GSR mods beyond bolt-ons

Sup everyone! Haven't posted in a long ass time! Recently my car has been burning some serious oil and about a week ago I discovered that it is leaking pretty bad. From the looks of it, its going to cost some cash to do a rebuild. I'm not sure whether the piston rings need to be replaced or if its just the head gasket is bad. Anyway we haven't taken anything apart yet, it'll prolly be a couple of weeks before I can get my friend to help. I've been thinking about replacing the pistons/rings with aftermarket ones if that is where the leak is coming from. If the leak is from somewhere else, I'm going to buy some Skunk 2 Stage 2 cams along w/ the adj. cam gears get my buddy to tune them for me. I was really wondering what other kinds of setups you guys can suggest. I'd like to know some of the other mods you guys have done beyond the beyond the basic bolt-ons for a gsr. My friend will be buying the new Dodge Neon SRT soon and I want to be able to whip his ass for talkin' shit about Hondas all the time!

I hate to burst your bubble - but unless your friend drives the SRT4 like a grandma, you wont be beating him unless you slap on a turbo or some juice... :loser:

A "leak" most likely isnt your head gasket, its a seal some place. Put down newspaper under your car and let it sit overnight... find out where the oil is landing on the paper, then look above this spot to see where on the motor it corresponds. Id bet its coming from either your valve cover seal or your oil pan seal - or the washer around the oil drain plug - all notorious spots for developing leaks.

Cams and cam gears
some springs/retainers to handle higher revs
valves
Port & Polish

Just a few, theres SOOOOoooo much you can do. Pistons and rings to bump compression is also another choice. Are you doing this work yourself, ever had any experience? Got a friend that actually KNOWS what they are doing? So many routes you could go...

yeah just make sure that when you get those skunk2 stage 2 cams that you upgrade the valvetrain cause the stock one won't hold up for too long. also if yoou are going to replace you pistons and rings get some civic type r pistons with oem rings. it'll up the compression and still won't cost yoou too much. i picked up some ctr pistons for $170 on ebay. also if you are going to use skunk 2 cams then you might as well use skunk2 for all the other valvetrain parts because they are all made to work with each other. you can use other parts, but i would just stick to one company.

Thanks for the advice! My friend will be doing almost all of the work. He's done engine swaps, rebuilt cars, tuned them, slapped on turbos AND superchargers, installed nitrous kits you name it and he's done it.....correctly! He does quality work! I mentioned changing out the cams and he also suggested putting in new springs and retainers like you said Sparq. I'm actually thinking about putting on a Jackson Racing SC toward the end of the year and running at a moderate boost lvl. That is a long term goal though and I'm trying to plan ahead, but for right now, I'd like to see some immediate gains. Any other ideas?