Reb here, folks. I drive a '98 Z28. Not because it's my favorite thing to roll out of an assembly plant, but because it was the fastest and most reliable thing I could buy three years ago for $6,250. There are faster cars and there are cheaper cars, but I got a 70k mile Camaro, a 350 horse LS1, an air conditioner and a 20mpg average around town that ran 13.4s bone stock.
After dropping $379.99 into a set of ceramic coated Pacesetter long-tubes, she awarded me with consistent 12.9s. This is on 245mm Kumhos and 2.73 gears people. Credit where credits due, your B18 Integras, 4.6 Mustangs and old school Chevelles aren't doing that. Sure there are 5.0 Mustangs coming out now that run 12s stock, but this is in a car that was introduced at the end of 1997. That's 14 years folks. 14 years and they're finally catching up.
So.. I'm broke, in college and add what little I can when I can and that isn't often. I've since added a Yank 3500 stall converter and 3.73 gears, but they haven't been track tested. Hopefully next month that will change. I fully expect no worse than 12.3s on drag radials.
Throughout my tinkering I have learned how to go fast on the cheap. Between my full exhaust, gears, stall and wheels I have got about a grand in the car. A new Yank alone typically retails around $800. I've done this by buying used on LS1tech and craigslist, as well as selling off the stock parts that aren't needed anymore. Here's the breakdown.
Pacesetter Long-tubes and Y-pipe: $379.99 - $135 for factory cats= $244
Yank 3500 (used): $200
Motive 3.73'd rear end (used): $250 - $75 for my 2.73'd rear= $175
American Racing Torq Thrusts (used): $450 - $225 for factory wheels= $225
Total: $844
Throw in my cheap RV transmission cooler and $60 muffler and we haven't touched the grand mark. Exclude the wheels to only include speed parts and you're even cheaper. I could've saved another couple hundred if I hadn't bought the headers new.
It's all a matter of searching for the deals and having a little luck. I scored the gears already installed in a 10 bolt rear because a friend of mine upgraded to a Ford 9". I bought the stall off of a forum member who did a T56 swap. The wheels popped up in the classifieds and my stock ones sold on Craigslist. My cats sold to a fellow who bought them for recycling (before the economy took a dump and their value dropped).
It's amazing how much you can save by hunting for the deals and doing your own labor. Speaking of labor, I did it all as I went. I'm no mechanic, but good friends and Google are the best tools a fellow can have. What would have cost me atleast $3,000 in parts and labor has cost me less than a grand.
Enough rambling. What I'm saying is that if you want to go quick for cheap, chose a decent platform and spend carefully while doing your own labor. For what it's worth, I know a guy who spent as much as I have and all he has is a catback and cold air intake.
Spring's here. Get to building.
After dropping $379.99 into a set of ceramic coated Pacesetter long-tubes, she awarded me with consistent 12.9s. This is on 245mm Kumhos and 2.73 gears people. Credit where credits due, your B18 Integras, 4.6 Mustangs and old school Chevelles aren't doing that. Sure there are 5.0 Mustangs coming out now that run 12s stock, but this is in a car that was introduced at the end of 1997. That's 14 years folks. 14 years and they're finally catching up.
So.. I'm broke, in college and add what little I can when I can and that isn't often. I've since added a Yank 3500 stall converter and 3.73 gears, but they haven't been track tested. Hopefully next month that will change. I fully expect no worse than 12.3s on drag radials.
Throughout my tinkering I have learned how to go fast on the cheap. Between my full exhaust, gears, stall and wheels I have got about a grand in the car. A new Yank alone typically retails around $800. I've done this by buying used on LS1tech and craigslist, as well as selling off the stock parts that aren't needed anymore. Here's the breakdown.
Pacesetter Long-tubes and Y-pipe: $379.99 - $135 for factory cats= $244
Yank 3500 (used): $200
Motive 3.73'd rear end (used): $250 - $75 for my 2.73'd rear= $175
American Racing Torq Thrusts (used): $450 - $225 for factory wheels= $225
Total: $844
Throw in my cheap RV transmission cooler and $60 muffler and we haven't touched the grand mark. Exclude the wheels to only include speed parts and you're even cheaper. I could've saved another couple hundred if I hadn't bought the headers new.
It's all a matter of searching for the deals and having a little luck. I scored the gears already installed in a 10 bolt rear because a friend of mine upgraded to a Ford 9". I bought the stall off of a forum member who did a T56 swap. The wheels popped up in the classifieds and my stock ones sold on Craigslist. My cats sold to a fellow who bought them for recycling (before the economy took a dump and their value dropped).
It's amazing how much you can save by hunting for the deals and doing your own labor. Speaking of labor, I did it all as I went. I'm no mechanic, but good friends and Google are the best tools a fellow can have. What would have cost me atleast $3,000 in parts and labor has cost me less than a grand.
Enough rambling. What I'm saying is that if you want to go quick for cheap, chose a decent platform and spend carefully while doing your own labor. For what it's worth, I know a guy who spent as much as I have and all he has is a catback and cold air intake.
Spring's here. Get to building.
Is there anyway to make the car a little quieter on the cheapie?
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