Laser

[Cavalierguy2000]

Hey guys i just bought a plymouth laser does anyone have any advice on what to do to it first to get a few more hp?

[rwood13]

high flow cat, 1/4 to 1/2 inch larger round manderal bend exhaust, free flow muffler, free flowing intake piping ...... those are the quick and easy

[Diplomat]

Well, what year is it?

1.8L or 2.0L?

Turbo or non-turbo?

FWD or AWD?

Manual or Slowmatic?

If it's a 1.8L, don't waste your money. Seriously. The 4G37's were great in the sense that you could beat the snot out of them (with basic maintenance) and they were bulletproof. I floored my old 1.8L everywhere I went ('cause it was so damn slow) and I never had an issue with her. Unfortunately, if you want performance, you'll have a hell of a time just trying to find anyone who sells performance parts for it. About the only thing you could do to it that would make ANY difference is to plumb in a bottle of Nitrous. Of course, if you're going to do that you'll need a few supporting mods to do it the right way. By that point, you would have been better off selling your car to someone's mom and buying a turbo Eclipse, Talon or Laser.

If it's a 2.0L non-turbo, well at least it's a 4G63 and you're in a slightly better position as there is some aftermarket support. If you shop around the DSM sites, you'll occasionally find a part for a first generation non-turbo. If you looked hard enough and bought everything you found, you could probably attain Honda-like normally aspirated performance. You could buy an exhaust system for it, but you'll gain more power buy farting out the window. As with most normally aspirated cars, a larger exhaust system just does not offer enough of a performance gain per dollar spent. Nothing against going all motor, but if that was your plan, you bought the wrong car. If you want more significant performance gains, it's time for a turbo. Oh yeah, you can turbocharge a non-turbo. Of course, it'll cost you more money than what you'd pay to just buy a turbo Eclipse, Talon or Laser and it won't be as fast. Do you notice a pattern developing?

Now, if you bought a Laser RS Turbo, good call. If it's a manual AWD, even better. In either case, a turbo Laser is still a force to be reckoned with (if you know how to drive), but you still have a long way to go before you're going to impress anyone. The good news is, you can buy yourself some horsepower with very little effort or money. $60.00 bucks should be just enough to buy you a boost gauge and a manual boost controller. Buy those two things and turn it up to 16 lbs. This is generally the first mod that most turbo DSM owners are going to make. Cheap and easy. In fact, if you were to compare your DSM to any other sport compact car, dollar for dollar you'll be buying more horsepower per upgrade than you could with another ride.

Now, regardless of which model you have, the first thing you need to do is take care of basic maintenance. Assume that the previous owner did little to care for it. That means all of the usual stuff. Replace ALL of the fluids, including coolant, transmission fluid/gear oil, brake fluid, power steering, clutch fluid, etc. Next, and probably most important, change your timing belt. Both timing and balance shaft belts, that is. Unless you intend to buy a balance shaft elimination kit. Change your oil and filter every 3,000 miles or at least every few months if you have a turbo. Change your fuel and PCV filters. Make sure the chassis is lubed. Last, but not least, pull the ECU from the center console and check the three electrolytic capacitors. If they're leaking, replace them. Refer to this thread.

Finally, if you're serious about getting some more power from your Laser, turbo or otherwise, visit DSMtuners.com and read until your brain hurts. If you ever have a problem with your car, this is the place to ask about it. Chances are, hundreds of other people have already experienced it and about ten of them started a new thread about it last week 'cause no one ever does a simple SEARCH! Once you're ready to start buying performance parts, these folks can point you in the direction so you're not wasting money. Going fast without blowing a lot of cash is what owning a DSM is all about.

Speaking of which, how's this for a four cylinder street car? That's not even his fastest time! I can't wait until I get an AWD.

[BleedDodge]

What's a slowmatic?

[Diplomat]

Originally Posted by BleedDodge

What's a slowmatic?

Well, in the DSM world, they're the cars that usually run about a second slower than the 5 speeds. Unfortunately, there just is not an affordable performance automatic transmission offered by anyone.

There are guys out there who run pretty quick in their automatic DSM's, but they didn't get away cheap. So unless you own a transmission shop or are missing a leg, you're generally better off with a manual DSM.

[VerticalDoors]

Originally Posted by Cavalierguy2000

Hey guys i just bought a plymouth laser does anyone have any advice on what to do to it first to get a few more hp?

www.vfaq.com is a very good site for DSM modifications.

As posted earlier (www.DSMTuners.com)
This is is full of retards, noobs, ricers, and idiots.
Half the time the info collected from the site is wrong.

www.teamnabr.com is a very good site to "Read" about DSM Mod's.
Posting on the forum is a bad idea, as you probably have "new guy" type questions, and you will most likely be banned.

[VerticalDoors]

Originally Posted by Diplomat

Well, in the DSM world, they're the cars that usually run about a second slower than the 5 speeds. Unfortunately, there just is not an affordable performance automatic transmission offered by anyone.

There are guys out there who run pretty quick in their automatic DSM's, but they didn't get away cheap. So unless you own a transmission shop or are missing a leg, you're generally better off with a manual DSM.

Where do you get your info? DSMTuners? or (DSMTooners) as we call it.
DSM Auto's do not run 1 sec slower, than manuals. Any moron that knows how to use the brake and gas pedal, can get near the same exact time as a even match manual DSM. The Auto trannys are actually stronger than the manual. I had a 10.9ish 97 GSX 5-speed, I blew out (completely) 2 stock trannys, that were not even near repairable. and also blew out a 4spider diff on my race tranny. So no, Auto's are not junk. And to get a auto built is around the same price as a manual built. (www.TeamRip.com) And no, The do not suck, and Shep is better. TRE built a guy named "kiggly"'s trans, 2 years ago. you've probably seen it. White FWD 1G, that runs 9's. The trans is still strong.
Shep blow's his OWN tranny that he builds atleast every 5 runs.