Best mods for money and performance

[jsbihn]

hey all,
ok, it is time I put more money into the rig and i am looking to find out the best mods for the money.
(let me first put out my disclaimer: I am not a cheapskate, i just firmly believe that if you can do the same or better then some things out there with less money then why pay more just because it is supposedly the best - ie. my vette's clutch everyone told me to get the 1000 dollar twin pack, but i found out through my research that the 250 dollar clutch works just the same and matches my power output too)

Ok, there is the deal.

this rig is my daily driver. I drive alot since i commute an hour and a half to work everyday. i am looking to increase the performance of the rig in power and gas consumption.
I would like to raise the truck a few inches so we can keep that in mind too.

I was thinking (since this is basically an iron block vette engine that all the vette add-ons would be the way to increase power - could be wrong)

I really want to start with anything that will help with fuel.
Also since my tranny seems a little lunky, i was wondering if anyone has tried reprogramming the shift points to optimize gas and the ride.
I use the cruise alot on my drive into work.

given there are a number of points when the cruise gases down and my inst gas econ goes from like 12 to 3. so i guess i would like a few more things to increase power to help get the rig up to speed quicker.

please list all you know
though also keeping in mind that freebee mods are the best (ie. like i know in the vette there is a mod you can do with the coolant line (by pass) to help keep the engine cooler)
then the inexpensive mods
and so on


Thanks for all your helps

[fyr145]

well if youre looking for power but needing to stay within a certain budget I would suggest a few things;

1. Upgrade the air intake: I went from the factory intake system to Airaid's system. There are several other brands of systems out there with various configurations but anything is better than stock. Do some research and select an intake system that will work within your budget.

2. Get a programmer: Like the intakes out there on the market, there are several brands of programmers. Diablo is good, Hypertech, etc. all can help you make the adjustments that you want.

3. Change your exhaust system: Another key component to getting a few more horsepower with minimal cost is changing the exhaust system. I got rid of the factory exhaust and went with a Magnaflow brand. I get a few extra horses for the money but not the huge resonating drone sound in the cab. Flowmaster would also work but they tend to be a bit louder than I wanted. Again, its all about preference and budget.

You can also go further into this by changing the rear end gears so you will have more power in the higher bands but all of this is based upon your preferences.

Then, if price is no object, there always the supercharger for real boost but the fuel costs may really offset this mod.

Components like these can help you get on your way to getting more power with minimal cost. I do notice on my mods that I do get better power off the line.

Hope this helps.

[jsbihn]

Thats fyr,
I guess what I am also looking for is people's own research on the parts too.
See, I could research all that, which I know about the mentioned but it is about what people have seen on their end to be the best.

(ie. like some people say get K&N for a car you will see 10 hp gain, but you get it and everyone only sees 5 hp - yet if they get say another company system, those people actually have seen 10 hp or say if some people build their own system they see 5-7 hp increase for half the price of a bought system. of course this is just examples of a fictitious car and system)

and as for a s/c ummm nope that is way out there. remember this is a daily driver. my vette and m3 (which are the weekend cars) get the cash, this gets the what ever is left in my wallet :-p

[IRA51]

Unless your willing to pony up some big bucks ,leave it stock and enjoy it .

[jsbihn]

IRA51,
I know thats isnt true. Even my Vette I have modded without "ponying up the big bucks".
I know it is easier to go the route of the masses and buy the items people buy with high price tags but I know there are items out there right now that do the same job.

Like I know there is someone on here that bought a code reader for like 25 bucks that works with his phone and such, and so far I have heard it works great (and he didnt have to pay a couple of hundred for the same thing)

I know that on my M3 everyone yells out to buy the 1300 titanium dollar muffler, yet research and dynos have proven that the 300 dollar one is only 2lbs heavier then the titanium one and yields the same HP.

So why waste money.
I know that there are mods available for the H2 that dont cost an arm and a leg. Sure a reprogrammer might be a few hundred, but which one is the best buy. I mean why buy one for 150 that will only re-map one car and it only does a good job when you can buy one for say 250 that will re-map 2-3 cars and do a great job.

see where I am trying to go with this?

[[__--MUD--__]]

My mod list is almost at the point I'm just going to start listing what I havn't done to my slut. Honestly I can't think of any engine mod that was worth its cost as far as squeezing any additional mileage out of a gallon. The stock intake is designed to keep water out of the motor and also silence it. Changing that is only going to be an appearance mod and make the engine louder.

If you want to make that truck alot easier/fun to drive, ****can that stock steering pump. Call AGR Performance out of TX and tell them you want a high pressure pump w/ all the upgraded options. Your in the $350 range. At a complete stop on pavement w 38" tires, I can damn near throw the steering wheel to turn the wheels. You will get alot of additional braking assist also. Eliminates the dead steering feel in parking lot manuevers. If I ever get a second truck, this will be the first thing done.

[Hellz]

while i "FELT" a performance increase when i installed my K&N CAI, i dont know what actual gains i got from it.

for biger improvments, i would recommend long tube headers AND full exhuast replacement. i think you would be looking at somewhere around 50 HP gain..

do a corvette servo in the tranny should wake it up a little and improve shifting. think the servo is like $20 to $50 bucks, and you can do with the tranny still installed.

i have a Diablo Predator U7193 tuner. while i cant say i feel alot of gains from it, it is useful when changing speedo, and tires.

for the lift portion... you can spend the $3k to get a lift, and have it installed... then an extra 2k to 3k on tires alone ( not including rims ),

or

just buy 37 inch tires ( 2 to 3K) and green keys and crank your torsion bars for the extra few inchs.

if you go the lift route, your wheel wells will look very very empty with just 35 inch tires in there, and 37 inch tires only slightly improve it. if you go lift.. go with atleast 39 inch tires, if not 40's.

now, with that said, you will be spending more money on the front end.
tie rods, pitman, idler, upper, lower ball joints, and finally hubs.

i would say right now, stop trying to improve MPG. msot mods you will do, they will lower your MPG. you didnt say what year your H2 is, but if you have on 06+, that will help you tons for MPG wise because it is a 6 spd instead of the 4 spd on the older H2's. if you continue your driving habits, it will limit how much MPG you lose, but accept the fact that you will lose some.

so to re-cap, my advice for mods are:

37 inch tires - 2 to 3k
tuner to change tires and perk up tranny and engine - $300 to 600
green torsion keys- $ 200 ish
corvette servo - $20 to 30
long tube headers- $800
catback exhaust - $1600 - Borla

you will lose some performance going to 37 inch tires... to make up for it, you can regear from your stock 4.10 to 4.56 or 4.88's

regear to 4.56 or 4.88 - $1800 for parts and labor.


you sound like your mechanically inclined, so once parts start wearing down (hubs, idler arm, ball joints and such) you can save alot of $$ by installing yourself. alot of it is fairly simple to install.

im no mechanic, i just consider myself good at understanding how **** works, and isntalled everything in my sig minus the gears.

now... if you are really wanting pure HP power.. skip the supercharger/turbo all together. why spend 5k on the SC and another 2k on install when you can easily buy a big block ( 427 or 454) for the same amount, with a few extra $$$ for tranny and install and do the H2 right. you will have more HP then what any SC could offer, and that is just stock without any mods. from there, the same mods listed above will have a greater impact on HP gains.

granted, not sure where your MPG will be after doing something like that, but i would imagine about 8 to 12 mpg. give or most likely take a few MPG.

IMHO i wouldnt consider a SC as any kind of option for the H2.
after all the costs of the SC, you will still need to buy a new tranny ( maybe not right away, but not too long afterwards) you gain about 125 Hp from it, which will put you in the 450 hp range. you will need a good CAI still, exhaust, custom tune, and your are very limited afterwards. pretty much any further engine mods wont gain you anything.. so why spend all that $$ to just hit the limits, where as an engine swap will open up many more options to you fromt he get go, all the while any mods improve your HP gains.

there is a guy here who did a 502 swap. im sure if your imterested, you can find the thread here somewhere.


FYI... unless you buy a HP tuner with credits, any ( i could be wrong) tuner that you buy up to $600 range will only tune 1 car. thats not saying you cant buy credits for the tuner, but off the shelf, only 1 car. if you know HP tuner software, that may be the route to go starting at $600 +.

[H2Much]

I agree with Hellz, we have most of the same mods. Definitely would do the exhaust(headers and full catback), programmer, and gears first; those get you the most added juice for the least money. The regear really isn't necessary unless you go with bigger tires though - at which point it is an aboslute must. Either way you go, these mods will be part of your journey to max out what you've got, so if they do not come first, they will come eventually.

[jsbihn]

Thanks guys!!
Great advice

Currently I am working on something right now to end the days of the H2's shifter linkage slipping.
I have a good cheap temporary fix in there now, using a nylon nut but the principle is still the same as OEM (just cost me 30 cents versus 125 dollars for a new assembly I dont need).
When I am done I should have a good permanent fix.

[glennf1]

Before you start on upgrades may I suggest maintenance. When I bought my 05 H2 6 months ago very soon after I changed the coolant, replaced the tranny & t-case fluid with Dexron-VI fluid (don't use Dexron-III), changed the power steering fluid, changed the front & rear gear oil, and lubed all chassis points. My MPG on the hwy is around 14 which seems to be above average.

[jsbihn]

14 is average on hwy?
maybe i was reading wrong but i thought i have been reading 12 -13 is the average hwy

either way i am doing maintenance on this as i go.
it doesnt need it i think but i want it fixed and good since this thing keeps running

[Hellz]

thats another mod i forgot about.. your tranny cooler.

get the tranny cooling lines disconnected from your radiator and hooked up to a external one.

about $150 ish

[Stellar]

Gears followed by a supercharger down the road. The rest of the bolt-ons are minimal gains for the money. The H2 should've came with 4.88's from the factory IMO.

[glennf1]

Originally Posted by jsbihn

14 is average on hwy?
maybe i was reading wrong but i thought i have been reading 12 -13 is the average hwy

either way i am doing maintenance on this as i go.
it doesnt need it i think but i want it fixed and good since this thing keeps running

Yes 12-13 seems to about average but I can get 14-16 hwy all day long. Now granted to get 16 I have to be going under 70 on a flat surface, no a/c and holding steady. It's not practical driving, I was just testing. I average 14 on the hwy.

[IRA51]

Originally Posted by jsbihn

IRA51,
I know thats isnt true. Even my Vette I have modded without "ponying up the big bucks".
I know it is easier to go the route of the masses and buy the items people buy with high price tags but I know there are items out there right now that do the same job.

Like I know there is someone on here that bought a code reader for like 25 bucks that works with his phone and such, and so far I have heard it works great (and he didnt have to pay a couple of hundred for the same thing)

I know that on my M3 everyone yells out to buy the 1300 titanium dollar muffler, yet research and dynos have proven that the 300 dollar one is only 2lbs heavier then the titanium one and yields the same HP.

So why waste money.
I know that there are mods available for the H2 that dont cost an arm and a leg. Sure a reprogrammer might be a few hundred, but which one is the best buy. I mean why buy one for 150 that will only re-map one car and it only does a good job when you can buy one for say 250 that will re-map 2-3 cars and do a great job.

see where I am trying to go with this?

Other then the trans cooler that will not give you more power ,but is a smart mod to do ,you aren't going to get any real power cheap . Makeing it louder with a free flow exaust and K&N sounds kool though . A SC or heads and cam package with long tubes is the way to go ,but you better get the trans up graded or it will fail . So if ya havent got at least $2500.00 to spend and do the labor yourself keep dreaming .there is no real gain with a prograhmer on a gas engine ,and sometimes they make it worse in hot climates like Phoenix. FYI my 06 C6 with padle shifter auto only made 20 hp more with LG long tubes and X pipes and Corsa exaust at a cost of $2400.00 . the best bang for the buck was getting rid of the run flats and going with Nitto envo's . But what the hell do I know ?Anyone telling you you can get a 50 hp bump on a stock H2 with headers and exaust has never seen a one on a Dyno for proof ,ain't going to happen.

[glennf1]

Originally Posted by IRA51

Other then the trans cooler that will not give you more power ,but is a smart mod to do ,you aren't going to get any real power cheap . Makeing it louder with a free flow exaust and K&N sounds kool though . A SC or heads and cam package with long tubes is the way to go ,but you better get the trans up graded or it will fail . So if ya havent got at least $2500.00 to spend and do the labor yourself keep dreaming .there is no real gain with a prograhmer on a gas engine ,and sometimes they make it worse in hot climates like Phoenix. FYI my 06 C6 with padle shifter auto only made 20 hp more with LG long tubes and X pipes and Corsa exaust at a cost of $2400.00 . the best bang for the buck was getting rid of the run flats and going with Nitto envo's . But what the hell do I know ?Anyone telling you you can get a 50 hp bump on a stock H2 with headers and exaust has never seen a one on a Dyno for proof ,ain't going to happen.

Yes and no on the programmer. The timing advance is where you can get some free HP, up to around 10 hp gain. Your right about hot climates though as you can start to get spark knock. Everything else like shift points and firmer/quicker shifts don't add power but can make the truck a little bit faster.

[tiny2012]

chg to synthetic fluids,reduce the weight ,i removed side steps,brush guard,spare tire carrier,spare tire,i haven't read a post on this site where anybody gained any mpg's by doing any performance upgrades talked about here....current mpg 14 hwy,13 city...05 sut.....

[tyler1bo]

The H2 should've came with 4.88's from the factory IMO. [/quote]

Or a duramax with an allison They cost so much anyways, why not shove a duramax in it stock? I'd be all over that!

[tiny2012]

yep,regearing not too cheap either,the duramax converison @ $30k kinda way out of my price range...if i could afford that i wouldn't be worried about gas prices anyway,the harley still gets 40 plus...

[H2R]

I installed a SC back in 2004 and installed a larger Trans cooler, corvette servo, and the transmission has never let me down and performs as new. My truck has 38 inch tires and 6 inch lift but I did do a regear to 456. Mileage stayed the same under normal driving. The truck is still running strong.
[quote=Hellz]IMHO i wouldnt consider a SC as any kind of option for the H2.
after all the costs of the SC, you will still need to buy a new tranny ( maybe not right away, but not too long afterwards) you gain about 125 Hp from it, which will put you in the 450 hp range. you will need a good CAI still, exhaust, custom tune, and your are very limited afterwards. pretty much any further engine mods wont gain you anything.. so why spend all that $$ to just hit the limits, where as an engine swap will open up many more options to you fromt he get go, all the while any mods improve your HP gains.