zztt

Hey guys
I have a 2003 Lancer ES Automatic that was my first car, currently it has 46k miles. I got it new as my first car when I was 16.

I have always had a pretty short commute while I owned it, and used it seldom in college, mostly during summers. It's been garaged some of the time(its early years), but also outside. Probably 50/50.

I recently bought a new car and now want to do some work on the Lancer.

I've never done this kind of work, though I have read up a bit and feel like I have a good grasp of the theory.

I also have my dad and friends who can help me out. I've also found a reliable shop nearby that is willing to help me out with advice and parts.

About the Car
It has had one accident and has unfortunately from that point on it made a noise from the front passenger side.
I believe I was 17, learned how understeer worked firsthand, wet out, took a corner too fast, locked the wheels, hopped curb into a fire hydrant. Was a good learning experience, have been more tame since then.

Driving it is still fun, even with its low power you can take it into a corner and just use the brake a bit to swing the back end in, and add power with the accelerator pulling yourself out of the corner and spinning the outside wheel. Even though I got a new car, I still drive it once in awhile for a smile.

Still goes up to 90 mph with no complaints and no shaking, haven't taken it higher in awhile.

I took it to the shop to get it checked out and this is due to bad bushings, as they told me:

• a wheel bearing has failed which is causing a noise especially while braking.
• The sway bar and steering rack bushings are also completely destroyed due to a leaking power steering pressure line leaking fluid directly onto these bushings.

A lot of this is due to the firehydrant accident, and I guess the previous shops didn't do very good work repairing it. This new shop is much better and I plan to drop it off next week to have this stuff fixed(~1000$).

After that I plan to do the work that I am capable of doing with my tools and knowledge myself.

Never had any issues with it mechanically in terms of engine, Oil replaced every 5k miles or so.
Though currently the CEL is on due to P0421. I will need to get my Cat replaced and a reflash of my ECU.
The cat/header I plan to do myself, but I'm not sure about the ECU flash procedure. There was a recall for this at some point, but I missed it since I was out in college.
Shop told me I can essentially not worry about this for awhile.

There is also a leak in the rear strut. I've been told its not a major issue for now. Since I would be getting a new suspension anyway I'm not too upset by this.

Goal
My current goal is to improve handling and add 20-30HP. I'm actually pretty happy with the power now, but it would be nice to be able to get a little better pull out of corners.

I want to keep it NA for now. I will explore the possibilities of a turbo once my experience improves.
Not sure if I'll want the turbo though, I get good fun out of this car even with the low power. My new car also has a turbo, so I can always drive that for that experience. I don't want too much extra power, so I'd like to stay NA.

It would be nice to have: A NA Japanese Car and a Turbo German Car, then I'd really only need to look into a supercharged American car... One can dream right?

I've been reading the following turbo threads:
Green_Bandits guide
03lanceres build

I read that the 4g94 doesn't scale that well with NA mods... especially with the auto, but should I be able to get 20-30HP? I have included the mods I want to do below.

An engine swap would probably be a bit outside my range of expertise, and it would probably be a bit more than I'd want to spend. That being said I don't really know what the price is like these days.

I searched and found a few topics on NA lancers, and it didn't seem to get much of a response from more mods once you get the CAI/Exhaust/Headers/ECU Piggyback. Though I could use someones clarification on this if anyone has experience.

The End Goals of This Project
Fix up a car that has done well by me
Learn some stuff & have some fun.
Acquire a stable second car that can be dailied if necessary. This means no crazy weight reduction stuff, like removing back seat/dash.
Improve handling.
Achieve a slightly better Power/Weight Ratio.Have something different to drive and to mess around with on trackday/perf driving class.
Have a more unique car to play with, think rally/track inspired road car.

Parts Ideas
I looked at a few sites to see what is out there, mostly RRM, and have compiled a rough list:
Step 1: Get Bushings/Powersteering line fixed
Step 2: SuspensionStep 3: Fix Catalytic Conveter
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 6:
At this point I feel like I would have basic mods taken care on and a decent platform to do some engine improvements.

These are the improvements I'm thinking of starting with:
I have read it is possible to do a DOCH swap with a 93e head. I hear parts are a bit pricy/difficult to get, but has anyone done this? I'm not sure if this will be worth it for me, I don't think it would be initially, but it would be nice to have an option down the line.

Here are some current pics of the car:
Attachment 331567


This is the biggest body damage: https://i.imgur.com/kaOuX1h.jpg located between driver side doors.

If everything goes well with the mods, I will also look to add a CF Evo 8 spoiler and a CF hood/trunk. Maybe some interior, but that is way more far down the line, I think given my experience the list above will keep me busy for a bit.

Questions
So what do you guys think? I feel the prices I have listed are the worst case price, as I haven't shopped around for better prices/other parts yet.

Do you guys think I can see a 20-30HP increase with these mods?

I am reading the turbo threads as well, but I don't see why I can't start with this smaller project and add a turbo once it is stable, the only thing on the list I'd need to swap for turbo would be the headers?

About the P0421 thing, has anyone gotten it fixed at their dealer lately, even though their car is out of warranty? I'll ask my shop about it when I take it in, but I would like to know if anyone here has had recent experience.

Also being realistic:
Couldn't I spend 1500$ or so to the shop to get it fixed up a bit, minus suspension/cat converter and probably sell it for 3500-4000$? I see 03 lancers in my area going for 3500$ for 140k miles. Mine has some body damage but 46k miles on a motor with new belts should be worth something?

With this I could buy something more "suited" to the purpose like a Miata or wait and throw in more for an Integra Type R if I wanted to stay FWD, but for 5-6k(8-9k for Integra) I'd probably be looking at something with 120-140k miles, which will probably need as much work fixing up as the Mitsubishi. Which at that point id rather do the Lancer.

I don't mind the FWD of the Lancer, it's a different kind of fun. The auto transmission could be a manual, but this cars auto feels pretty good. I enjoy driving it just as much as my new BMW.

Thanks guys, looking forward to learning more and participating in the community. Trying to collect information before so I know what I'm getting into since if I go for this it will be a car I will keep for awhile. I've always wanted to do a car project, want to make sure I'm making ok choices.

marcouxa1

I don't know how much hp u can get out of an exhaust/intake on our N/A motor but if you want 20-30 hp maybe get an adjustable cam gear and then get it to a shop where they can tune your car with that. Also as far as suspension goes, if you really want better handling i would go for coilovers and urethane bushings in your suspension components.

RT78

Well, without the piggyback ecu I'd say roughly about 10-15 hp gain from the SRI and header(which is entirely separate from the exhaust you have listed), the catback will get you minimal as well, maybe another 7. You're talking total with a header 17-22 and without (just SRI and exhaust)11-15. These motors weren't designed with performance in mind. The biggest gains you'd see is with forced induction(turbo), which I wouldn't hesitate to do with the low mileage on the motor, but that's gonna start to cause the cash invested to start to skyrocket(and from the list you're getting up there already).

Green_Bandit

iTrader: (25)

No. Just No. Stop it. Where are you pulling these theoretical numbers from? No.

eusgen

iTrader: (5)

Broke4speed

Wait, this is the second thread on the same thing?

Don't waste your money on the piggyback. ECUFlash can do a better job, and cheaper. $169 for the tactrix flash interface, and the rest is just your time spent learning.

Dude, stop posting dreamer threads. Just get started .

Thahomeboyb

So what would you except to gain from reflashing the ecu

zztt

I've thought about doing the cat/suspension/front end for now, then collecting parts for a turbo.

I guess exhaust/sri/header, then collect for a turbo would be better gains for the $?

I'm in no rush to get this done, cash can always be spaced out over time. I can throw a good 500/600$ a month at it.

Grind3r

OK...first off...don't waste the $$$ on a header...for any the engine stuff your mentioning for that matter...including the exhaust at this point...otherwise it will only become wasted in the end...you wont be able to use any of it once you commit to going turbo...with the cash your talking about spending on cool looking add ons that will give you nothing more than a few HP and quite a few hundred less in the wallet...you could just start investing in piecing together a turbo kit...Research and scan the sh*t out of the forums and even local craigslist for that matter, and if done right and with a little time, you could easily get a kit pieced together for ruffly $1500 to $2000...and the gains for the $$$ are far more worth it. There are a good handful of members here that went the direction your mentioning and unless your willing to spend the cash to build it with forged internals and do a DOHC swap (which will run you more than piecing together a turbo kit)...N/A bolt on are a waste...they look pretty...but thats all your gonna get. Our cars werent designed for bolt on performance...but that doesnt mean companies out there wont try and take advantage of people and make something that looks sweet and tell them it will increase you HP only to disappoint the customer in the end.

Best thing you could do if your really wanting to help the performance and the potential turbo build if you decide to go that route...is get suspension (COILOVERS) Tein and Megan Racing both make great setups for our rides..replace all your bushings...maybe upgrade to higher quality break pads/and disks for the front...make sure all the steering components are up to par and replaced if needed and even maybe getting a rear swaybar kit, since our ES models didnt come with one, but do have the mounting spots already available...and upgrade to solid motor mounts...you wont gain HP, but you will defiantly feel the difference in the corners...THEN...if your still thinking about it and feel the need to get more out of you car...then you can start debating on if putting a piecing a turbo kit together sounds like a good idea or not

Thahomeboyb

Yeah from what I've been hearing our cars are evo boxes! It's hard to gain hp goin NA. I don't have any other suggestions besides reflashing the ECU to gain hp

Broke4speed

A few extra HP, maybe a bit sharper throttle response, and the need to run supreme gas at all times. HP-wise, 5 if you're lucky.

zztt

Hey thanks, this is exactly the post I was looking for.

The ultimate question ended up being:
Is it worth putting on these NA mods, or should I just do suspension and see about turbo?
and it seems if I'm not willing to go turbo, I'm better off selling and getting a different project more suitable to NA.

I will give this more thought, but for now I will still get the front bushings/power steering leak taken care of.

After wards If I go through with this project:
I think this is what I will do :
Upgrade suspension with coils/swaybar, since I need to fix rear strut anyway.

Upgrade mounts for motor, since after inspection I was told mine are on the weak side.

Then I will look into turboing the car while doing the maintenance on it.

Essentially everything as per your recommendation.

As far as the header goes though, since I am replacing my cat converter for P0421, should I bother upgrading the header or keep it stock?

I also read through the lancer mega faq. Much good information there.

Seems like this is a sort of you either go All-In with a turbo or you don't get much type of project.

RT78

Well AEM claims to get a 4hp increase with their SRI, and you can free up a few hp from improving exhaust flow with the header, I don't know how much exactly, unless that just works with GM's that have much larger motors. On a 350 small block chevy you'll pull 239 hp @ 4200 rpm, but throw on some headers and that jumps to 250 hp @ 4200 rpm. Besides that's what most of the after market turbo manifolds are(unless stock), they're a 4-1 header adapted to fit a turbo.So you're saying that there's NO possible improvement power wise(other than 3-5 hp) over stock with what he's listing?

marcouxa1

Look around in the forum and you will see why ppl go turbo....although if you dont want +- 200hp by spending 2500$ i would start with suspension components as greenbandit suggest

marcouxa1

Look around in the forum and you will see why ppl go turbo....although if you dont want +- 200hp by spending 2500$ i would start with suspension components as greenbandit suggested. I will have my coilovers installed on my car soon so i will let u know how they do. I baught the ksport gt pro because i have heard alot that you get what you pay for so i went ahead and baught the gt pro instead of the kontrol pro since im going to race this year... from there you can decide what brand you want to buy if you want coilovers.