Here is all the performance mods I've done over the years. I haven't done much to the engine simply because whats the point if I'm going to swap out the 6 in time anyway. However, I have redone the entire suspension, exhaust and brakes. So check it out!

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Well one of the first things I did to the suspension was change out the sway bars. After doing a lot of research I decided to go with a Spohn product. Front: 36mm Rear: 24mm Bullet-Proof Chrome Moly. Along with getting rid of those crappy stock sway bars, I needed to get rid of those mushy rubber bushings as well. So I got all poly-urethane bushings. But they were squeaky and annoying, so I changed them out for some poly-graphite bushings with greasable brackets from Top Down Solutions. I also decided to get a TDS Wonderbar since it was a better design than Spohn. However, this combination tends to cause a clearance problem. But, TDS had the answer. Lon (owner of TDS) made spacers for such a problem. So without further delay, here they are:

A close-up of the spacers and a pic of the rear sway bar:

It's cool that you can see the red powdercoat when you cut the wheel all they way. I've had people say it looks awesome just parked!:

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Next up on the list was a strut tower brace. Now since Spohn nor TDS made STB's, I went with one from Hotchkis. I got a 2 point from them for clearance issues. They also had the trickest looking design and oddly enough it matched the inside of my RamAir hood (you'll understand when you look at the pics):

Cleared the intake just fine:

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Well now that the front end was tightened up, time for the rear. I already had the new sway bar and bushings in, but that wasn't enough for me. I know I needed a new panhard bar. I decided to go with Spohns adjustable poly-bushing bar. What a difference in the rear-end after installing it. The adjuster allows for the rear to be centered and pre-loaded:

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Well after getting the new rims and tires, I noticed a severe increase in wheel hop. I mean, when I tried spinning the tires, the car would shake..violently. After searching ThirdGen.org, I found out that my wheel geometry is probably off. The fix? Tubular Lower Control Arms and relocation brackets. The increased angle the brackets give along with the LCA's better performance over the stock stamped steel POS's eliminated my wheelhop altogther. The car actually fights for traction now. I went with Spohns Poly-bushing bullet-proof Chrome Moly LCA's powdercoated red of course:

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My shocks and struts were shot after 14 years when I first got it. I decided on Bilstein HD's all around. But after blowing one of them and waiting for a new one no charge from Bilstein, I have a set of Monroe's in there for now:

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Now if you thought my car was stiff enough, think again. Car ahndled great, but I knew there was more potential in this car. What I needed was sub-frame connectors. Now there is a lot of different types out there. Some are tubular, some are boxed, some mount defferently and so on. After tons of research and reviews on the forums, I went with Spohns SFC's powder-coated red. After the install, car was stiffer, more solid and less squeaky. Also, the SFC's provide a safe jacking point on both sides of the car. Helps a lot when you have to do work underneath. Here they are:

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Next were brakes. The stock brakes, well sucked. Mushy, didn't stop the car for anything. I needed a change. I was going to with LS1 brakes, but decided against it for now until the new engine is put in. Instead I went with Power Slot's slotted rotors and Hawks corvette grade brake pads. To top that off I got a set of stainless steel brake lines to maintain line pressure. Lastly, I painted the stock calipers red to dress them up a bit. Heres the results:



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Now like I said earlier, there wasn't much I panned on doing to the engine since a new one would be put in. But I did some things I thought were necessary in the meantime. First up, the exhaust which I am very proud of. At first I went with an 80 Series flowmaster muffler and installed myself. It sounded great and performed a bit better. But since my stock muffler was clamped and rusted on, the install of the new muffler was botched and I had exhaust leaks. After dealing with it for awhile, I decided to get a whole cat-back system. I went with Flowmaster's American Thunder Series 3" system. The tone became lower, louder and just better all around. Plus the tips looked great too:

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Well everyone knows the restrictions stock Catalytic Converters have on third gens, or any car for that matter. I knew mine had to go, or it would go on me soon anyway. I needed to ass inspection still so instead of getting rid of it, I went with Catco's highflow direct fit cat #4115. I had it installed and wow what a difference. Performance wise, and tone! It was louder once again. I didnt even expect it. Here it is:

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Well, one of the biggest problems the 60* V6 has is breathing. So without spending too much but fixing the problem at the same time, I fabbed up my own intake out of PVC. Then I mated it up with a K&N reusable air filter. First time, I painted it black. But the air sensor wasn't staying in right and kept tripping an error code in computer so I re-did the whole thing in red:
First stage in black:

Second stage in red:

Final stage custom made for my car:

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Page 1 - Intro
Page 2 - Update Page
Page 3 - Painting Process
Page 4 - Exterior Mods
Page 5 - Interior Mods
Page 6 - Performance/Engine Mods <-------- You are here
Page 7 - Stereo System Mods