Hey Guys,

I have been doing some research and talking to a few people about what I wanna do next with my car now that I have it, lol

One of the first mods that I was suggested, and that seems logical to me was an AEM Air Fuel Gauge. This will help me monitor how my car is running given the air-fuel ratio provided by the gauge. This way I know if my engine is consistently running the same or better or worse. What do you guys think about this? good investment for a 1st mod? or maybe something more important that I'm overlooking?

I figured since I wanna get this gauge, might as well buy a 3-gauge pod and install them all together. For the second I was thinking getting a gauge for my battery as I think it's always important to know how your battery is running. Not sure for the third one yet. Any ideas? criticism?

The 3-gauge pod that I'm looking at is something like this: http://www.lancershop.com/customer/p...cat=180&page=1

However, what I hate about that pod is that it looks very aftermarket and not part of the original dashboard. I like the location, but I want something with a much cleaner look on the inside. For the life of me I can't find anything decent online or on ebay

 

DIY? Fiberglass?

 

can you please elaborate or give me some examples..

 

First mod? Get a tactrix OBD2 reader/writer and flash the GST basemap to your car. Then you can also do data logging.

AFR gauge is pretty important if you are tuned, if not I wouldn't worry about it. Sure it's good to know how much fuel is used and when, but what's the point of knowing if you can't change it? All you'll see is that the stock tune is less than optimal fuel to air ratios and then you will want to tune anyway.

As for the gauges, totally up to you. But there aren't many parts that house gauges and look OEM, there are lots of different ideas about this though. Do a search and see what you like.

 

^ what he said.
At the end it depends what u want.. are u after cosmetics, sound,power or handling?

 

^me2.

Then later consider getting a Pioneer Appradio and the Driver Command - which will display the real time data from the ECU as a gauge panel on the 7" touchscreen

(i am really leaning this way versus a 'stuck-on pod that doesn't integrate well' IMHO unless done really well look like stoopid old hondas with big tachs zip-tied to the column FTW! ) )

 

I already have the stock MMCS in my car so I dunno how much space that leaves for another LCD panel (is that even possible?). What exactly is Driver Command? Sorry, I'm still very new at this.

And yes I want to get the AEM AFR gauge with future modifications in mind. This way I will know how my car is running through the mods.

As for what kinds of mods that I'm looking for: anything that will improve the engine, performance and/or handling of the car -- basically slowly working on making my car better for the long run

 

buy a gauge pod, mark where you want it on the dash. cut it open and fiberglass it into place. then paint it or cover it with something.

maybe do all that take it to someone with a 3d printer and have them make you a 1pc.

 

I wish I had the skills, knowledge and courage to do fiberglass work myself... unfortunately, that is a little bit outside my scope.

I did however did some digging and found this: http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22532 -- seems very clean and professional looking. What do you guys think? Too bad I can't really seems to get a hold of that guy

Also, I think I have decided on the 3 gauges that I want:

1. AEM AFR
2. Boost
3. Battery

Would you agree with those pics for a currently stock 09 RA with future intention of some light modifications
If not, tell me which 3 would you recommend

 

I'm doing the same thing. Except that I'm only using 2 gauges.

If you get all the same brand gauges it will look really good.
The thread you linked hasn't been active for a few years. Maybe that guy has stopped doing them so that's why you can't contact him


You can try DSG performance Be prepared for a long wait though, like months.

 

Yes I want the pillar mod with the same style gauges for a nice clean look. Thanks for the info. I will look into this

Btw do you guys think its more important to get a battery gauge or an oil pressure gauge? I can't decide...

 

So I ordered the a-pillar gauge combo from here: http://www.dsgperformance.com/Foreve...ge-Evolution-X. Now just have to wait 2 months for them to arrive lol

In the meantime I kinda wanna figure out what to do next. Been doing some research and there seems to be 3 popular views that I found

1. Upgraded cooling system, i.e. a good radiator, or
2. Cat Back exhaust system, or
3. AMS Intercooler upgrade

Any ideas and/or thoughts as to what would be the best route to go? I will be honest, aside from the random aggressive stretches on my daily drives (when I need to feel cool, lol) I'm not really looking to beat the car too much. I just like the idea of owning a car that's fun to drive when you want to play around a bit. I think my primary interest would be mods that would protect my car and keep it running nice and clean, like maintain a high performance level going forward. But of course a little added performance on a budget never hurt anybody

Would love to hear some thoughts..

 

1. Nope - your radiator is fine.
2. Yep! But only after you do a GST Basemap flash and boost pill - more bang for the buck than an exhaust upgrade...
3. If you are not doing a turbo upgrade - just am EVO X FMIC is plenty good enough and much cheaper....

 

In the spirit of intellectual discussion and learning for me, here is another opinion I came across regarding the radiator: "A good radiator will further decrease the time for cool down. If you use a dyno then you can see this when you do a dyno run after 3 or 4 passes the car usually reaches its performance threshold and starts to bog down because of heat build up. The difference between a car with good heat management and one that is stock is how long it takes for those temperatures to come back down so you can do another few passes. I have done enough testing to know the different."

 

I disagree. If the stock system is meeting the cooling needs - i.e. the temp gauge is not exceeding norms - a larger (more cooling area) radiator will do nothing for you.

If, after back to back runs at the track it is running above normal temps - then yes it would help.

But consider also a dyno run is a very stressing event for a car's cooling system - the fan doesn't even aproximate the air volume cooling the total system at highway speeds... And to upgrade a radiator solely for dyno run day is a poor use of mod money IMHO.

My whole point is - bang/buck there are many more mods to be done first which will have a far greater impact

Even the super high HP EVO Xs have not seen the need to upgrade radiators...