Hey I just ran across a good deal on a Polished Stainless N1 muffler with a 4 inch tip.
I got the muffler and had it welded on for under $60
Also I picked up a Drop-in K&N airfilter for $35
So I have under a 100 in this Saturday adventure..lol
I know that alot of you guys purchase the catback systems and they bolt right up with no welding and a cold air intake breathes alot better then using the stock airbox, but I was wondering if there are any horsepower gains from welding up a slip-on muffler and dropping in a high-flow airfilter??

 

There wouldn't be much gains at all, but it's better than nothing. I'd probably say somewhere in the 5 crank hp range.

 

Ill second that.

 

I won't, I will say about 2 whp.

 

Not much. As long as it sounds good though.

 

welcome to the n1 club

 

2 whp is about the same as 5 bhp (aka crank horsepower)

 

Yeah it sounds great.. I have a slip-in silencer that quietens it back down to almost stock... it has alot of back pressure and I love the sound..
I can tell a throttle response difference when cursing around 55mph..
Are there any other cheap mods that I can do?

 

airbox mod, debadge, paint your rims, driver mod lol, paint your interior.

 

yes, the airbox mod..... look underneath you passeneger headlight and look at the friggin resonator thing your airbox chokes air in through.... remove, enjoy sound

 

Add a APC sticker on every fender...lol

 

^^^... no, each yellow NOS sticker nets ten horsepower... DUH

 

wait...are these slip on mufflers = fart can tips? b/c if they are then i'm embarrassed for you...

 

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com.../photo_15.html

unfortunately this article shows that the GMPP cat-back does not yield to much HP to the wheels..But they made a good point in stating that " Not all improvements are dyno-measurable".. Such as knocking about 20 pounds or more off the rear of the vehicle by getting rid of that bulk muffler..lol..

on the filp side in this same article I was impressed with the dyno results of the GMPP air intake..

 

READ THAT ARTICLE iLLmatic3s!!! Remember that arguement we had a long while back where I said the GMPP exhaust only dynoed at like a 2whp gain on a 2.4SS? Well THERES the article I was speaking of!

 

i seen this on someones sig, but here it is

If its cheap and fast, its not reliable
If its fast and reliable, its not cheap
If its reliable and cheap, its not fast

I think that pretty much sums it up as for cheap mods....

 

lol.

i have a SRI, and the ss/sc cat-back with an N1 muffler. idk, i was dead even with my buddy with the 2.7 tiburon gt n his mods were CAI n i had just an intake. then i added the exhaust n blew his doors off. i wanna dyno my car after i get everything i wanna done.

i want my header, dp, aem dryflow (i have k&n now), stage 1 cams, tune, and 2.4 intake manifold.

what do u think would be realistic numbers with those mods. considering i have sri n cat-back already.

 

This is not my first rodeo when it comes to modding vehicles..And I know you get what you pay for... But Im not as much doing the mods for racing or anything like that.. Its pretty much a combination of alittle performance gain "better fuel Economy", Looks, and sound..
The N1 muffler I used has a nice polished Stainless look, it sounds good.. and I think i have gained alittle HP from it.. but I only have my "butt dyno" to determine that..lol I think that has been achieved.. As far as the reliablity goes, its welded on..the worst thing that could happen is, it could fall off and I could weld it back on..lol

oh yeah.. Are there any mods or performance products that increase power, fuel economy, and do not void the factory warranty?? I maybe be looking in all the wrong places but there seems to be a a small selection of parts available..

 

#1 - You need to figure out what you want your car to be before you start doing things. If you want it to be fast, expect to spend some $$. If you just want it to sound and look cool - well, don't worry about hp gains

Forced induction in the least expensive (note, not cheapest) way to modify your car. In my opinion, you should consider your $$~HP ratio when doing any install.

So, let's say you put on an exhaust kit (GMPP) that cost you $400 and you are getting a generous 3 hp gain. That means you are gaining 1hp for $133 you spent.

Compare that to a custom turbo kit for $4000 and 100 hp gain or a supercharger install for $2500 with 70 hp gain and you're looking at $40 per HP for the turbo and $35 per HP for the blower.

Point is, you're not going to attain noticeable gains (i.e., the 200 hp mark) without forced induction or an engine rebuild ... and anything less than that and it's questionable on what you're spending your money.

So, your mod list - well you need to figure out what you want.

If you're going for a 250whp Speed3 eater, you should start looking at -
* Saving money for forced induction. ($2500-$4000)
* Expect an 80+whp gain
* Consider the added downside of completely losing your warranty.

With that, down the road (or if you're working towards it, consider -
* Full exhaust ($1000)
* Clutch/Flywheel ($1000)
* Suspension/Traction (Springs, struts, wheels, tires, brakes, etc.) ($2000?)

If you're wanting full bolt-ons, just to max your engines stock capabilities -
* True CAI or SRI ($250)
* Full exhaust ($1000)
* Chip or tune ($500)
* Expect a 15-20 whp gain

Or just to go tinker and leave it otherwise stock -
* Interior - Look at former car of the month awardees, see what they've done.
* Get rid of that god awful HMMWV antenna.
* Stereo upgrade
* Wheels, tires
* Springs, struts
* Vinyl exterior (eyelids, stripes, etc.)

No bolts on will void your warranty. There are numerous posts on each of these options. Just remember with the bolt-ons that anything made for the 2.2 Ecotec will also work fine on the 2.4. Exhaust wise, you can also toss the 2.0 into that group.

Intake - SRI (Injen) or CAI (GMPP, K&N)
Catback - Sounds like you already have one?
Header
Downpipe

Also, though it may void parts of your warranty -
Chip or tune (With new plugs, injectors)
Flywheel

Just remember, like I said above, if you do all that (and buy it new) you could be looking at nearly $2000 and only (generously) 20whp gain.

You have to remember it's a lot harder to get 20whp out of a 173hp 4 banger than it is to get 20whp out of 400hp LS2 powered GTO.

It's all relative - 20 whp is only 5% of a GTO's total stock output, but it's nearly 15% of ours. That means on a small engine you have to work harder for every HP.

 

nitrous is the cheapest way to go fast.

 

full bolt ons nets you closer to 40 WHP I thought people were gettin 180+ from cars that dyno 140 ish stock.

Any one who is asking about cheap mods its probably their first time in the car modding rodeo. I personally feel he should get his legs wet first with more basic mods before diving fully into a turbo kit.

You can probably rep around your town with an Intake, Header, Exhaust, and a tune of some sort even if its just a jet modual. Th tune and the C.A. header were well worth the money and easy enough to do.

If i could recomend one thing splurge the 400+ for a tune Granted 400 is a conciderable wad to go out on a limb over. It honestly changes the car so much feels like it knocks off a good 3 tenths in an auto.

If you modify the exhaust where it dips down in size to get over the hump to a 2.5 and add a hi flow muffler you should see every bit the gain of a cat back. The air box mod, will help that drop filter some after you do the air box mod if your feelin like it you can remove that fog light and duct some 3 or 4 inch hose behind it for some cheap ram air.

Granted as you go on youll want better mods and those cost more bank but i reccomend dooing easy mods and really reaserching FI and the bigger mods if its your daily driver you would be in a world of hurt spending 4 k to make your car more oopse prone.

 

your looking at 185whp MAX with full bolt on header downpipe cold air and catback and tune. if you dont care about your warranty go with an S/C kit.

 

I will admit that this is my first 4 cylinder vehicle...
This is my daily driver Im not going to drop 3 or 4 grand in it, plus it only has 3k miles on it..so I dont want to void the warranty.. Thats reason I was asking about cheap mods..Most bolt on's will not void a factory and they are under the $500 mark..

For the record I have a built Small block S-10, I have over 4 grand in the motor that I built myself..
I've grown up in a garage around muscle cars,, So I'd say Im wet beyond my legs..lol

Just because Im new to this forum doesnt mean Im new the automobile performance world..Im just trying to get some info on whats available for the 2.4 Cobalts without going to the extreme...Hahn turbo kit, LSJ Supercharger, 200 shot of direct port Nitrous, etc..

I was meaning more like, underdrive pulleys, high output coils, hotter spark plugs, larger throttle body, Computer chips, aftermarket MAF, bigger injectors, hand handle programers, throttle body spacer, ERG plates, etc.. things that can be done in a afternoon and you can drive it to work the next morning type mods, that dont effect the driveablity and reliability of the car.. I have to give Evil C credit he made a couple of nice suggestions about the getting a tune, and the exhaust mod..

 

Most 2.4L VVT dyno 150 whp stock. Now a couple of guys with full bolt ons run a little more than 180 whp, but there's not very many of them. Most are in the 170 whp range.

 

Well the fact of the matter is many people with full bolt ons Are breaking into the 14's on a car that stock runs a lil quicker than a 16. Its not the poneys its how fast they take yah there. 4k into an SBC assuming 2.5 k of that isn't spent on a pully kit that musta been one mean S10. Did you get the conversion kit for the S10 or just swap out the mounts with ones from like an A/G body?