Hey all, I have an AT 2003 Lancer ES and I'm interested in getting some after-market parts for it. Only thing is that I live in Canada and some sites' shipping charges are insane. I've ordered an Injen IS1830 SRI from cardomain.com because they offer free shipping to Canada and the US. But, compared to, let's say, an RRM SRI, the Injen SRI from CarDomain was way too expensive. Any fellow Canadians here that know of any good Canadian sites or US sites that offer good (or free) shipping rates to Canada?

Oh, and I have a few questions about my Lancer that I'm sure you guys can answer honestly, unlike my mechanic:

- My mechanic says I need a new timing belt. I'm at 60k KM (about 45k-ish miles). Do I really need a new timing belt? Can I do it myself (I have no experience with cars)? Where can I get a performance belt or (if applicable) a metal belt?

- I live in an area where every second car on the road is a Civic. About 40% of them are done up to some extent (rims, exhaust, body kit, mostly). there are a few Lancers around and I've only seen one that looked like the owner dressed it up in Civic clothes. It'd be nice to have a slightly faster Lancer than everyone else (including the Civics), but what I'm really looking for is efficiency and gas mileage. I got the Injen SRI for the supposed gas mileage increase, not for the power or sound. Is there anything else besides an intake, exhaust, and spark plugs that will save me money at the pumps?

Thanks, guys.

 

ok question number one, at 45K you shouldnt NEED a new belt, no as far as i know there are no "performance" timing belts, a belt is a belt in that case. No you cant do it yourself given your skill level, i wouldnt suggest trying. Mess up the timing and its game over. As for parts to try, the RRM light weight pulley and the piggyback are your two best bets. The pulley is inexpensive, the piggy not so much. Those two will give you a bit of a kick but to be honest your best bet with our cars is to out corner them, buy every suspension part you can. Tein makes some good springs (the s-techs) for a decent price if you are watching pennys, and you can find alot of decent sway bars out there to stiffen things up. Do a search on suspension mods and youll see what im talking about. Goodluck

 

You don't need to replace your timing belt until 80,000 km (at first I thought you did, then I converted to miles), at which point you really should because if it does snap, you'll be replacing the whole engine.

As for mods, I wouldn't bother with the piggyback if you're going for gas mileage. It will increase your mpg a little, but only if you resist using the extra power it gives you, and you will have to pay more $ than you saved by buying a higher grade of gas. I have heard claims of 45 mpg with a cam, however, but I've never witnessed it and it's a more involved mod. Enlargened Intake manifold and throttle body will probably increase mpg too. Aside from that, keep your tired properly inflated, don't hit the gas too hard, avoid rush hour traffic and city streets with traffic lights.