First 5 Upgrades

[90TSIAWDTALON]

What do you think should be the first 5 upgrades for a dsm?

 

[Dallas J]

Boost Gauge
MBC
Fuel Pump
Full exhaust
IC piping

Thats what I would put on first.

-Dallas J

 

[Spln_Hrd]

i liked his list, but i would be ready to put in a new clutch after all of that. our clutches are weak stock.

 

[Shadowfax]

What do you think should be the first 5 upgrades for a dsm?

Depends entirely on where you want to go.

EMS
FP Green (or better)
External Fuel Pump
FMIC
Clutch

 

[Dallas J]

Depends entirely on where you want to go.

EMS
FP Green (or better)
External Fuel Pump
FMIC
Clutch

Youll get 11psi at like 5500 RPMs with a stock exhaust still in there

-Dallas J

 

[LandoAWD]

Upgrade 0: use the Tuning Guide on this site.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/tuning-guide/

 

[Shadowfax]

Youll get 11psi at like 5500 RPMs with a stock exhaust still in there

-Dallas J

That's fine, I'd rather run at 11psi for a while, and not buy a 2.5" downpipe, then upgrade it to 3" then change it to a T3 style, then play the same game with 10-20 different parts that I upgraded over and over because I didn't think ahead.

I've played that game for a short while. Won't do it again.

When you've got a 1st gen you'll hack your maf, then upgrade to a 2nd gen, the go to an SAFC, then opt up for a MAFT, then you'll have various alchy or propane controllers, timing piggy backs, FCD type piggy, blah blah blah...

EMS takes all that out, plus no need to get a datalogger, and less need for the A/F then EGT then digital A/F then wideband tango....

Figure out where you are going, get the mods that will require the longest learning curve, or the most installation headache first.

The rest is then easy.

 

[BoredOutaMyMind]

Well i dunno about the rest of the mods but your first mod should be Radar Detector! ... unless you drive the speed limit all the time, which i find hard to do. Dont flame me, i rarely ever speed more than 5-10 mph over speed limit and never when there is traffic

 

[Chrisjones500]

Depends entirely on where you want to go.

EMS
FP Green (or better)
External Fuel Pump
FMIC
Clutch

Umm, no. As this guy is obviously new to the DSM "game" that might be a little too big of a start, not to say a waste of money for not having the supporting mods. Try this:

Boost Guage
Manual boost controller
Downpipe/Exhaust
Fuel Pump
Clutch

 

[Defiant]

Boost gauge
Fresh antifreeze
oil change
new tires
tree air freshener.

 

[ajk11235]

dont forget the free mods they should be on your list somewhere

 

[Omega]

-Basic maintenance (What defient said)
-LOGGER!!!
-Boostgauge
-Free mods
-Decide what you want the car to do... what are your goals.

 

[shortracer]

Call me stupid but since I am a newbie, what are the free mods?

 

[saw wave analog]

i wont call you stupid, but i will call you screwed N/A boy. free mods are turbo only


this has been covered 958234706593269736093476093267293067236723867230967 times, but on a 2g you can remove the bcs restrictor, cut the bov return tube in the intake, and.. um.. i painted my wheels black for like 5$.. that was almost free and actually made a difference


sorry im in a feisty mood.. leaving for detroit in 10 minutes to pick up my new 12 second turbo omni

 

[hornetsnest]

- Chrome APC Tails
- Glow gauge cluster
- LED washer nozzle lights
- Neon underglow kit
- Chrome muffler

 

[shortracer]

Thanks. I am saving up to trade up to a 2.0 DOHC Eclipse. I hate that there is squat you can do with the 1.8 SOHC.

 

[n0va91TSI]

Well if you want a fast car and not spend too much money

0.Mantenance!!!

1.Manual Boost Controller ($15)

1.5. Boost Gauge ($30)

2.Replace Cat with "Test Pipe" ($50)

3.Used Low miles Evo 8 560cc Injectors ($75-200)

4.Used Walbro 190LPH (cheapest you can find, but make sure it has the o-rings)

5.DSMchips stage 3 chip with compensation for the 560s, Knock Sum Gauge, Fuel Cut Elimination, Octane Reset, and whatever other options you want. $115






FREE STUFF!!

Do the hacked airbox deal

Cut off your muffler, trust me those honduh guys with thier catbacks are louder.

Clean out your intercooler

Leave our hood popped open by pulling the handle from inside the car, you'll hear a click.
(WARNING your latch my not be a strong as mine! But ive gone 120mph and the finger latch never opened)

Clean your car and take out your spare tire and tools (helps if you have AAA)

Any other weight reductions you can live with





Now turn up the boost as high as you can with zero knock. Bring the revs slowly up to 5000rpms and get a good smoothly clutched launch on a cold day and you'll run high 13s.

Thats the cheap high 13 second setup ive invented. If thats not enough speed for you and you plan on upgrading further beyond these 5 mods Id recommend getting at least 660cc injectors, FMIC, EVOIII or bigger turbo, SS 2.5in turbo exhaust as well as a datalogger and an SAFCII. If you want 11s you'll also need bigger pump, regulator, and probably MAFT. But hey lets not get ahead of oursleves.

 

[DaveDSM]

Hmm..

0. Maintenance. Do a full tuneup to make sure your car is running right.

1. Boost gauge

2. Boost controller

3. Exhaust

4. Intercooler piping

5. fuel pump rewire/adjustable fuel pressure regulator

or

5. datalogger/safc


Have fun!

 

[Toshiro]

Cut off your muffler, trust me those honduh guys with thier catbacks are louder.

Leave our hood popped open by pulling the handle from inside the car, you'll hear a click.
(WARNING your latch my not be a strong as mine! But ive gone 120mph and the finger latch never opened)

Instead of cutting off your muffler, you could just unbolt your downpipe. It would gain you more power and be reversible.

Why would you leave your hood popped? I really doubt the extra air going into the engine bay would make much of a difference. Plus I definitely wouldn't feel safe doing that. If you want more air into the engine bay, you could just take your hood off. Not saying I would do it, but you'd definitely get more air flow, plus some weight reduction . . .

[edit] - FWIW, my first 5 engine related mods were
Intake and filter
Boost Gauge
1G BOV
Boost Controller
Exhaust

The first 5 mods I did on the entire car were mostly suspension related, so it depends a lot on your goals.

 

[91TSi FWD]

I'm surprised that only Toshiro put up a new air filter. That's easily the first thing I would do, then a boost guage, MBC, Logger, exhaust.

 

[n0va91TSI]

Why would you leave your hood popped? I really doubt the extra air going into the engine bay would make much of a difference. Plus I definitely wouldn't feel safe doing that. QUOTE]

the reason is getting colder air. colder air is denser (dont tell me you never noticed air temperature effecting your power) and less likely to give you knock which will at minimum pull timing which really hurts your power.

heat bad, cold good

also ive been driving with the hood poped for like 6 months and gone over 120mph and the latch held strong

only downside is people are always saying "hey you know your hoods open?"

 

[David15151]

there is a reason we have a tuning guide.. this thread should not be here. Do yourself a favor and check it out.. its not there to take up space.

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

You will get a million different answers.

I would go by our tuning guide but you can really do whatever you want.