I use the term "power" loosely, just so you know. I'm not looking for 20 HP gains or anything, just something that will provide RESPONE when I step on the gas. I'd prefer something that would kick in on the low end, but high end is lacking also, so either good response from a dead stop or response in 3-4th gear.

What was the first mod to your engine and how was the power increase? I know some people have a couple things done to their engine and it's hard to pinpoint what did what.

I haven't seen any 1.8L threads in a while, so I decided it's time to start one up again.

RaceCarRiot has alot of modifications to his 1.8... He probably knows best :)

I would say just a cone air filter, pulleys, and maybe the MRT full exhaust (2.0 or 2.25) would give you the most gains... Although a proecm chip RCR says did alot for his power range.

Yeah where's RaceCarRiot?

I'm kinda looking for results on individual parts, not a combination of parts. It might be hard for RCR to distinguish what did what on his car because there are so many factors affecting peformance.
I was planning on getting the cone filter intake mod from imprezars.com and some lightweight pullies and do independent testing on them. Intake alone, pullies alone, then both. I'm just wondering what other people are running.

If you want to improve response...I'd suggest a lighter flywheel.

NC

Lighter flywheel - sounds good in theory, but I'm looking for the most economical way to make power.

$550 for a flywheel + installation -OR- $250 for pullies, $250 for ProECM chip and $80 for intake modification.

I couldn't spend about $600 at once for one item; I'm not a WRX owner. My car wasn't $24K, it was $4k.

You removed your silencer already, right?

i have a 1.8 wagon with a k&n cone filter,magnaflow exhaust, and an unorthodox underdrive pully, so far the pully seemed to make the biggest difference,lightening up any rotateing mass(pully's, flywheel,etc) well help the car rev a little faster.the car is at the body shop now but when i get it back, im gonna try the grounding mod trick, order a proecm and fabricate my own intake pipeing.i plan on swaping my motor for something bigger when it breaks so everything i do im making sure it will transfer to another motor.

Originally posted by awdwagon
im gonna try the grounding mod trick
If you have any success with that, PM me or make a thread about it :D

--My hand gave me the most bang for my buck

Maximus

hah! my car is now infamous in the ranks of the i-club. :D :lol:

my power mod path was kinda backwards, because of scarce availability of parts back in the day (the fine folks at JCS, cough cough), but i would have to say the intake made the biggest difference.

your mileage may vary however, siince this was on a car that already had pulleys/exhaust installed before i chucked my snorkus-ectomied stock intake in the garbage. when i finally got my hands on a real intake (used JCS), i wasn't expecting much, but the difference between the 2 was like night and day.

the proecm made a noticeable difference as well, but it's more in the way the car drives (power delivery). with all of those mods, my car isn't fast through the 1/4 (on par with a stock 2.5), but it has a nice fat spread of midrange torque from 20-70mph, which is perfect for a street driven/auto-x car...it flies in that range.

yes more speed would be better, but when a challenge arises, i've never felt like i brought a spork to a gunfight. case in point: last week some guy in a cobra thought i was trying to race him pulling away from a light and shifting into 2nd at 3K... :rolleyes: he comes roaring up alongside me, and i stayed right with him up until the top of 3rd gear. then the road had a bend in it... :devil: :lol:

after 3rd gear it runs out of steam, but in the course of my day, i rarely get a chance to go much past 55-60mph, so it works for me...plus there's the ever important sleeper factor. :D

-adam-

Originally posted by RaceCarRiot
hah! my car is now infamous in the ranks of the i-club. :D :lol:

-adam-

We we think of FWD power, we think of RaceCarRiot.

Yes, driveability is what I'm looking for. Something that can get me up to regular driving speed (50-60 mph) without much of a hitch. I feel like I'm flogging my engine to keep up with the flow of traffic.

Kost - yeah I ripped my silencer out a while ago.

Ok, so I think what I'll do is get the cone filter attachment from imprezars.com and some pullies to go along with it. Maybe a muffler shop can custom fab me some aluminum piping to replace the plastic tubing. Hopefully then I can hang with Corollas and Escorts.

what would benefit our cars the most once all the other breathing mods are made, would be a set of more aggressive cams...the stock set has about the same profile as a bic pen. :rolleyes:

what's the grounding mod, and what does it do? sorry, i haven't been on the board much as of late...being super busy with work, and trying to divide the rest of my time between the girl and having some kind of social life, the car keeps finding itself at the bottom of the stack. *sigh* one day i'll get around to the EJ20 swap i was supposed to have done by now. right now i'm just working on getting my clunking rear suspension fixed, and making the car bulletproof so i just have to worry about changing oil and washing it occasionally.

RaceCarRiot,

Have you noticed any lean running air/fuel ratios with the JC Sports intake? How about the rest of you? Thanks!

nope, no lean issues...if anything, it could run a bit leaner, judging from my tailpipe.