67camaro02 Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 My big money has been going into my camaro (and will continue to do so). I want to make a few mods to the truck. Looks wise I'm set, 22's, tinted windows, waiting for grills and belltech drop kit. Performance wise though what are the best mods? Also, keep in mind my SSS is my DD so I don't want to kill MPG. In fact I would love to increase it. It is also under warranty and I am not wanting to VOID that. Is it the standard intake/exhaust first? Are they even worth much? I thought about a small cam and ported stock heads, but...wondering if the cost is worth it and if I can keep the lope down to where if it were to go to the dealer, they wouldn't notice. I've thought about buying a beater, but I don't think I can support 2 projects/toys plus it's new enough I just want to enjoy having a nice DD for a while that is fairly maintenance free. Just looking for some very basic help/advice. thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67camaro02 Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 (edited) I guess I should rephrase this a bit. Kinda makes me sound like a virgin to car's. Here's what I've been kicking around... Intake - Volant seems to be top choice Exhaust - prolly cat-back dunno about springing for headers PCM reprogramming depending on financials stock ported heads and "baby" cam <- is this worth the bang for the buck? looking for... effect on MPG effect on performance effect on warranty (any?) any supporting mods needed for these? Injectors necessary or can the DC just be up'd via PCM reprogram and still be in the semi-safe zone. THOUGHTS??? Edited July 18, 2006 by 67camaro02 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Baby cam...Comp Cam's 212/218 low lift version has just a little lope and will provide decent gains. It was the first one I dropped in. Nice improvement. Although I recommend it, it doesn't even need a PCM tuning change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurbochargedBerserker Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Leave the stock heads alone, IMO -- they are great straight out of the box. If you land a windfall and have extra cash, buy a set of aftermarkets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 So, what you are asking is - what mods are worthwhile (performance-wise) without affecting MPG? Mods that do not negatively affect mileage (generally!): * Catback - definitely do it, the stock muffler is killing you. * Intake, performance gains are seen with reputable CAI kits. * Shift kit and servos will gain you .2 to .4 tenths and lots of reliability * PCM tune by a reputable vendor is a necessity (like catback) * synthetic lubricants * lighter rims and tires (the stock ones weigh 78-lbs per wheel, almost all aftermarket 22" are heavier than that) * lowering the truck at least 2" (reported gains of almost .5 MPG?) * tonneau cover (reported gains of .5 to 1.5 MPG?) * ditch the spare and jack for a cell-phone and AAA card! * underneath the cab, fabricate lightweight sheet-metal filler panels between the outer body and frame rails (reported gain of .5 to .6 MPG by GM aero staff) Mods that negatively affect mileage: * Torque converters with increased stall speed, will cost 1-3mpg around town (freeway mileage is unaffected as converter is locked-up while in overdrive) * 160-degree thermostat * Any PCM changes to transmission shift/lockup behavior can cost you MPG (be careful!); for that matter, any wreckless PCM changes can wreak serious havoc with your MPG, performance, and/or reliability so make sure you work with a proven tuner * Heavier (larger) rims and tires - larger wheels are not a performance-minded modification * Shorter tires or changing rear gears to steeper ratio Headers - consensus/feedback is that long-tubes are the ones that you want; I'm not sure that's the same thing as saying installing long-tube headers will improve your MPG, or improve performance at the same MPG... (need more feedback). The forced induction kits on the market can be tuned to provide decent power while minimally affecting mileage if you pay a lot of attention to details; you will definitely be limited by the choice of cam and converter (hi-stall converters kill daily MPG). The centrifugal kits are not as flexible in this regard as they want a 2800-3000 rpm converter. Head/cam combos - the factory heads are actually not that bad as far as stock efficiency goes, but I would not rule out that there are cams (certainly) or head/cam combos which make more power with the factory MPG. I would probably call Futral Motorsports first and go from there. Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67camaro02 Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 (edited) Thank you guys for the intelligent responses. I appreciate it. I drag race the camaro so the money goes in it. (way too much if you ask my wife) then again 3 engines and 4 tranny's later plus all the "little" stuff...yeah it's too much I knew the 22's were not perfomance adding and they wouldn't help MPG, but if any of you remember correctly I bent one wheel early this year in the snow and after seeing the cost of a factory rim I made $1,000.00 by buying 22's with my dealer account at tirerack and then selling the stock chrome 20's to a fellow board member. Again, thank you for the help. Ben- did what were the gains on that 212/218 cam and out of curiosity did you have any issues with dealer giving you crap about warranty work. Mine's an 05, but bought on New Year's Eve day so it is only 7 months old and 7,000 miles (which is why I want to be mindful of the warranty for now). And Mr. P - Futral does good work ;) Edited July 19, 2006 by 67camaro02 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Ben- did what were the gains on that 212/218 cam and out of curiosity did you have any issues with dealer giving you crap about warranty work. And Mr. P - Futral does good work ;) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I never had to go to the dealer. All I remember was it was just a little choppy, you to listen to it for a few seconds. It wasn't an immediate notice. You could always claim it was a exhaust change, but a change may make it more noticeable. I have seen dyno charts with gains in the 30+hp from that cam. FMS He made my cam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
383ss Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 hey Jamie! here are my suggestions... CAI, Ported TB by Mike (you know who I'm talking about) replace the muffler. catbacks are WAY overpriced IMO underdrive pulley retune with lean cruise enabled. (soundengineer can do this cheap) I have all these done and ran around 14.5 at the track and have a decent gain in gas mileage. ~4mpg on the highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalSS Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 Why would a 160 stat negatively affect gas mileage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detjoe Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 retune with lean cruise enabled. (soundengineer can do this cheap) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I thought this was illegal and not too good on the engine? there was a long discussion about this...but I dont think that it ended up working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 retune with lean cruise enabled. (soundengineer can do this cheap) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I thought this was illegal and not too good on the engine? there was a long discussion about this...but I dont think that it ended up working <{POST_SNAPBACK}> LOL, do you think most on here are concerned about lagality on what they do with their trucks? I've heard it can be done with a custom OS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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