hey guys im broke n cant afford a turbo kit for my automatic 2005 tc(like most ppl) so hmmm wat to do to make it faster? so far i got a trd cai and weapon r header.(still feels slow) lookin to get agency power crank pully and herd about a engine torque damper that helps improve acceleration. after market exhausts dont do crap but make noise so ill pass on them. anythin else i can do???

Crank pulley and poly mounts. Cheap.

Lightweight pullies are a bad idea and will net you no measurable performance gain. The long term negative effects have been discussed billion times on here and there are links to reputable sources like ATI, Dinan, etc in some of those threads, so I wont start that argument here. And no one has yet been able to show REAL improvements on track times with one.. aka multiple example runs before and after with consistnt results. A lightweight flywheel is a much more engine friendly mod and will have about 10 times the effect on rev matching, etc as a crank pulley.

CAI does just about nothing.. mainly because our stock intake is pretty well engineered to begin with. Header... small gain, but very little. Tq damper only helps with getting off the line a bit, and allows a little less give when you get back into it after shifting... but, they are basically a poor bandaid for something that is only a problem when really racing. Stock motor mounts are soft to reduce cabin vibration. A tq damper attaches the engine to the firewall basically and transmits it all to the rest of the vehicle. A better choice is stiff motor mounts that reduce engine movement while transmitting more of that energy to portions of he chasis that are further from the engine compartment.

But in any case, there is no cheap and easy way to make this car faster. Spend your money on suspension where you can make big differences for much less ;) You can make your tC handle pretty well for $1000 or so.. including tires. Of course, you need to do research, since the majority of springs out there are focused on looks and p!$$ in the face of performance.

poly mounts aren't worth it on an auto. just do the lightweight pulley, I had one and it helped. I mean that header is gonna give you more power for the money than anything else

I don't understand why people say a header/intake/exhaust/pulley won't do anything lol. all together they ARE noticeable

poly mounts aren't worth it on an auto. just do the lightweight pulley, I had one and it helped. I mean that header is gonna give you more power for the money than anything else

I don't understand why people say a header/intake won't do anything lol.


Because the best reliable info (and that was even from those trying to sell parts) was able to show 15hp from the best combo of IHE they could muster.. and yet people still show little time improvment. Butt dyno's are easilly fooled by loud noises. These arguments are as old as these forums and the whole community has come to accept the fact that there is little to be gained in overall power curve (peak hp is a useless indicator and neglects the power curve) by these mods.

^^I agree that most people think it is faster because they can actually hear the car and think it is going faster than it was before the exhaust upgrade.

It really has been dyno proven on here that it will give you at the most 15hp which really isn't anything.

dude, i'm going to buy another tsudo header + S-pipe and Injen Intake just to prove it does lol

I guess I dropped .3 sec off my 1/8 mile by magic then :rolleyes:

basically...you do nothing but save until you can afford a turbo kit, or a faster car.

what they're trying to say is

you're basically spending a couple thousand on parts that will give you "better throttle response"

like engifineer said, spend money on suspension and make the car handle better. that's the first thing i did, and i'll never regret it.

dude, i'm going to buy another tsudo header + S-pipe and Injen Intake just to prove it does lol

I guess I dropped .3 sec off my 1/8 mile by magic then :rolleyes:

No, you learned to drive better. Those parts did not make you that much faster in 1/8th mile.

wasting money on suspension will make me go faster? i jus wana go faster. who cares about turning corners. ok so i gata boost up to go faster. i hear turbo kits are crap like zpi stage 0 n ebay kits. which is the best one? greddy? turboknetics?

what about a short shifter?
it wont necessarily make your car faster but you'll get into your gear quicker

Weight reduction (start with yourself).

wasting money on suspension will make me go faster? i jus wana go faster. who cares about turning corners. ok so i gata boost up to go faster. i hear turbo kits are crap like zpi stage 0 n ebay kits. which is the best one? greddy? turboknetics?


You have a lot of reading to do, everybody has their opinion or what kit is better.

There are a bunch of kits out, ptuning, Dezod, Descendant, turbnetics, greddy.

My suggestion search the FI section and READ

Well.. some of us prefer all around performance rather than being able to go fast in a straight line. And my tC is "faster" than many cars with more power through a course that has curves on it ;) To each his own though if you just like going straight.

It was ZPI's business itself that was more of the issue, not the kits themselves from what I recall. ZPI has been out of business for years, although there are still a few used kits out there.

Dezod is very popular these days as well and has great customer service.

But you need to use the search feature for that, since there are years worth of threads on all the kits out there already.

wasting money on suspension will make me go faster? i jus wana go faster. who cares about turning corners. ok so i gata boost up to go faster. i hear turbo kits are crap like zpi stage 0 n ebay kits. which is the best one? greddy? turboknetics?

we all want to go fast, but 250+whp with stock suspension? you're asking for it but hey do what you want it's your car. i'd just hate to see another tC flipped over on the side of the road.

just be careful!!

dam u guys r ready to give me the lethal injection once i mention which is the best turbo kit lol. (yea yea search _____!)maybe i jumped the gun. this was a thread for ppl without cash 4 a kit. so for the guys who mentioned a flywheel n short shifter, those are available for a automatic car? i thought those were only for manual? if so wat r the gains?

Dude Hamster power! Im telling you its the next thing to hit the world. Forget hydrogen power. Or get a leafblower and attach it to your intake.

No you cant get those for an auto, you can upgrade the trans but that is like $700 and is not worth it. You honestly will never be that fast with an auto. They can only hold like 250 hp safely if that.

No, you learned to drive better. Those parts did not make you that much faster in 1/8th mile.
right cause my 60 ft times were still about the same but i had a higher trap speed..... lol you don't learn how to shift better to the point where you can gain .3 sec, unless I was REALLY shifting bad before lol. which i wasnt

you could try driving down a hill?

yea 250 hp. that sounds really good for my tc. lol. but back to the point, thats it? no other mods at all can help improve hp for me?

not w/o costing a large amount of money, doing unecessary damage to your powertrain, or getting you in over your head

^^He has an automatic he will not gain as much horsepower as an 5 speed. It is still not worth 700+ for a crappy sounding exhaust

Uggh when this car is payed off im getting a used something maybe a m3 s2k something rwd for sure

right cause my 60 ft times were still about the same but i had a higher trap speed..... lol you don't learn how to shift better to the point where you can gain .3 sec, unless I was REALLY shifting bad before lol. which i wasnt


You can much more easilly gain that from learning to shift better than you can from barely effective bolt ons. Some test drivers were running high 15's in a stock 5spd tC and plenty are in the low 15's stock. There is a lot of time to be had or lost due to shifting in a drag race.

I seriously think threads like this should get locked as soon as they start..it seems every week someone comes in here and asks the same dumb questions :blah: and doesn't bother to search or do 15min of reasearch (if that) on there own.

If you can afford to save up for an exhaust. pulleys, header, etc..you can afford the extra $$$ to save up for like a dezod s1 kit..hell you could even check the classifieds and find used kits in good condition for relatively cheap.

Or you can go the other route - save up for a toy car to mess around with thats cheaper and easier to mod..especially if all you care about is how fast you're going...

I can understand if you're tight on money and live on a budget but, again, if you can save up for a bunch of bolts on's you can save up for that extra for what you really want.

my .02

even though theres nothing wrong with and auto there just not made to go fast..autos are for luxury not speed so its not goona respond as good as a stick..you want fast little better acceration gotta do and stick espcially with a tc....only thig i would do is probably and intake and exhasut just to make it sound nice other then that not worth it..yea you can turbo and auto but it can hadle as much power like a 5 speed can....im sure of you have money to spend anything is possible or save up get a faster 5 or 6 speed stick

might as well get yourself a nitrous kit then youre set!..and screw everything else..right?..haha:silly:

so at the end of the day if you have an auto all you can do it cai,header,exhaust,crank pully(ppl say they break i have no clue), engine torque damper n then its boost. wat a let down...

btw i herd wrapping chunks of dry ice around ur cia wit material such as a tangtop(aka wifebeater. y do they call it that?) makes it go a lil faster.

tank top aka wifebeater = usually portrayed worn by drunk husbands in movies who hit their wives...aka Guinea T's giving us Italians a stereotypical visual as well.

lol thanks for clearing that up. since ur here might as well ask u wtf is gaba goo? lmao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFYN8loUboA

okay, to put it in simple terms. and engine makes power, but sucking in air, mixing it with fuel, compressing it and blowing it up.

to make more power, you need to suck in more air so you can add more fuel, so you can make a bigger explosion basically.

how do you get more air in, well, you need a way to compress and force the air into the engine, which is why turbo's and superchargers are referred to as forced induction.

but turbo's and superchargers require lots of good peripheral components to get them to run safely on an engine. they cost lots of money basically.

the cheaper way is for a cold air intake to pull in cooler denser air from outside the engine bay, but is only a marginal gain.

you gotta pay to play.

if you want cheap speed, get nitrous, but i don't look forward to your post about a blown engine and a slipping transmission.

If you don't have turbo or a SC... Then their is really no point in upgrading your engine imo.

to make more power, you need to suck in more air so you can add more fuel, so you can make a bigger explosion basically.

how do you get more air in, well, you need a way to compress and force the air into the engine
or a bigger motor lol

/redneck BBC-lover comment

Dude Hamster power! Im telling you its the next thing to hit the world. Forget hydrogen power. Or get a leafblower and attach it to your intake.


lmao

the sad thing is, buying name brand intake, header, exhaust, pulley, and paying for installation would probably be about the same cost as buying a low-end turbo kit. Basically what you'd be best off doing, is putting up with not being any manner of fast for a while, and saving for the turbo. Also, being an auto, if you boost(or just race much) you should get a transmission cooler and would benefit from a valve body upgrade as well.

A suggestion to improve your 1/4 mile times.

1) when you get to the track, strip your car. Take out the passenger seats, spare tire, jack, and if you really want to go all out, radio/speakers, and interior panels. You could also strip this before leaving for the track, unless you brought friends with you who like to have seats on the trip to and from.

Lastly, I hate to admit it, but an automatic tC is a terrible drag car. Not the worst drag car possible, but you simply can not achieve impressive times in this car without money. If you want fast+cheap, get a go-kart, find an MR-2 Turbo drivetrain in a junkyard, and build a custom race-buggy.

Uggh when this car is payed off im getting a used something maybe a m3 s2k something rwd for sure

i second that. automatic manly used for daily driving. i had headers/intake/exhaust felt the power difference...but egh still lost to cars that are stick. sold all those parts, and starting from suspension and bbks, and "all show no go." thats my suggestions...get like works vs-xx to end it.

idk why you guys are trying to honestly help this person when he thinks that wrapping his intake with a "tangtop" and dry ice will make some drastic power improvement.

sell your tc and get a civic with vtak.

"Butt dynos are easily fooled by loud noises" LMAO hahahaha quote of the year!

And why hasn't anyone recommended that our young friend drop some coin on the most powerful bolt on of all, the Turbonator! For a mere $29.95, you can have a track beast!

In all seriousness tho, some significant gains can be had by bolt-ons. I can't really speak for auto TC's because that's like starting at zero and taking a step backward, but I can speak for my project '07 manual TC. I discussed this in another thread but I'll rehash my goals and progress for the sake of this one. So here goes:

I do plan on going forced induction very soon, but on the way there I wanted to see how much I could improve the car while it's still naturally aspirated. These are the mods I have and/or am in the process of installing that add power and/or at least make the car go faster:

Injen C.A.I.
D.C. Sports Headers w/ Dezod copper exhaust manifold gasket
Invidia S-pipe
N.S.T. lightened (NOT underdrive) crank, alt, & water pump pulleys
Descendent Racing intake manifold w/ Throttle Body Plenum
Unichip Plug-n-play piggyback with custom fuel map
Port and Polished head

Energy Suspension motor mount/transmission bushings
Ingall's ETD
TRD shortshifter with NST bushings
Dezod Stainless Steel clutch line
Spec lightweight flywheel
Spec Stage 2+ clutch kit

V.I.S. Carbon fiber hood (weight savings)
removed my back seat (weight savings)
removed spare tire/jack/everything in the trunk (weight savings)


Let me tell you that I am very pleased with my results so far. Now, let's answer a few questions....

Am I going to go out and roast a Mustang Cobra? NO
Am I going to post a 12 second run in the 1/4 mile? NO
Am I going to put the same amount of power to the ground that I could if I was already F/I? Heck NO

But....
Did I add 45hp to the car? YES
Can I pull on a Civic SI all day long? YES
Can I post very respectable trap speeds and autocross times? YES
Is F/I going to produce even more power considering Ive already added these mods? Heck YES

My point to all this is to more or less to define both sides of a debate that seems to appear at least once a week on these forums. Yes bolt-ons can add power if you have the right set-up, no they arent as good as Forced Induction, yes they work even better WITH forced induction. I wish we could take this one thread and make it a sticky and everytime someone posted a new thread with a title like "Stock, need cheap mods to go faster", the thread would be immediately locked and they would be forced to read this thread in its entirety before their SL account was unfrozen. Anyways, that's my soapbox moment....

And on a side note, pulley's can make a difference. Our engines are externally balanced which nulifies the usual argument against using pulleys. Yes there are ton of crappo ebay underdrive pulleys out there that are worthless and can possibly harm your car. However the good people over at NST (nonstoptuning.com) know what they are doing, have put in the research and development, and have made an extremely high quality product. The first mod I installed was their pulley set--lightened crank (NOT underdrive), alternator, and water pump pulleys-- and there is a significant (not mind-blowing, but def noticeable) gain all across the torque curve, not to mention that car idles much smoother. Big name racers like Dan Gardner are winning autocross and time-attack championships, and they proudly run NST's pulley set. The proof is in the pudding.

But....
Did I add over 45 hp to the car? YES


Dyno sheet please

i have an auto and i've done every single bolt-on there is out (intake-headers back to exhaust- 3 pulleys- tbs- motor mounts- engine damper- transmission cooler and i think that is about it that i have) for the tc (except intake manifold which has issues) and you will still want more and more power and it's horrible for drag racing because in the 1/8 my times stay at about the same with close to the same launching, 60 ft...etc and the end results are pretty much the same every run with falken fk452 tires. if you are super broke then just get nitrous and hope you get it installed right so your motor won't mess up and have fun because i've heard that when it kicks in the car goes but i personally have never tried it nor i probably never will.

Per several requests im going to do my best to get the newest dyno chart up within the next couple of weeks. I live in Alamogordo, NM which is 4400 ft above sea level which equals no oxygen density, so I'm going to wait until I get a 3 day weekend from work and drive a few hours over to a dyno in west Texas which is much closer to sea level and will allow me to post more accurate numbers

wasting money on suspension will make me go faster? i jus wana go faster. who cares about turning corners.
http://downloads.allankintz.com/smileys/facepalm.gif

I don't think there's much hope for you overall to be honest. You just want to go "faster" yet seem to know nothing about it, haven't searched, don't want to spend a lot of money. What good is a fast car if you throw it into a tree as soon as you try to turn? You'll just end up totaling it and making my insurance go up higher than it already is thanks to people like that. Do us a favor and go buy a Yaris or something.

I mean that. You sound like a typical kid coming on here with a car that mommy and daddy bought that just wants to go fast and will then end up either in a tree or in some other car's rear end in 3 weeks. I don't know if that's what is going to happen, but that's what you sound like.

btw i herd wrapping chunks of dry ice around ur cia wit material such as a tangtop(aka wifebeater. y do they call it that?) makes it go a lil faster.
WOW. I can't even imagine you'd make something like that up unless you actually heard it from someone and at least half believed it.

WOW

I think this thread is over anyway.