We have attempted to give more info than usual with the parts listings on our web page, to hopefully give you better direction on your parts choices since we realize there are many factors. We will try to give some basic info and direction here, and then count on your emails to clarify or confirm your parts choices. The first thing that you need to do is familiarize yourself with your car. Learning what engine, trans and other options your car has can be found by looking at the dealer info, car owners manual and other plates and labels located on your car that describe engine, emission, and other specs, etc. Also, dont be afraid to ask a dumb or simple question, it's better to get more info and make a good choice the first time than spend money on things that dont work, dont fit, or aren't compatible with systems or other parts on your car.
This is a rather generalized overview of the areas you will probably have questions on, so read this over and then consult our parts listings and technical advice to make sure you are on the right track to making the most effective improvements to your car.

What mods should you do to improve power:

Starting with the simpler bolt-on mods is best, and unfortunately the power gains from them vary with different combinations, but we try to give you basic power increases in our parts info. But a combo of two that give 5 HP each, might not total 10 when combined- sometimes they will give more, sometimes less or about the same.

Intakes- Again, there are a number of good air intake systems for our cars, most reduce the restriction of air flow and give more power. These vary by design, and some add more power in different ranges and driving conditions. Adding an intake is aided by a larger throttle body, but larger is not always better unless all out power is desired. Our dyno tests of our sports throttle bodies have shown most street engines dont need any larger sizes to make more power, and sometimes lose low and midrange power. The same is true of the actual intake manifolds, they are substantial for most sports uses, but we have found the later ' 92 & up quad intake to be restrictive and we can improve power nicely by replacing them with a modified one.

Exhausts- Exhaust mods improve the efficiency of the engine to expel the increased power producing air flow, so these are always a good place to start. Most of the GM small engines are restricted more on the exhaust side than intake- especially the Quad 4 engines. We feel that most of the muffler designs on the market vary little in power, but their noise suppression and tone characteristics vary greatly. For this reason we do not try to handle 10 different mufflers, and tips are even more plentiful, and are a style choice more than a power maker in most cases. There are exceptions and some systems make very good numbers, but unless there were a massive back-to-back test of all these systems on a chassis dyno- the choice is to get the one you want for looks, sound and from personal references. We provide a very good cat back pipe for maximum flow and the muffler we offer is a good economical unit that has shown good dyno numbers. From there you can pick whatever muffler you want to create the personality and sound you desire with your car. We have also seen very little power gains on the dual muffler systems used, but that depends on design, engine sizes and other factors. They are nice for looks and balance in the system though.

Headers/Exhaust manifold- Our years of dyno testing with 4 cyl. engines have shown the need for good mid range power and torque to give better acceleration with small engines. Most header designs tend to make all top end power, and often makes a car slower in many street applications until speeds are fairly high or other changes are made to the car . Also the clearance problems of the GM rear exit exhaust makes fitting a good reliable header design between the firewall and under side of the car a major problem (especially on the small V6 engines). Most designs are made to fit, not produce the best power, and due to their orientation are very prone to leaks, cracks and flex joint problems. Therefore, for street use we have found that our ported cast manifolds give a nice mid range and overall power gain, yet keep reliablitiy and low maintenance attributes. Headers have their place and will usually make a little more power, but in most street sports applications we have found the power gains of the modified manifolds to be very respectable and much easier to work with. Plus no one sees them behind the engine anyways if you are into chrome or polished stuff for show purposes.

Ignitions- There is no need to buy high-priced aftermarket ignitions for your cars- since the GM system is not only very strong, but tied into the computer and fuel injection system and that function cannot be interrupted easily. Better plugs &wires on the OHV 4 cyl. and V6 engines help, but again are not big power increases- and in some cases only give more reliable spark and resist breakdown better.

Chips & ECMs- We offer a limited number of chips for the Quad 4 engines and some V6 vehicles, but again, due to the highly evolved GM computers and engine tuning, often big power gains cannot be gained on stock engines, unless they have extensively modified with more parts. For that reason we do not offer a complete line of chips since some models do not gain much from these pieces and we limit ours to more performance and not street applications, so inquire for your particular needs.The stock ECMs can adjust to many of the strictly bolt-on mods, and the power will be noticeable and it will maintain good driveability. There are many benefits that chips can give though for those who do some forms of higher RPM driving or competition-type events.

OBD2 ECMs- The ECMs in the '96 and up cars are a flash programmed system and have even more sensors, with two O2 sensors to monitor the engine more precisely. We have in development now some improved profiles and speed limit mods that will be available in the late Spring and Summer. There are a few ways of "faking" the computer, but most only give small gains since the computer still tries to keep the engine running in the preprogrammed parameters. Only through modifications to the actual fuel and spark tables can you make the systems perform better to more extensive engine mods.

Turbos & Superchargers- These are great power boosts for engines, as long as the engines are prepared for it. They require better internal parts to withstand the increased heat and pressure unless they are run at very low boosts. The problem with them is that fuel injected cars need modification to their sensors and fuel control systems to provide adequate fuel and spark control to make use of their power and not damage the engine in the process. Other than stand-alone injection computers that are programmable, the addition of many of the aftermarket fuel systems for the GM cars has been a difficult and expensive proposition, and we do not feel there is a really reliable and developed controller for your cars at this time. There are a couple companies working on aftermarket systems for our cars, and we hope that one will evolve into a strong and reliable power source, but right now the cost of these systems and their reliability concerns keeps us from advising their use- let alone the cost of the entire forced induction systems. Even with this in mind, we do offer race- quality internal parts for all of our engine to withstand both low and high compression performance mods. So you can be assured that your engine will hold together with a properly tuned forced induction system.

What should you do to improve suspension & handling:

The GM FWD cars are inherently designed to keep going straight if pushed to their limits, this is called "understeer", which was built into the chassis to provide more handling stability- not the best cornering. A car going straight in a critical situation is better than one spinning (oversteer) out of control.

Springs & shocks- The modifications we provide are aimed at giving the chassis better road holding with improved shocks and springs for lower the center of gravity and giving more control of the chassis in all conditions. Our years of racing experience and work with suspension engineers form GM and other companies have led us to building a full line of shock and strut upgrades for the GM small cars- more than any other major manufacturer in the auto industry. Check around, our struts have earned a good reputation in many forms of sports and competition events.

Swaybars- Also called anti-roll bars. The next thing you want to do after lowering the car some is to decrease body roll even more with swaybars- which also serve as a nice chassis tuning tool since there are different sizes to create levels of handling improvement to suit you driving needs. FWD cars need MORE rear swaybar in any application to reduce the built in understeer of the chassis. The larger the rear bar the more neutral (and beyond) you can tune the chassis. At some point a larger front bar will balance the car and flatten the handling even more.

Strut braces- These do not effect the roll stiffness of the chassis per se, but actually control chassis stiffness so that during hard cornering the unibody stays put, and the moveable suspension components can do their job consistently. They improve steering and handling feel the same way with less defection or movement of the related parts from their designed locations, while the shock, springs and swaybars, etc. are controlling the chassis- the same way every time you drive.

What about better brakes & upgrades:

This is one of the weaker points of our cars due to their increasing size and weight over the generations of small GM FWD cars. Chassis weights are up over 2,600 lbs and higher so the brakes that were made for the '83 Cavalier that weighed 2,200 lbs are working harder yet. The small car brakes were not upgraded and made slightly bigger until '92 and now only the new '99 GrandAm has gotten a larger brake system and the larger and stronger 115mm hub assemblies of the larger FWD GM sedans. For most street and sports applications the cost of brake upgrades is prohibitive, since adding larger calipers, rotors, and modifications to the front susp. knuckles are quite costly.

The best thing is to use some of the modified rotors and the newer generations of carbon metallic pads to give the system better resistance to fade and good overall wear. Still, due to their size, dont expect long term brake life if you drive (and stop) hard with your car. If you have a pre-'92 GM FWD small car, you can upgrade to the later rotors and calipers, but you need the entire knuckle assembly too- so a trip to the salvage yard is the only economical way to do this. If you are into competition events where rules allow larger brakes, we do have the parts to upgrade to a couple of larger sizes and configurations to suit your particular performance needs, be it short-term stopping, or long distance durability. Let us now your needs and we can advise.