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My 2001 Z28 Page
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My
2001 Z28 Modifications |
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|
Part |
Approximate
cost |
Benefit |
My
Recommendation |
| Anti-Photo for license plate | $45 | Pro:
Stops people at car shows from getting your license plate # when they
happen to be snapping pictures of cars. Does it work? You tell me.
See a picture of
my car in this picture with the Anti-Photo device installed. This
is TOTALLY UNEDITED! Ever pay a toll booth and you still got a ticket
in the mail? Put an end to that crap real fast. Con: Some cops may give you a hard time. When I was in Chicago, they told me it was legal as long as it didn't have a dark tint. |
 |
| C.A.G.S. (skip shift) Eliminator | $15-30 | Pro:
Stops that annoying time where you have to shift from 1st to 4th gear.
In some situations this can be dangerous when pulling into traffic.
I almost got T-boned one day because it wouldn't let let put it into
2nd gear and I couldn't get out of the way of oncoming traffic. To
me, this seems more of a liability than a benefit from GM. Con: None that I can think of. If you want to save fuel economy, stop doing wide open throttle hole shots and don't put lower gears in your differential. |
|
| Throttle Body bypass kit | $19 | Pro:
Stops hot water from heating up the throttle body. Lets cooler air
get into intake. The throttle body was significantly cooler in my
test! This is the one made for the LS1 engine, same as Corvette. Con: Possible rougher idle in colder climates. I'm in Florida, so it's perfect for me. On the LS1 engine, the hose gets awful close to the pulley and belt once the bypass is installed making it easy for it to rub against the belt. |
|
| Hotchkis Strut tower brace | $235.00 | Pro:
Better handling in turns. Looks cool under the hood. This thing was SUPER easy to install. Con: Sometimes you may have to remove it for certain car maintenance, but it's not bad. |
 |
| Random Technology stainless steel cat-back exhaust | $379 |
Pro:
More horsepower. Better sound. Better fuel economy. Not too loud
to attract the cops. Flows as if you have no muffler at all. Doesn't
rust the way the factory one did. I paid $550 for this. The price has dropped substantially since I first bought mine! |
|
| Hypertech Power Programmer III | $339 |
Pro:
Adjust PCM to calibrate speedometer for 4.10 gears also different
tire heights. I recommend the 160 degree Powerstat
to go with this programmer. |
 |
| Hypertech
160 degree Power Stat (To be used in conjunction with the above programmer) |
$46 | Pro:
Keeps
engine cooler to prevent pinging/detonation - i.e. prevent engine
damage. When the engine doesn't ping, it's putting out as much power
as it can. I paid $55 for mine. Price has come down a little bit. This is the one that fits the 1998-2002 LS1 engine! Con: I've heard people say that 160 degrees is too cool to run the engine. I've done this mod in my last four Z28's and never had any problems. Hypertech recommends using it when you install the Hypertech Power tuning. My engine pinged before installing the thermostat. So it did help me. |
|
| Motive 4.10 gears | $250 | Pro:
High increase in fun factor for jack rabbit starts. Biggest seat of
the pants difference. Con: You may hear noticeable gear whine from it at certain speeds. At 60-65 MPH, I hear a loud noise similar to driving in reverse at a high speed. May decrease fuel economy. If I had to do it over again, I would go with 3.73 gears next time. |
 |
| MTI clear lid | $109 |
Pro:
More horsepower at wide open throttle/better flowing. Looks cool.
Enables you to see if there is any debris inside. |
|
| K&N air filter | $55 | Pro:
Higher flowing/last lifetime of car. Don't
recommend it now that I've found out that Amsoil has a Two-Stage
filter which flows the same as the K&N but without letting
all the dirt go through. |
|
| Mac Trans Axle cover | $119 | Pro:
Has added fill and drain plugs for easy oil changes in trans axle
. Has extra reinforcement for the 4 bolts that hold the carrier in.
You can change your gear oil every 7,500 miles very easily using Amsoil
75-90W gear oil. Amsoil is really good stuff and I recommend using
it. Con: The Panhard rod has to be moved out of the way to gain access when removing one the plugs. |
|
| Panhard rod (non-adjustable) | $169 | Pro:
Reduce fishtailing when changing gears at very high RPM's (like when
you bark the tires in 2nd or 3rd gear). Cheap mod and didn't take long to put in! Con: May take 2 people to install, but I did it myself. Little tricky. |
|
| Global West sub frame connectors Part #905 for '93-'02 non-convertible. | $188 | Pro:
Reduce/eliminate flex of entire body of car. This
should be one of the very first modifications that you do to ANY 4th
generation F-body that has T-tops! EVEN V6 cars!! Con: A little bit of added weight to car. |
|
| Random Technology lower control arms | $149 | Pro:
Reduce/eliminate wheel hop on jack rabbit starts. Lower 60 foot times
at 1/4 mile. Exceptional build quality!
Con: Other than slightly heavier than stock LCA's, I can't think of any con. |
|
| Random Technology torque arm | $305 | Pro:
Faster 60 foot times. Exceptional build quality! I paid $349 for mine. They have dropped the price since then! Con: Very small amount of drive-train noise (clunking) when going back and forth in reverse. I heard no other noticable noise when driving as other people have using other torque arms. It has been quiet as they have advertised. To me it pretty much sounded just as quiet as the stock one. |
|
| 1LE sway bars, polyeurothane bushings and end-links | $318 | Pro: Much better handling. Faster/safer cornering. Con: Doesn't look anywhere near as nice as the Hotchkiss sway bars, but does a similar job for a much lower price. The place I bought mine from is out of business. The link for this one has a superior quality to what I was using. |
|
| Fast Toys Ram Air | $169.99 |
Pro:
Works much better than the ram air that comes on a stock SS or Trans
Am. This is a MUST-HAVE if you want more power at top end. It's
been improved for 2002! This is a great unit to complement the MTI
lid. |
|
| ASP Underdrive Power Pulley's | $209 | Pro:
Let's the engine spool up power faster by reducing drag. Faster ET
on the quarter mile.This lowers the RPM's on your alternator and accessories
a little bit. Con: I do not recommended if you have an upgraded car stereo. At night when I'm in traffic and have the A/C turned on, the battery level on my dash stays in the red zone when at idle. |
|
| Nitto Drag Radials since Goodyear Eagle GS-C's get nothing but wheel spin when you have 4.10 gears installed. You can no longer floor-board it in 1st or 2nd or 3rd gear without going sideways all over the road. | |||
| With the above mods, I recently took a long road trip. I drove 333.3 miles on 11.83 gallons of gas. That yielded 28.174 MILES PER GALLON. Initially the 4.10 gears lowered my fuel economy, but when I installed the ASP power pulley set and the Fast Toys ram air, my fuel economy went back to factory. The ram air is a nice add-on as long you don't drive down many dirt roads. I checked out the filter and often saw lots of sand and dirt. It amazes me that I can have a car like this with all of these mods and get this kind of fuel economy. If I left the factory 3.42 gears in, I could be getting over 30 MPG. | |||
