Car Mods???

[chottoED]

I've been kind of itching to get my Z modded ...

However, dunno what to do really... the main thing that puts me off about mods is the possibility of losing my smooth idle... I had a rice burner Civic w/ an intake and exhaust mod which lead to ZERO low end torque (well there wasn't much to begin with) and the RPMs were all over the place during idle (constantly dropped below 500RPMs making it feel like it was going to die out)

Now of course the Z is far from a Civic... however, what affects can I expect (other than a modest 10-15hp) to gain from the following?
- pop charger
- crawford plenum
- borla or magnum catback

Please keep in mind I'm in no way a car guy and can pretty much do no more than check the oil and change my tires

Please explain to me what each does... also what is the difference between the normal exhaust and a catback? Should I just be happy with my stock being able to kick a Mustang GT's ass? Thanks in advance oh great car gods.

[PreDatoR]

Cat back exhaust is just that. Exhaust from the cat converter to the back. Usually you get these a bit bigger in size so the exhaust flows better but when you get better flow you lose low end torque. back pressure and torque kinda go together. I would go with a full Borla stainless exhaust. Will last a lifetime. What i would do if you want 20-40 hp more... get a set of cams for it... probably gonna be spendy. get a chip so it maps the fuel better. and exhaust. cold air intakes usually help a bit. But if you want to really mod the sucker... you need boost... via a turbo or supercharger with a front mount intercooler. Both have their ups and downs but i'd go turbo just for the fact when 15 psi of boost kicks it in usually squeels tires no matter what gear your in

[chottoED]

how much does a full borla go for?
any opinion on the plenum?

If I'm going to lose my low end torque which I hold so dear to my heart, then I prolly should stay stock.

[tunis5000]

I'm not super knowledgeable either, but usually you can't go wrong with a K&N Filtercharger and a chip if those are available...

[PreDatoR]

your powerband will move a bit higher but just putting exhaust on shouldn't change it too much. cams will change the powerband a lot more than exhaust will. Right now my car peaks out at 85hp at 5200 rpm's... with all the work she's getting right now and the new cam it should peak out at 140-150hp at 6800. I'm gonna lose a lot of low end torque. Power won't kick in until about 3 grand. I put in a lumpy cam with a lot of duration and overlap though so thats why my powerband is going to shift so much. I'm building the motor to race and i want to keep my rpm's in the 6000 range when i shift. Its gonna be a blast next weekend once the new motor is in and i hit the AutoX race gonna be fun tossing around a 2100 lb car with a fresh and peppy motor

[jayscybertrhs]

you want easy bolt-on torque.

its best to keep your stock equipment - that way youcan say its stock, and pass AQMD easier...

unless you can afford to have the pipes professionally tuned and polished.

[D1GP]

remember to get street performance cams, that will up ur idle a lil bit rough, but racing cams will pretty much kill your idle smoothness. now how much is your budget for what you want to do to your car, then i can tell you what you can do to it. as for exhaust, 3" or more is meant for forced induction applications, 2.5" or smaller is usually for naturally aspirated. so now you got n/a or f/i route. so if you dont got a turbo or supercharger and run 3", you'll most likely kill wut you have left of your low end power.