I have a LG4 305ci Firebird..... bone stock..... puts out about 160hp....... and I need power. What is the very very very first thing I should put on? I got $150 to buy something..... i was thinking along the lines of a air filter assembly. keep in mind that i don't have the equipment to do mechanical stuff, so i'm most likely going to have to pay someone to do it for me. anyways, what shoudl i put on first, second, and third?

 

Well first thing, ditch the single snorkel air cleaner assembly. Then I'd go with a set of headers and a catback. You won't be taking out LS1's, but it'll definately wake your LG4 up.

 

Headers ($99) and Y-pipe ($99) and a cat delete, one top of already having a flowmaster 80 series cat back and an open element air cleaner, improved my best e.t. by .6, which is a very big gain. Not to mention it sounded cool.

 

I would recommend going to sears and buying a nice mechanics tool set. There is soo many advantages to being able to work on your own car. Not to mention most everything on a car can be done with a ratchet set and some screw drivers.

 

Well said, I agree with him. I'd buy a 14" drop base open element air cleaner and 14x3 K&N filter + tools.

 

is installing the k&n air filter assembly hard? can i just do it with my set of ratchets (sp?) and screwdrivers?... does it come with an instruction manual? thanks.

 

a 80 gallon air compressor and some air tools are always nice

 

No, you don't need any tools--except your hands

 

Find one of these, then headers and exhaust.

 

Yup, dump the single snorkel air cleaner ASAP and either get a dual snorkel (above) or an open element air cleaner. That alone will give a small, but noticeable boost in performance.

 

:hail: dual snorkel

 

For a $150, I'd say open element air filter, cooler thermostat, probably a little tune up(plugs, wires, cap & rotor), tire pressure (50 cents), adjust the timing. Then full exhaust (headers and cat-back ~$550 new) and if you can't do these things yourself (they all require simple hand tools (rachet, open wrenches, etc.), then find a friend that will help/do it for you. Beer is a good incentive.

You can do about 95+% of the mechanical work poosible on a thirdgen with a set of rachets, screwdriver, hammer, jack and jack stands.