new here... couple of questions

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carnut101

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hey guys, whats up? let me introduce myself before jumping into the questions. my name is Haig and i'm 16 years old. my dad got a Zephyr and i'm getting his 03 LS V8 once it's done getting serviced these next few days. it's no rocket, but its respectably fast for what it is, and i've proven to my parents that i'm responsible with it. i did some searches on here, found out what you guys are doing to your cars, and ive come up with a few ideas on what i want to do to (soon to be) my LS, and have a few questions:

1. how complicated would it be to swap out the standard headlights for OEM HIDs? if i order the whole headlamp assembly from lincoln, will be a simple bolt on/plug in, or will i have to mess with wiring or something?

2. do these cars come from the factory on the lean or rich side? i'm considering getting an intake for it, and dont want the increased air to lean it out too much. i dont expect much, if any, power gain from the intake, but will it help with the non-linear feel of the gas pedal?

3. how much of a power gain can i expect from dyno tuning it? is it really worth the dyno tune without major mods, or will a mail-order tune do? is the SCT tuner the only one used or are there others (diablo, maybe?)?

4. anyone got a sound clip of an ls v8 with just the mufflers and cats (as opposed to mufflers, cats, and resonators)?

thats all for now now. im sure i'll come up with more questions though :D thanks in advance
 
You sure sound mature for a 16 year old. LOL. And 16 with an '03 V8 LS? Holy cow. congrats.

Anyways...I have a pre-'03, so I can't help with most of your answers.

I can tell you that the car's computer will easily adjust for the air intake, if you decide to get one.


But I would suggest that you wait a while...several months even, before you make ANY mods. Drive the car as is, get the feel of it..then decide later if you need/want any mods. You may decide that you want to improve braking or handling over power first.

Good luck with the car, and welcome.
 
I agree with LSEGUY. Drive your car for a little while before installing anything. Then you'll really see the difference once you add the intake. The sound is a lot better. I'm still waiting for the '03+ exhaust to come out.
As far as the headlamps, my '06 did not come with HIDs. So I bought a set and they just plugged right in. You need to shave a little bit of the connector, but no wiring or anything.
You're going to like this site. It's really cool. Congrats on the car.
 
Do a search for Torrie; he's the one most of these guys get their tunes from. And from what I've read, that seems to be the single most "bang for your buck" mod to get.
If you get HID's, check out LSKoncepts.com. That kit doesn't require any modification to your car and its probably going to be a lot cheaper than from the dealer.

Welcome to LvC. You're one lucky guy. I'll be paying for my LS for another 4 years. I work 50-70 hours a week and still can't afford HID's.:( Have fun with your car and don't rub it in too much.:D
 
another more general tip.

I recall when I was 18, and purchased my first car. Couldnt WAIT to mod it up. I fell for every marketing gimimick used.

Rule #1. Just because it's marketed as "more hp", does NOT mean it works.
Rule #2. Louder does NOT equal faster, despite what your ears may tell you.
Rule #3. There is no such thing as a "butt" dyno.
Rule #4. There are waaay more items being sold that promote more power, than there are items that actually generate more power.
Rule #5. There was a LOT of engineering effort put into building your LS. The suspension/handling (particularly on the Sport packaged models) is a near perfect balance of comfort and handling. Think long and hard before tinkering with what engineers spent millions to create.
Rule #6. Is it worth it to spend hundreds of dollars to get maybe 10-15 more HP, that you may use once every...??
Rule #7. "Upgrades" are worthless in resale value. In fact, many will reduce the resale value or make the car less attractive to certain potential buyers looking for a stock, untampered with car.

Just some general tips. Again, good luck..and spend wisely.
 
congrats! A goot SCT tune with intake and exhaust will get your car into the low 14's, which is pretty good for a car with such a small V8.
 
Someone on here has a sound clip of their exhaust without resonaters I can't remember who it was tho......I know someone will chime in and tell you.
 
Dont waste your money. Anything performace added on unless your going to supercharge it and run mid 13's dnot wast your money on that stuff. If i were you I would look for cheap things to do. I have an 03 LS6 and I just bought an intake for it, it was only $140 and it gave a small performance gain but the sound it awesome, you can hear the egine sucking in air. If you want an idea of what it will sound like take out your air filter for a bit and just punch it.
HIDS are SICK, that is the first thing i would do, Dont buy factory, they look like s#it stick to the aftermarket they are a more expensive but you can choose your output, becides you 16 and got some money to spend.
WHAT color is it and what options do you have?
Exhaust would sound nasty, there is an older LS8 that cruises around my area it has a license plate that is like FASTLS or something like that
 
thanks for the responses...

i see where you guys are coming from with the "not modding it for a while." ive been driving it for 6 months now with my permit and im pretty sure i want to mod it now. i know ill probably never use any of the extra power on the street, but i just cant leave anything alone haha. take one look at my computers and you'll see:
http://webpages.charter.net/kmalkhasyan/record_player_1/DVC00216.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kmalkhasyan/muffler/PDX_Day3_075.jpg

it does have the sport package, so i dont think i'll mess with suspension, even though i plan on autocrossing it. the brakes are fine as is. the limitation on the braking is the traction from the tires, not the brakes, and im not going to take it out on a road course, so cooling and brake fade shouldnt be an issue.

9enisp and deliciousdaly: the thing i dont like about the aftermarket HID kits is that most arent complete. they are just the bulbs and wiring and dont have the projectors and all those parts to do it right and have a clean end result with no hot spots and a sharp cutoff that wont blind everyone coming my way. though i would be able to chose the output i want, the one used in factory units (4000 i think?), from what ive heard, though it doesnt look as cool as the bluer ones, lights up the road the best. besides, i can get the OEM ones at very close to dealer cost.

ive read about Torrie on here, but cant find any contact info. can someone please post that or provide a link for me?

looking at the CAIs on the LSK site... i dont like the KKM true rev for one reason: it doesnt have a heat shield. whats the point of a cold air intake if its gonna suck in hot air from the engine compartment? will the k&n typhoon fit with the aluminum intake tube? is that whole k&n piece really worth it, or would i be better off with just the intake tube and a stock replacement filter from k&n?

deliciousdaly: its a black on black 03 V8 sport

thanks
 
You can fabricate a heat shield fairly easily from some sheetmetal from Lowes or home depot. Search around on this forum, several have created their own heat boxes/heat shields from various materials.
 
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