Need ideas on what to do first?

1) Intake - the most basic mod $20 - $200
2) Strut Braces - if you like to corner you NEED these $100 - $170
3) Interior Paint Work - get some bang for your buck, but you'll need a little know-how $25 - $50
4) Rims - Ooo....shiny $400 - $2300
5) Suspension - if you drive hard you need a hard suspension (if not just lower it) $600 - $2300
6) Cat-Back Exhaust - probably adds 5 - 10 hp but the best part is the SOUND BABY!
7) Racing Seats - get some added stiffness around corners and complete your interior's look $300 - $1500
[Prices are my best estimate for new parts]

Of course there are plenty of other frills that can be done to make your ride unique like car audio upgrades, seat covers, floor mats, air fresheners, shortened shifter, or whatever and can be done at various stages. Personally I've done numbers 1, 2, & 5 myself 3 was already done when I bought the car and I plan to pay for 6 to be done in the near future. So after you get past this list things get a little more involved and expensive and when I get there I'll be thinking about what I need to do to get ready for a supercharger, which I think will add 35 to 60 hp.

I guess a point I'd like to make with this post is that newbies shouldn't be treated poorly (don't deny it) for asking questions like what should I do to my ride first because by definition they are new to the modding scene and/or don't know much about cars period; so they're supposed to ask questions like this. Besides who wants to be part of an organization that jeers at new members for asking newbie questions.

Hey don't get me wrong there is not a correct order to mod a car and what you do can depend on where you're going with the ride but many newbies don't have a real plan to begin with and there are only so many mods that can be done and the basic ones apply to all applications so let's help where we can. This is my "take" on one of the not so inviting aspects of the org that rears its ugly head sometimes. So you can rip me a new one (I am a newbie by the way - lol), add your 2cents, or submit your own mod list and maybe give reasons you did things in that order.

ThanX for letting me vent guys - later.....

well there is not a correct order per say, but there is a cash worthy way.

If you want to boost, dont upgrade your engine components and exhaust till you know exactly what you want. This will save you alot of headaches and cash.

Ok....I think I want to turbo my cav in the future. Maybe go with Hahn stage 1 or 2 kit. Any suggestions on which would be better? My car is completely stock at this point. 2004 LS Sport.

Keeping in mind that I eventually want boost, what mods would you suggest?

I am not sure I want to lower my car since I live in a rural area in PA and I worry about bottoming out.

start building the internals. so the motor will be more boost friendly

Well if you're completely stock you might wanna do some of the easy firsts like an aftermarket intake, header, catback, and probably a high flow cat. Other things that come to mind are fuel and spark delivery. Of course you'll wanna start thinking about guages and maybe some software for tuning (hptuners?). There is plenty to do before going on to internals in my opinion but then again I'm not boosted so maybe that is the best way to go first. What do you think BAGGEDCAV?

rookiemasker wrote:Well if you're completely stock you might wanna do some of the easy firsts like an aftermarket intake, header, catback, and probably a high flow cat. Other things that come to mind are fuel and spark delivery. Of course you'll wanna start thinking about guages and maybe some software for tuning (hptuners?). There is plenty to do before going on to internals in my opinion but then again I'm not boosted so maybe that is the best way to go first. What do you think BAGGEDCAV?

Oh master why in the world would you tell her to get a I/H/HFC/E if she wants to boost? Large catback maybe, just hold on to it for future use but at least give some dimensions.

Heather, check out the boost forum and read, read, read and search, search, search; then ask questions from there.

thanks so much for the advice. I will do that. I have plenty of time since I don't have my car back yet. But I am confident the courts will rule in my favor. This gives me time to come up with a workable plan. Again, Thanks for the advice.

After some brief research......I am beginning to wonder if there is a better way. Adding boost seems very expensive and possibly could damage my engine if not done right. This car is my daily driver so I cannot risk it breaking. As much as I would love big HP gains maybe I should be thinking more practical? I guess what I really want is a car that will be really spunky to drive that might be fun to take to the track occaisionally. I have an old CRX that I am rebuilding just for racing so maybe I should be a little more conservative on my daily driver.

I can't help it. I just love lotsa power.

Well I don't know much about boost but I guess you could go turbo right away on stock internals up to like 5-6 psi but you'll probably want to get better fuel delivery and install a wideband O2 sensor and oil pressure sensor.

Toboggan maybe you know better than me but under boost you're using more fuel and air and making more exhaust. So you would want the engine to be able to breathe better to get more power out of the turbo by reducing back pressure in the exhaust system and thereby reducing pressure on the engine during the exhaust stroke.