Hi All,

Well it's time to tune my car up, and I want to replace the spark plugs with something much better. A long time ago i used Splitfire plugs on my Mustang whic really did help imrove mileage and power. Not sure about these 4 bangers... Anyone have any good ideas? I want something that will help with fuel economy and also increase power a bit without sacrifcing drivability. I don't want to modify the computer or anything either.

What can you all recommend??

 

Time to tune it up?? There really is no "tune up" on these cars. I say that with quotes, becaue people typically take a car in (see it all the time at my fathers shop) and say "I need a tune up"... there really is no such thing as a standard tune up. What they mean typically is "I want my plugs, wires and filters changed"

The car comes with Denso Iridiums.. which not only have recommended replacement intervals of over 100,000 miles, but are MUCH better than most other plugs out there.

When it is time to replace them, go back with Denso Iridiums.. or at least NGK Iridiums.

 

hmm well thats good news, but can i change to high enegry wires? K&N filter etc? I just feel that the car has been a little sluggish lately, so I thought new plugs, filter, etc would be a good idea.
I'd love to get a performance intake, but can't afford it yet. Just want to know what I can do to increase response and a little power without going nuts

 

high energy wires are bunk as well We have coil on plug ignition, meaning no plug wires other than the low voltage side of the coil.. which you will see no improvement on by changing those wires. Nology would like you to believe it is a good idea to buy their COP conversion to standard remote coils... which is like replacing the wheel with a square rock! Of course, then you could buy their "hot wires" .... which are a waste as well. Truth be told, the ignition system in this car is pretty darned good right from the factory, and is one of the areas I would not change. The only change is running a step or two colder plugs if you turbo it.. but that is it. Nology and Weapon R put out a lot of crap ( a lot of it 100% bogus from an electrical engineering perspective) just to get people to buy it.

As for intakes, header, exhaust, etc there is very , very little to be had power wise there on the tC. The intake system is pretty good from the factory and pulls air from the fender well, so intakes dont do a lot like they did on and old honda with a straw for an intake :D A good IHE setup will cost you some dough and get you 10-15 hp . And then you deal with running an antifouler to suppress the CEL since you remove the primary cat with the aftermarket header,, running a huge resonator since the header makes the tC sound like a weed whacker in a tin can... etc.


Honestly, if you really want to see a performance improvement without going forced induction, spend $1000 or so on sway bar, springs and some good tires. You will get a huge improvement in handling for not a lot of money.. you will spend that much or more on IHE and maybe see a tiny measurable improvement on the 1/4 mile on a good day.

If you do run a K&N drop in filter (wont give you noticeable performance gains, but does save you money in the long run) oil it very sparingly and clean the MAF when you change the oil. The filter in the stock airbox is very close to the MAF, and can easilly get onto the MAF sensor.