heres my problem

I have a 2003 GS 2.4L I4 automatic :(
its time to rebuild this car as much as possible without having to do much custom work on it.

so what are your suggestions on this new project from ground up.

how much money are you willing to spend? what are you looking for out of the car? performance or show?

start with a suspension upgrade imo

then wheels and tires 17's or 18's

well ill probably have the car for another 5 years while im in college.
ill have about 500 dollars each month to do something to it.
what kind of performance can i get out of it, i think i already know what i want to make it look like.

if you don't mind me asking how are you procuring 500$ a month?

first off all, get yourself a cushion of at least 1000$ in case anything atall goes wrong, ie, you need new wheels, tires, bumpers or have to pay the deductable on insurance or any speeding tickets...this will keep you from backtracking hopefully (selling mods already done for cheap to pay for stuff) also if your making enough power, the auto trans is going to go so make sure you have enough money for a new built one or a 5-speed swap that has been built

the other advantage to having a cushion is someone was selling his t3t4 turbo, fmic, 2 fpr's, e-manage w/ harness and 3 gauges, and a few various pieces for 550$ shipped not more than a week ago, one of those pieces new is worth about 500 shipped new.
had i had a cushion i would have bought this w/o blinking, so cushions are also there so you don't miss out on awesome deals like that one
but you also can't buy anything on credit...this could get you into a lot of trouble since nothing you buy will be worth what it was after it is yours and you may be paying payments forever if you buy too much

if you use paypal, get your moneyback guarantee, i was taken for 180$ after purchasing 2 GTS rims for my car, i still have not received them and he had charges pressed against him for not sending various items people payed money for, it is always a good idea to get the moneyback guarantee even if it pays off once

once you have your cushion, do everything as efficiently as possible, don't spend money twice, if your going turbo, you don't need a CAI and if you want to make good boost, don't buy an SAFC2 when you'll have to trade it for something better later on,if your putting in a 5-speed go ahead and get the stage 3 clutch, light flywheel, and limited slip differential, don't half-ass anything, RESEARCH everything before you purchase it, there are many rip-off's and not so good parts out there that are very cheap and easily available, if you cant' find any reviews on products try to find people that have them and ask them what they think and how it performs in relation to other products.


If you can't do something right the first time, you had better have enough time to do it at least once more
when replacing the turbo on my friend's GVR-4 we bought all the necessary parts and attempted at performing the swap, in the process we discovered the person that had it before us half-assed almost everything or thought it was "good-enough" we ended up taking the turbo and all necessary components off 3 times and it has been to automotive shops for oil and antifreeze leeks 4 times b/c of the person before us's half-assed attempts and ill-fitted hoses that "looked good" so take this into consideration


don't ill balance your car, if your car runs 12's but can't pull more than .6g lateral or stop from 60mph in 200ft, you're definitely digging yourself a grave, don't neglect your brakes, suspension, tires in your aim to go faster

you can feasibly run 12's w/ enough time and money, much faster and it will be somewhat scary to drive and may not be as much fun to drive as a 13 or 14 sec. car

never forget murphy's law: If anything can go wrong. IT WILL.
i've experienced this more than once already and had my car for a year and a half
i hope this helped you some

maybe i'll try to get a writeup of something like this for a sticky^^

well i work and i dont pay rent so i have an extra 500 for whatever.
how do i go about making it into a 5 speed?

well i work and i dont pay rent so i have an extra 500 for whatever.
how do i go about making it into a 5 speed?

in my opinion, don't go to a 5spd. there is no reason to swap in a 5spd.

go with suspension mods first.

KYB AGX/prokit = $570
powerslot rotors/hawk pads = $375
RRE strut tower brace = $70
Suspension Techniques rear sway bar = $160
AEM/Injen/K&N CAI = $200 (will greatly increase gas mileage and will give you a little more power)

well i work and i dont pay rent so i have an extra 500 for whatever.
how do i go about making it into a 5 speed?

yeah i didn't say to make i a 5-speed right away, just after it blows up, so you should have some time. or you can choose to have a built auto trans, whatever your preference is, eclipsed4utoo knows what he's talking about so ^^ listen to him too

I like how the name of your thread is "heres my problem", when I cant think of any time when having an extra 500 a month is a problem. Just thought it was kinda funny.

IMO, get an LSD. Anything that will help traction in a FWD car is a must. Before you think about doing any major power adders, you have to do all the little shit first. Wheels & tires, brakes, suspension, clutch, LSD, and anything else that will be under more stress due to extra power.

yeah i didn't say to make i a 5-speed right away, just after it blows up, so you should have some time. or you can choose to have a built auto trans, whatever your preference is, eclipsed4utoo knows what he's talking about so ^^ listen to him too

i don't think the auto tranny is actually that bad. one guy has been running 20+psi on his auto tranny and its holding up. he said it slips a little going into third, but its still drivable and runnable.

Tearstone still have his stock auto tranny and hes running 8psi in the v6. most of the 4cyl turbo guys have the stock auto trannys running 14psi and they are still holding up.

of course, eventually, it will need to be rebuilt. but so would the 5spd.

would it be a bad idea to go with an AEM cai before i do suspension. would the v2 fit? or should i just go with the cai.

would it be a bad idea to go with an AEM cai before i do suspension. would the v2 fit? or should i just go with the cai.

i would just go with the regular CAI. the V2 is too expensive for my taste and it doesn't give much more power over the regular intake.

im thinking about getting that soon it should be easy to install right?
it comes with dryflow synthetic filter now

yeah its easy to install

in my opinion, don't go to a 5spd. there is no reason to swap in a 5spd.

go with suspension mods first.

KYB AGX/prokit = $570
powerslot rotors/hawk pads = $375
RRE strut tower brace = $70
Suspension Techniques rear sway bar = $160
AEM/Injen/K&N CAI = $200 (will greatly increase gas mileage and will give you a little more power)

I took a little different approach after this was posted. still havent bought the things listed with a price.
KYB AGX/prokit = Done
powerslot rotors/hawk pads = $375
RRE strut tower brace = $70
Suspension Techniques rear sway bar = $160
AEM/Injen/K&N CAI = Done

17" Konig imagines
5 piece sports grille
painted calipers gold
Hella fog lights
Dual halo projectors
Took out back seats and put in a custom box to cover it, now my car is a 2 seater. :)

not bad for a start!!!