As of right now, Everything is stock, except flowmaster cat-back, and 14x3 Open element.

next up is a complete tune-up as follows:
MSD cap an rotor
Accel Super Stock plug wires
Bosch platinum plugs
castrol sytec blend 10w30
fram Oil filter
throttle body spacer
Probly a chip that eliminates the speed shut off.

what do you guys think about my current and future mods?

thanks
Kyle

 

I personally have had problems with Bosch Platinums when I sold them at an auto parts store. I have also had SERIOUS problems with Fram oil filters. Do an Internet search on oil filter comparisons and see if it doesn't change your mind. Apparently the Fram name was sold from Allied signal (Ford Motor Co.) to Honeywell and they really cheaped out the guts of the filters. Just my opinion......
On the upside, you can't go wrong with MSD(IMO).............

 

well, what kind of filter do you recommend?

 

if you look at those oil filter comparisons on the web, all of them seem to copy eachother. Each one of them has some sort contradiction to itself, like saying one filter is good because of "this" but another is bad for having the very same thing. They all simply push the "author"'s fav brand, you can generally tell which filter they're going to say is best within the first 10 seconds of reading the review, all the "data" they collect is simply spinned to make their filter the best.

Are normal fram filters cheap, hell yes. They're made cheap and are cheap. That's what they're marketing for in those filters. But, they make other lines of filters that are on par with any other expensive brand of filter. With brands like MSD, you are paying for the name, with some things this matters, others it does not. I could go off on air filters but i wont.

BTW, why are iridium plugs not being considered for this tuneup, Yes, they're more fragile, but they require less power, provide a hotter spark and from what all the marketing hype has suggested, simply outperform platinum plugs. I've been reluctant to buy them because I haven't talked to anyone who's ever used them with any sort of equipment that can measure any difference in performance (emissions or via knock/data logging)

Bosch platinum 4's are the ones that people say to stay away from, on many different car forums.

As long as you get a plug that's the right temp for your engine, I think it's colder plugs for more advanced timings and hotter plugs for not advanced but higher octane. Don't quote me on that though.

Why are you using 10 weight oil anyways? It's winter, unless it's hot as hell over where you live, you should be at 5 ( it's what my v8 says on the oil cap) and since it's cold, it's especially necessary to keep the oil viscosity low as cold temperatures makes oil thicken. Are you afraid of oil leaks? Not running full synthetic due to price ?

Instead of the throttle body spacer and chip, I'd look into possibly getting a new polygraphite frontend bushing kit since your stock ones are probably not in the best of shape, to put it nicely. If not those, then making sure the struts and stuff are all working good, brakes and such too so that when you do push 110 mph, you're sticking to the road and not to a tree.

 

I have actually cut apart different filters to compare the guts. Most filters are adequate, but fram uses cardboard and glue (painted silver to look like metal) for the bypass or drainback valve. I use AC Delco because they fare well for cost versus performance. I've actually had fram cause a valvetrain noise that went away when I changed to a different filter and then came back when I put a new fram on again. This is why I investigated the difference in the first place.
Just my opinion......

 

Your list looks complete for but I would get rid of the spacer, use a different oil, and avoid those plugs. Regular AC delcos are all you need and the money you would spend on that spacer can be used for better oil (Mobil 1). I woulnd't say these are mods since they won't add any power. However, they will restore all power that was lost due to improper maintenance.

 

ditto on the delco plugs......

 

you guys have a good point, and from suggestions, I will probly find a different brand of oil filter and plugs.

I was talking to my girlfriend's uncle(owns the local speedshop). He said if I have the money then I should buy royal purple oil, claims it adds 10 hp and 6 mpg, any truth to this?

well, I still have a week until payday, so give me anymore suggestions and LMK what else I should do. Thanks for the help.

Kyle

 

In my own experience, Royal purple is the stuff you use when you need an extra hundredth of a second at the track to win. I really believe it is just too expensive to run in an everyday car. The amount of contamination that oil goes through from every day driving just makes me wince. If you're under 100k miles, just run good 5-30 oil and if you have the extra money run Mobil 1. THE BEST everyday oil you can buy. If you're car is running good, then you need to get the rest of the car in shape to handle the horsepower you are looking for. Time to upgrade brakes, steering, suspension, maybe frame ties, and even trans and rear end. Nothing worse than building up big hp and then watching the chain reaction of broken stuff afterward. Some people like to do it that way, though.
Anyway, just my opinion...............

p.s. don't forget a good K+N type air filter and free up the exhaust. You get power AND mileage from that, too.

 

K&N doesn't filter, that's why it frees up intake air flow. If you dont really want a filter but want the airflow, K&N will be the one to go with.
The only way i'd run a K&N filter is with the foam wrap that they use when filtering is actually a concern. Some other foam filters are made by other companies too, and likely at a cheaper price than the name brand K&N. I repeat, if you want your air filter to actually filter the air, then gauze filters are not what you want.

That being said, most engine wear occurs at startup, especially cold startup, like on the order of 80%, so the type of air filter you have really doesn't matter all that much unless you have a high amount of pollutants in the air.

And because of the startup wear, the oil you use is very important. I'd only use full synthetic oil, unless I was flushing the system, which i'd rotate out high quality blend or conventional oil every thousand miles (plus filter). Really, unless your car burns oil, there is no reason to not use full synthetic.


This is all really minor stuff though, worry about your suspension and chassis/frame. Make sure the car is physically going to be able to handle power ... spend your money there first, so you're not replacing parts that were good when the bad ones begin causing damage later. Leave the "fix it when it's broken" to those people who have money to **** away.

 

Very untrue actually! K&N Filters are designed to fliter differently, but in no way filter less. K&N Filters will actually filter the air even better than a regular paper element, while at the same time with the patented oil and cotton gauze, letting more air through. (gah, sound like a salesman huh?) So yeah, a K&N is a great investment, both for a little better throttle response, AND getting better filterd air into your car...

*EDIT* - Check this out... http://knfilters.com/facts.htm

Bruce (90RS305)

 

Check out independent studies comparing K&N to foam and other types of filters. They do not live up to their own statements. If you can't find them with google i'll get them after work.

 

i had to get rid of my K&N filter cause the open element wouldnt let me use it. But i do belive that K&N is the best to go with. it frees up alot of power.

 

This is true, it is a very well known fact that they do small particles in. The 'data' on the K&N site is all marketing hype, check out MANY independant tests, and listed to what the real engine builders have to say about it.

Not to mention that it will void the warrenty on a new GM car... and a few other major manufactures.

And for oil filters... you could always get the ultimate oil filter here...

http://www.colemanracing.com/section/index.htp?id=871

 

your setup seems perfect except the Bosh plugs!!! Some some reason our GM Engines dont like anything BOSH!!!! Belive me i tried that and it ran like carp... think about getting some headers. they will free up alot of power. thats my next plain after i rebulid my tranny!!

 

Im not saying K&N filters are better or worse than any other type of filter, but to quote "facts" off a company's website is kind of pointless...
I can also give you a link to The Tornados website and they will give you "facts" like it inreases HP by 25% and MPG 35%.

 

The real reason K+N voids GM warranties is because upon initial installation the some of the oil coating flows onto the Mass Air Sensor and throws a code. Apparently no amount of cleaning can fix it. GM Dealers just replace the maf, but don't want to pay for it. The real truth is that in a matter of weeks the oil "burns off" and the computer is happy again. I've been through this twice. No big deal.

 

forgot to add that I need a new O2 sensor.

I already have an open element.

Kyle

 

Save yourself the money and buy regular AcDelco spark plugs, and a regular air filter. In my opinion, the only reason to buy a K&N is durability since you can just wash it, oil it, and keep using it again. I actually have a pair on my car now, but only because I got them for $3. I had one on my car when I had the L03, and it is a total waste. IF you think you felt an improvement, then its all in your head.

 

I already have a paper element!

 

Sorry, I just got confused reading about the K&Ns and thought you were thinking of buying one some how. My mistake.

Watching an infomercial for that thing pisses the hell out of me. Its just ridiculous. 35% increase in mpg?!?!?! So on a 300 hp LS1, that would bring you up to 375.....and on a 30 mpg economy car, it would bring it up to 40.5mpg ....

I can understand someone who isn't into cars getting suckered into buying something like that. But the people who are enthusiasts who believe that hype are just plain idiots.

Sorry, I just had to vent. Let me not get started with Prolong either....

 

Well, all your major parts magazines sell it. Summit does. Jegs does too i believe. It's not just the companies themselves that hype and mislead. When everywhere you look "authorities" on aftermarket and performance parts are selling this crap (tornado and such) how can you not see how people get suckered in and buy it, if for nothing than curiosity. It's not that people are idiots all the time, these companies are flat out lying. They spin the facts and selectively pick test results that favor their product, they withold information on the test subject and what they're comparing to. They use non-realistic situations to favor what they're selling and they all dont care.

All intended to round up the "tuneR" market which stereotypically goes after anything supposedly technologically advanced and new or different that brings crazy performance gains with no effort.

I mean, it's gotten to the point where you can't believe anything you read anywhere unless it's done by some international consumer organization.

sorry for the rant. basically everyone's said the same thing about where the money ought to go.

 

well, what do you guys think of autolite plugs? (the platinum ones)

Kyle

 

The tornado add on you speak of is that the turbine device that goes in your air filter yadda yadda and gives you "boost" from added air flow to give you a claimed 10% hp gain. Someone mentioned it to me and I went to Napa to ask them. They promptly stated "yes sir we certainly do carry those" as if they were the invention of the century. Why do these continue to make a profit? How do they make up these results...are the buyers just mentally believing they have 20-25 more hp or are there numbers to back these hoaky products up.

 

The Tornado is junk a proven ET reducer. I use to have 2 guy that would hang around the shop, the both had 1.8 5-speed eclipes one day one showed up and said I got the tornado and I'm going leave you in the dust. He left him self in the dust. I do belive they might get you better mpg by limiting air flow in a motor, or might work good on a single bbl car or some thing. Maybie I'm wrong but how can this thing keep the air swirling past a TB or carb or around intake turns inside. I could see maybie a wet flow to help with the fuel but why on a dry intake?

 

Yep, the tornado is in the same catigory as most bosch automotive parts: garbage.

 

this thread isn't supposed to be about stuff that doesn't work, its supposed to be about the products i'm using to tune up my car.

Kyle