I have a stock 1996 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi (120K miles). I LOVE THIS
CAR! I would like some suggestions on projects I can undertake to
improve performance beyond what the car is already capable of.

Short of new engine, what kinds of things work, and ballpark, how much
do they cost? What else (e.g. beef up suspension?) is recommended when
boosting performance?

Exhaust
Computer chip
Tornado / SpiralMax (I have read mostly bad reports on these)

TIA! I look forward to reading suggestions and the projects that will
come as a result!
John

A 3.4 or 3.5 inch supercharger pulley will AMAZE you. It gives gains of about 20-30 hp (depending on other mods), and about 50lb.ft of torque. You should also go to 1 or 2 range colder plugs. AC-Delco 41-932 are 1 range colder plugs, and AC-Delco 41-919 are 2 range colder than stock plugs. Other than being colder, the plugs are identical and are platinum. You will want to also replace the spark plug wires when you replace your plugs, because they break and are crap anyways. A very easy thing to do is swap out the stock thermostat for a 180 degree drilled one, it will make the engine run cooler. The exhaust on your car really isn't that bad, but you can put some headers on it for about $700 and it will make a big difference (usually 20hp or more) and the rest of your exhaust is plenty. You can also put in high ratio rocker arms (involves removing the valve covers and swapping all 12 rocker arms (6 on a side), that will gain about 15-20hp. If you have both headers and rocker arms you can go to a 3.25" pulley, which will raise the boost up more and give you more power. There is just about anything you want available for these engines. I don't know how serious you want to get, but you can get different cams, heads, pistons, rods, basically anything you want. The stuff I listed is just the basic stuff that you will probably want to do anyways.

I do not recommend the tornado or spiral max crap, they are a rip off, and if anything hurt performance and gas mileage.

Don't forget the CAI.

And dbtk2, where can I get the 3.4 SC pulley, for when I get my series 2 SC in a couple years...Thx.

www.pulleyboys.com is the best source for SC pulleys, any size.

Our setup requires that the air be LAMINAR flow. The vornado type devices disrupt that, and cause inaccurate MAF readings, poor performance, and poor mileage. The best intake setup is a smooth intake pipe with a cone filter, and then remove your MAF screen. You will feel this difference.

Browse through Techinfo (link at the top of the page). There'* some info there, including an article on first performance mods. Written entirely from our own personal experiences here.

Welcome, and good luck!

You can get one from basically any Grand Prix performance parts store. www.grandprixstore.com, www.intense-racing.com, www.zzperformance.com, www.3800performance.com, www.pulleyboys.com, and many others. If you plan on doing mods to it later that will allow you to run a smaller pulley, or you are going to be going to the track and running race gas I would recommend a modular pulley system. (mostlikely a ZZP because they have a LOT of sizes) But if not, a press on is just fine.

Thanks Will..I'm sure that'* been posted before but I can't remember where. I'm still debating on removing my MAF screen...I don't race it a lot so I may leave it in. :?

Cheap mods....

-smaller pulley as every has said
-a more free flowing filter setup (CAI or whatever, just make it breath easier)
-exhaust is a definate. Remove the resonator, and mufflers and go with something freer flowing. Headers are an expensive proposition, but seem to be worthwhile if you are going for serious power

It really all depends on what you are looking for spend. A few hundred? A few thousand?