Summer Modifications

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 2:27 am

I'm looking at quite a few mods for my car this summer. First of all, an exhaust and headers are for sure. I'm going with a Magnaflow catback and DC headers, both from Never Enough Auto.Additionally, I wanted to go with some suspension mods. What would you guys recommend. I'm thinking of a sway bar and strut bar.See the links below and tell me if you think they're worth the money:Strut Barhttp://neverenoughauto.com/ind...=1848Sway bars (Front and rear)http://neverenoughauto.com/ind...=1821Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 2:41 am

I forgot to mention I'm going to pick up a brass bushing kit for my short shift from TWM. Anyone have this?

Mavrik · Post by **Mavrik** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 2:50 am

I had a front TRD strut bar and a rear cusco (I think) sway bar. Combine those with low profile 17" rims and S-tech springs... very little body roll unless really on it in a corner during auto cross.For engine I'd recommend going with a cold air intake and unichip along with your exhaust and headers. They sound great combined and you get more power out of it.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 2:55 am

I've got a cold air intake and tein s-tech springs. I don't know about the uni-chip, a little expensive for right now.In the future if I decide to do a supercharger I will consider a chip more closely.

Mavrik · Post by **Mavrik** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:48 am

a chip just helps as far as engine management. Its one thing to throw a bunch of mods on a car, its another thing to tell it what to do with those mods. You've got a great start but you will get more out of those mods when the engine is tuned for it. You can e-bay a unichip or look on here for people selling them.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:28 am

I have the DC Sports header and strut bar, both very nice pieces. The strut bar is more for appearance than anything else. I didn't notice any difference in handling. The Magnaflow is a definate, goes nicely with the header. The header made a huge difference in power for long hills at highway speeds. I put on a Progress rear sway bar only. It's a 10 minute job. If you are installing the front sway bar yourself, it's not going to be easy. The brass shifter bushings are excellent, much more positive feel when shifting. They're a bit of a pain to install, mind you it was 20Â°F when I did it.

MAVibe · Post by **MAVibe** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:50 am

Sunny-did you notice much w/ rear sway bar??

harryyiii · Post by **harryyiii** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 7:16 am

I have the Progress rear bar, and215/50-17 falkens as my only suspension mods. The progress bar made a big difference, from heavy understeer to practically none. Easy, easy job, just make sure to torque the two bolts to 150ft-lbs.

MAVibe · Post by **MAVibe** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:21 am

Just ordered the rear Progress bar--- I figure it's worth the shot for 98 bucks and easy install....

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 10:23 am

The one thing I can recommend is the unichip.Makes a big difference.It wakes the little engine up.I guarantee once you get it,you won't regret it.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 10:35 am

Why is the front sway bar so difficult to install? Has anyone here installed one?EDIT: Ah, just saw the 'how to' on the front sway bar. Seems a couple long extensions is all I need. Anyone else have experience with this install?

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 11:05 am

Quote, originally posted by Mario Â»Why is the front sway bar so difficult to install? Has anyone here installed one?There's a lot of stuff in the way which has to be removed to get the old bar out and the new one in. Lay down under the front of the car and look at the stock sway bar, you'll see what I mean. Many members have the Hotchkis front and rear bar. I'm sure some of them did the iinstallation themselves.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 1:21 pm

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik Â»a chip just helps as far as engine management. Its one thing to throw a bunch of mods on a car, its another thing to tell it what to do with those mods. You've got a great start but you will get more out of those mods when the engine is tuned for it. You can e-bay a unichip or look on here for people selling them.what he said. and you can throw on all kinds of bolt ons but will never get the full amount of power without proper engine management. i am a firm believer in engine management. you're already throwing a lot of money on the car to not have it reach its full potential. I know that DJdoubleLP is selling his used unichip for a 2zz for $400. check the for sale threads here or on MO. and Mav had a Progress RSB.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 6:29 am

The summer mods begin...I just picked up my Magnaflow exhaust today. I can't wait to put it on. Hopefully I can get around to it this saturday, unless I'm working.Thanks again Kevera for the contact.

shane_c · Post by **shane_c** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 6:21 am

I'd like to get a header but likely won't do anything.

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 6:56 am

boosted2.0 over on newcelica is taking a break from porting headers i just got enough money to pay for the extra headers i had to get ported too :/ Mario - take pics and let us know about the magnaflow, thats on my list of things to get too shane_c - headers help a lot if you have exhaust aswell, of course the full potential is with ecu management. kinda pricey for those but camcon is a cheap one you can tune with your own laptop. unichip can have a preprogrammed map but its better to go to a cert. unichip tuner.

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:03 am

NorthVibe you don't have an exhaust yet.Free's up some horses and sounds great too.Goes well with the Throttle-Rotor.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 11:01 am

Just dropped off my vibe today at the tuner shop to have a 3" custom exhaust made for it. Can't wait to get it back and hear and feel the difference! I'm so glade I'm finally getting rid of the cobbled POS that was installed last year.Also, have the GM front bumper extensions on the way. Next week the hood goes in for paint. After that I have to get the bike working again so I can have SOME mode of transportation while the car's away for the dyno tune. Cams and larger injectors will depend on the Unichip tuner. If I can get the Unichip to control things. Nobody can give me a straight answer on that.

robdog · Post by **robdog** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:42 am

3 inch exhaust is too wide for a 4 cylinder. You will have zero back pressure. You'll probaly lose pwer. Just my .02

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:47 am

my thoughts exactly. 2.5 is is what will be needed with the numbers it should be puting out.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:58 am

I have confidence that Lancer knows what he's doing He has more mechanical work done to his Vibe than any one of us.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:21 am

let the modding begin.

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:42 am

3 inch should be fine since he is FI, if your NA you want to stay between 2-2.5 inches. Lancer post pics of the exhaust and sound clips!

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:50 pm

If ur boosted (nitrous included), the bigger the better. You need to get all that exhaust gas out! Also, don't forget that Evo's & STI's are 4 bangers, too! Got the vibe back 2 day. Looks sweet, but still way 2 loud! So far I got flexpipe off the header, cat, 13" x 5" muffler, and a big 8"x15" muffler. All Magnaflow w/ 3" mandril bent stainless. It's got a band-clamp in the middle (just after the cat) 4 the track. But it's leaking really bad! Going back tomorow and figure something out.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:01 pm

you know what, i have no clue what size my exhaust is! LOL

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:59 pm

it's gonna be hard to quiet down those big (removed) pipes!

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:30 pm

Yeah, it's a little challenging. But if it can be done to muscle cars and trucks, it can be done to mine. The speed shop called magnaflow today and they suggested a big oval (how the stock muffler looks). If it wasn't for the leaks it doesn't sound too bad. It's only REALLY loud at WOT. Fixed the leak at the band clamp. Now THEY have to fix the leak at the header flange. They lowered the car from the lift and used a jack under the engine to get the legs out from under the car. When he went to lower the jack, he went too fast and the whole engine rocked pretty bad and miss-alligned the header to down pipe flanges. They're quite buisy now with it getting warmer. They're gonna try to fit me in on Thursday to 'hopefully' get everything buttoned up.On a side note, I got to see the 300hp celica gt-s that they built. It's got the Hass kit in it. And I was joking around saying that if this muffler doesn't do the trick that I'll just have to get a turbo to quiet it down. The owner said, " great, I got a kit for your car right behind you on the shelf." He just 'happens' to have another Hass kit laying around. They also have a '03 EVO for sale ($20 large) in the back 'lot.'

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:59 pm

sell the SC and get your money's worth out of that tranny! do it now!

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:21 am

Could you find this out from the place you went to, Lancer?------------------------------------------------The following reply was posted by DavidPIL:Hi Petrucci,I know there has been many discussions about the 1 cat vs. 2 cats thing but when I had my exhaust done at a reputable place, I asked about the 2 cats. The place said that the first cat wasn't a cat, it was an expander. I'm still not convinced since it looks just like the 2nd cat but with the mounting flange thing.If you find out more on this, let me know. Apparently an expander is like a gutted resonator, it's supposed to help increase HP. I researched this but only found links to them on motor cycles. If this is not an expander but a true cat then I will also be having mine removed. I bought a high flow cat... There is no sense in having a high flow cat after a restrictve cat.Dave

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:50 pm

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx Â»sell the SC and get your money's worth out of that tranny! do it now!If I had $4 grand lying around I would! The s/c is only worth maybe half that. I stopped in yesterday to drop my car off again. They had already put the turbo into another celica gt-s.Petrucci,The first cat IS a cat. Not just a hollowed out expansion chamber. It's to help with emissions during a cold start. That's why it's closer to the engine than the other main cat (so it heats up and starts working faster). If it was just a hollow shell, then mine wouldn't have melted and emptied into the second cat. I had the first cat cleaned out and the second was ruined so it was removed and replaced with a straight through muffler. NOW I have a highflow cat installed almost a foot down from the original spot. The 2nd O2 sensor was also extended. Then there's a 18" resonator, band clamp for racing at the track (just remove the rest of the exhaust ), then a big oval muffler and my old Borla exhaust tip. The tip is just a tad bigger then the pipes! The whole thing is huge! They "didn'thave time to finish it today," again. So tomarow I should get it back and it better sound perfect!Speaking of hollow shells. Found out that the first muffler they tried was just a hollow shell. No baffling or packing at all! No wonder it was so loud! I got a pic of the first set up with the round staight through muffler. But my camera and 'puter aren't on good speaking terms.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:38 pm

You have a CEL now from extending that O2 sensor? Will I be fine with replacing just the first cat and not putting in a second one?

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:51 pm

No. Since the cat was moved down from the stock position, the O2 sensor also had to be moved down the exhaust. Sorry for confusing you. It's not farther away from the pipe, just farther from the engine.I did have it extended out from the pipe before this to help control the cel's. Check the pic.You should be fine with just one cat. What brand cat are you getting? Don't get cheap one if your concerned about emissions. Do you get emissions tested in GB? We don't here in Appleton but I plan on moving back to Plymouth where we do get tested every 2 years. Mainly, I got the cat installed to help control the loudness.

Attached files

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:08 pm

We don't get tested. I plan on a Magnaflow one. I'll send you the one I was looking for to see what you think. Thanks.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 4:02 am

Got the car back yesterday. Still a little loud but almost livable. Found out too, that the engine is burning oil really bad. First thought is bad piston rings. So next week or so (after I get the bike running) it's going back for a leakdown test and repair. So much for paint AGAIN this year! Gonna first try a oil catch can in the engine bay. See if that helps any. Been wanting one for a long time. Just never got around to it.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:43 am

Are you shooting out a lot of smoke out the back or no? My old Toyota Paseo would shoot smoke out and eat oil..........had bad valve stem seals. They dried and go stuck to the valve stems.........$400 repair or so. Do I see an excuse to do some forged pistons now? I hear you about the paint job, though. The paintjob on mine blows manshaft.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:39 pm

This was the Cat I was looking at. Was going to replace the first one and that's it.........run straight to the cat-back. Think it'll work fine?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...91511

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:31 pm

Looks big, I had a 2.5" metallic core 'race' cat. It was pretty short, but really quieted the exhaust down. I could get it back from the speed shop if you want it for free. I took my old Borla muffler with me, too.Yeah, a lot of smoke! I thought it looked black, the tuner guy says it's blue. I am running pig rich and I'm loosing oil. About 1/2 qt every other week. I had a drippy leak that I thought was the culpret. I finally fixed it last night and I changed the oil and oil filter that's been in there since fall. Also checked the spark plugs, they have a whitish gray powdery build up that looks typical of burning oil. The leak down test will tell where the oil is coming from.I really do want to get higher compression pistons (LOTS more power with the right tune) but then I'd have to totally redo my engine managment. I don't think they make a stroker kit for the 1zz (only with sleeves). So that leaves me with just forged pistons for $560. Also today, I washed, clay bared, and waxed the car. Then installed the cf hood and gave it a coat of wax. Went for a short cruz and kept hearing the exhaust hitting something when I went over bumps. The guy didn't listen to me when I told him to hang it lower and have the tip stick out 1 inch farther. Definatly needs either a bigger muffler in the rear, another resonator just before the axel, or just a longer resonator after the cat, or all three. Either way it has to go back.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:05 pm

Check out monkeywrenchracing? I think he sells full upgrade kits for the 1zzfe.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:59 pm

I did. So far they have the best deal on wiesco pistons. I have to see how much the labor will be. Might throw in some valve springs and a new timing belt too. Might as well as long as it's opened up, right. That celica (w/ Hass kit) also has a monkeywrench race engine (++300hp / NO nitrous). It has some traction problems. The owner wants to get drag slicks for the track. On stock drive shafts. Drunken, I'm begining to believe what you said! "it's gonna be hard to quiet down those big (removed) pipes!" I'm in it now though. Just gotta find the right combo.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:33 am

Our motors have timing chains which should never need replacing.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:18 am

You may have luck, Lancer, putting in some of that Lucas Oil Stabilizer stuff. It's supposed to rejuvenate seals. I heard good things about it. I thought about running some of it every couple of years as a preventative tool.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 2:16 pm

I'll have to check on the timing belt/chain. See whats in the 1zz. Even though, if it's a chain, it can still get streched. Had one on my Geo storm GSi and it actually broke. Someone here that got cams found out thier timming chaing thingy was stretched and had to replace it. I've seen that engine rejuvination oil too. But I think that would be like putting a band aid on a broken bone. Might help for a little while but the problem is still there.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Fri May 04, 2007 10:43 am

Okay... thread hi-jackers get lost. Fin.Installed my exhaust last weekend and now I want to order hearders. Can anyone help me our with finding the cheapest price on DC headers? So far neverenough.com seems to be the best.Thanks in advance for your assistance!

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Fri May 04, 2007 10:58 am

Brad at neverenough has about the best price on those.Ebay may be an option,but neverenough is great for shipping so we don't have to pay duty.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Fri May 04, 2007 11:22 am

I was thinking of getting front and rear sway bars from neverenough, too. Perhaps I can get the guy to give me a deal.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Fri May 04, 2007 12:07 pm

well, his pricing is already a good deal, but he will work with you on the shipping.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Thu May 17, 2007 2:54 am

Lancer, have you looked at the Magnaflow Spun Hi-Flow Cats? They aren't as bulky as the standard ones and are about 9" long. Think that'll work? I can get one on ebay for $115 ODBII Compatibile.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Fri May 18, 2007 10:32 am

There's been lots of talk about Magnaflow's cats. That they don't last long cause they don't have much rare earth metals. But since your in a area that doesn't do any emmissions testing, you don't need that. I have a magnaflow racing cat. It's like only 5" long. Just enough to keep the cel off.

Petrucci914 · Post by **Petrucci914** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:29 pm

I am moving to Madison soon.........I'm willing to bet they have emissions tests......damn. What good high-flow cats would pass emissions?

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:53 pm

I would look at metalic core cats instead of ceramic. Supposed to last longer and work better.