I recently in may had purchased an lancer 08 2.0L engine and i've been deeply intriqued by the thought of possibly modding it and increasing its HP, and unfortunately really dont have much knowledge of cars, yet. I've been reading up a little and know basic maintence techniques such as changing oil, replacing rotars, brakes etc, but I want to learn more before I start really toying with my vehicle and possibly blow it up (no fun in voiding warranties!) I was hoping if I could get some advice and given directions on a good way to start modifying like changing the exhaust system (basic stuff to start), and maybe places to read up on modding. Any advice is greatly appreciated and im trying to soak in everything I can, because lets face it, im not interested in a ricer, im interested in a racer. I've seen the ideas of cold air intake, exhaust, struts, turbo-chargers, but i guess what im getting at whats a good way for a rookie to start learning and getting a hobby like this off the ground.

Thanks

-Bill

Search + Read! Thats exactly how I learned. Sign up for car forums and search for what it is your looking for and just start reading. I'd like to post some good forums for this, but I don't think that's allowed lol

There's really no ONE site(that I know of) to learn everything about modding. Just register in forums, read posts, ask questions you may have about the post and in time your knowledge will grow.

Also it has to do a lot about the car your modding. Different cars respond differently to mods. What may be a great set up for one car may be a waste of money for another car.

Since you own a Lancer, I would suggest finding a lancer forum and see what other members are doing and start there.

Ok, lol I thought im under a lancer ES fourm which was a sub below the evo but ok.. I kind of have an idea where i'd like to start besides a bar, a cold air intake, exhaust, and possibly a turbo charger...

Nova - the first thing you need to do is to set your goals. What do you want out of the car in terms of each area of performance? Be realistic.

From there, you can begin to make decisions on how to reach those goals.

Well currently it is set at 152hp.. and a realistic beginner goal I think would be to have it reach 200 hp... unless that is unrealistic you can set me straight heh. Also probably decent handling is just as important.

Nova. Posting in the lancer section of this site is perfectly fine. You should get responses soon enough.

Is it just a power upgrade what you are after or are you wanting the car for some drag/tracking now and then? ( this will determine also what sort of mods you want)

Note any mods you do may void your warrentee anyway come claim time.

Also please clarify, have you got the lancer.. or just the engine?

Well currently it is set at 152hp.. and a realistic beginner goal I think would be to have it reach 200 hp... unless that is unrealistic you can set me straight heh. Also probably decent handling is just as important.
Not sure if you know this but there is a big difference between 200 hp and 200whp. When mitsu rates it 152hp, they are rating from the crank. WHP(Wheel horse power) is how much power the car is actually putting to the ground. Also theres FWHP, RWHP, and AWHP(F = Front, R = Rear, A = All). This is measured using a Dyno. The WHP of a car is always lower than the crank HP. For instance the evo x is rated at 291hp. If you put it on a Dyno stock it makes about 235AWHP I beleive.

So I would set your sites on a whp goal. This is just a shot in the dark but I'd guess a stock Lancer would make about 120fwhp. So maybe your trying to achive about 170fwhp. So your going to need more than just breather mods, as in anything that has to do with air flow. For example exhaust, intake, cats, ect.

So you might be looking into forced induction such as superchargers and turbochargers. They don't make supercharges for the Lancer so you'd have to get a turbocharger which will cost you probably around $4k+. Thats before install and all other required parts that come with turbocharging a NA(Natually Aspirated) car. After the turbo you might be around 190fwhp(I'm just throwing estimated numbers out, I don't know exactly how acurate these numbers really are.) Thats a bout a 50% increase in power.

So if your going to be spending that much money when it comes the Lancer, you might as well upgrade to the Ralliart. I know you didn't ask for all of this info, and I'm not sure if you know any of this, but I'm just posting it to help you start getting an idea and inform you.

[Other members: If I am wrong about any of this info please correct me.]

Wow lol, that kinda sent my head spinning a little, and I was just referring to plain old horsepower 152... otherwise Im not looking to drag race it, but certainly give it a little more buck and not a complete push over, at the moment my finaical positon isnt too hot, although over the summer it would improve to over 3k-4k available at my fingertips, turbochargers or turbos would be way down the line if i got to that point, but im looking at basic upgrades and learning in the process; it seems it would have been easier for a higher class than a lancer ES, but Im going to try to make due with what I got.
Now on a side note, if you were a beginner what would you recommend kicking off with first, which would result in a little whp? I 125 whp to 170-190 seems pretty daunting to my wallet and to me at the moment, I'd prefer to take things one step at a time.

Nova. Posting in the lancer section of this site is perfectly fine. You should get responses soon enough.

Is it just a power upgrade what you are after or are you wanting the car for some drag/tracking now and then? ( this will determine also what sort of mods you want)

Note any mods you do may void your warrentee anyway come claim time.

Also please clarify, have you got the lancer.. or just the engine?

Bingo im after a power upgrade, you hit it on the head, thats essentially what im after, because I realize im not going to be winning any races with a lancer ES, but I would like to have a little more power at my fingertips, and its a Lancer ES 08 2.0L 4 cyl total factory aka virgin atm lol

If your just looking to get your feet wet and have a little fun try just starting with the typical breather mods. Like a CAI(Cold air intake) or SRI(Short ram intake), cat back exhaust, headers, ect.

Maybe a crank pulley too. Be careful with replacing the crank pulley with light weight one though, they'll typically rob you of your A/C from what I've herd.

You can also get a piggy back ECU. Thats like a tune you just plug and play pretty much. You'll gain the most power from that after you put a few mods on.

I would recommend you shop around for an exhaust kit, CAI/SRI, maybe even some headers and/or test pipe, and then finish it off with the piggy back ECU and I think you'll be happy. You'll get moderate power gains and some (hopefully) cool new sounds for not to much money.

From here I suggest you start looking at the parts available for the lancer and just google it if you don't know what it is and I think you'll be alright. If you have any specific question feel free to ask me and I'll see if I can be of any help.

ok just for a little power upgrade on the cheap, certainly look at your intake.. you may want to put a replacement panel filter in there like a K&N.

Is your car a 5spd Manual or a CVT?

Is your car a MIVEC? there may be some gains to be had by a tuner.

(My tuner has been also tuning the Triton utes and has been getting great gains from these N/A engines)

Exhaust upgrades are a little bit of a fine art with N/A engines, in many cases its more for show than go and N/A engines need a little bit of backpressure. There will be some good aftermarket options out there for your NA engine.

If I were you, I would think of intake and a check of your tune ( perhaps when you do your first dyno run, get the tuner to see how rich you are running.. ). I say dyno run because its good to know what you started with and what you spent your money on HP vs cost etc.

whoops. RGory beat me to it. ^

If your just looking to get your feet wet and have a little fun try just starting with the typical breather mods. Like a CAI(Cold air intake) or SRI(Short ram intake), cat back exhaust, headers, ect.

Maybe a crank pulley too. Be careful with replacing the crank pulley with light weight one though, they'll typically rob you of your A/C from what I've herd.

You can also get a piggy back ECU. Thats like a tune you just plug and play pretty much. You'll gain the most power from that after you put a few mods on.

I would recommend you shop around for an exhaust kit, CAI/SRI, maybe even some headers and/or test pipe, and then finish it off with the piggy back ECU and I think you'll be happy. You'll get moderate power gains and some (hopefully) cool new sounds for not to much money.

From here I suggest you start looking at the parts available for the lancer and just google it if you don't know what it is and I think you'll be alright. If you have any specific question feel free to ask me and I'll see if I can be of any help.

ok i'll look into the cold air intake and look into what a short ram intake is, but your going to probably say :omg: but what does a header do and what good does it serve replacing it, as i stated im just knowledgable about general maintence, but im going to look around online.. so pretty much what im looking at to start with is not a bad idea im gather.

ok just for a little power upgrade on the cheap, certainly look at your intake.. you may want to put a replacement panel filter in there like a K&N.

Is your car a 5spd Manual or a CVT?

Is your car a MIVEC? there may be some gains to be had by a tuner.

(My tuner has been also tuning the Triton utes and has been getting great gains from these N/A engines)

Exhaust upgrades are a little bit of a fine art with N/A engines, in many cases its more for show than go and N/A engines need a little bit of backpressure. There will be some good aftermarket options out there for your NA engine.

If I were you, I would think of intake and a check of your tune ( perhaps when you do your first dyno run, get the tuner to see how rich you are running.. ). I say dyno run because its good to know what you started with and what you spent your money on HP vs cost etc.

to answer you btw, it IS a mivec, as well as a 5 speed, give suggestions more the better.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question172.htm

Google is your friend, it will answer the "What is" questions very well for you:)

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question172.htm

Google is your friend, it will answer the "What is" questions very well for you:)

haha, alright alright i'll have to get cracking on that, thank you a lot guys, you'll probably see me post here and there with additional questions while researching

ask away mate. keep us updated. post pics etc etc.

No problem, glad we could help.

Ok after researching short ram intake and looking at a cold air intake what is the exact difference in HP, I understand that the short ram obviously leaves more room for premformance mods and whatnot and since shorter i'll assume a little less air allowed in there, i'll look into it, but what are the first hand pro's and cons of going vs a short ram vs cold air besides price and length.

because i've got the jist of it..
Cold Air Intakes have the piping go all the way to your bumber or lower parts of your car to extract the cold air so it will cool your engine far better than Short Ram Intakes.
But for Trucks and SUV's normally Short Ram Intakes are larger in pipe size because the tourqe needed isn't more about colder air but more air at once.
Short Ram Intakes are far less expensive than the cold air intake. but since I have a lancer, wouldnt it just be smarter to go with a CAI

OH while we're at it, what are good brand names for preformance mods I dont want to be buying POS preformance pieces like how is magnafold, greddy, and injen?

because i've got the jist of it..
Cold Air Intakes have the piping go all the way to your bumber or lower parts of your car to extract the cold air so it will cool your engine far better than Short Ram Intakes.
But for Trucks and SUV's normally Short Ram Intakes are larger in pipe size because the tourqe needed isn't more about colder air but more air at once.
Short Ram Intakes are far less expensive than the cold air intake. but since I have a lancer, wouldnt it just be smarter to go with a CAI

You got it...thats pretty much the only difference. I wouldn't expect much difference if any, but it does depend on what brand you go with. Just to warn you I've been told that with the CAI if your going to be driving in the rain and through puddles you could possible get water in it. Which is bad.

As far as brands, I really haven't looked to much in to Lancer intakes..I believe AEM makes one. Maybe JWT makes a SRI? Idk, I know they make the pop charger for the 350z but again I don't know much about whats available for the lancer. You should be safe with AEM though.

You got it...thats pretty much the only difference. I wouldn't expect much difference if any, but it does depend on what brand you go with. Just to warn you I've been told that with the CAI if your going to be driving in the rain and through puddles you could possible get water in it. Which is bad.

On your car SRI to CAI will be a minimal difference and if it rains a lot or gets wet a lot be careful with a CAI. Like this guy said, water + intake = bad.

SRI might be a better choice just for the sense of simplicity... some kits can be CAI or SRI, just a matter of removing 1 pipe. I had this on my old 3g eclipse... got a CAI saw too many people flooding engines with it and switched to SRI to play it safe.

Good luck and welcome to the world of tuning and performance mods!

hmmm interesting, so overall its really just smarter and safer to go with the SRI due to weather, but how is its maintence, because someone once told me with CAI or the SRI whichever it was that you have to clean the filter weekly, it that true or whats the case with that. I did hear that rumor though about CAI and needing to take care of that often, so really just to be lazy and safe SRI is the overall better choice,interesting.. i'll have to approach the SRI it looks like and take that route; and also go the path of changing the header too, seem rather basic and good for a noob to start off on.

You can also get a piggy back ECU. Thats like a tune you just plug and play pretty much. You'll gain the most power from that after you put a few mods on. .

Sorry was reviewing whats been said whats an ECU?

Sorry was reviewing whats been said whats an ECU?

I just looked it up.. so it plugs into your car and updates the preformance of the vehicle like... how it preforms exactly, isnt that kind of risky to preform? Im learning so bare with me lol, like what do you do if it fails to update or whatever?
in addition AEM only offers CAI

http://www.aempower.com/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=1395

not even out yet, but where would the water get to it or enter, doesnt seem like there are any components that would drop down and allow water to enter..

Well, as for the AEM they use special Dry-flow filters that means they don't need to be oiled and don't need to be excessively cleaned so they are always good choices. That being said it seems their CAI isn't quite out yet... so it may be able to be converted to an SRI or maybe it sits in a position where it will be safe.

So I say wait and see what it's situation is when it is released and check the other options on the market.

If you get an ECU tune from any tuner worth his salt you will have no problems... in fact, in many cases a car will run smoother and make better gas mileage after a tune.

I just looked it up.. so it plugs into your car and updates the preformance of the vehicle like... how it preforms exactly, isnt that kind of risky to preform? Im learning so bare with me lol, like what do you do if it fails to update or whatever?
in addition AEM only offers CAI

http://www.aempower.com/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=1395

not even out yet, but where would the water get to it or enter, doesnt seem like there are any components that would drop down and allow water to enter..
I personally wouldn't consider that risky. Your not going to find someone that will make a piggy back ECU that's going to push your car beyond its limits. Its mainly for cars that a few mods already, because after you put the mods on the ECU is still tuned to factory settings and isn't taking full advantage of what you put on. So after the tune the ECU will be able free up some more power from the mods you already installed.

The water get in through the filter.

need your opnion on this SRI, from what im reading and from you guys im just feeling more comfortable with it and I discovered this from Road Race


http://www.roadracemotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6_10&products_id=72 - SRI

and a header...

http://www.roadracemotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=224

do these seem right choices? and secondly with the header there are terms in there I dont quite understand.. I have a 5 speed mivec engine....also how do you preform maintence on the SRI
2008+ NON PZEV Lancers means.... what? Im lost on the pzev thing..

oh and also i guess what are decent pricing on things as well.. I mean I know some stuff is custom, but when is an asking price a bit too much? besides looking at Ebay, and Road Race, what are other decent sites as well

That SRI and headers are made by road race..which is kinda off brand, but I they could still be good. As far as pricing...parts are different prices for every car and I don't know much about after market lancer stuff. I know good headers on a Z are like 1k, so those $400 ones sound like a good deal to me. Check out auto city imports.

Headers for a Z are two parts though.. I know 4cyl 3G eclipse headers were around $400... so the price makes sense to me ^^

Try and find other people who have bought them to see what they think.

1 of the members on here has a loaded Lancer i wish i could remember his name but he had alot into his car if you find him ask him im sure he knows alot of brands and stuff that could help you ill try and find him on here

LancerGTS is 1 of them i thought there was another.....

hmm i see..

woah!...i dont think iv ever seen anybody this green on a forum!! Be careful though modding is a serious addiction lol

woah!...i dont think iv ever seen anybody this green on a forum!! Be careful though modding is a serious addiction lol

Six months later????

a logical goal would be 833hp lol jk just bored :neener:

Sadly you're better off just getting an evo. You'll always regret modding a lower-class vehicle.

ya man i feel the same way, but im more into just looks and just show...