whats a good first mod

[marsh63]

ok i have about 500 saved up and i want to know what a good first mod would be. i already mad a 2.5 in turbo back exhaust but i need to know what i should do next. i did all the maintence things that need to be done to the dsms like o2 sensor, plugs and stuff like that. the timin belt is still good for like 30000 miles so eyah what sould i do next.

 

[jc 340]

Goals? http://www.dsmtuners.com/sub.php?page=1gtupgrades

 

[marsh63]

yeah i took a look at that page a while ago and i just want to make my car a consistant runner right now. i want to stay in the stage 1 area for right now. i was just wondering on what parts people have bought that have done alot of good or something that everyone likes so i dont buy the wrong brand or somethin on that line.

 

[mach4g63t]

Boost gauge. A real one.

 

[streetracer618]

i would say some good first mods would be K&N airfileter, maybe hard intake pipe, mechanical boost controller is a pretty cheap mod that will wake up your car, and i would suggest buying from extremepsi.com they r really good

 

[marsh63]

ok well on the boost guage thing for some reason my stock boost gauge dont work at all. how do u fix that. and what brand would be a good boost controller

 

[talonalex92]

I would suggest an AutoMeter or Greddy boost gauge. You dont need the stock one, its not reliable to anything. I have had nothing but happiness from my autometer and greddy products. As for the boost controller, I would again suggest a Joe-p, I loved mine. No problems whatsoever!

 

[Talesin]

Actual boost gauge before an MBC. You need to know how much boost you're actually running before you start turning it up. The stock 'boost gauge' is just the ECU making a guess at how much boost you're running, based on airflow and RPM.
After you have a boost gauge, Joe-P type manual boost controllers (ball and spring) can be made with Home Despot parts for about $15 and the sacrifice of a clicky ball point pen (for the spring). Just don't forget the bleeder fitting between the MBC and the wastegate actuator (a straight-through vacuum line coupler with a half-millimeter hole drilled into the plastic, so pressure doesn't get 'stuck' between the ball-and-spring MBC and wastegate, forcing the WG to stay 'stuck' open).

K&N air filters do VERY LITTLE for power over the stock paper filter. Less than one percent.
http://bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm
That said, I run one myself as it's cheaper to just clean the old one and re-oil it. Also not throwing away a filter into some landfill every 30K miles.

A hard intake pipe wouldn't be a bad idea (along with hard upper intercooler pipe and a replacement throttle body elbow), help the air flow a lot more smoothly. And all of these should fit well within your budget range.


Aside from that, the biggest power gain is to lose weight. A real (read: not a sticker over fiberglass, just double layer CF) CF hood for the 1G AWD will really help out on a number of levels... both dropping about 60-80 pounds, and shifting the weight balance of the car a little further to the rear. The weight loss itself will make the car more responsive on accel and braking, and the improved weight balance will assist in cornering.
If you dislike the rice factor of a CF hood, you don't gain much weight by simply having it painted, even if you still need to run hood pins for safety. Even if the replacement hood has a stock latch, you NEED hood pins with a CF hood for safety! This cannot be stressed enough! And even with all of the above parts, this should fit well within a $500 budget so long as you aren't buying top-end big-name no-real-gain-over-the-cheap-knockoffs parts.

I run Autometer gauges, they seem to be pretty reliable. Just make sure you install them right.

 

[marsh63]

ok that all sounds good. but this is my first car with a turbo and dose the boost gauges come with the sensor? also as far as the hood goes painting it is no problem for me im a body tech/painter. i am also a welder so is there any parts that i can make that will help alot? i did a 2.5 full exhaust already.

 

[marsh63]

another thing dose anyone have any instructions one how to make the joep boost controller. and by the way thanks for all the help so far.

 

[turbosax2]

another thing dose anyone have any instructions one how to make the joep boost controller. and by the way thanks for all the help so far.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=59089

 

[oldman420]

If you can tig i would do an intake plenum and exhaust mani, i would wait for cams before intake. Look into a Tru boost, it's a boost guage and elec. boost controller all in 1. If you got 500$ you might as well save another 200$ and get a bigger turbo like an evo 3 16g, once you get the boost guage. That will be fun. Look into porting your o2 when you do that as well. It would also be the perfect time to intall your hand made exhaust mani.

 

[marsh63]

yeah i can tig but i dont have real acess to one right now. yeah internal engine mods have to wait till this summer. ive been told not to do a turbo till i get a bigger intercooler.

 

[oldman420]

Not true, i ran my big 16g on stock side mount for 1/2 of a summer. I just never turned the boost past 12 psi and it was perfectly fine. Actually better than fine, it hauled a$$. I got the hahns race craft super 16g. I really like it, no creep.

 

[marsh63]

allright but is it a good first upgrade to do?

 

[MountainDew]

First mods?

Hard intake pipe, New filter, MBC, Datalogger, Boost Gauge.

Replace any old hoses or anything. Boost leak check. Whenever you do your timing belt, put some ARP Headstuds in the motor. You need new head bolts anyway when you untorque them as they will more then likely be stretched. IMO, might as well replace the headgasket if you're doing a timing belt job. Along with other little stuff, water pump if needed, thermostat, etc.

If your AC is broken and you wish to keep it, might as well fix it. If you don't really care, delete the A/C system. You'll shave off about 40 pounds.

Any money you've got left over, you could get a ported exhaust manifold and o2 housing/o2 dump.

You planning on keeping your 14b or upgrading? If you're going with a T28 or 16g route, wouldn't hurt to get a better flowing manifold/02 housing now but if you're going with a different flanged turbo later down the road, I wouldn't bother with those quite yet.

If the car is your daily driver though, I recommend just fixing the little stuff and making it more pleasurable to ride in. I.E. Tint, Stereo, etc.

Car looks real clean for a 90' as it is though.

 

[95CarbonEclipse]

What do you really mean by first mod? I mean, to a lot of people on here, adding a boost gauge is a mod. But I get the feeling that you're talking about your first "real" power adder. Am I right?

If so, I'd recommend starting at the exaust and work your way forward. I'd go with 3". Then go with a reputable downpipe and just keep working your way up to your intake. You said you can weld, so maybe alot of these parts you can fabricate yourself.

If you really wanna know what the first thing you "should" do to a bone stock car is... (after maintenance) a boost gauge. Hands down.

 

[95CarbonEclipse]

First mods?

Hard intake pipe, New filter, MBC, Datalogger, Boost Gauge.

Replace any old hoses or anything. Boost leak check. Whenever you do your timing belt, put some ARP Headstuds in the motor. You need new head bolts anyway when you untorque them as they will more then likely be stretched. IMO, might as well replace the headgasket if you're doing a timing belt job. Along with other little stuff, water pump if needed, thermostat, etc.

If your AC is broken and you wish to keep it, might as well fix it. If you don't really care, delete the A/C system. You'll shave off about 40 pounds.

Any money you've got left over, you could get a ported exhaust manifold and o2 housing/o2 dump.

You planning on keeping your 14b or upgrading? If you're going with a T28 or 16g route, wouldn't hurt to get a better flowing manifold/02 housing now but if you're going with a different flanged turbo later down the road, I wouldn't bother with those quite yet.

If the car is your daily driver though, I recommend just fixing the little stuff and making it more pleasurable to ride in. I.E. Tint, Stereo, etc.

Car looks real clean for a 90' as it is though.

WOW!! That's one extensive timing belt job! + 1 - I do agree with the datalogger.

 

[MountainDew]

WOW!! That's one extensive timing belt job! + 1 - I do agree with the datalogger.

Better safe then sorry!

I mean the way I look at it, the belt if off, the head will pull off with ease. Might as well get it done now ya know? When my headgasket blew, the car had a timing belt only a year old on it. If they would have just went ahead and replaced it back then, it would of most likely never happened.

I didn't mind pulling the head and all that, I just hated the timing belt procedure.

 

[Talesin]

Don't bother with the intake/exhaust manifolds. Most people who get SMIMs don't actually need them, just want 'em for the 'bling' factor. Which is stupid, given how much faster they could have made their car for the price of one of those. Tubular manifolds can help, so long as you get a GOOD one (no Pacesetter bullcrap).

You can run an Evo 3 16G on the stock SMIC, you'll just heatsoak it pretty quick, so won't be able to get the max power for long, or often. Have to wait for the airstream to cool it down again. FMICs mostly do their thing due to increased mass; surface area is secondary.
What you REALLY need to do before considering a turbo upgrade is read the Tech section. Upper left of this page. You'll know at that point that with a 1G, slapping on a bigger turbo is relatively pointless, until you've done up your fuel system.

In any case, dropping weight first will give you much more noticeable results down the road. Drop weight now, and you'll feel the power you add later a LOT more strongly.

MountainDew, the A/C system is a lot more than 40 pounds on a 1G. HEAVY bastard.. save closer to 60-80 pounds if you take all of it off. But getting the compressor out is a bi*** on wheels. He doesn't need manifolds if he's just starting out with modding, and is on a budget. Sure, a 2G exhaust mani and 2G O2 housing would be a cheap bump from the 1G parts, but nothing special is really needed. Also, why the HELL would anyone put a t28 onto a 1G? That's kinda a step backward/to the side from the stock 14b, you know?

 

[marsh63]

allright i guess i really need to get another boost gauge. as the 3in exhaust goes i just welded up a 2.5 with a straight thru glasspack on it i think this will work for right now. my feeling of a mod is i want power but i want to do it correct. building this type of a car is different than the v8s i usally build. im not like the normal 16 year old kid who wants nos and dosnt do anything else. i want power with out havin to rebuild all the time.

is it too hard to do a timing belt? even though mine is somewhat new i think i want a new one. I feel im very knowegable with motors but ive never done a dohc motor befor.

 

[MountainDew]

Don't bother with the intake/exhaust manifolds. Most people who get SMIMs don't actually need them, just want 'em for the 'bling' factor. Which is stupid, given how much faster they could have made their car for the price of one of those. Tubular manifolds can help, so long as you get a GOOD one (no Pacesetter bullcrap).

You can run an Evo 3 16G on the stock SMIC, you'll just heatsoak it pretty quick, so won't be able to get the max power for long, or often. Have to wait for the airstream to cool it down again. FMICs mostly do their thing due to increased mass; surface area is secondary.
What you REALLY need to do before considering a turbo upgrade is read the Tech section. Upper left of this page. You'll know at that point that with a 1G, slapping on a bigger turbo is relatively pointless, until you've done up your fuel system.

In any case, dropping weight first will give you much more noticeable results down the road. Drop weight now, and you'll feel the power you add later a LOT more strongly.

MountainDew, the A/C system is a lot more than 40 pounds on a 1G. HEAVY bastard.. save closer to 60-80 pounds if you take all of it off. But getting the compressor out is a bi*** on wheels. He doesn't need manifolds if he's just starting out with modding, and is on a budget. Sure, a 2G exhaust mani and 2G O2 housing would be a cheap bump from the 1G parts, but nothing special is really needed. Also, why the HELL would anyone put a t28 onto a 1G? That's kinda a step backward/to the side from the stock 14b, you know?

Mainly mentioned it for flange purposes. I know it'd be a waste though, even a "BIG T28" wouldn't be very beneficial.

And wow yeah the AC system is a lot heavier then the 2g ones. Yeah I'd say if it doesn't work or recharge, might as well gut it.

And you're right a manifold/o2 housing wouldn't do much now. I guess if he could pick up a cheap 2g one, go ahead and get it ported. Plus his stock 1g manifold might be cracked, which if it is, might as well get something good. Otherwise, yeah I agree he'd be fine for now.

 

[MountainDew]

allright i guess i really need to get another boost gauge. as the 3in exhaust goes i just welded up a 2.5 with a straight thru glasspack on it i think this will work for right now. my feeling of a mod is i want power but i want to do it correct. building this type of a car is different than the v8s i usally build. im not like the normal 16 year old kid who wants nos and dosnt do anything else. i want power with out havin to rebuild all the time.

is it too hard to do a timing belt? even though mine is somewhat new i think i want a new one. I feel im very knowegable with motors but ive never done a dohc motor befor.

As long as you've got a factory service manual, a color vocabulary and the ability to control your anger and not hit your car, I think you'll be fine.

Just be sure to read every step and follow the manual very closely. Check the VFAQ for hints, tricks and tips though. Such as making your own tensioning rod and things like that.

 

[oldman420]

Dew brings up a very good point. If you don't know how many km on your timing belt it would be worth it to invest the 500$ into that and arp head studs. Then you could actually push some decent boost threw that beast.

 

[marsh63]

ok well i dont have the manual for the car. so where would i get one of those things. and as far as my ac goes its dead so i should just junk it. on doin the timing i have to take the head of the car? for what i know the timin belt has 30000 on it so i should just replace it to start out right? thanks for all the help so far.