A Beginners Guide to Modding your Car
It's easy for a seasoned car guy to give advice on what he or she thinks is best when it comes to modifying your car, but many times that advice is biased based on their own belief of what is best. What a beginner needs is advice that comes from the basics of automotive performance and what makes or doesn't make power. It's hard not to get tied up in manufacture claims, so I posted this guide on what every beginner should know when it comes to modifying their car for the first time, or even picking what to modify.
Why you should plan your mods
Many of our members, and myself included, like to buy parts on a feel good basis. We want that intake or want that exhaust because we want the car to sound good, and make more power. But then we find later that we decide to go a different route, and then all of a sudden the exhaust isn't enough, and the intake won't cut it any more. At that point we've learned that we wasted money and should have come up with a plan first on what goals we have for the vehicle. Do we want a car that's just low and loud? Should it look almost stock and just perform better? Is this going to be an insane mod you'll throw all your money at? Every setup would be different here, so planning that out would help you to not only help you achieve that goal, but ensure the parts you purchase work well together and compliment each other.
Insane mods with all the $$$
Insane mods requires $$$ but you'll get all the power, the car should have all around incredible handling and braking. You will want to start with a Trifecta tune, look around the forum as there are many variants, you'll need a new intake either the ZZP or the DDM. A cat-less down pipe and straight pipe will be the best exhaust choice. Coilovers would be an absolute must. Cars that are lightweight and handle/brake well would be faster, but it's really a game of balance. For serious use, you'd need to get a set of great tires and wheels to go with it. Once the wheels and suspension are ready to go you'd want interior mods. The key here is balance, you don't want a car that has more bling than power, bling is weight and it robs power. Start with a bone stock car, then start to modify your car. You'll appreciate your car more if learn the car completely between mods.
Stock but Better
Your going to want to figure out what kind of budget your going to work with first. Will it be a D.I.Y. mods or specific parts you plan to purchase. Keep in mind almost any mod may affect the warranty so figure out if you'll be ok with that. With this car any mods you make will need the tune, you can add the parts and get the noise but wont really enjoy the power. This ECM will eventually learn down the changes to keep a stock experience. The Trifecta tune is the best bet as you have many options with proven results. There are many options for exhaust, some guys are running completely cat-less and straight piped. You can always go with a cat back system, but many are happy running it open after the second cat or with a cutoff muffler. you will again have many choices for intakes the ZZP or the DDM would be a great choice, but other have made do with modding the stock air box.
Low and Loud
Low and loud wears out your tires from parking lot cruising. You'd want a car that has a stock air box, has good visibility (so can make sure everyone sees you), and no muffler. You might make best use of the power band under 10 mph as parking lots have low speed limits. This type of Driving is usually around 1-2 hours at a time. Most important here would be your tires and your suspension setup. Tires are an interesting aspect here because with 1-2"s of drop they don't really get much of a chance to touch anything so you can just run what ever you want really. So you would need to get tires that are able to handle well on cracked pavement and smoke up quickly. A typical low and loud or suspension would be a set of springs.
If your going to mod your car do your research and don't expect to keep the warranty
