shadowcell_01 wrote:
Okay so if me and my friends want to do some MINOR modding to our cars what are some good cheap things we can do?
We added an intake system already to an accent, a tiburon, next is a santa fe and a Mazda cx-7 turbo. (don't flame, if you have nothing nice to say no one here needs to hear it)
Here is the intake in the tiburon:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_fKXaxf71TQThe sound quality is horrible because it was taken on my camera phone.
really depends on what you wanna do with the car, and what you want to get out of it...
There is an old saying
Fast, Reliable, Cheap... Pick two.
If you want the car to handle, one of the greatest things you can do is buy good tires. Tires are the only keeping your car planted...any suspension or bracing stuff you can do is only there to optimize the tires and nothing you can do will make up for the fact that you have shit tires.
Be careful when listening to reviews of tires, with these more so than anything it is VERY important to look at the source... You can find people who think even the worst tires are amazing. Both the Hancook RS-2 and the Falken 615's are very good tires for the price, but you will end up sacrificing a bit of life. Getting the tire pressure set well can also make a big difference.
Sway bars are a good idea... Adjustable if possible, even if nothing else set them both on med. till you really get a feel for it, then change the settings on one and see what happens. Remember what you had, and what you changed to, then go back again... try the different settings methodically changing one thing at a time. (well two
don't only change one side unless your running ovals)
Springs and shocks aren't a bad idea either... However try and understand what they are and what they do. The spring and shock really need to work together. A stiffer spring on a soft shock can be worse then stock. The shocks job is to control the oscillations of the spring, to keep it from continuing to bounce when it hits a bump. Too soft a shock and the tire wont necessarily bounce, but the load on it wont be steady, and grip the tire can produce is direly related to the load on it. To stiff a shock will artificially raise the spring rate on compression, and lower it as the wheel rebounds.. I would rather have this then too soft a shock, but it still wont work as well. Point is the spring rate and shock need to work together. Adjustable shocks are very good in that they let you match the shock more closely to the spring, as well as adjust undsteer/oversteer... but you also get more ways to set it up wrong.
If you add an intake, try and add a heat shield. OEM air intakes don't pull air out of the engine bay for a reason hot air is less dense so there will be less of it per volume (meaning less fuel, less power)
Intakes really wont give you a ton, and a week later you may not even notice much difference... though results will vary from car to car and with the goals and cost of the stock system.
Its usually best to talk to people who work with the car you have, as different cars like different things.... but intake, header and exhaust is pretty standard for a reason.... even if you end up progressing beyond that they are things you will need anyways (well, the header would have to get changed out if you go turbo...but you could sell it and re-coupe some money...)
It is important though, not to go too cheap. While its nice to have things now don't just buy pointless cheap shit, or crappy ebay parts just to have a modded car... It really is worth it to save all the money you would spend on stuff that wont really help, and buy something bigger/better that is quality and will really make the difference.
Lastly, one of the most amazing things you can buy is practice. Spend that money on seat time... Find you local auto crosses or legal drag races and focus on really making YOU better.
Especially with autox its amazing the difference a GOOD driver can make. I have destroyed people in vipers, porsches, ect..ect.. just because I DIDN"T suck...Like wise I have been beat by some dude in a toyota solara because he was a good driver.
Find a legal venue... You would be surprised by the difference when you are in a safe environment when you can really push as much as you want. Hell the advice you will get from the better guys is probably worth it alone.... Be humble and listen.
Skill is a very hard thing to replace with bolt on parts.
Always always alway remember that 90% of "car guys" are huge fucking idiots who don't know shit, and just want to impress people with their bad ass
penis car. Read as much as you can about cars, and try and learn to recognize/ignore these worthless people the best you can.
If at all possible take automotive classes at the local junior college... The one near me had a toyota sponsored program with classes on all the major systems of the car, take as many as possible it will really help.
trippy982 wrote:
Upgrade threads if you haven't. Get a Carbon fiber hood for less weight. I would recommend trading all your cars and get a WRX or something.
case in point... saving 20 pounds is not something you will notice unless you are already racing competitively... and if you were doing that you wouldn't be making this thead
Last edited by VicktorVauhn (2008-07-05 22:20:39)
