I was wondering if there are indeed any ways to make decent gains without going forced induction, I heard that bolt ons such as intake, exhaust, headers will actually cause you to LOSE power. What are some NA mods that will help make the Z able to compete with Mustang GT's and such, mid 13's to low 13's, how much for the mods and what kind of labor is involved as well as reliability issues that may come up. Thanks

 

The power people are talking about losing is usually the low end torque. Most basica NA bolts ons consist of the intake, plenum, pully, exhaust. If you want to you can throw in a reflash or even a piggy back ECU for tuning. However, stock the cars can compete with a GT given equal drivers. Very few people around here are hard core NA fans, so there is still some uncharted teritory on what can be done with these engines.

However, I think what your asking is what the best bang for the buck is NA and thats whats listed above.

 

What kind of power gains from that? And what kind of cost for the mods?

 

All depends. What brand you want, new or used, hook up from a friend or board member or shop. Etc etc. If you look at some of the sponsor links on here you can find pully sets for 150-300, plenums for 300-up, intakes from 100 and up, etc etc. The list goes on.

It sounds like what you need to do is sit down, do some research and draw out a plan. Decide what your budget is going to be. Then start playing with numbers. Research parts with dyno proven results. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Avoid ebay knock offs. All told with most bolt ons you can probably push respectable 260ish. All depends. With just popcharger and full exhaust I pulled a 259 un corrected on an 03. Not even the rev up. Its there, its all about how far your willing to go.