GT. Headswap is the way to go.
 
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scarface

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96GTRagTop said:
Thats his big issue right now, that it'll cost him about 2500-2700 to get the car tuned right.
Who the heck is tuning it? God himself?
 

nesqwick_05

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wanting to keep a modular na to get a certain power goal is one of the dumbest things to do when looking for high hp. all in all he culd get a vortch tuners kit and do a sniper to so he can tune it at home. i hope u told him chasing dyno numbers will get him nowhere so y waste the money when he can do it himself? i understand where he is, i felt the same bfore and i didnt hrdly have anything done. couple days later went and found my powerdyne got it for 700 and culdnt be happier with my investment
 

Jrgunn5150

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The quotes you guy's got are astronomically high, do these people normally bid on governement contracts? A dyno tune is 350 to 500 bucks, period. 2500 to instal pi cams and 2k to install NPI cams, that dont even make sense, it's the same amount of work. I'm onna save you a ton of money and just say what everyone else avoided, find another shop. Now my fee is 10% of your saving's :dancing6:
 

DropTopPony

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WOW $2000+ for a cam swap :rollinglaugh:

You could buy a used 03-04 Complete PI Engine for @$1300 and spend @$1000 in labor to swap it in...
you need to find a better shop. Where do you live?
 

tooslow

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5.4l 2v PI swap.

best money and effort aside from FI you can invest into a mod powered car. (you can always do FI later :banana: also)

have him pick up a 5.4l from a junkyard, $500ish for a rebuildable. or about $1k for a good runner. and swap over the bolt-ons he already has.

will it make 300rwhp? probably not. at least not in near stock form. but the torque jump over an equally powerfull 4.6l will more than make up for it in the "seat of the pants" dyno.
 

voidfinger

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Either do the pi swap. with heads and cams or upgraded cams. Or you could get the svo heads and svo intake and go to town. Stock N/A motor... the svo is the way to go. Either the swap or put in a cobra motor :)
 
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scarface

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tooslow said:
5.4l 2v PI swap.

best money and effort aside from FI you can invest into a mod powered car. (you can always do FI later :banana: also)

have him pick up a 5.4l from a junkyard, $500ish for a rebuildable. or about $1k for a good runner. and swap over the bolt-ons he already has.

will it make 300rwhp? probably not. at least not in near stock form. but the torque jump over an equally powerfull 4.6l will more than make up for it in the "seat of the pants" dyno.
how about a 5.4 DOHC?
 

nesqwick_05

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Scarface said:
tooslow said:
5.4l 2v PI swap.

best money and effort aside from FI you can invest into a mod powered car. (you can always do FI later :banana: also)

have him pick up a 5.4l from a junkyard, $500ish for a rebuildable. or about $1k for a good runner. and swap over the bolt-ons he already has.

will it make 300rwhp? probably not. at least not in near stock form. but the torque jump over an equally powerfull 4.6l will more than make up for it in the "seat of the pants" dyno.
how about a 5.4 DOHC?

there was one on corral for 600 a couple weeks ago...
 

Jrgunn5150

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Well the OP disappeared after he posted this, so it's a little wierd. I mean seriously, 2k for a cam install...
 

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