Anyone into the sports compact tuning scene?

Yes, i know that i said id gotten a nissan sentra but the dealer changed his mind at the last second, long story....

anyways, i ended up with a 1998 Acura Integra GS-R which could smoke the sentra lol. Now im lookin into mods and stuff, just ordered an AEM short ram air intake, about to get sum underbody LED tubes. One problem; I cant really find any good online sites for buying parts. Does anyone have experience here?

Here's a link to my cardomain page: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2472746

im open for a tuner/car discussion here too, that would be cool

 

Hey viper...im not up with the U.S models, but is the 1998 Acura Integra GS-R, a Honda?

If not, what make? Normally aspirated or turbo? (im assuming its a 4 cyl)

 

yea, acura, honda; same thing. dang, forgot most people here are Australian or English. non-turbo but still pumpin out 170hp, 0-60 in a lil under 8 seconds. its a blast racing around town and on the freeway. i just went out with my friend who has a Mazda RX-7, w/ turbo, and it smoked me lol but it was still fun. now that im getting more into cars i realize that computers and upgrades cost NOTHIN compared to car mods lol Time for some overtime at work...

 

You're younger than me, and have a faster car than me??!!!

Insurance would just laugh at you if you tried to get that over here.....

But to your point, look around google, ebay usually have sellers who have all sorts of stuff.

I know here in the UK we have Halfords who fit loads of things like that.

 

Are you guys speaking English?

 

I'm not personally into tuning, but before you start, make sure of California's auto pollution requirements. Illinois and Tennessee, which I'm familiar with, require annual smog testing. If your car can't meet the clean air standards, you can't license or drive it on the street. As "green" as California is, I assume they require testing. Make VERY sure any engine/exhaust mods won't screw that up.

That being said, most newer cars can benefit highly from a new computer chip that re-maps the fuel/air, etc. for more horsepower. Better, less restrictive airflow is a good thing, both in and out of the engine, but as highly computerized and controlled as todays cars are, look for packages that balance hardware and the computer software for max benefits.

Beyond horsepower, tire/wheel/suspension mods can improve handling (usually at the expense of ride comfort).

Lights, spoilers, skirts, and doodads don't make any real difference to performance, but can look impressive if done well. They will also catch the attention of the local police, which will see you as a ticket waiting to happen.

 

Learn how to service your own vehicle and do add-ons. You will save a small fortune, seriously!

 

I have friends in high places

Have had my Peugeot 306 1.4litre tuned, just so it's gear ratios are better etc. No actual mods put on the engine, it makes a difference if you manually tune the engine - can get greater acceleration etc.

 

yea ive got a friend who is really good with cars and he offered to help me with anything i need done on my car.

@Halo: ooooo but the Fast and the Furious is such a good movie.... Same here, most people dont tend to like street racers but as long as you're not a jerk, people dont seem to mind too much

@GT yea i recently got my car smogged and all my aftermarket parts are CARB approved. I passed with flying colors

@Mcadam ive tried googling around but most places are outrageously expensive or seem kind of shady...i may just end up sticking with the local stores

what u guys think about the authenticity of this business?
http://www.ledunderbody.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=7&HS=1

i thought it looked OK and the prices are almost half of other shops

Lovin' the name beezneez

 

I'm not into the flashy mods either. Makes car thieves want your vehicle on that much more.

On a side note, I own a 1998 Grand Prix GTP, with the following mods:
Cold air Intake from K&N (since I got the larger intake, I had to move and by a 2000 model coolant bottle).
Smaller Pully(3.4").
MSD spark plug wires.
NGK spark plugs.
Gator back V-belt.
Front strut tower brace. (wish I could do to read struts, but I have to redesign the sub boxes in the rear).
Non-performance junk:
Reflective grand prix stickers on each door. Reflective pontiac sticker on the rear and front of car. Looks neat at night.
Interior:
A-pillar gauge mount.
One has autometer cobalt air/fuel, and the other has AutoMeter Lunar boost gauge.

Basically, I got all the cheap stuff I could get for the vehicle. The rest of the upgrades are way to expensive. As in $800 per part expensive. For me that is.

 

Simple one but often overlooked,throw everything out of the car you dont need,toolbox,girlfriend "unless she's skinny",spare wheel and sign up to roadside rescue for like $100 a year,you can shave off a good couple of hundred pounds depending how far you go,its entirely up to your own inmagination and creativity,the electric mechanism one each window weighs 5lbs for example

Do you only need to have the smog test done once a year If so buy a straight through exaust and just fit the cat when your going for the test,if you throw on massive rims they can decrease your accelleration,dont throw on rims without lowering or It'll look like its on stilts

 

Halo...you ever actually USED that foam on a flat? If you do, and want the garage to then repair the flat, they won't touch it with the foam stuff in, as it is really sticky and impossible to clean off to repair. They will want to sell you a new tire instead. Just a heads up of the rip off factor

Been there, done that with a motorbike, as you can't carry a spare

 

I believe the foam is merely a temp thing to get the tire replaced, not fixed.

 

To start this up again....

I just installed my AEM short ram air intake, pretty spiffy and sounds cool too lol but ever since, there has been a high pitched whistling. Yea, its probably air but its only when it idles and ive double checked the breather tube and all other hose connections. Any ideas?

I put a few decals on too, ill post some pics soon

Come on guys, i know im not the ONLY one who is into this kinda shtuff

 

High pitched whistling usually indicates the the air intake filters are set at the wrong angle. You'll have to tweak around until they're sounding ok.

 

Not entirely sold on this......Have you ever heard a turbo whistle at certain revs?
This occurs because of the dynamics of the induction intake ie. the air or gases (in a turbo's case) are forced into a swirling, circular motion so that it can induct more than is normally required in order to boost performance!

Your short ram air intake works of a similar principle, although adjustment to the angle may help a little in regards to the noise level!

Don't worry too much viper....if it sounds cool and runs better, thats pimped!

 

I'm interested in any kind of engine tuning,you need to get it down to a dyno and spend a day get it duno'd stock with the original exaust and intake then while your there,bolt on an exaust and intake and ask them to chip it and tune the engine to your exaust and intake

 

My car is too fragile to tune. A friend of mine however has tuned his Golf IV TDI from 90bhp/149Nm to 136,5bhp/241,9Nm (max Nm @ 1900rpm).
The thing is just very fast, also tuned the gear ratio's and timing of valves etc.
When I get enough money to buy a decent car I'd just tune it technically, I like the "wolf in sheepsclothes"-effect

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6133912955628716829&q=sleeper&hl=en

 

You could always USB the engine to your rig and run tune up utilities 2006, available here at MG's!
http://majorgeeks.com/TuneUp_Utilities_2006_d3891.html

LMAO...only jokin cause 'pimp my ride', sounds better than 'geek my ride'...lol!

Rikky's suggestion sounds more performance enhancing!

 

Not that far off man, the Golf IV can be tuned by plugging your laptop into the car's diagnostics port (hidden just above the ashtray) and by running the VAG Diag program (though it's not completely legal to have that here I believe, not sure about it's legality to have it) you can tune almost everything of the Golf

 

Its bugs me lately all the pimp m rides seem to negate the engine and only make cosmetic changes,I'm sure they used to change the engine

Whats the name of that other show where they steal the car for a week the owner thinks its gone for ever and then boom!its not only back its brand new with a fully reconditioned engine?

 

Overhaulin!

 

I hear ya dog he makes me ashamed to be white and english,I cant watch it ,and the mess they make of those poor cars

The american cars look pretty good the big impalas look good pimped out with shiny rims but not european cars IMO and under all that face paint theres still box standard corroded four pot,they have no choice but to roll by onlookers

http://www.faceparty.com/groups/official_gallery.aspx?group=8512&gallery=&zoom=1&po=12

http://www.faceparty.com/groups/official_gallery.aspx?group=8512&gallery=&zoom=1&po=20

http://www.faceparty.com/groups/official_gallery.aspx?group=8512&gallery=&zoom=1&po=18

http://www.faceparty.com/groups/official_gallery.aspx?group=8512&gallery=&zoom=1&po=14

 

ha nice sleeper video rikky.

yea im not gonna go TOO flamboyant with my car but i still want it to look nice. anyways, here are some new pics after some detailing and the intake. I stuck on a nifty lil decal too.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/viper_boy403/carpics004.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/viper_boy403/carpics006.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/viper_boy403/carpics005.jpg

if i do eventually get a body kit im gonna go small and subtle, nothing too aggressive. I was thinking maybe just some lip spoilers would look good. Im also planning on painting my brake calipers silver like this guy did with red: http://www.team-integra.net/sections/articles/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=182

@rikky i dunno if we even have a dyno around here, we dont have many stores and shops like that around here. i do have some very knowledgable friends tho which i might recruit so help with some tuning

 

You can get bigger rims on that

 

ok, update time

i just recently painted my brake calipers, silver, but dont have any pics YET

Im kinda hopin for some new stuff for christmas and my bday (only 5 days apart, woowoo) possibly some racing seats, gauges, and some other stuff. Anyways, here is my possible next mod: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...Id-100000200254/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000200254

I think a carbon fiber spoiler would look nice with my color scheme. Im also planning on painting my interior trim, a dark graphite-ish color. Im hoping that will come out nice

Also looking into a new header and a high-flow cat

Feels nice to get my car stuff out on "paper" lol....