Cheapest HP Gain 06 SS
 

I just got a 2006 Monte SS and want to do about $500-$600 of mods to it. I would like some recommendations on the best mods to do for the money between cold air intake, performance chip programmer, exhaust, or any other good mods to gain the most HP. I was thinking the cold air intake and performance chip, but there are so many different kinds with mixed reviews so I would like to know what brands to get also.

Thanks

Well if I personally had $600 to spend right now on my 2006 MC SS, I'd buy a K&N intake, Hamburger throttle body spacer (HAM-3264), do some exhaust work (personally going with a pair of Summit mufflers (undecided on what kind) with Magnaflow stainless steal tips), and flip the front motor mount (free mod that reduces engine movement, allowing the car to jump a bit quicker).

If you want to look into making your car handle better look at the front and rear stabilizer bars sold by Done Rome. http://drcustomparts.com/HomePage.htm

I don't know a lot about tuning so I have no recommendation for you.

For a TON more information on performance on this platform try LS1Tech.com and look under the FWD LS4 cars section.

P.S. Welcome.

I say spend $625 and get the Magnaflow catback exhaust kit. I'm not certain how much power I gained (sure feels faster), but the sound alone is worth any increase in power. Plus, the 4" stainless steel tips under the rear bumper don't look too shabby either ;)

Please, take it from someone who has spent literally tens of thousands of dollars over the past 20 years trying to "get more power" out of the many performance cars I've owned....You will never be satisfied once you start "modding" a car. You will always "need" some other part to go faster, each time spending more money - it is an endless circle. You can't win.

The 2006 Monte Carlo SS is "fast" enough as it is. You're not going to run 12's without some expensive mods, so leave the engine alone and just make the car "sound" faster. Say it with me......Magnaflow :D

In my opinion, go with the k&n or equivalent intake system, add some performance mufflers (flowmaster, hooker aerochambers, etc.) and tips. That will about eat up your 5-600 bucks and will improve the breathing and exhaling end of things. Or you could delete the mufflers and replace the resonator with a classic chambered muffler (cheaper route and still sounds good).

I've heard pretty much every exhaust setup available for our cars, and while the magnaflow is stainless, mandrel-bent, will last a little longer, etc., it's a lot more expensive and quiter than every other muffler setup I've heard. Plus, there will be little difference in hp gain between the different setups. I guess it depends on how obnoxious you want it to sound vs quality. For what it's worth I had a magnaflow catback for my camaro and it was awesome quality but the sound was just to tame for my taste. The hooker, slp, and few others sounded more agressive.

Forgot to mention tuners. Diablo I think runs about $350-400 or so and is pretty user friendly. HP tuner software isn't much more and there are tons more parameters you can play with, but you kinda need to know what you're doing. It's fairly comlplex from what I have gathered from their website and other forums. A lot of people have been adding performance roller rockers, valve springs, and porting tb's and intakes. Not sure how mechanically inclined you are, but these mods are relatively cheap if you can do the work yourself. happy modding!

No need to steal the tips, you can just buy them online :p

I think I will start with the K&N Intake and performance mufflers like Flowmaster 40's. I don't know much about exhaust, should I still do the U-Bend delete? Also, I think the tips that are on there now look fine. Do I gain anything but looks with different tips? Does it sound better?

06-07 doesn't have the horrible U-Bend like we do.

It's fun to steal! Har Har...

No gains from tips. Just looks. I've heard a few people say you can get a different tone from a different tip, but I can't see how that is possible. I think you have a good start if you begin with those mods. Let us know how things work out for your.

Sorry to thread jack a little here but, you can actual get a different tone witha different tip. I used to think the same thing then my dad got exhaust for his challenger with the stock tips and you could here the extra flow hitting the lip of the tip, then he go bigger tips with no rolled lip and it sounded completly different.


crashadp
But as for what to get i would say intake and a programmer for your car which i would think would put you right at or around 600 bucks

Interesting. So which one's sounded better and what do you account the better sound to?

the aftermarket ones sounded much better the reason i think is because the stock ones had about a 3/8 inch lip on them pointing inward that would catch the flow of the exhaust and casuse a wierd sound that you could hear at idel very well and even when riding next to the car. Then when we put the after market tips on the exhaust they were a little larger in the opening of the overall tip. Also they did not have a lip in them so i think that the exhaust was able to flow more freely then before and not catch on the lip of the tip.

I guess that does make sense. Good info to know.

Ok, now I've got to many things I want to do. I think I will try to do intake, muffler, programmer in that order, but I have a few more questions.
1. Is K&N the best intake or do you guys prefer something else?
2. If I just get the Flowmaster Super 40 muffler for $80 will that change performance by letting air out faster or do I need bigger pipes or is it just for sound?
3. If I get a programmer, I'm thinking Diablo, or should I get something else?

I should be able to get these 3 things for around $800 depending on what I get charged for installing the mufflers. Is the cold air intake for the 06 easy to do yourself?

1) I'm going with K&N because it is a known name I can trust. And the instructions should be easy enough to follow. There is also this one that a lot of people have said may be even better than K&N because of the heat shield box, but I've never heard of this company and I don't like how it looks.
Cold Air Inductions

2) They may help performance a little, but it probably won't be very noticeable. You're buying mufflers for sound mostly. If you wanted performance you would probably have to go with the dyno tested/proven cat-back designed by Magnaflow, but then you're looking to spend over $600.
Also $80 is too much for those mufflers. Here is a link for a cheaper site to buy from with a good reputation.
$69 with free shipping

3) IDK, sorry! lol

What, not going to listen to the guy with 20 years experience modifying GM cars? You need to do a lot of research before you spend a dime if you are not sure "what does what"...No offense intended ;)

And to explain the different tone with a different exhaust tip....A 3" diameter, 4" long tip will sound different than a 4" diameter, 6" long tip - much deeper tone from a larger, longer tip.

And just replacing mufflers will only change the sound slightly. The stock system uses 2.25" pipes, where aftermarket systems use 2.5" pipes - larger pipe = more flow. You will not increase the flow that much with just mufflers. A complete, larger, well designed catback system is needed to effectively increase exhaust flow. It does not have to be Magnaflow, just a well designed system.

And finally, it is a personal preference with exhaust volume/sound. I used to like my cars to be the loudest thing possible, but still be legal. Flowmaster got plenty of my money over the years, don't get me wrong. In fact, my 1972 Monte Carlo has 1-5/8" long tube headers with 3" collectors, 2.5" dual exhaust with H-pipe and FLOWMASTER 40 series mufflers...imagine that :rolleyes:

In my opinion, a 2006 Monte Carlo SS is not supposed to sound like a top fuel funny car. It just doesn't fit the car - My personal preference is a deeper, mellow exhaust note on a car like that. Camaro, T/A, GTO, Mustang, older muscle cars, etc.. yes, they should have loud, obnoxious exhaust....Again, just my opinion :)

Yes, I don't want it to be the loudest thing around by any means. I just want it to have a nice rumble. I would go with just the Magnaflow cat back system, but the cheapest I am finding it is about $750, then have to pay somebody to install it unless it is an easy install. I would go with Magnaflow system, but I don't think I can get it done for $600.

You can get darn close. I paid $625 for mine with free shipping from an eBay merchant. They are all asking $760, but some have the "best offer" also, so I tried a couple and got one for $625, brand new, sealed box.

I'm tellin' ya', if you can scrounge up $625, you won't be sorry - I just now got back from driving mine and I am still amazed at the sound.

Me? Ohhh trust me.... I listen to him, I know that he knows what he's talking about. Whatever he recommends I'm OK with.

Did you put yours on yourself?

I don't have any thing really done to my car yet. Just wheels and Impala SS head rests. But, no, I probably will not be installing the mufflers myself. I'll take it some where to weld or clamp together.

Ok guys, I went and talked to my mechanic and he referred me to a guy that does custom tuning along with many other performance upgrades.
I asked him what to do to get the most hp for the money and also let him know I wanted a better sound from the car and was thinking about getting Magnaflow exhaust.
He told me to start with the Magnaflow (thanks 2006 monte ss with 20yrs experience) which will gain 10-15hp and is a great system.
After that he said to come in and get a custom tune (15-25hp) along with maybe a ported throttle body which will not gain hp, but will shave time off at the track and maybe cold air induction which will gain a little HP.
The custom tune is the best hp for the money, but it is best to have the custom tune done after the other work to get the maximum hp gain.
I will let you guys know how things go, now I just need to find a good price on the expensive Magnaflow.

Those are nice numbers to look at... but most likely you won't be seeing those actual numbers on a dyno.

however you can't go wrong doing those things :)

Hope it all works out for you.

Yeah. That's good to hear. Good luck and keep us posted.

By the way... Supposedly this one below is the Magnaflow. I've e-mailed them and that is what they told me.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Perfo...ht_4838wt_1718

i was playing with a bone stock impala the other day. like i said playing. but i have k&n intake, trottle body spacer, magnaflow exhaust (sounds awesome) and then the diablo tuner. and there is a huge difference in the overall behavior of the car. yes myne was quicker and much more responsive. plus it sounds completely different. the three main mods are extremely worth it :)

If you really are looking for the cheapest HP gain in this price range- nitrous pops into my head. You can easily get a basic nitrous setup for the price of that exhaust, and gain 100+ hp instead of 5 hp.

For you LS4 guys- isn't there a bolt in higher ratio rocker option for $600? Mod'd stock 1.9 rockers are a big hp mod for 3800s on both NA and SC applications for about $200- just curious if there were any reasonable options for the LS4.

Just thinking that there must be something that will give more power in this price range- cat backs just don't seem to have much gain these wbodys- and thats a pretty big chunk of money.


15 hp, even at the crank sounds awfully steep for a catback.

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, how can an engine mod not give you any horsepower gain, but drops time at the track? I could see that being the case with a steeper rear end or something, but not with an engine mod.

correct me if im wrong, but cant you do a cutout of the stock intake box? free and gives you the same cold air intake setup rather than spending $$.

if your looking to do it all right, and make it look clean you'll need to spend money.

for the money, i love my magnaflow cat-back exhaust. of course, mine was $200 cheaper than yours :D
but there is no way your gonna gain 15 WHP from that setup with a bone stock engine....no way.
a lot of the cheaper mods would be to the exhaust without getting into $$$, so if you wanna make it breath better thats where i would start. do a cat-back exhaust, save more money, then do an intake. save more money, then do whatever else.....but lastly i would do a tune. if you plan on changing your engine around more and more, you wont get maximum HP/$ if you tune then change your setup, then need a retune. while the retune isnt necessarily needed in most cases unless you do something major (cam), you still wont be getting maximum HP.
save your money and do a tune last. you'll be happier.

2003supersport.......

I read your sig and saw your video. How much total money in parts & labor have you spent on your car? How fast/quick do you suppose the car is?
I'm going to prove a point to the OP with your answer...;)

total engine parts totaled are $3800, with install probably an extra $1800 = $5,600
all my total parts, cosmetic + engine probably maybe $6000 or just above (ss hood, springs and struts, pinstriping, gauges) + the $1800 for install still = $7,800

yea, about $7,800 for everything i think. but i used the same method i described above.....but something, save. buy something, save. it makes the build more fun, and you dont get burnt out on the car. since i plan on keeping the car for a very long time, the money is worth it to me. i love the way my car is now. It makes me happy. i just wish i was more mechanically inclined so i could really "build" the car. if i had more free time i'd go to my community college and take a few classes. i can do the basics, and i did all the suspsension stuff myself! that was a big accomplishment for me :)

I talked to an exhaust shop and he said to just get different mufflers because the air restraint is just in the mufflers and I don't need a full cat back. Will the car still sound the same if I just get magnaflow mufflers to save some money? I know the cat back system is a little bigger pipes, but that probably doesn't matter if the restraint is at the muffler. Is that true? He also said that from his experience, the magnaflow is louder inside the car and to just get some Flowmaster Delta 40's. You guys with magnaflow, is it pretty loud in the car?

my magnaflows arent bad inside. really not. they purrr just right. i dont think i could've picked a better sounding muffler. i did some youtube searches and just didnt like the pitch of the flowmasters....it was too high for me. i think magnaflows are a little deeper.
this is a video of the inside noise of my car.....the aim of the video was to get the supercharger whine, but you can hear the magnaflows and what they sound like from the inside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Xbp...eature=related

I agree with 2003supersport,
The magnaflow cat back system is a really nice mod. I really don't think you would be disappointed with it. I love mine and I would recommend it to anyone. Trust me.

Not too loud inside at all. Just perfect in my opinion...

My point has been proven. $7,800 on modifications. That's a ton of money (not like I haven't spent that much in my time)...My point is that once you start "modding" a car, it never ends. The money will just keep flying out of your wallet and you'll have a nice, fast car, but it won't ever be worth what you put into it...Not saying there is anything wrong with that, just think before you jump in...;)

Thats why I went the opposite route on my gtp than I did on my monte. I tried doing all the low buck basic bolt ons, buying most of them used or at least secondhand new- it can be almost as rewarding to go that way too :)

if car modding were considered a sport, then my monte would be the freshly drafted lebron james as #1 overall.....given a lot of money and really hasnt proven much haha.

If you go to a small performace muffler shop you can geth the same out of a magnaflow setup for almost half cheaper.

First ask them what size your piping is to your mufflers, Tell them you want 3inches pipes out and straight piped with no u bend of no resonator and tell them you want the y pipe to be 3inched and tell them tips you can get in 3.5 inches or 4 inches, I would go with 4 inch tips they be nice.

You can put magnaflow mufflers on without buying the full kit or flowmasters

Magna flow is lower tone and flowmaster is louder tone

My exhaust for a full cat back custom made with 2.50 all the way out because mine is a v6 and flomaster 40 series mufflers and 3.5 inch tips are $400 when said and done thats very good since slp is the cheapest cat back for like $550

Mods, You can get a MPD Inc Intake, YOU will want this If You ever want to do a ram air hood by them that goes straight into their intake. Its a very nice intake and is heat insulated and the lid is removable easily. I love my mpd inc intake, I would love their hood if I had no stripes and it was cheaper but you can do thir intake then add their hood later.

If you can find a place to professionally tune your car and maybe dyno it at the same time you can find this for $400-$500 and gain alot by a expieriance person.

Do the intake and exhaust, because when you get it professionaly tuned you can tell the pcm you have a air intake and exhaust and will get the most out of those mods.

I did the exhuast and intake but my car only sounds better and performance nicely when its cooler here, But you can tell some hp gain

but with a tune you will get the most out of your performance mods.

I am learning all this myself and have done those mods and will be doing a tune soon.

When I finish my things I will post my results

Also your correct I can't stop modding my car, there is always more ways of getting performance and handeling and making it look good and sound good that some day I need to say no more, I will take it one mod at a time and it will be finished one day, not soon lol

Bigger pipes and bigger tips do make a difference in sound. Its not alot but is a little.

The reason is thier larger so the air echoes a little more and when you have more hp gain and wanting it to escape through the mufflers having the most flow will give you the best performance and sound as you can get.

Also if they make headers for your car that be sweet but we know headers arn't cheap

Wish you the best getting the most bang for the buck

get intake and exhaust

then tune it by a pro they now how to set up your pcm and know everything you don't know

they can change the air temp setting shift points so many things that I didn't even know.

The pcms are holding so much out of the fatories that it can be released by a professional gm tech tuner.

Just a programmer you can chage some things but not everything and for the same price as a tuner a professional person who can tune your car can prove the gains through a dyno or do a stock run and then after a tune you can see the true differnece in times.

My gm tech tuner has done alot of great vehicles he is taking his new camaro ss out to tomorrow to do just a stock run and to do a run with it tuned by himself to prove how great it is in tuning,

Also better mpg in tuning which will pay for itself in the long run if you tune it.

Well I just purchased the magnaflow cat back yesterday for $620 with free shipping. So I guess I'm doing that first, then saving money to do cai and a tune, and maybe throttle body spacer.

Good Man! Enjoy the Magnaflow - you will not be disappointed :)