Finally...Time For Some Upgrades!!!

[mistermoonpie]

Ok guys, I finally got a decent job, which has given me a moderate amount of play money. SO naturally, I would like to spend it on my car, or more specifically, on some mods that I should've gotten long ago and just haven't had the money for. I was hoping you guys could lend some advice as to which upgrades are worth the money and which arent.

So here's what I have:

Custom Exhaust
Short Ram Intake

Here's what I've been looking into:

Gutting Precats (need to get the 02 simulators)
Test Pipe
Downpipe OR Headers (Which is better/most cost efficient?)
Underdrive Pulley
Ground Wire Kit (and/or other wiring kits that may help?)
New Spark Plugs (I've had my car for 13K+ miles and haven't changed them yet, dunno when they were last changed)

So which of these mods are actually worth the money? I would like to try to spend no more than $550...I don't mind buying used parts as far as the downpipe/headers or the test pipe go...I figure they're just pipes, so they can't get damaged without the damage being obvious. The wiring kit(s), the pulley, the spark plugs, and the o2 simulators (or whichever of those I end up getting) I would like to have new.

Thanks for your help guys.

[vectorspecialist]

well the given would be the spark plugs...wouldn't wanna do something and leave it to chance that motor gets messed up due to shitty spark. other than that, i've always been told gutting precats would give the most power for labor

[95DodgeAvenger95]

headers are alot of work, a down pipe is a good idea as well as gutting ur precats and getting a test pipe. dont get the ud pulley just get the lightweight one the ud can be and is kinda risky for the motor when there really is no hp difference between the ud and the light weight one, Gutting your precats make a great differnce, when i did mine my boost was set at 14.5 and i went for a test run after gutting them and it spooled 2 extra lbs of boost and they start to spool so much sooner than stock, and when i did my test pipe i went for a test run on my low boost setting which is 6psi wastegate and i pulled out 8-9 psi with the test pipe no addjustments to my boost controller,

[jason_bet]

Originally Posted by 95DodgeAvenger95

headers are alot of work, a down pipe is a good idea as well as gutting ur precats and getting a test pipe. dont get the ud pulley just get the lightweight one the ud can be and is kinda risky for the motor when there really is no hp difference between the ud and the light weight one, Gutting your precats make a great differnce, when i did mine my boost was set at 14.5 and i went for a test run after gutting them and it spooled 2 extra lbs of boost and they start to spool so much sooner than stock, and when i did my test pipe i went for a test run on my low boost setting which is 6psi wastegate and i pulled out 8-9 psi with the test pipe no addjustments to my boost controller,

If I am not mistaken he has a 97 SL. And I completely disagree with you on the Under Drive pulley. Unorthodox under drive all the way.. and just so you now if you get something like this HERE then you you still have same "Danger" as the under drive pulley.. It is the rubber compound that neutralizes the vibrations..

Jason

[mistermoonpie]

Alright, let me get this straight. So far, I have:

YES for spark plugs (What kind? any suggestions?)
YES for test pipe
YES on gutting the precats
YES on the downpipe

MAYBE for the ud pulley (I read that there would be some arguments here)
MAYBE for the lightweight flywheel (Im thinkin its too expensive for my purposes)

What about the ground wire kit?

Also, is there anything that I can like take apart and clean out to try and increase efficieny?

Im not looking just for hp addons, Im going the whole 9 yards trying to get my car in top running condition

...I know some of you are about to ask, and YES, my 60k has been done recently

[jason_bet]

Sea Foam!! FTW

[mistermoonpie]

now that I think about it, do I have to get a "3000gt" test pipe, or are they all a universal length? cuz if so I think i could find like a "honda civic" test pipe for about half the cost...

[vectorspecialist]

brakes, even if u add a lil wouldn't u like to be able to stop just as well as stock or better?

can't really say a specific brand of spark plugs or brakes, go with what offers the best performance for cost. i will say brakes can get very expensive very quickly. as for plugs to be narrowed down, go with stock replacement, they should be able to provide good spark, i dont think it's untill u do fuel upgrades that u need to worry bout plug type(could be wrong). maybe go with a duel spark.

could do a lil suspension work.

[Stealthee]

Originally Posted by mistermoonpie

now that I think about it, do I have to get a "3000gt" test pipe, or are they all a universal length? cuz if so I think i could find like a "honda civic" test pipe for about half the cost...

They are not universal length. Get a test pipe from Maximal Performance.

[mistermoonpie]

Is there somewhere I can get a good cali. spec. downpipe other than 3sx?

And still no one has commented on the ground wire kit. Does that pretty much mean just skip it?

[TorchedStealth]

Just a question...it says that you have a test pipe in your sig

Im not sure about the ground wire kit, but I know the downpipe has been giving people pretty good gains

[Stealthee]

3sx is the only place. Spend the money on it and get a good downpipe.

As for the ground wires, go for it. I havent put mine on yet but I plan on it asap.

[mistermoonpie]

1) Yeah, thats cuz when i wrote my sig I was planning on going and getting one later that day, but something came up (cant remember what) and I never ended up getting around to it. Been too lazy to change my sig :P

2) What's the difference between the stock dp and the 3sx dp?

3) Technically, when I get the test pipe, can I take it off and put the cat back on just as easily? I dont see why not...?

I wish this dam hurricane wasnt comin straight for me. Now I wont be able to get/install these parts for a good long while (well like 3-4 days MAYBE, but thats a long time to sit and think about how much you wanna do mods )

Anyone else have suggestions on which sparks to use?

[Stealthee]

3sx downpipe flows much better than stock. It is well worth it.

Yes the point of a test pipe is so you can put your cat back if need be

[mistermoonpie]

I've been reading up on 3si, and a few people are complaining of raspiness/really bad smell that accompanies a setup of custom exhaust, testpipe, downpipe, and gutted precats. My car already sounds pretty badass, i dont wanna ruin it with raspiness. And I don't want my car to smell like sh*t. With all tihs in mind, is the power gain I would realize worth it?

Im thinkin about skippin on gutting the precats for now, cuz that would be the only irreversable mod. That way if I don't like the end result, I could always strap the stock DP/ stock cat back on to even things out.

If I wanted to, could I go outside right now and unbolt the cat for a few minutes and run my car just like that? or is that a bad idea?