[SleeperGT]

So many good questions, yet you forgot to ask about the single best upgrade next to a S/C, in my opinion. GEARS!! For a first upgrade I wouldn't waste a single penny on anything but gears. Cold air intakes, mass air sensors, ram air systems, pulleys, chips, any one of these might get you zero to maybe 10 hp, heck even combining them all you still might end up with maybe 10 to 15 hp. And when do you feel any of these upgrades, only if you wind the car completely out. Now gears you feel all the time, down low, and up high, just blip the throttle or mash the gas and you feel the gears, heck it feels like the car has an extra 50 ft-lbs of torque. I just drove a buddies brand new '02 GT and man did it feel unresponsive (I can't believe I said that, but it's true). I think the best two upgrades to do at the same time are gears and an exhaust upgrade. The gears get you the power, and the exhaust/muffler upgrade make is sound like you got the power. It sounds like one day you're going to go the S/C route. Most S/C kits come with many of the upgrades you mentioned (new chip, cold air intake system, injectors, fuel pump, etc and I've heard you don't want to go with a pulley upgrade if you eventually get a S/C installed). My first upgrade was the S/C and then I did exhaust, and the gears. I wish I did the exact reverse order. Any-who, just do a search on gears, there are a million posts about them. And congrats on the purchase and no matter what you do your going to have a blast.