Advice about modifying,,,

[1Greyteg]

So you want to mod your car???

Well here's some quick humble advice that seems to have developed a following, at least I hope it does since it is just common sense and intelligent decision making. It by far is not THE answer to ALL Import Modding Questions. It is more of a guide on how to start to mod wisely.

My motto is: You Get What you Pay For But, that also goes hand in hand with another good motto: Do It Right the First Time...

Although you may spend money and sometimes Alot of it, If you haven't done enough research on said product's or mod's you may be extremely dissapointed when it doesn't perform to expected potential. It sucks when you waste money, theres really NO reason to play roulette when modding a car and especially the Integra, Gen1 through Gen3.

The Following is useful advice from when you first get the car to if you've already started and for if you just feel lost:



"Advice for a TRUE Enthusiest...

Be careful and drive it safely for about a week. Feel it out in all sorts of conditions. Test the ABS, feel how the steering acts and reacts, in general become accustomed to the car, check out all the vision you get from the drivers seat. Check for blind spots...

Take your time and do it Right the First Time!


Then, after a week or so, go find yourself a local Autocross. Bring a helmet if you have one and your $25. and go spend the WHOLE day REALLY finding out your new cars limits LEGALLY and SAFELY!!!

After the AutoX where you will most certainly have a total ball. Start to develop a plan for your car and what you want out of it and what the end result will be.

Set up a budget and then start the research for all of your planned mods.

While doing all this planning and learning. Go to a few more autocrosses and a 1/4 drag at a strip a couple times too, to decide what you want to do with the car. You'll have loads of fun doing the track and 1/4 mile stuff & you will gain lots more useful knowledge and most likely a few new friends in the process.

Good luck,

A."

If you are planning on developing a car solely for looks then you will still need the plan and budget. Do you think Winning Show Cars just happened? Or were thought up in pieces? Or on a Daily or Weekly Budget?

Well, same thing goes for competitive performance cars and you know what?

The same type of planning should be used when tuning a daily commuter. Study a little now to purchase more wisely and save a lot later while still experiencing positive gains and results.

Good luck,

A.

PS and as always, remember you should have fun when doing your hobby. Thats what Import Tuning is for most of us, A Hobby!!! Hobbies are all about Fun...

[1Greyteg]

This will be the first post in a string of performance minded postings aimed at loosely outlining mods to help develop a full plan and ultimately creating a full performance archive for OUR car the Acura Integra!

Following is a ressurrected performance guide that I found in my files from SHO V.3 and am modding to fit our needs.

After of course you have decided what your budget will be, you next have to decide just how far you will take this car modding and which application you will decide for your powerplant; Naturally Aspirated, Forced induction "Turbo or Supercharger," Nitrous, or a Hybrid Swap.


There are 7 levels each with different stages and possible gains respectively. Of course all mods available are NOT listed but, the most popular and obvious are here.

1) Home made or virtually FREE plan

STAGE I: Home made intake with drop in K&N style filter. COST=$50. to $75. POSSIBLE GAINS= 2-5 WHP!

STAGE II: Hand port and polish exhaust ports, POSSIBLE GAINS= 1-3WHP!

STAGE III: Advance timing, POSSIBLE GAINS= 1-3 WHP!

STAGE IV: Hollow cat, POSSIBLE GAINS= 2-5WHP!

STAGE V: Remove power Steering Belt, POSSIBLE GAINS= 1-3 WHP!

TOTAL POSSIBLE GAINS FOR LESS THAN $100. Spent= 7 to 19 WHP!

Total possible gains rely heavily on the age and condition of car and the care it has been under. In short DON'T EXPECT 20 WHP or a miracle with a Teg 94 Teg with over 300,000 miles and minimal care and lack of besic service like regular oil changes.



2) Hidden Performance, $1500. to $6000.

STAGE I: Drop in K&N type filter ($75.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 2-5 WHP

STAGE II: Larger than stock or bored Throttle Body ($250. to $400.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-6 WHP and defiantely quicker throttle response.

STAGE III: Extrude Hone the Stock Header ($250. to $500.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-4 WHP

STAGE IV: High Flow Cat/Test Pipe/ Hollow cat ($100. to $300.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-7 WHP

STAGE V: Nitrous Oxide system 25 to 75 shot ($600. to $1500.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 25 to 75 WHP

STAGE VI: More aggressive cams IE, ITR, TODA A's, JUN1's, Spoon's, Skunk 2's stage 1 ($500. to $1000.) But Must include cam gears from ($150. to $350.) and Tuning at a dyno local prices apply ($100. to $150.) an hour. POSSIBLE GAINS= 10 to 30 WHP

STAGE V: Race head ($600.. to $6500.) POSSIBLE GAINS 5-50 WHP

STAGE VI: Frankenstein of Hybrid Swap head to a b18 bottom ($1000. to $2500.) POSSIBLE GAINS, unknown WHP or Torque

Again total possible gains rely on condition of car and of course now Tuning starts to play heavier in the mix. POSSIBLE TOTAL GAINS= 50 to 175 WHP


3) Cheap Plan $500. to $1000.

STAGE I: Cheap intake ($100.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-7 WHP

STAGE II: Nice header ($300. to $400.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 6-9 WHP

STAGE III: Throttle Body or re bore stock throttlebody ($250. to $500.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-6 WHP

When purchasing cheaply you usually get cheap product and minimal gains, Just remember "You Get What You Pay For!" POSSIBLE TOTAL GAINS= 12 to 22 WHP


4) Simple Plan $800. to $1500.

STAGE I: Cold Air Intake ( $230.) POSSIBLE GAINS 8-10 WHP

STAGE II: Race header or, "one with long primaries and 2 1/2" collector." ($500.) POSSIBLE GAINS 8-15 WHP. Once you upgrade to the 2 1/2" collector, you will require at least the same size diameter HF/Cat of testpipe.

STAGE III: Exhaust ($500.) POSSIBLE GAINS 8-10 WHP

STAGE IV: Throttle body ($250. to $400.) POSSIBLE GAINS=3-6 WHP

Things to remember when you enter this level of modding is NOT TO ADD ALL THE POTENTIAL WHP GAIN NUMBERS, ESPECIALLY WHEN MATING I/H& E. A well setup I/H& E SYSTEM has got to work together. While producing nice gains though, it Will NOT neccessarily Add all the seperate gains from each individual mod and come to a total gain number. POSSIBLE TOTAL GAINS= 10 to 20 WHP A possible total 10 WHP gain is a very realistic number for a well designed and setup I/H&E.


5) Budget Racer $1500. to $3000.

STAGE I: Cold Air Intake ( $230.) POSSIBLE GAINS 8-10 WHP

STAGE II: Race header or, "one with long primaries and 2 1/2" collector." ($500.) POSSIBLE GAINS 8-15 WHP. Once you upgrade to the 2 1/2" collector, you will require at least the same size diameter HF/Cat of testpipe.

STAGE III: Exhaust ($500.) POSSIBLE GAINS 8-10 WHP

STAGE IV: Throttle body ($250. to $400.) POSSIBLE GAINS=3-6 WHP

STAGE V: Underdrive pulleys ($250. to $350.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-5 WHP

STAGE VI: Cam Sprocket ($250. to $350.) Dyno tuning ($100. to $150. per hour) POSSIBLE GAINS 15 to 30 WHP

As much or less can be achieved with each mod but, the same rule holds true with relation to the previous level. You con't add all the potential mods and their potential gains and just think you have gained 30 WHP, it all depends on the dyno tuning and state of car and how the system works as a whole.


6) FI Street Monster $2500. to $6000.

STAGE I: Turbo or Super Charger BASIC or Aggressive cams like Toda B's, JUN 2's and SKunk 2 stage 2's including valvetrain buildup ($2500. to $5000.) POSSIBLE GAINS 70 to 130 WHP

STAGE II: Test pipe HF cat ($100. to $400.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 5-8 WHP

STAGE III: Exhaust ($500. to $650.) POSSIBLE GAINS 10-15 WHP

STAGE IV: Throttle body ($250. to $400.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-6 WHP

STAGE V: Underdrive pulleys ($250. to $350.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 3-5 WHP

STAGE VI: : Cam Sprocket ($250. to $350.) Dyno tuning ($100. to $150. per hour) POSSIBLE GAINS 15 to 30 WHP as much or less can be achieved, it all depends on the dyno tuning and state of car.

STAGE VII: Wires and Plugs ($150. to $300.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 2 to 4 WHP

At this stage of modding, YOU MUST DYNO TUNE for maximum gains and you must also know what you are doing to do installs on the FI pieces. Don't push it too hard unless it's tuned and don't turn up the boost too high for what the motor can handle before it explodes.


7) All Out Race! $10,000. to the sky's the limit!

STAGE I: Custom Race Turbo ($4000. to $10,000) OR Extreme Cams including full valvetrain buildup and cam sprockets($1000. to $2500.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 50 to 400 WHP

STAGE II: Electronic Fuel Race Ignition ($900. to $2400.) POSSIBLE GAINS 10 to 30 WHP

STAGE III: Fully programmable ECU ($1500. to $2500.) POSSIBLE GAINS=10-50 WHP all while making tuning this beast totally up to you and your needs. It's usually plug and play and it's all able to be modified; AF/FP, VTEC engagement...

STAGE IV: Custom Race Intake/ Header and Exhaust ($950. to $3500.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 10-35 WHP

STAGE V: Race Intake Manifold ($800. to $3000.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 25 to 50 WHP

STAGE VI: Race Head ($1500. to $4000.) POSSIBLE GAINS= 25 to 75 WHP

AGAIN, you MUST dyno tune this car but, if you are at this stage, you probably already know alot about tuning/ have done it already or work closely with a local performance shop Or you are just made of money. Total Possible gains are 50 to 600 WHP



Tuning is key as is finding well made mods that will produce nice gains.

Tune, Tune, Tune...

&

You get what you pay for...

And remember that you Don't Just add all the POSSIBLE GAINS TOGETHER IN A MATHEMATICAL EQUATION, It all has to work well together as a system. And based on mods chosen and which model Teg and state of repair it is in, You may see performance vary greatly.

Good luck,

A.