Best Bang for your Buck engine mods
 

I just got a cold air intake and a dynomax exhaust on my 98 LT Blazer for fuel economy and now I have the mod bug. I bought my Blazer to serve as my daily commuter so I need to stay true to that but I cannot help tweeking things to make it a sweet weekend warrior 4x4. So my question is what are the best "bang for buck" performance upgrade you guys have done?

Get your pcm reprogrammed! Best bang for the buck, i used blackbear but i hear pcmforless is good as well.

CAI, throttle body mod, NGK plugs and synthetic oil. Runs much friendlier now and WAS getting better mileage until I put 31's on!

What kind of results did you have with your throttle body mod? I have been reading that the throttle body spacers are a wast of money but a few people have claimed positive results. Just wondering how it went for you.

He may be referring to the Throttle Blade mod in which you cut the restrictor off of the blade itself. Usually it is done to better the throttle response when you "get on" the throttle. GM put the restrictor in to limit the rougher take off because most drivers don't like that feeling. I myself enjoy the better response. :) Check out the video.
I used a pair of tin snips, the restrictor is thin aluminum and the snips made a very close and smooth cut. less work too!

The only upgrade I found that noticeably helped performance was a cat back exhaust, and it wasn't that impressive.

CAI is a total waste of money, unless you like the looks and the sound it makes. Any difference in performance or mileage, quite frankly, is all in your head ;) The OEM air filter box has a snorkle that takes in air from behind the headlight, in front of the engine compartment. This is the "coolest" air available. The CAI systems take in air from the engine compartment which is warmer...woops. By rights, it should be called a "warm air intake" system;) The important fact to keep in mind, is as soon as the air enters the plenum, the temperature rises substantially, especially when the EGR valve is open. When the air enters the area behind the intake valve, where the fuel is introduced, the temperature is higher yet. Save your money.

Low restriction exhaust might help if you have a blower/supercharger/turbocharger.

As HcHawks mentioned, the throttle plate modification makes the throttle more "jumpy" from a stop. It does nothing for performance or fuel mileage when you remove the deflector.

The throttle body spacers, (turbonator etc) do absolutely nothing on a port fuel injected engine. In theory they are supposed to "swirl" the air as it enters the engine for better mixing of the fuel and air. Downstream of the throttle body is the plenum, there is no fuel to "swirl". Again, save your money.

If you want modifications that you can actually notice that something was done, think about forced induction, camshaft, headers, pistons, and as the 50lb cat says, "Get your PCM reprogrammed", find someone that can set it up properly. Don't waste your time and money with nickel and dime mods, cuz that's all you'll gain. It's not a cheap hobby ;) If you're looking for ways to improve fuel mileage, there are a ton of things that can be done, for less than you spent on your CAI & exhaust ;)

i got as much bang for the buck for the engine for towing a boat and for fuel economy and offroad. i changed the ignition coil to maxx performance,maxx performance cap and rotor with new distributer,maxx wires,ngk platinum plug,throttle body mod,new high flow fuel filter,synthetic oil,seafoamed entire motor and clean entire throttle body,add new 02 sensors,urithane engine mounts,the big 3 upgrade,ive upgraded to a home made external engine oil cooler,external tranny cooler,hp tunerz ecm tune,air hog high flow drop in filter with modded oem box.

High flow fuel filter????

Must be the fuel filter they use on the big block trucks that happens to have the same part number. ;)

CAI/FIPK, throttle spacer, K&N all do very little, even when tuned for. Been there, tried them...back to stock now.