MyG37 - I Have $_____ , what can I do? (Performance)

Hello friends,

I was reading some threads and realized that a lot of people come here with limited budgets, but still want to maximize their enjoyment of the car. For some, enjoyment is derived from horsepower (me), for others, it's from a beautiful car.

Disclaimer

I'm going to break this down in increasing budget, so skip to the appropriate section. I'll go from $150, $300, $600, $1000, $3000, $5000, and $10,000. As a disclaimer, this is my opinion, I already told you that I'm biased towards power mods. I will revisit this and generate another thread (if you want) with aesthetic mods. I'm going to assume you already have the necessary tools and equipment for this, even though I know much of the stuff I mention might be specialty. There will also be a lot of DIY assumed here, shop time eats up a lot of cash.

$150

So you've got a fresh new G37 and want the most bang for buck. Congratulations on your acquisition. I understand, you won't be buying a turbocharger for a single C-note, but you can definitely increase the performance of your car.
MyG37.com Sticker ($6.50)
Obviously the best return on investment. Put one of those bad boys on your car and you'll FEEL the difference. Click on the link in my signature if you want one.
Oil Change ($53.50)
Change your regular oil out for some full synthetic. It's a vast improvement over the regular stuff, and will help protect your investment.
Brake Fluid ($30)
Ditto for brake fluid. The OEM stuff is good, but if you bought your car used, you have no idea the last time the previous owner flushed the brake fluid. I like Motul 5.1, or RBF600. There are plenty of other threads detailing peoples' favorite fluid.
Car Wash ($10)
Clean your car, I mean REALLY clean it. Every bug or ding in your radiator, every scratch on your headlight lens will decrease the performance of your car. Get in there and clean out the bug guts, detail your headlights, and make sure there isn't brake dust built up in your wheels.
K&N Replacement Filters ($50)
K&N makes great filters. They come with a lifetime warranty, are reusable, and will net you a small (very small) amount of horsepower over the stock filters.

$300

Okay, you've had a birthday, maybe christmas, and you've got a little bit of pocket money to spend on your car. Doing the stuff above is still a good idea, but $300 will go a lot farther towards felt performance increases.

$300 is still too low to get a proper long tube intake, but you might be able to pick up a filter replacement/tube replacement for your intake.

HPS Silicone tube intake + filters ($130)
This will replace your OEM airboxes with an unshielded pod filter. The increased air will let your motor breathe a little better and give you just a tad bit of engine bling. The silicone hoses will keep your air charge cool.
Grounding Kit ($40)
A grounding kit will help automatic transmission guys more than it will the manual guys. On the 7AT, it will clean up your shift times, it DRASTICALLY reduces the delay when shifting with the paddles, and increases your audio performance to boot. On the 6mt, you're the one in control of your shifting, but you still get the benefit of peace of mind and a better stereo experience.
Stainless brake lines + Brake Flush ($130)
Technafit brake lines and brake fluid will go a long way towards firming up your pedal feel. The car is plenty fast to begin with, and before long, you'll probably want to stop. Brake job is going to be a recurring theme in the rest of this thread.

$600

$600 is just enough to be dangerous. You can either accentuate your OEM equipment by augmenting what's there, or you can replace some of the big bottlenecks in your airflow system. I'm not going to detail anything here, pick and choose from the $300 and $1000 recommendations and select what's important to you.

$1000

Though this isn't quite enough for a proper full exhaust and intake replacement, it IS enough money to let you modify your exhaust to coax a few more horses out.

Long Tube Intakes ($400)
Long tube intakes will pull cold air from near the bottom of your engine bay, or even outside your engine bay. Cold Air = Dense Air, meaning you can increase your proportional amount of fuel.
Test Pipes ($200)
It's no secret that the OEM catalytic converters, though eco-friendly, are the biggest bottleneck in the system. They represent a significant restriction in your exhaust and can be replaced by simple pipes. Note: I am not advocating this highly illegal car modification. Even if it DOES present you with more horsepower than high flow cats. ;)
Muffler Delete ($100)
Beyond the catalytic converters (cats), the muffler is the next biggest bottleneck. I hate this mod, but it DOES eliminate the bends and backpressure associated with a muffler. You can get a muffler shop to unbolt your canister muffler (coupe), or dual mufflers (sedan), and weld straight pipes instead. Be prepared to deal with the noise, rasp, and smell associated with a straight pipe setup.
Previously Mentioned Fluid Flush and Brake Job ($250)
Told you this would become a regular thing.

$3000

This kind of money will let you do your intake AND your exhaust. It's not quite enough for the best of everything. This is where you start deciding what's important to you. You can cut corners with your exhaust by purchasing test pipes, or you can opt to stick with a short ram style intake.

Long Tube Intake ($500)
Discussed Previously
Test Pipes ($200)
Previously Discussed
Axleback Exhaust ($400)
Aftermarket muffler
Upper Intake Manifold ($500)
The upper intake manifold, manufactured by either Z1 or Motordyne, will allow clean air to flow from your intake as smoothly and evenly into each cylinder as possible.
Professional Tune (Uprev) ($500)
A tune is honestly something you should be doing in addition to the $1000 dollar mods above. A tune will add maps to your factory ECU and allow a tuner to rewrite the way the car behaves under load. It teaches your car what to do with those nice mods you're installing, and prevents you from potentially leaning out and detonating in your cylinder.
Lightweight Pulleys ($200)
Lightweight pulleys shave weight off the rotating parts of your car. They allow you to accelerate noticeably faster, and have proven gains on the dyno.
Fluid Flush and Brake Job ($250)
Previously Discussed
Track Day ($450)
The most important thing you can improve in your car is the person sitting in the drivers seat. Go to an educational track day, learn how the car behaves under load, and learn how YOU behave under load.

$5000

This is probably the most money you'll want to spend on pure performance before going forced induction. With this, you're going to want all the bolt ons and a tune. Attend.

Long Tube Intakes ($500)
Discussed previously
Upper Intake Manifold ($500)
Previously Discussed
Long Tube Headers ($1200)
Long tube headers scavenge exhaust from your cylinders and conduct it into your catback. The only manufacturer of long tube headers (LTH's) that I know of is Fast Intentions. Their design lets you pick up maybe 10 horsepower above test pipes + stock headers .
Free Flowing Exhaust ($1400)
You can afford a proper aftermarket exhaust. As far as power gains, one exhaust is much like any other. You're looking to reduce/eliminate things that cause backpressure. Look for an exhaust made from Stainless steel (good insulation), mandrel bends (smooth), and as few turns as possible.
Uprev Tune ($500)
Previously Discussed
Installation for headers + exhaust ($600)
Headers isn't something you want to do yourself. It's a pain in the butt, and it easier to do on a lift.
Oil/Transmission/Differential/Coolant/Brake Flush and refill ($200)
Discussed Previously
Stainless Brake Lines ($100)
Discussed Previously

$10,000
Woooooo! Look at you, high roller. You've got dough to throw around and you're not afraid to let everyone know. Obviously, the answer here for max horsepower is forced induction. Screw cold air intakes, screw pocket tunes, and fuel efficiency. You want to fly.

Stillen Supercharger Kit ($6800)
Well, that went quickly. $6800 is approximately how much a supercharger kit will cost to be shipped to you. Superchargers provide a more linear power band than a turbocharger does, and are lower maintenance. This is my damn thread and I'm doing a supercharger, got it? :biggthumpup:
I like the Stillen kit in particular because they address the problem of fuel management. They include bigger injectors AND a tune in the kit.
Exhaust ($1200)
You need to open up your stock exhaust for the same reasons you put an aftermarket exhaust on your car even when it was naturally aspirated. This will allow your supercharger to do its work more efficiently, and will sound awesome, to boot.
Install ($1500)
Buying the kit isn't the only expense, unfortunately. Forced induction is the kind of thing you want a mechanic to install. Improper installation can lead to some very serious consequences (read: Kaboom), and you'll rest better knowing it's someone else's fault if your motor blows up.
Professional Tune ($500)
You get a tuner cable with the package, but nothing beats a proper, professional dyno tune. Your tuner will put your newly supercharged car through its paces on a dyno, and use the feedback from the machine as a diagnostic tool to determine exactly what your car wants.