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Best mods for the money

95_Mystique

95_Mystique

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
3,970
Location
Middletown, Pa
i'm looking for some cheap mods that will help with the performance of the car, along w/ some looks. I'm thinkin of an intake and full exhaust system, but are there any other relativley cheap mods i can do to the car to get more power. And if say this was your car, what are some idea's of urs that you'd do to the car to make it look better or would you keep the old man sleeper appearance?
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Intake first off. look up some options in Zetec performance. I'd personally recomend SleeperZ's setup. Maybe UDP, exhaust.....

be-badge, knaurbuerize (sp?) SE side skirts, paint grill/rear chrome strip/ect...

do what you like and just have fun!
 
i kept the old man sleeper apearance, hondas dont like me:laugh: ...i have intake and udp...deffinately go for that...
 
now i had a bit of an older car that i was modding before, so i'm not farmiliar with some of the terms..... UDP??? knaurbuerize????

and u think go black with the grill and stipe on the back like i did to the stripe on the front?
 
95_Mystique said:
now i had a bit of an older car that i was modding before, so i'm not farmiliar with some of the terms..... UDP??? knaurbuerize????

and u think go black with the grill and stipe on the back like i did to the stripe on the front?
Click to expand...
UDP= Under drive Pully
Knaubueraize or w/e Is taking the door dings off

Where do you live in Harrisburg? I have alot of family that lives there.
 
beans, do you think you could help me take the door dings off? that is if you know how to do it. i like to do things and not mess my car up in the process
 
95_Mystique said:
now i had a bit of an older car that i was modding before, so i'm not farmiliar with some of the terms..... UDP??? knaurbuerize????

and u think go black with the grill and stipe on the back like i did to the stripe on the front?
Click to expand...

sorry for not being more direct

well id normally say to go body color with the grille, front strip and back strip....but with your car being gold...and seeing what the black strip looks like in the front, id say continue with the black theme.
 
devanmc said:
beans, do you think you could help me take the door dings off? that is if you know how to do it. i like to do things and not mess my car up in the process
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This is easy. Get some thick gloves, some 10lbs test fishing line and some goo gone. Also might want to pick up a pair of tight fitting dish washing gloves too.

Just get the fishing line behind the ding guard and pull the fishing line down the length of the ding guard. Hardest part is getting all the remaining gunk off. Myself, I just used a pair of tight fitting latex gloves and rolled it off with my fingers, than used some goo gone or similar stuff to clean it up.

Just note that if your paint is faded, the paint under the ding guards will stand out and I do believe there have been a couple cases that what was underneath the guards wasn't even the same colour as the rest of the car.

As for cheap mods. Sleeper Z's intake is gold. A GOOD QUALITY under drive pulley is another good one. Rear strut stabilizer helps the suspension a lot as well.
I would go for a less restrictive exhaust as the stock one is very prohibitive. Well worth the extra money you may spend on it compared to the others.
Oh and get some rim covers!~
 
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new sway bar bushings from bat, have heard they help and are relatively cheap. im planning on doing mine this summer
 
95_Mystique said:
wats the advantage of an underdrive pully????
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your crankshaft turns the drive belt, but also the accessory belt (ac, alternator, etc), so, these accessories add resistance, which decreases engine power. udp utilizes (iirc) a smaller crankshaft pulley for the accessory belt, which makes the belt spin slower (you must also get a shorter belt), and results in less resistance per revolution of the engine.

if you get the udp, though, you should also get the overdrive pulley for the alternator, so that it will continue spinning at the same speed so as to continue supplying sufficient power to your car.
 
honestly the alternator overdrive pulley is not needed. i dont have one on mine and it still puts out at least 13.5V at idle and over 14V while cruising. the alternator is more than capable of putting out the neccesary voltage at idle even with an underdrive pulley. thats what the voltage regulator is for.

if you have a huge sound system then yes you will likely want the overdrive pulley for the alternator however since its a 160amp alternator it is not needed for most vehicles.
 
If, after installing the UDP, your headlights appear dimmer at idle than, say, at 2500 RPMs, then you should get the alternator ODP. That's the easiest way to know.
 
95_Mystique said:
i'm looking for some cheap mods that will help with the performance of the car, along w/ some looks. I'm thinkin of an intake and full exhaust system, but are there any other relativley cheap mods i can do to the car to get more power. And if say this was your car, what are some idea's of urs that you'd do to the car to make it look better or would you keep the old man sleeper appearance?
Click to expand...
well heres what i did to mine
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cheap mods that will make it look better....
1.get some wheels! you can used sets for cheap or hit the wreckers for svt like mine or a set of cougar rims
2.Paint your front lower lip looks way better
3.get a exhaust made up (nothing to fart canny) and build a intake
4.debadge it
 
striker2 said:
honestly the alternator overdrive pulley is not needed. i dont have one on mine and it still puts out at least 13.5V at idle and over 14V while cruising. the alternator is more than capable of putting out the neccesary voltage at idle even with an underdrive pulley. thats what the voltage regulator is for.

if you have a huge sound system then yes you will likely want the overdrive pulley for the alternator however since its a 160amp alternator it is not needed for most vehicles.
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you have a fairly new alternator? that just sounds like really good voltage for going with the udp.

i use a lot of voltage, however, i drive with my lights on, blast my aftermarket stereo, charge my cell, laptop, and even have my buddies playing video games with a power inverter in my passenger seats, so when i do get the udp, i'll definitely be getting the odp, as well.

btw, side question, if you get the udp and odp, can you use the same belt size? like, do they cancel eachother out?
 
Not much gain with an underdrive pulley

Not much gain with an underdrive pulley

Lets see.

The alternator will pull the same energy at any speed, the voltage regulator will provide more power to the field windings to make up for the slower speed, so no real gain there, and at idle it may not be able to keep up with the load.

The water pump will turn a bit slower, but pumping water doesn't use much energy.

The Power steering pump will turn slower, again not much power going there as it is called into duty only when turning.

The airconditioner, if you are worried about beating the next car, a full dip into the throttle will disconnect the ac clutch anyway, again no gain there. Or you could just turn off the AC when 'racing'

I just don't believe that there is a recognizable gain in available power with an underdrive pulley. It is true that you will be able to spin up the engine a very little bit quicker but I'd defy anyone to be able to measure it with the seat of their pants. But a neat shiney chrome one is cool looking, that is if the passenger wheel is off and the inner pulley cover is removed.
 
andreslobo said:
Lets see.

The alternator will pull the same energy at any speed, the voltage regulator will provide more power to the field windings to make up for the slower speed, so no real gain there, and at idle it may not be able to keep up with the load.

The water pump will turn a bit slower, but pumping water doesn't use much energy.

The Power steering pump will turn slower, again not much power going there as it is called into duty only when turning.

The airconditioner, if you are worried about beating the next car, a full dip into the throttle will disconnect the ac clutch anyway, again no gain there. Or you could just turn off the AC when 'racing'

I just don't believe that there is a recognizable gain in available power with an underdrive pulley. It is true that you will be able to spin up the engine a very little bit quicker but I'd defy anyone to be able to measure it with the seat of their pants. But a neat shiney chrome one is cool looking, that is if the passenger wheel is off and the inner pulley cover is removed.
Click to expand...

no there is no real power felt after installing a UDP but the increase in hp and tq is there. No matter how minimal/ and is it worth the money for the kit. But there is a increase there. lol
 
NOpe

NOpe

You cannot increase the horsepower produced by the engine with an underdrive pulley. You can reduce the time required to spin up the motor and accessories but that is it. When I was young and would race, I always started the race with the engine already spun up. Now by removing the belt you can eliminate the drag used by the accessories and that power is then available to spin the wheels. But the lack of a water pump will screw the pooch in no time.

Horsepower is measured at a steady state and since the engine and accessories are spinning at a constant speed when you measure torque and horsepower. you will notice NO horsepower gain on a dyno.

Tell you what, take two identical cars, with two identical drivers and have one with an UDP and the other stock. Won't notice measureable time difference in the quarter mile and no difference in top speed.

Its a matter of physics and reality
 
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