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    Biggest bang for the buck

    What are the power mods that are the biggest bang for the buck?
    I'm not looking for turbo kind of power gains but heck if I can get that kinda of gain for cheap I'm all for it.
    What has been your best money spent on performance mods for your car?
    Anybody ever made a custom intake? If so what's it made of? what filter? what kind of power gain?

    <marquee>'97 Tan LX 5-speed-Clear corners, "poor mans" grill, 15in. Gunmetal/Polished Konig Holes covered with Dunlop GT Qualifiers, B&M short shifter installed and lovin it, custom leather black leather boot, MazdaSpeed Shift knob, Eibach Pro-Kit, Custom cold air intake Head Unit-Pioneer DEH-3500MP Speakers-Sony Xplod XS-V1621(3-way)6.5s(Front Doors) Infinity 652i(2-way)6.5s(Rear Doors) Pioneer TS-A6990R(5-way)6x9s(Rear Deck) Amps-Kenwood KAC-7201/Pioneer GM-X352 Subs-2-JL 12 W3s in Dual box, redone LED 3rd brake light(doesn't look like crap anymore). More I.C.E. on the way.</marquee>
    Formerly '90 White Miata w/ 2 8" Laser Blue stripes
    I hate the short nose crankshaft. It took my car away from me.

    #2
    Id say intake and exhaust if you dont have money for turbo. I made a custom cold air intake. It was all mandrel bent 2.5 inch. It helped me out alot. I can probably sell it to you soon if youd like. because im going turbo, so i wont need it. If you wondering about power, put it this way. I could get it up to 115mph and it was an automatic. I could take hondas all day long . My automatic could also chirp second gear. . Another thing i would do would be to take out your EGR pipe that will set off your check engine light but it will make you run smooth and give you good horses
    sigpic

    Comment


      #3
      Biggest bang for the buck is NOS. But you have to be very careful using it, as it could totally BANG-up your engine, if you know what I mean.
      "Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

      Comment


        #4
        I figured makin her breathe better would be the best thing but as far as intakes and exhausts what are the best out there for the money? I don't want a coffee can exhaust but I can't afford a cat-back.
        How much you wanna go on yours? PM me if you want or just post it.
        Yea, NOS is a big bang for your buck but that's too risky and I'm not gonna go there. It's about 500 bucks a system isn't it? That's a little more than my budget can hold too.

        <marquee>'97 Tan LX 5-speed-Clear corners, "poor mans" grill, 15in. Gunmetal/Polished Konig Holes covered with Dunlop GT Qualifiers, B&M short shifter installed and lovin it, custom leather black leather boot, MazdaSpeed Shift knob, Eibach Pro-Kit, Custom cold air intake Head Unit-Pioneer DEH-3500MP Speakers-Sony Xplod XS-V1621(3-way)6.5s(Front Doors) Infinity 652i(2-way)6.5s(Rear Doors) Pioneer TS-A6990R(5-way)6x9s(Rear Deck) Amps-Kenwood KAC-7201/Pioneer GM-X352 Subs-2-JL 12 W3s in Dual box, redone LED 3rd brake light(doesn't look like crap anymore). More I.C.E. on the way.</marquee>
        Formerly '90 White Miata w/ 2 8" Laser Blue stripes
        I hate the short nose crankshaft. It took my car away from me.

        Comment


          #5
          excuse my stupidness but what is a EGR pipe?
          Mike A.

          Comment


            #6
            You can't afford a catback? Na dun worry nor can we! The only catback I know is hte mazdaspeed cat and from whati heard its discontinued. The best thing to do is have one custom made. I'm actually considering having one made after I get my Ignition system installed. the custom catback exhaust wont be mandrel bent but it may be worth the money. More than likely, i'll end up getting a custom catback exhaust with 2 inch piping.
            Don't have a car anymore... cry with me

            Comment


              #7
              If you are going to add just a cold air intake, and the catback exhaust, you would not gain more then 10 bhp. I build myself a coldair intake, and other then better response, and slightly worse mileage, and of course great sound, there is no difference. Our cars require drastic measures to take place in order to achieve between 150-200 hp. But we are trying here. Bruce is finishing his turbo swap. Patrick (pinoy) had his turbo swap done for him ($$$). So as you can see, with enough money and time anything is possible. I am trying to see if regrinded cams will give me anymore power. We will see.
              "Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

              Comment


                #8
                Turbonium tell me about the intake you made. I've been thinking about making one but want some info about them before I tackle the challenge. What material? filter? price? how did you connect it? pics?

                I'm not looking for 200+ HP just an increase from what I've got now. I want that 10 extra but I want to know the cheapest/most efficient way to get there.

                If I could turn my car into a RWD I'd be happy. but I know that will never happen and if I want a RWD car I should go back to my miata. It's just more fun to drive and you've got more control of the car. But that's a totally different subject and I'm gonna try to stick with the HP gains.

                <marquee>'97 Tan LX 5-speed-Clear corners, "poor mans" grill, 15in. Gunmetal/Polished Konig Holes covered with Dunlop GT Qualifiers, B&M short shifter installed and lovin it, custom leather black leather boot, MazdaSpeed Shift knob, Eibach Pro-Kit, Custom cold air intake Head Unit-Pioneer DEH-3500MP Speakers-Sony Xplod XS-V1621(3-way)6.5s(Front Doors) Infinity 652i(2-way)6.5s(Rear Doors) Pioneer TS-A6990R(5-way)6x9s(Rear Deck) Amps-Kenwood KAC-7201/Pioneer GM-X352 Subs-2-JL 12 W3s in Dual box, redone LED 3rd brake light(doesn't look like crap anymore). More I.C.E. on the way.</marquee>
                Formerly '90 White Miata w/ 2 8" Laser Blue stripes
                I hate the short nose crankshaft. It took my car away from me.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I used to work in the shop, and I simply messed around with the angles, and leghts of pipes. Diameter is 2", and the connectors I got in Home Depot. Then I drilled a hole for the Air Temp Sensor on the side. Spot welded mounting braket. Removed the entire previous assembly, which will require you to take the bumper off.
                  Last edited by turbonium959; 10-14-2003, 05:24 PM.
                  "Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

                  Comment


                    #10
                    hey turbo
                    how much hp did u gain from that intake of yours?
                    Mike A.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      1. A cold air intake like what turbo made is definetly a good start.

                      2.The 1.5 is pretty restricted and likes to breath. So I would say add an exhaust from the cat back, and also add a high flow Cat.

                      3. The 1.5 exhaust manifold has some type of pre cat or something. I am not sure what is for. It is attached to the manifold and I am sure it must be a restriction. A good header like DC or Gude would be awesome for the 1.5..

                      4. Mike323 has a decent hook up with Cam regrinds. Maybe something to look into.

                      5. If you want to get a bit more hard core. The pistons designed for a B6 should work. You will have to have your block bored out 2.7mm's though so they will fit. The compression on the 1.5 is 9.4 so if you wanted to raise it you could..

                      6. port polish & 3 angle valve job.. (maybe for the more serious $$)

                      7. Custom Turbo, maybe using a Log manifold.

                      8. A fuel management system. (You came this far, why not get one)

                      Just my opinion ..
                      Bruce
                      photo album|photo album 2 (pbase)

                      dbest1a AT yahoo DOT com

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by bubbashane
                        hey turbo
                        how much hp did u gain from that intake of yours?
                        As with all CAIs, the gain is minimal, and mainly noticeble once the RPMs are high. I also never dynoed my car, so I cannot tell exactly. CAI will also take away a little torque, so your acceleration will decrease, minimally. Though, on the highway, or once you are cruising, the acceleration response is so much faster. I think that making your own CAI is the cheapest bang for buck, if you are looking for a small bang. But as Bruce said, I also think that 1.5s will run much better with just one Catalytic converter, and high-flow exhaust. But you would need to diasble one of your O2 sensors, for which, I think, you can buy something on-line. I have read something regarding this with 3rd gen engines, but cannot remember where. Sorry, I will try to find it.
                        "Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by turbonium959
                          As with all CAIs, the gain is minimal, and mainly noticeble once the RPMs are high. I also never dynoed my car, so I cannot tell exactly. CAI will also take away a little torque, so your acceleration will decrease, minimally. Though, on the highway, or once you are cruising, the acceleration response is so much faster. I think that making your own CAI is the cheapest bang for buck, if you are looking for a small bang. But as Bruce said, I also think that 1.5s will run much better with just one Catalytic converter, and high-flow exhaust. But you would need to diasble one of your O2 sensors, for which, I think, you can buy something on-line. I have read something regarding this with 3rd gen engines, but cannot remember where. Sorry, I will try to find it.
                          You can weld a bung into the header and install the O2 sensor.. I need to put a bung in my exhaust also so that I can put my 2nd o2 sensor in there..
                          Bruce
                          photo album|photo album 2 (pbase)

                          dbest1a AT yahoo DOT com

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Hey, Bruce, I was just looking in Parts For Sale, and there is a 3rd gen header (4-2-1) for sale. The guys who sells it mentions an O2 sensor simulator. I think this is what I was talking about when you remove that first cat or pre-cat. Because of the free flow, the silmulator lets the ECU think that there is a difference in O2 levels, thus not throwing Check Engine Light on. But I need to find a shop that will be able to do make me a 4-2-1 header, with high-flow cat, and high-flow cat-back. Hopefully, with the header I would be able to gain about 20hp, but if the header would turn out $$$, then the cat-back will have to do the job.
                            "Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Defintely Nitrous..Best Bang for the Buck..Adjustable from a 35shot-75shot..

                              I am selling one..

                              check out my sig!

                              Chas:p:

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