I just got a 2004 Ralliart a few weeks ago, and would like to get some more hp out of it. I got an automatic due to crappy Dallas trafic, and I don't know if you can do the things to it I want to. I was thinking just a CAI/SRI, cat-back exhaust, and a ECU upgrade and flash. A budy of mine is going to automotive school and said if I got the parts we could take it there to use the lifts and the dyno. Would any of these things help on an automatic trans? What kind of hp gain should I accpect? And I was looking at RRM parts after reading threads talking about their stuff. How did RRM stuff work for you, what kind of hp gain did you get? One more, do any of you know if there is a CAI system for a automatic '04 Ralliart yet? I know the difference isn't much betwee the CAI and the SRI, i just hear cold air is better. Any truth to that? Just having a hard time finding good websites with stuff for this car. Maybe it's too new huh? I know that is a lot of questions all at once, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Justin

 

I got an automatic too, but not because of traffic, cause im too LAZY to shift. About the SRI, RRM and ultimate racing both make one but I have no idea what kind of gains you will get from them, though Rock claims it will cut almost an entire second off 0-60. The only cai system that I know of that can fit an auto is one from www.essentialspeed.com . However it looks kind of pricey if I remember correctly. Yes cold air is better, but as far as gains, you arent going to recognize anything out of this world if you go cai compared to sri. The only sites that are really making an effort are www.roadracemotorsports.com www.ultimateracing.com and www.essentialspeed.com and RMR i hear is going to be making parts for the RA in late july if i remember correctly. Hope this helps somewhat.

 

i bought the axel back from rrm and i love it it is nice and deep. My cold air intake is on the way and should make it sound so much better. I think right now its harder to find parts for the automatic. I'm not sure if anyone has a cai yet but rrm has the short ram. I would houldc out until the cai is made for the automatics

 

autos can take well to mods. The big difference is launching the car, as you won't be able to do above a 3k launch with the stock torque converter. Generally the best mod (and the one that should be first) is getting a high stall torque converter. It is a little more expensive than an intake/exhaust combo, but will give you the biggest gains. Usually with a TC, it's between .5-1.0 second off your 1/4 mile time.

if you don't want to get too deep into modding it, the next best mod would be fuel tuning via ecu reflash, or AFC (aftermarket fuel controller)

 

Did that help performance or just the overall sound of the car. The car is already pretty quick. I'm not trying to race it or anything, just trying to get from point a to point b a little quicker than stock. Thanks for the advice.

 

well, the exhaust is already pretty free-flowing, so the gains from an axle-back system are not substantial. Mainly just a deeper sound.

The main point of restriction on the car is the intake system. Changing that out would make a big difference. Right now, the only intakes for automatics are Ultimate Racing's SRI and RRM's SRI. Injen has one on the way with an optional cold air extension, and AEM's SRI for autos is in the works as well. I would look for them to drop in late summer/early fall.

What these guys are saying is right too. ECU tuning/Reflash is a great mod as well...especially when you start optimizing the MIVEC curve and taking full advantage of it (just like the Honda guys do with their VTEC).

 

I am thinking of getting RRM's SRI and the axel back exhaust since it is already free flowing as you said. Then taking it to my buddies school and having the ECU flashed. I just want to make sure it is actualy going to help the cars performance before I go spend some cash.

 

ROCK from RRM claimed .8 to a second better on 0-60 time with the short ram. Since the axle-back is 2.25 ID where the stock is 2 1/8, that'll help you out too.

Be careful with the ECU...you could have big problems down the road if stuff is incorrectly set up.

 

i know this might be a dumb question, but can you get any of this stuff at a local automotive shop?

 

some places might be able to order them for you, and some places might have them in stock. Depends on what type of performance shop you have in your area. Some are geared towards cars of a certain demographic, whereas some are generalized towards all cars.

 

You guys have been a big help. I've learned more today by finding this forum than I have in the past 2 weeks. I just have one more question.... if you put the RRM's SRI and axel back exhaust, do you have to flash the ECU? or can I get decent performance and sound without the flash? Sorry to bug you guys all day. I realy appreciate all the info and help. You guys rock.

 

Deltarider,

Which one of those intakes you mentioned do you personally prefer?

 

I was thinking of getting the same, RRM SRI and axle back and probably have it installed this week.

 

Has any one got any real preformance out of just a cold air, axel back, and a piggy back??? If so, how much. Is it realy noticeable??

 

As I mentioned in some other thread after installing the CAI and aquiring better tires all I could manage was 0.1s improvement in acceleration.Please do not be led into beliving that you can improve your acceleration by 1 full second using CAI exclusivlely.If that would be the case you would not need a turbo ,all you would need is CAI (1sec) ,catback exhaust(approx.0.5)some sort of engine management (approx.0.5) and you are running 0-60 in5 seconds.COME ON!!!