The day I picked it up over 5 years ago. I bought the car used with less than 20k miles. It came with Cobb intercooler pipes, Perrin FMIC, AMS HFC and a HKS Legamax exhaust. I cant tell you how happy I was that day.
The first thing I did was get rid of the stock aero kit. I didnt like how it looked and preferred the base look more. I also traded the HKS exhaust for a custom dual 3" because I wanted the car to be moar loud.
Here it is on my first autoX with the car. It was fun, but I wanted MORE.
Back then I thought stiffer car = better handling, so I got some awesome (not really) BC BR coilovers. Dropped it low.
Here is what my engine looked like at that time
I added a Harmon motive intake and MAP O2 dump downpipe. That got annoying pretty fast especially being on the stock turbo and the wastegate opening at 11ish psi. I switched that out for a MAP recirculated downpipe and it stayed like that for a couple months. Then I got a smokin deal on a used FP green and some DW1000 injectors. That was a fun setup even though one of the injectors ended up clogging on me and the car sounded like a subaru. I picked up a set of new FIC1100's and a AEM FPR setup. The new sound from the anti-surge porting was glorious.
It was around this time that I started to dive more into the weight loss extravaganza. It started with removing the A/C, replacing the stock front crossmember with the AMS lightweight front crossmember, some Bride seats with buddy club low seat rails (which position you sooo much better than the stock seats). To go along with the seats, I got a Momo steering wheel with a Works Bell hub. One of my favorite mods because it looks awesome and feels better when driving IMO. Once I felt the difference from losing some pounds, the addiction started, lol. Airbags were next (I didnt care since the airbag light was already on from the removal of the passenger seat). By themselves the airbags dont weigh much, but as you add them all up they are a decent amount of weight lost.
Then went the front and rear crash beams, which we all know are pretty heavy. I cut out the door crash bars which are made out of a thicker walled steel tube. I originally made some long brackets that hung from the top radiator support bar to hold the FMIC, but I ended up just getting rid of them as some quality silicone couplers and t-bolt clamps can easily hold up the FMIC. But so the FMIC doesnt move around, I made a very small and simple bracket out of aluminum that basically secures the FMIC to the driver side lower radiator stay. Then I added an aluminum driveshaft from Bills Englewood Driveshaft
I got rid of the horrible riding BC coilovers and upgraded to the Fortune Auto 500's. At first I used the fortune auto springs that came with them, but I replaced them with Swift springs which made a noticeable improvement in the ride. I gutted my stock hood and trunk, and removed all of the sound deadening with dry ice. In hindsight i wish I would have taken my time more instead of just hammering away at the sound deadening and denting the floor panels. Gutting the stock hood and trunk took FOREVER because all I had at the time was a dremel and the small metal cutting discs which only cut a foot before each disc would wear out.
At this point, I traded my rockford radio system and sub for just the base model system along with some cash for new wheels. The tires sucked (Dunlop DZ-101) but I was extremely happy to finally have the wheels flush with the body.
I added a Kozmic surge tank and APR GTC-300 to prepare for my future track days, which actually didnt happen for a couple years because I had 2 babies in a row.
Running that setup, I got bored in a few months and wanted more top end power. My friend was selling his FP red so I picked that up and installed it in couple hours. Around that time MAPerformance came out with their 2000cc injectors, and I wanted a challenge with tuning, so I picked up a set of those and dialed them in as best as I could on E85. Trying to push more power, I said screw it and went for broke with the red and set the boost at almost 40 psi. But at my altitude it would taper off to less than 30 psi.
FP red setup
Car weight with FP red setup
Well I loved the torque that the FP red gave, but it would taper off pretty good up top and I was willing to sacrifice some torque in exchange for more top end, so I called up MAP and ordered their EF4 on black friday. Up until then I was running a MAP short runner exhaust manifold, and knowing that I was going to be tracking my car, I sold the short runner because I know it would eventually crack. I picked up a full race pro-stock manifold which was one of my best purchases at the time. That manifold is WELL worth the cost.
I got my car together around February and the EF4 was extremely fun, but my clutch was giving up. So I picked up a used ACT 6-puck with streetlite flywheel. Some people dont like lighter flywheels for DD'ing, but I loved it. The faster engine response was awesome. While the car was all apart I removed the stock HVAC unit and I was going to rig up some type of heater using the stock heater core, but I ended up just installing a flex-a-lite mojave heater. I also removed some of the unused plugs and wires at this time. I also learned to make sure that the plugs really arent used, lol. Some plugs have a small connector that connects all the pins together so that the systems can communicate. After waiting on the pre-order list for several months, my APR CF mirrors finally arrived and I threw them on. I love how it changed the look of the car.
Not really liking the APR GTC-300 look, I decided to sell it and pick up a Aeromotions R2 Static wing with 17" uprights so that the wing is above the roof line. I also sold my Fortune auto 500's and finally got a set of JRZ RS1 coilovers. The difference in the ride and handling was awesome
Then I sold my 10.5" black RPF1's for a set of gunmetal (RARE!! lol) RPF1's that were only 9.5" and a little lighter but will still fit some pretty wide tires.
Getting tired of rubber hoses cracking and degrading, I replaced all the non fuel hoses in the engine bay with silicone equivalent for better pressure and cracking resistance. I also use hair spray and zip ties to keep the hoses very secure.
The first thing I did was get rid of the stock aero kit. I didnt like how it looked and preferred the base look more. I also traded the HKS exhaust for a custom dual 3" because I wanted the car to be moar loud.
Here it is on my first autoX with the car. It was fun, but I wanted MORE.
Back then I thought stiffer car = better handling, so I got some awesome (not really) BC BR coilovers. Dropped it low.
Here is what my engine looked like at that time
I added a Harmon motive intake and MAP O2 dump downpipe. That got annoying pretty fast especially being on the stock turbo and the wastegate opening at 11ish psi. I switched that out for a MAP recirculated downpipe and it stayed like that for a couple months. Then I got a smokin deal on a used FP green and some DW1000 injectors. That was a fun setup even though one of the injectors ended up clogging on me and the car sounded like a subaru. I picked up a set of new FIC1100's and a AEM FPR setup. The new sound from the anti-surge porting was glorious.
It was around this time that I started to dive more into the weight loss extravaganza. It started with removing the A/C, replacing the stock front crossmember with the AMS lightweight front crossmember, some Bride seats with buddy club low seat rails (which position you sooo much better than the stock seats). To go along with the seats, I got a Momo steering wheel with a Works Bell hub. One of my favorite mods because it looks awesome and feels better when driving IMO. Once I felt the difference from losing some pounds, the addiction started, lol. Airbags were next (I didnt care since the airbag light was already on from the removal of the passenger seat). By themselves the airbags dont weigh much, but as you add them all up they are a decent amount of weight lost.
Then went the front and rear crash beams, which we all know are pretty heavy. I cut out the door crash bars which are made out of a thicker walled steel tube. I originally made some long brackets that hung from the top radiator support bar to hold the FMIC, but I ended up just getting rid of them as some quality silicone couplers and t-bolt clamps can easily hold up the FMIC. But so the FMIC doesnt move around, I made a very small and simple bracket out of aluminum that basically secures the FMIC to the driver side lower radiator stay. Then I added an aluminum driveshaft from Bills Englewood Driveshaft
I got rid of the horrible riding BC coilovers and upgraded to the Fortune Auto 500's. At first I used the fortune auto springs that came with them, but I replaced them with Swift springs which made a noticeable improvement in the ride. I gutted my stock hood and trunk, and removed all of the sound deadening with dry ice. In hindsight i wish I would have taken my time more instead of just hammering away at the sound deadening and denting the floor panels. Gutting the stock hood and trunk took FOREVER because all I had at the time was a dremel and the small metal cutting discs which only cut a foot before each disc would wear out.
At this point, I traded my rockford radio system and sub for just the base model system along with some cash for new wheels. The tires sucked (Dunlop DZ-101) but I was extremely happy to finally have the wheels flush with the body.
I added a Kozmic surge tank and APR GTC-300 to prepare for my future track days, which actually didnt happen for a couple years because I had 2 babies in a row.
Running that setup, I got bored in a few months and wanted more top end power. My friend was selling his FP red so I picked that up and installed it in couple hours. Around that time MAPerformance came out with their 2000cc injectors, and I wanted a challenge with tuning, so I picked up a set of those and dialed them in as best as I could on E85. Trying to push more power, I said screw it and went for broke with the red and set the boost at almost 40 psi. But at my altitude it would taper off to less than 30 psi.
FP red setup
Car weight with FP red setup
Well I loved the torque that the FP red gave, but it would taper off pretty good up top and I was willing to sacrifice some torque in exchange for more top end, so I called up MAP and ordered their EF4 on black friday. Up until then I was running a MAP short runner exhaust manifold, and knowing that I was going to be tracking my car, I sold the short runner because I know it would eventually crack. I picked up a full race pro-stock manifold which was one of my best purchases at the time. That manifold is WELL worth the cost.
I got my car together around February and the EF4 was extremely fun, but my clutch was giving up. So I picked up a used ACT 6-puck with streetlite flywheel. Some people dont like lighter flywheels for DD'ing, but I loved it. The faster engine response was awesome. While the car was all apart I removed the stock HVAC unit and I was going to rig up some type of heater using the stock heater core, but I ended up just installing a flex-a-lite mojave heater. I also removed some of the unused plugs and wires at this time. I also learned to make sure that the plugs really arent used, lol. Some plugs have a small connector that connects all the pins together so that the systems can communicate. After waiting on the pre-order list for several months, my APR CF mirrors finally arrived and I threw them on. I love how it changed the look of the car.
Not really liking the APR GTC-300 look, I decided to sell it and pick up a Aeromotions R2 Static wing with 17" uprights so that the wing is above the roof line. I also sold my Fortune auto 500's and finally got a set of JRZ RS1 coilovers. The difference in the ride and handling was awesome
Then I sold my 10.5" black RPF1's for a set of gunmetal (RARE!! lol) RPF1's that were only 9.5" and a little lighter but will still fit some pretty wide tires.
Getting tired of rubber hoses cracking and degrading, I replaced all the non fuel hoses in the engine bay with silicone equivalent for better pressure and cracking resistance. I also use hair spray and zip ties to keep the hoses very secure.