My friend just got a 96 Talon with the 420a and its stock right now (actually i haven't seen his engine is the 96 Talon ESI the 420a?). He wants to put a little money into it without going crazy. He wants an intake, exhaust, and maybe a header.

I recommended him an AEM CAI, Headman 4-1 header, and Magnaflow Cat back exhaust all for around $1000 from the web.

My question is can one do better for the money with either of those 3 parts?

Also are there any other mods he should start with or go to first besides these 3? I am not sure what are the biggest power mods for bolt ons with the 420a.

Also what oil and filters are you guys using for your 420a? I use Mobil 1 or M1/EP and Purolator Pureones and recommended teh same to him.

Intake:
A pipe is a pipe. Regardless of what colour, how shiny, or how many stickers come with it, it'll still function like any other pipe. Just get an eBay ($20) intake and add a good filter. (AEM Dryflow or K&N) HP increase will be minimal anyways.

Exhaust: A pipe is a pipe. Regardless of what colour, how shiny, or how many stickers come with it, it'll still function like any other pipe. In the case of exhaust systems, an increase to 2.5" may net you a few HP, but again you're not going to notice much. The only reason to spend big money on the fancy name brand exhausts is if you want a specific look or sound. Otherwise, eBay. ($200) (Youtube for sound clips of eBay exhausts)

Header: A pipe is a... Ok it's still true, but you'll notice more from a poor header design that a poor catback design. Here, exhaust temperature, density, and speed change rapidly as they leave the head and make abrupt turns, then blend together. Too large runners can kill low end performance, with minimal gain up top. A crappy collector nay merge worse than the factory design. Lots of eBay headers being used without issue, but the name brand choices are few.

Get a name brand UDP. (Unorthodox and AFX are the big ones)

Do a tune-up. If the engine needs any mechanical repair, do it. A tune-up when needed can bring back more power than all of those bolt-ons.

Purolator and Mobile 1 are great brands. When it comes to oil, it's really hard to go wrong. Even the store-brand oils have to meet certain specifications. Oil brand is purely personal choice.

Don't get super high-dollar and gimmicky plug wires or plugs.
Don't get a TB spacer.
Don't get a Venom 400 race module thingy.
Don't get an air-intake vortex turbonator whatsamahoozits.
Don't get a chip.
Don't get a "25HP for $15!" IAT resistor mod things.
Don't pour "Genuine Snake Oil(tm)" into your crankcase or transmission.
Don't use the fancy orange Extreme Ultra Duty Tough Guard oil filter.
Don't, for Christ's sake, put a whistle in your muffler.

Locke said:

Header: A pipe is a... Ok it's still true, but you'll notice more from a poor header design that a poor catback design. Here, exhaust temperature, density, and speed change rapidly as they leave the head and make abrupt turns, then blend together. Too large runners can kill low end performance, with minimal gain up top. A crappy collector nay merge worse than the factory design. Lots of eBay headers being used without issue, but the name brand choices are few.

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I have read that a 4-2-1 header is better on a 420a than the usual 4-1 because this motor does better with more back pressure.

Is that true?

BK85

Backpressure has a negative effect on ALL engines, its how the exhaust is designed that makes it or breaks it.

Locke said:

Don't, for Christ's sake, put a whistle in your muffler.

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If u go name brand on cat/headers/intake, for the cost u could just turbo the car!

If he has 1000$ to spend. Tell him to replace the timing belt, fix any leaks, and then upgrade to atleast a 2.5 inch exhaust and look for good cams. He can replace the cams when he does the timing belt.

I guarantee that the cams and exhaust will give more topend than anything else. As for lowend. The best upgrade he can do is ditch the intake box put a cone filter, and clean his engine with some seafoam. It will get rid of any nasty deposits.

Now if he has allready done all his maintenance. 1000$ will go a long dang way towards a nice turbo setup. The 420a block has been tested tired and true to around 350hp reliably. That will be a very fun street car.

BK85 said:

I have read that a 4-2-1 header is better on a 420a than the usual 4-1 because this motor does better with more back pressure.

Is that true?

BK85

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4-2-1 style's tend to promote low to mid range power. 4-1 designs tend to promote high end power.

JEFFREYCASTGSX said:

Backpressure has a negative effect on ALL engines, its how the exhaust is designed that makes it or breaks it.

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96_killer said:

If u go name brand on cat/headers/intake, for the cost u could just turbo the car!

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Tanro said:

If he has 1000$ to spend. Tell him to replace the timing belt, fix any leaks, and then upgrade to atleast a 2.5 inch exhaust and look for good cams. He can replace the cams when he does the timing belt.

I guarantee that the cams and exhaust will give more topend than anything else. As for lowend. The best upgrade he can do is ditch the intake box put a cone filter, and clean his engine with some seafoam. It will get rid of any nasty deposits.

Now if he has allready done all his maintenance. 1000$ will go a long dang way towards a nice turbo setup. The 420a block has been tested tired and true to around 350hp reliably. That will be a very fun street car.

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Okay so recommend him a decent turbo kit that isn't going to break the bank? Are there any "cheap" options that are worth the time and not going for a huge HKS ball bearing ?

Locke said:

Intake:
A pipe is a pipe. Regardless of what colour, how shiny, or how many stickers come with it, it'll still function like any other pipe. Just get an eBay ($20) intake and add a good filter. (AEM Dryflow or K&N) HP increase will be minimal anyways.

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I have to disagree with you on this one locke, just from what i herd from Colby, he said that when he went from the ebay CAI to the V2 he saw a huge difference,and that his power didn't drop off at high end like it did with the ebay brand. When i get some more time i will have to look for his actual posts and see how much proof he had on that.

As for everything else, have your buddy decided if he wants to turbo or not first, if he does don't waste his money on headers and etc. As for the header discussion i personally prefer the 4-2-1, but it is pricier. If i could go back and do it all, i would have just spent the money on a LTH, because thats the only header that will really net you any gains, he 4-1 vs the 4-2-1 are mainly torque differences and slight shifts in the power band.

If your buddy wants some big bang for his buck the mods I'd go with for a stock car and for a grand would be , test pipe + catback (roughly 150-200), stage 2 cams (300-400) and udp(100-250) and intake (25-250). will give him a nice bang for his buck and all will be usable (not the intake pipe but the filter) if he decides to go turbo. Research the cams before hand of course. If he shops around good enough he may even be able to squeak in an AFX ECU, piggyback or MSnS in there.

Fotowntalon said:

I have to disagree with you on this one locke, just from what i herd from Colby, he said that when he went from the ebay CAI to the V2 he saw a huge difference,and that his power didn't drop off at high end like it did with the ebay brand. When i get some more time i will have to look for his actual posts and see how much proof he had on that.

As for everything else, have your buddy decided if he wants to turbo or not first, if he does don't waste his money on headers and etc. As for the header discussion i personally prefer the 4-2-1, but it is pricier. If i could go back and do it all, i would have just spent the money on a LTH, because thats the only header that will really net you any gains, he 4-1 vs the 4-2-1 are mainly torque differences and slight shifts in the power band.

If your buddy wants some big bang for his buck the mods I'd go with for a stock car and for a grand would be , test pipe + catback (roughly 150-200), stage 2 cams (300-400) and udp(100-250) and intake (25-250). will give him a nice bang for his buck and all will be usable (not the intake pipe but the filter) if he decides to go turbo. Research the cams before hand of course. If he shops around good enough he may even be able to squeak in an AFX ECU, piggyback or MSnS in there.

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If the pipe is smaller it'll be a restriction. If the pipe is too big then you will have turbulence and that will decrease potential gains as well.

If it turns out that the eBay pipe (stock turbo size) was put onto a turbo with a larger opening then you will form a restriction decreasing potential power. Where as I'll assume the v2 pipe was more-or-less the same size as the turbo opening and it is no longer a restriction so you have the type of gains and air flow pattern you would have otherwise.


Pipe is pipe no matter how you want to look at it. If you are trying to MAXIMIZE for some ultra race competition then go with something that is 100% smooth and has the straightest path possible or just run a mesh covering (turbo).

All you really are doing is paying for a name, however, some brands have a better quality and/or form/fit factor.

The situation i was talking about is for NA, as far as i know us 420a guys cant run a CAI if we turbo. But yes I do understand standard volume vs velocity.

I was going to start a thread in the 420a turbo conversion thread but it won't let me post there yet for some reason?

Any of you guys have links to worthwhile turbo kits that are inexpensive? He is just looking for a small boost in power, probably about the cheapest kit that won't be a waste of money.

This is the turbo kit i have on my car, it didnt come with all of these parts when i bought it, but it was cheaper then too. So far, its been perfectly fine, minus an oil drain issue. The turbo seems to be fine, but if you're worried about it you can always pick up a new one somewhere down the road and sell this one to a honduh kid.

Mitsubishi 95 96 97 98 99 Eclipse Non-Turbo 420A 2.0L T3/T4 Turbo Kit FastWayRacer.Com

So if one was to buy this recommended kit with the Turbonetics T3/T4 are there any additional parts that are required ?

Also what other parts are recommended to go with it? It would probably lose power with a stock exhaust due to backpressure; correct?

Hey Jared, with your turbo set-up, you said you used that kit. Over all, how long do you think it took you to install the whole thing?

it could be done in a weekend. I had my car put up for winter so I did that, new suspension, and new seats. It was my first turbo install and I didn't know much of anything on it. If you go that route and have questions, pm me and ill help.

Nitrous, end of thread.

My friend is seriously considering this turbo kit but waiting til tax time most likely since it would take about that long to save up at least a grand anyways.

I was trying to get him a parts list together but just this kit would sure be easy to buy.

I am still trying to figure out if this turbo kit is worth running with a stock exhaust temporarily and what ECU upgrades need to be done to go with it or other parts required.

You'll want to decide how you will provide the additional fuel. The basic starter method is to just use a 255HP Walbro fuel pump and a 12:1 FMU.

Nitrous could be the cheap alternative to a turbo kit.

1000$ will piece you together a nice kit. But if your going to be bying it all at once in kit form from one supplier expect to pay 50% more.

Basically a lot of the stuff can be had for cheap as hell if you know where to look.

1g Blow Off valve, or Evo 8/9 BOV can be had for under 20$ and are solid as a rock.
1g 14b Turbo or 16g turbo can be had for under 200$. Solid for street performance.
SMIC Can be had for cheap cheap cheap.
14b/16g are internally gated so no need for a waste gate.
Boost gauge can be had at your local auto parts store for around 35$
Intercooler piping will have to be custom fit. Expect to put back at least 200$ if not 250$.
Good Turbo Manifold or Turbo Header at least 200$.

If you piece it together you can have all the stuff to bolt a turbo onto your 420a for around 1000$. But you still need fuel control and ideally lower compression pistons.

I say don't modify it at all, you'll drop the value and buyer venue by ten fold.
Stick your money into maintenance, cleaning it up, and keeping it simple. A stereo we all know you want and most likely everyone in the world does too. So that is an option that won't hurt.
Don't stick your money into the 420a IMHO. Can it be a good motor? Yes. That wasn't what I was saying though.

I think you'd be much happier with simple modifications done to a GST or GSX.
This way you can keep the N/T as your reliable DD. Hell you could even lower it and give it some nice Talon accenting. But keep in mind lowering a vehicle drastically changes it's alignment specifications - so to do it properly can be expensive.

To get a 420A to 300WHP(most street cars are happy with this) will cost you a hell of a lot more VS. a 4G63T.

viprez586 said:

Don't stick your money into the 420a IMHO. Can it be a good motor? Yes. That wasn't what I was saying though.

I think you'd be much happier with simple modifications done to a GST or GSX.
This way you can keep the N/T as your reliable DD. Hell you could even lower it and give it some nice Talon accenting. But keep in mind lowering a vehicle drastically changes it's alignment specifications - so to do it properly can be expensive.

To get a 420A to 300WHP(most street cars are happy with this) will cost you a hell of a lot more VS. a 4G63T.

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Really tired of hearing stuff like this........

99BoostedRS said:

Really tired of hearing stuff like this........

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I'm not.

If you currently drive a 420a and when you ask yourself about your long term goals and they turn out to include a turbo and an awd pipe-dream... you may need to reassess your situation.

Maybe, just maybe, your driving the wrong car and should think about selling.

P.S. Suggesting that someone pick up a second car, or project shell, is just as good of advice -- better advice IMO -- than encouraging them to dump thousands of dolors into a turbo project for an engine that was never meant to my turbo charged.

Dont recommend one persons mistake for another out of spite of one's own inability to see the 'writing on the wall' before it was too late and now find yourself with too much time and money invested into a project that you can bring yourself to the conclusion that it was the wrong car to start with.

"general statement, not intended for any one in particular"

Yea if he has $1000 to spend he needs to buy a 1g gsx and dd the n/t. I bought mine for 1k with 0 rust, completely bone stock, never modded, under 100k miles.