Okay, so sorry for being a noob and sorry if this has already been discussed and what not. I am very new to all of this. So here's my question. I bought my 2003 oz rally back in august and like many other, I want more. I was just curious how late is too late to start putting stuff in the car in your guys opinion? I have close to 80,000 miles on the car and am in college, so I can't exactly afford and evo or trust me, Id be all over it. I just want to get a few things to make it a little faster as well as somewhat flashy but cant really convince myself if its worth it or not.

When do things typically start to go on these cars? I dont know much about them I just know I love my car. I did a fair amount of research before I got my car but not enough to realize it was a turtle in an easy paint chip shell.

 

try getting an rrm intake! =]
then change the exhaust.
thats almost it... don't waste too much on a turtle, put into its appearance instead...

 

Yeah man, unless you invest in a turbo you're not going to get
any type of performance gains.

My advice, if you're going to put some money into it, just try to
make it look good If you're going for performance though,
don't waste your money on things like an intake, you won't see
any power gains, keep saving up for that turbo.

 

a set of springs/coilovers would also improve the look/handling

 

All Im really looking to do is make the drive a little more fun. I was reading some stuff and from the sound of, people say get a sway bar to improve the handling as well as exhaust and intake. I mainly want to do some cosmetic work for when I sell it in a year or two and then I wanna get that evo once that time comes and Im done with school.

 

I've done several engine mods and enjoyed all of them but I'd say a piggyback from rrm was the best bang for the buck. Coilovers though are a great performance and appearance mod so I'd really recommend them.

If you want your car to be more fun, put in a short throw shifter and a smaller knob... there's lots of little things to do if you're into it

 

Ok so how much are you willing to put into the car?

 

depends on how u push the car, luckly for me mine was a 1 owner car and it never was abused.... even though its a turtle its still a good car to drive....you can get rrm intake anf get catback exaust, pully, cam gears ..atm what i done is cedia head lights ( if u need hlp wireing these let me know ), cf evo7 style tails, evo 9 wing rolling on falken wheel & tire combo... coilovers good for handling front/rear sway bars for handling like what others said. a slight adjustment on the throttle cable and u get improvement on the acceleration [ easy to do ]. loosen the 2 bolts on the bracket and slide it back 1/2 in and ur done

 

Well price wise sky is kinda the limit, obviously im limited on cash being a college kid and all, but I work and will have a second job soon. All my extra spending cash typically will go into the car as well as whatever money I get. So over the next couple years a few grand I suppose. It's the first car Ive personally bought with my own cash so Im willing to put a lot into it until I get rid of it in a few years. The car is definitely the best car Ive ever driven or had so far so these little tweaks are what get my blood pumping. So Im up for whatever until I can save up enough and get that evo

 

Piece together a turbo kit. It's doable for under $1000 or so.

 

from what it looks like you and i have the same car Sir Lance-A-Lot. i bought mine with 76k miles and two previous owners to the car and so far its been good to me. the suspension went on me but i don't know if it was abuse from the previous owners (as the last one was a 17y/o who probably beat on it considering his parents got a mustang and got a ticket the first day he had it) or just wear and tear but regardless i replaced with Tein basic damper coilovers and although its kinda stiff its a nice ride.

i got the car in may 08 and i've already put about 25k miles on it, i've seen no less than 29mpg and as high as 35mpg and thats with the engine all stock. i'm sure putting an intake and exhaust on it would improve that but also you gotta remember your gas mileage is just as much mods as it is your right foot.

anyway in conclusion of my 2 cents i don't think sinking too much money into the car would be a bad thing, its a good car and fun to drive imo.

 

Yea I mean the car is in excellent shape. There was 1 owner before me and he obviously loved his car, he stuck an Alpine CDA-7875 deck in tehre which is amazing and Im not sure if the sunroof came on it but from the sounds of things he might have installed it. He changed the belts and everything at around 50k and its been nothing less then amazing. Only issue I had was in the winter when it was -30 up here my back tire blew out on me and I had to get a whole new set. Other then that I love the car, Im just hesitant because before I always drove my parents cars or whatever they got for me. Its always been American trucks and SUV's. At like 130,000 miles those things start blowing up left and right, I just dont want to dump 3 or 4 grand in it and then the explosions begin you know?

I for sure want to tint the windows though and get and intake/exhaust set up, I was looking at turbo's and what not and they seem a little out of reach as far as price. If it really is possible to put a set together for around 1000 bucks Im all for it, but every kit I've seen so far has been like 3 to 5 grand. Id rather go piece by piece and watch my baby grow and try to save as much as I can along the way. At the same time my tax return is right around the corner and I've got a few pretty penny's headed my way

 

Turbo or nothing. Bolt-ons are a waste in terms of performance gain unless you turbo the car as well. Suspension is a good place to start though or simply make the car more enjoyable to drive (short shifter, Evo Recaros, etc).

 

id would say go turbo if i wasnt in california, but since i am i cant put a turbo in cause i wont pass emmisions

 

No fun, but aren't turbos super expensive?