well this summer ill be building my car up, ive been saving for a while..so hopefully money isnt really a big issue. i plan to have the quickest N/A auto and best handling tC in the west..which is possible i truly believe. here will be my set up for both, i would just like some comments and opinions on what i should change an so forth..

MOTOR:
NST Pulley Set
Fujita F5 CAI
MMW Headers
Megan Racing Midpipe
Magnaflow High Flo cat..to regain some low end
Apex' i World Sport muffler..
Ingalls stiffy ETD
ZPI all motor pistons
AW tb 60mm
and for that extra hp..RS C/F engine cover

and as far as suspension goes:
Progress Technologies Coilover
Progress Technologies rear sway bar
DC Sports carbon front strut bar
MMW rear strut bar
megan racing c-pillar bar
custom x brace like HKSpeed's
autopower street sport roll bar...

leave your opinions on any way that i can improve my handling or get more power out of the motor...thanks in advance.

and im goin with the F5 vs. the injen solely on the mounting points...

 

you want it to handle better? no need for the strut bars...replace the glass roof with something lighter. all that extra weight at the very top of the car is a definate handicap.

 

Aye, gut the interior too!

Why not Hotchkis sway bars?

 

look down...

 

unfortunately cant gut the interior..i have passengers at least twice a month. and i like the roof so unfortuanately that stays. i want to keep all of my ammenties as they are, i dont wanna ruin the perfectly new car..

however, i didnt choose the hotckis because they dont sell the rears alone, and i dont wanna put a front sway on because it hasnt been proven to be correctly designed..so imma pass till one comes out. plus my g/f likes the sunroof..and we need the carpeting in the back

 

Yeah, taking off the sunroof would help more than anything I'd say.

 

not necessarily the sunroof..but the motor. but i like the sunroof so much i couldnt stand to not have it.

however, i know of alot of guys who do c/f filler plates, and most of them that have done them to their cars regret it.. mostly because they are dd's like mine

 

i got front and rear sway along with trd springs and shocks, car handles like a dream when complimented by bfg's kdw2

 

ZPI P&P Head Package and a full dyno tune with an emanage perhaps. That will def. add some more power.

 

^^ yeah, do the head while you are doing the motor for sure.

And the roof is not nearly as heavy as some of you think. I believe raamaudios saved about 68lbs removing it. Granted, it is 68 lbs from a spot furthest from the CG of the car, so it will definitely make a difference. But a lot of people seem to think it is way heavier than it is.

But, for best handling, you still have a ways to go to beat ricks setup when he is done (raamaudio). He has removed over 200 lbs from the weight of the car the last I checked, has installed a CF roof in place of the sunroof assembly, and is waiting to get springs to match the new weight. He knows his s#!t from what I can tell and is building one serious handling tC.

But I think you are on the right track so far. I am most interested in seeing what you are going to get with the NA setup. I would definitely love to see an intake, larger TB, p&p head, 11:1 pistons, header and full exhaust done that was all designed to work together correctly. Add some management and you should have a sweet NA setup. Keep us informed.

 

why are you going with the Ingalls stiffy ETD. Why not just get some ZPI motor mounts and be done with it? Do it rite the first time and it will be the last time.

 

i didnt know they were out...might as well add that to the list. and im not sure i wanna do the head, that will kill my mileage...right?

and how hard is it to install? and would it do any harm to my engine?

 

No matter how hard you may try I dont think you'll ever have the best handling tC.

You just have too many compramises. RAMM audio has a fully dedicated tC for autocross style racing. Your just never going to be able to touch them because of your compramises. Your trying to have a civilized everyday social entertainment car, and a highly agile racecar. This is just not possible, they are polar opposites.

Listen to what the other guy said bout the head package, P&P, and emanage ultimate to raise the redline (all things your going to need if u ever want to acheive what you want to acheive.
You have to look into some wide wheels and tires. How are you planing to pull the G's in da corners if you cant even hold onto tha pavement? Instead of progress coilovers, i would go for H&R racing coilovers. I know your going with the progress sway cause its just the rear and good as it is, but the Hotchkiss is still alot stiffer. They are adjustable like the progress to keep your handling balanced, so im not sure why you think they wouldnt work aswell.

Your gonna wanna take a serious look at weight reduction. Since you dont want to sacrifice interior living space, how bout carbon hatch(-70lbs)or a carbon hood. Your gonna wanna have a car with the most even weight distribution as possible. In our case the tC is nose heavy. That means try to mostly focus weight savings in the front of the car. For example, moving the battery to the rear or an aluminum radiator prehaps.
I would look at what other people that race their tC on the track are doing. Try PMing Raammmmmmm audio for a few tips. right now their tC might be the fastest around the corners...

Having one of the fastest NA cars is a cool idea, but it would be so much easier and cheaper to have a turbo car. Seriously, sure you'd have that one pride of being the fast NA car, but what is it only to be spanked by a turbo car kid that spent a third of what you did?

You have a good start, but there are alot more things you still need to look into. Alot more things to spend money on.
think deeper about if this is really what you want to get into.
If it is... then we can talk.

 

mileage not issue, bolt on instal... well... kinda... thers more to it.

 

how are you going to fit that? its a pretty large muffler, and the tC doesnt have much space. are you going to mount it transversely like the stock muffler or greddy sp2?

get your car cornerweighted/balanced afterwards.

 

Whats the reasoning for this?

 

Anyone who is stressed out over the weight of the glass roof shouldn't have bought the car. It's one of the major selling points, and if you didn't notice it when you bought it... :p

 

^^ that is true as well, but rick bought the car wishing to build an autocrosser out of it, and seems to have the money to toss around on it as well


As far as not building NA as mentioned further above. Who cares if you get spanked by some kid with a bolt on turbo? Most of the young kids with bolt on kits I have seen have no clue what is going on under thier hood, they bolted on some kit, learned some buzz words from the latest "tuner" mag and drive it till it blows up. Building NA is a fun project. I could just as easilly say we are all wasting our time building a FWD turbo "race car" as well when you could find a v8 rwd, and spend similar money to spank the hell out of it with NO forced induction. We are starting with a platform NOT designed for racing. FWD was designed to allow a lower HP engine pull a car due to the low losses. But, the point is seeing what you can do with your platform. So building NA is as much about the build and working the physics of the motor out as anything else.

One thing I havent checked is the weight of the ZPI all motor pistons? If they are lighter than stock that should also allow for a higher safe redline as well. Just something else to check . You still have to worry about heating and oiling, but its a possibility.

 

why H&R?



this is a company built on racing and for 20 years have made only the best racing suspension products. The springs and dampers that come with the H&R race coilovers are stiffer and of better quality than the progress ones.

if you knew anything about H&R you would have known this.
But they are german, and they are a lil pricey.
http://www.hrsprings.com

 

Well thanks for the cool pictures....it made for a great breakdown of why to go with H&R over Progress. I was looking for a tC specific answer, but thanks. Thought maybe you had some first hand experience or a specific reason to back your statement, but I guess not. BTW, I know H&R has a great rep. H&R is actually my #1 choice right now, but I'm not just going to automatically rule out all other brands. If someone has a knowledgeable answer or any first hand experience as to why one is better than the other I would appreciate your input. Thanks.