Whats the Best Bang for your Buck Upgrades for 97-99 RS?

[amdsoldier]

Hi everybody,

This is my first post and all, but I've spent a few good hours today and yesterday reading this forum.

Anyway it looks like most everyone here recommends going GS-T/GSX if your looking for performance. But I don't have more than $7,000 to spend. I found this really interesting RS for sale an hour away from me, I'll be checking it out Saturday morning.

It's a 97, RS, 5spd, 65k mileage, 15k of upgrades - which are almost all for show (this was a show car), has 6 subs, carbon fiber hood, exhaust system, alarm, rader, etc.

Well he wants $7,500, so it's already out of my price range. I'm hoping he'll let it go for no more than $7k.

Anyway since I'm already over my limit, I don't have thouands to spend on performance upgrades.

I was wondering what would boost performance the most w/o super/turbo chargers.

Off the top of my head, I have these mods in mind:

cai (worried about water getting in... lots of rain in OR, so maybe get a injen)
headers (which brings me to another question... 4-2-1 or 4-1? clueless here)
Denso Iridium spark plugs (they dyno'd almost +5hp/tq from what I hear)
thicker spark wires (whats stock? thickest I see for NA 95-99 is 9.3mm)
strut bars
alminium flywheel (have no idea how to install... can I do it myself and/or much much it cost to install?)
short shifter (should I go with alminium or steel? APEX sells alm. JDM sells steel = me confused)

Well I'd be interested in hearing all replies. Basically I want this car for show + go. I'm really into music and this thing has one of the best sound system's in OR, so thats a major + for me. I don't need a super fast car, since I don't race (not yet anyway lol), but I do drive rather quickly.

Lots of typing, but I thought I'd try and get all my thoughts out and put into one thread.

Oh and also if I go with the mods above... how much performance gain would I expect? I guess how noticeable would it be to me? Also if I were to dyno it, you guys have any ideas how much higher it would be, 160bhp or...?

[EclipseRST]

if your strapped for cash i would suggest upgrading your fuel system and putting on a 55-100 shot ZEX wet kit. cheapest upgrade that can make you quicker, i know when a lot of people hear nitrous or anything related it means a Fast and Furious wannabe, but thats not true, its the easiest way to get quicker for cheap!!!

and for the cold air intake they make water traps for it, i for get what they are called, its like a bleeder or somthing like that, it allows the air to pass but not moisture, as in rain...

[ashah000]

If you are really worried about water getting in to the CAI, then get a short ram intake.

[goalieman24]

the bypass valve is what keeps the water from getting in but it also robs you of air so i dont care for them. the only way you will get enough water sucked in is if your filter is completely in water and you rev it enough to suck it up. otherwise your fine

[nhockett]

Have you ever driven a turbo eclipse? If you want performance I would not buy anything w/o a turbo. You will regret it. Are 6 subs necessary!?!.

[EclipseRST]

Originally Posted by nhockett

Are 6 subs necessary!?!.

YES!!! why not? plus it looks cool!

[JoeWagon]

i like the rader.
subs to look cool, lol.. burn your money.
if you want to be fast at all in the end, get a real dsm. gst gsx tsi

[EclipseRST]

i bet i can beat you with my "Non Real DSM"

[EclipseRST]

Originally Posted by JoeWagon

subs to look cool, lol..

i said they look cool, not to look cool, read before you post!!

[JoeWagon]

i read it fine,thanks for double post
you pointed out the advantage of the subs, im pointing out that it isn't valid.
if i spent as much money as you i'd be mad if i couldnt beat a stock tsi. of course you can, good job you did a lot of good with that childish post.

[EclipseRST]

Originally Posted by JoeWagon

i read it fine,thanks for double post

your welcome!!!

Originally Posted by JoeWagon

if i spent as much money as you i'd be mad if i couldnt beat a stock tsi.

so your saying that you paid less than 4 grand for your 97 tsi? my ass you did! so you did spend more than me and i can still kick your ass! your wrong AGAIN!! hmm a pattern...

[amdsoldier]

Hey thanks for the suggestions so far. But I really didn't get an answer to any of my questions besides the intake.

I just talked to the guy selling the car on the phone and got some more details on the car... basically I'm 99.9% sold on the car. I will be checking it out tomorrow and probably driving it home.

The car has a $12,000 stereo system, $1200 deck, 6 speakers, 6 subs, 2 amps, equalizer, plexiglass and vinyl professionally done around the subs, etc. So I mean thats pimp and I dig that big time.

But I'm still concerned about speed, and maybe in the future I would be able to put a turbo into it. But if the bolt ons that I mentioned give enough "umph", maybe the turbo won't be needed. Cause the other thing to consider is the insurance and I won't be racing this car at the track, so I dunno...

Well I gotta go, looking towards some input.

[goalieman24]

goddamn... 12 grand of just stereo? if hes only selling it for 7500 there might be some flaws in it. anyway those mods you said would be a good start but wouldnt make a huge difference since all the weight in the trunk. if you have plans to go turbo you might not want to get a header right now since it will just have to be replaced. you could enter some shows and win and get some money that way and add on as you go.

[amdsoldier]

Originally Posted by goalieman24

goddamn... 12 grand of just stereo? if hes only selling it for 7500 there might be some flaws in it. anyway those mods you said would be a good start but wouldnt make a huge difference since all the weight in the trunk. if you have plans to go turbo you might not want to get a header right now since it will just have to be replaced. you could enter some shows and win and get some money that way and add on as you go.

Yeah it's crazy, I saw his receipt from Cartoys and it was for $15,000 even - roughly $3K for his navigation setup. However the $1,200 Sony deck had some issues and so he gave me a nice Alpine instead (not sure on cost, was told to get better need to spend $1,000 bucks for sound quality wise). But overall I think I'm still getting a deal out of that. Everything is professionally done and looks simply unbelieveable (at least to me, I never imagined having something like that hehe).

But yeah when I test drove it, everything seemed smooth as slik. The clutch has an outstanding feel to it. Much better than the 300ZX's clutches I've driven on. So everything looks fine with the car, he gave me 7 days to test the car for any problems, if anything found he'd fix.

But anyway, thats a good idea about the car shows! I kinda asked him about it too and he showed me some of the stuff he's won, needless to say I was impressed.

But I'm a total n00b when it comes to that... where can I find them or info on when they occur? I want to drop a few grand into the car this summer and if I can enter these car shows, maybe that will pay for the car, lol.

Another thing I need actually though is a catback exhaust system. I was under the impression it's a compelte system, but it turned out that only the muffler was replaced. And speaking of which, it's kinda ugly I think personally. So I'm replacing it and wondering if I should go with a complete system in this case and if so, which? If I go to car shows, does the judge(s) care which I use (custom or name brand?)? I will probably enter for audio, but again I have no clue if they inspect the whole car or how that works, etc.

Well thanks for the tips so far, lets keep them coming please.

PS: I'm looking for a fairly mild to quiet exhaust as this one in it is loud and my last ride had insanely loud one and I'm tired of that. Also the larger the piping, the heavier it would have to be right? This exhaust here on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33630 looks very interesting, 3" pipes, looks high quality and looks like it has a resonator or whatever you call it in the center (yes I'm a n00b, go easy on me).

[goalieman24]

you are right about it is the complete system. you can just replace the muffler but a whole cat back system will give you larger piping and better exhaust flow. most of them come with a silencer you can put on if you want it quieter.