[StomVette88]

ok i just bought an 88 vette! Anyway I'm young and inexperienced have pity on me, where can i start to add a few horses w/o blowing what cash i have left after the car, insurance, and all that crap. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated thx

 

[War Machine]

Welcome and Congrats!! :cheers:

First and foremost is make sure the engine is tuned and everything else is in good condition. Any suspect suspension pieces should be replaced first like shocks and bushings. IMHO, real hp doesn't come cheap and I've tried the free mods like, a cut open air filter lid, removed the MAF screens, TB-Bypass, cut back spark plugs and tuning. I didn't gain much from that, maybe 10-20 hp total with a reprogrammed chip. That also includes the Dynomax cat back, relocated MAT sensor and 160 degree thermostat. My guess is most of that gain came from the cat back, so a full exhaust ($700 +/- a few hundred) would be a good place to start for a power gain of about 30+ hp. What gear ratio do you have, 3.07 or better would be good, anything below that and I'd recommend a gear change ($450 just for parts). Do you have an auto or manual? Tq convertors for the A4 range from a couple hundred to over $700, I don't know how much a performance clutch or shifter would cost.

 

[Patrick]

Welcome to digitalcorvettes, StomVette88! :cheers:

 

[Arnie]

Welcome! I would start by changing the fluids (oil, trans, rear end) and flushing the braking system and cooling system.
As far as performance mods I would start with a better flowing air intake, a cat-back exhaust and a good tune up.

 

[StomVette88]

Its auto, I have to get around to calling the former owner and seeing if any work was already done, Im pretty sure the exhaust is not stock as it is dual and looks like the LT1 style exhausts rather than the quad that my vette catalogs say is stock for 88.

 

[Bob88]

Welcome to the madness. :laughing: :laughing:

 

[raidmagic]

Congrats on the car!!

 

[BAD civic]

my suggestion would depend on how much money you have, a good cat back, long tube headers, k&n w/cutlid, will do good for decent horsepower increase, if you want a good seat of the pants improvement, defintily gears, for auto i would say 3.73 but it depends on how much high way miles you put on, but like the others said, i would get everything tuned up first,

 

[JohnBTCB]

Welcome and Congrats!! :cheers:

First and foremost is make sure the engine is tuned and everything else is in good condition. Any suspect suspension pieces should be replaced first like shocks and bushings.

Great advise War Machine! Make sure the car's suspension, alignment, tires, etc are correct and SAFE before modding & rodding. Then as War Machine said, make sure it is tuned correctly and runs as GM designed it to. This might possibly involve undoing someone elses mistakes. Then let the mods begin.

BTW, I've found the horsepower gains claimed in the Vette aftermarket catalogs are exaggerated. Best advice before buying/trying mods is to ask here on DigitalCorvettes.com 1st and get the experience of those that have tried these toys before.

:cheers:

 

[T.M.]

its expensive but the advise about the gears and convertor are rock solid.your car will have a different attitude.a good quality convertor.i had an 89 i did all the mods listed by war machine.and the car went from 14.4 to 14.2 (pitiful 2:59s)all that money could have payed the convertor and install.i would have been mid 13s,then do intake and junk,the mods will respond better also.
aloha,Todd.
dont forget to wave dude.:buhbye:

 

[StomVette88]

Thx for the advice! Im thinking im gonna tune it up, keep an eye on everything and make sure it runs well b4 anything major. For now my money will be going into making it look and run like its supposed to and maybe a few little mods like the airfilter and intake stuff, then save up over the winter for some gears and catbacks.

 

[StomVette88]

oh btw it will prob not be many highway miles as my firebird is still my "everyday" car. I will def be waving too, thats like the coolest part of driving a vette (well except the vette itself.)

 

[grumpyvette]

IT would help if you gave just a little more info, like an aproximate $$$$$ range you can spend and what your goals are and what your experiance level is when it comes to working on cars, but the guys are correct that a good free flow exhaust is a good place to start!
heres some things to look over

http://www.ws6.com/mycar.htm

http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html

a good free flow air filter, headers,and exhaust are mods that will allow the other parts to perform well!

when your ready , a good tune up, some mild port work on your intake and a mild cam can make a significant improvement in your corvettes performance, just keep in mind an engine is a system of interdependent parts that must be matched for the best performance, you can,t just install a single part and expect major improvements in most cases but carefully matched pats CAN make a BIG differance in the way your car runs. the major restrictions to your cars performance are the airflow restrictions in the stock parts, some can be easily and cheaply modified, some need to be replaced