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| 1. Intake-They range from CAI (cold air-intake) to shorties. HP gain ranges from 4HP for NA smaller engines to 15-20 for bigger discplacement, forced induction engines like Eclipse and Supra (sometimes more). Throttle response will be improved and a sweet intake sound will be heard. Price $60-200 |
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| 2. Full Exhaust System (Hi-flo cat, 2.5-3.0in piping, and muffler)-Getting the full system is well worth the money spent. A hi-flo cat alone should net around 3-5HP and the piping and muffler will give an additional 5-10HP again depending on the car and system. Another bonus is the nice exhaust note. Intake and Exhaust should give a slightly better mpg, maybe 1-2 mpg (that's if your'e not researching your newly found ponies). Price $400-600 note: go with a custom made exhaust. Same price and better quality bends, welded seams, and assured fit. |
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| 3. Springs/Struts-This mod results in both a better looking car because of the lowering and a better handling car because of the lowered center of gravity and stiffer spring and dampening rates, and allowing more of your tire's contact patch in contact with the road in corners. Other mods that would compliment well the new springs and struts would be: strut tower braces, polyurethane bushings (especially beneficial on a high mileage car), and anti-roll bars (also camber/caster adjusting plates if your'e real serious). |
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| 4. Tires-Good tires can make or break any car's performance. Lower profile tires are better for cornering but not the best for drag strip launches because there is no tire wrinkle. Drag radials or small diameter slicks work well and can increase E.T.'s by at least a few tenths once you get the hang of them. Drag radials will only last you 10k-20k miles or so during regular driving. A softer compound rubber will have better traction but more wear on the street and a harder compound tire, of course, the opposite effect will happen. |
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| 5. Limited Slip Diff-Most cars don't come with any type of limited slip diff, or posi-traction (name used by most domestic V-8's) There are a few different designs, which I won't go into now. Honda's are notorious for breaking diff's and axles when HP is added and 5K RPM clutch drops are tried at the drag strip. You'll see them in the burnout box. They will try doing a burnout and only one tire will be spinning. So, one tire gets hot and sticky and when you go to launch at the Christmas tree, the sticky, hot tire will grab traction and the other one will spin (other things may happen, but I've seen this a lot)and any time one spins and the other doesn't, problems arise. A limited slip diff will fix this problem. It will allow both tires to spin for you. Stronger axles and CV joints will be needed as well when bigger horsepower is brought to the table. LSD's or also good for front wheel driver cars in the corners. It will help with understeer and torque steer off the line as well. Price $800-1200 |
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| 6. Short Shifter-This will allow you to get from one gear to the next much quicker. Short in this case isn't usually talking about the shifter length (although they are usually slightly shorter), but shorter is talking about the distance from one gear to the next by having a larger shaft from the pivot point. Price $50-100 |
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| 7. Header (unless going turbo later or already have one)-Headers will have a better flow design and larger diameter to flow more air out of the combustion chamber. Expect 4-10 HP. Price $200-400 |
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| 8. Fuel upgrades/control (Fuel Pressure Regulator, VAFC, fuel pump, injectors,etc) These mods are usually only necessary once you've added some sizely HP numbers to your car. Sometimes not required until serious power or forced induction is applied. |
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| 9. Ignition upgrades/control (coil, dist/cap, plugs, wires, ign. box, chip, ecu, eng. management)-Same as fuel upgrades. Honda's benefit from an external coil from the distributor. |
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| 10. Forced Induction/upgrade (turbo/turbo upgrade, supercharger, nos)-Many articles have been written on this and it really depends on your goals and preferences. Good Luck! |
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