On these forums you will hear people claiming they make horsepower on their axleback mufflers. You will also hear forum goers claiming that any mods short of a turbo won't do any good. Some people might think this post is unnecessary but I wanted make sure that anyone visiting this site takes information with a grain of salt. Sure some members will over-exaggerate the gain of their mods, but I think some members completely disrespect the potential of some mods. These members disregard bolt on mods as if they give no positive results. I would like to see a scientific experiment before I see claims like this. Has anyone here dyno'd a stock lancer? Then how do you know how much hp changed with a given mod? Don't you think mitsu puts out specs that might not be consistant with the dyno in your local shop? That said, results often depend on the dyno that you use to read your specs, because different dynos give different figures, sometimes inconsistent figures at that (I'm no dyno expert, but I think I'm correct about this).

Do you guys feel a power increase with most of your mods? You're damn right; I sure did at least. What I don't understand is that everyone on this forum seems to know what they're talking about, whether it be pro or con certain mods. In reality, everyone may have opinions (I have my own opinions and I'm sure I'm wrong about certain things too), but knowledge on these forums seems to come in waves. Correct me if i'm wrong but didn't more people than not use springs instead of coilovers back in the day? Cause they didn't know better? But now we know they'll blow your struts. When I joined, nobody completely bashed bolt on mods. Now it seems like more and more people think they're a mitsu engineer and try to spread the word that absolutely no bolt on will gain horsepower, insane.

If you actually made it through this post, congrats, cause it was prob pretty long and boring. What I'm trying to say is no matter how ****ing sure someone sounds, trust you're own research and intellect. If someone says a intake will gain you less than 1 horsepower no matter what, or whether they tell you it gives you 15 horsepower, take the answer with a lot of salt, like a freakin brick of salt, no matter how sure the poster may seem to be. I'm sorry about the rant, but I felt it was necessary with all the pro/anti NA modding posts floating around.

 

When I dynoed my car there was my car, an OZ with just an intake and a ralliart. By comparing my results with the OZ's results we can see how much I gained with my mods and it wasn't much (a net of 2 hp). The point of a dyno isn't to get a raw number, it's to track progress, meaning you have to compare your number to some other number. To do this right you need to use the same dyno to obtain both results. Different dynos do indeed have variable results, but this doesn't mean any one dyno is right and any one dyno is wrong, they are just arbitrary numbers. You are correct that knowledge goes in waves, this is simply the pattern of knowledge. We once thought the earth was flat, now we know better. We once thought the earth was the center of the universe, now we know better. Lancer owners (me included) once thought that springs were fine and bolt-ons resulted in decent gains, now we know better. Yes people should take what people say with a grain of salt, but at the same time they shouldn't be naive and force themselves into a life of ignorance simply because they don't like what they hear. Do you think I was pleased when I got my dyno results? Hell no, I was pissed off. Does this mean I instantly questioned the dyno? Nope since the ralliart that was present got results exactly as was predicted given it's power level.

 

Something to add, people shouldn't just believe something (whether it comes from a newbie or a Guru) for the sake of believing, they should at least somewhat understand the logic that goes into the original statement. If someone says that their muffler gained them 5 hp, ask how that's possible given the restriction in the rest of the exhaust system, the relatively small difference between the stock muffler and an aftermarket one, the lack of other mods, etc..

 

Not to beat a dead horse...

Amby is right. You should make an educated choice when you add a mod to your car. And I agree that you should baseline your stock setup, and then start the mods so you can really see what is going on. Dynos are the best way to do this, but like Amby said it is a guide line. Use the same Dyno, and try to go on a day when the air temp is about the same or as close as possible, and the weather is similar (but only if you want the most accurate numbers for comparison).

I am not a total newbie (to cars) nor would I consider myself a Guru, but I have been modding cars/truck for a long time and HP numbers are always a subject to be argued.

Have fun with modding your car. If something doesn't work, try something else, but please do it for the fun of it! Otherwise it just gets frustrating.

 

The reason I say that is because it's true. From my short time on here (5 months), every post of bolt-on mods (for hp) done haven't done jack, aside from low single digit hp gains. Lancers are slow, economy cars. That's what they are made to be, and that's a fact. You have to totally redesign what goes on under the hood to make it more than so. Cue the turbo. Say someone goes and spends loads of $$$ on every bolt on mod imaginable. They will NOT come anywhere close to doing what a turbo will do.


Like I said, I've only been here 5 months. So, take what I say lightly.

 

I guess what I was trying to say is that I know bolt ons don't come close to a turbo, but they have given me exactly what I'm looking for: that extra umph. It's not much but if you ask me its just what I was looking for. I guess I've just taken it too personally when hearing someone else say what i've done to my car has been all for not. There's not a mod on my car I would undo personally. I guess it all comes down to personal opinions and what you're looking for in your car

 

Performance does not come down to personal opinion, it is a much more scientific aspect of modding where there are rights and wrongs. Now by this I simply mean that it is not opinion whether a car gains X hp from a mod, it is either correct or not correct. Some people might think it's worth spending money on mods that don't do much, and that's fine. It's important to take into account the fact that a butt dyno is pointless, people will feel what they want to feel even if it's not real.

 

by opinion i meant some people won't be satisfied with anything less than 200 horses from a turbo while some people, myself included, will be satisfied. My car isn't fast, but its def faster than a stock lancer. I don't know how many more horses my car has, but I can feel it pull harder than my buddies stock es. Not a chance in the world what I'm feeling is just my imagination

 

performance should be scientific, but personal opinion comes into it coz when people add a mod, they may believe it adds more hp than it actually does, becuase it may cause a slight increase in tq or a little spike - esp if untuned

also a sort of placebo(sp?) affect may occur, "yeah i have I/H/E i must have +50hp coz thats what evom said" but in reality you net little, like amby did

 

Again, until you actually dyno both cars any feelings are just that, feelings.

 

hey, if my car feels fast to me, I'm happy. maybe I'm just ignorant

 

Ignorance is bliss.

 

i'd say 99% of the time people say they go faster because the xyz mod they put on makes things louder. seriously. the placebo effect is HUGE when you have a loud intake or exhaust. i'd imagine if you did a test and had that fake BOV noise maker thingy installed people would think their cars went faster. it's not what you feel, it's what you want to feel or what people tell you that you should feel...

dynos, 0-60, 1/4 mile, etc. these are closest things you can get to measuring real performance. everything else is you trying to feel like you spent your money wisely

now suspension mods complicate things a LOT cuz they don't affect Hp and tq but they affect how you FEEL them.

 

Wangman, I feel your pain and agree with you. At the end of the day, exhasut, intake, pully, header etc. might not give our Lancers an extra 20 whp, but it does change the way the car feels and drives. I feel a difference, now Im not saying that i can "feel" the extra horses, but it does change the way our car drives, for the better IMO.

And these mods may not give me extra "performance" but I do get better gas mileage. Also, I want my Lancer to run for 200,000+ miles. So with these mods, it helps the engine breathe and exhale better which makes less stress for the engine, which will hopefully make my engine last longer. So in my opinion, these mods are worth it, and like **** said, im satisfied with them. Just my two cents

 

wangman, you made up a good point. i mean, the only reason alot of us haven't gon very far is because there are members here that tell other people that some things can't be done or the gains aren't worth the money. to me, that makes me want to do it, but to others.....they lose hope and any self achivements they would've done if their mind was set to it. that's why i don't listen to anyone here, i follow myself.