i have a stock 2002 ss and i am trying to decide what to do first: exhaust system? rearend gears? does it really matter?

 

Gears don't improve power, but merely let you make better use of it. It doesn't matter where you start, especially if you plan on doing both intake and exhaust. Recommend doing those before any major modifications (supercharger, turbo, nitrous), as they will better help those.

 

You want to do bolt-ons before you get into any internal stuff, that way you can have the air flow in and out of the motor so when you get to internal stuff you know that you have enough flow. As 02StangGT suggested, intake, cat-back exhaust and headers/Y-pipe are a must before internals go on.

 

if i was you i would get. cat back exhaust, intake, air foil, headers. doesnt really matter what order, then i would move into internals or forced induction after that