I've recently moved into Fremont, CA from the central valley for college, and boy is it good to be home. However, the one thing that's severely biting into my cash flow is gas money, like everyone else. Driving in the bay is DEFINITELY not good for my wallet, so I'm trying to find ways engine-wise(both maintenance and mods) to increase the bang for my buck in my 2004 Auto Lancer ES, so to speak. The only problem is is that my knowledge of car engines is limited, but I'm ALWAYS willing to learn about my car.

I've looked up on a couple of threads and articles already, such as Danno's "most for the least" sticky and the article for the US Lancer Upgrade path. Taking everything mentioned in the articles and posts and putting them aside, also I've recently exchanged my air filter for a regular FRAM air filter because it was due for one. I haven't checked out my car's spark plugs yet, but they've been stock ever since I've had gotten it in 2004. I've gotten an oil change within the last month or so (I'd have to check, I've gotten too dependent on that damn "Next Oil Change" sticker =P ) I'd also like to note that this car's been in three accidents, 2 of which involved the front end and required some body work (wasn't my fault though!).

What seems like the next step is to first exchange my air filter for a K&N high performance filter (the better the airflow, the more oxygen I can get, right?). I was also thinking of going for a new intake too, but I'm not exactly sure if I should go with the K&N Typhoon Kit or Road///Race's Short Ram Kit. I'm leaning towards the R///R one, but I'm not so sure. Lastly, the R///R's Magnaflow Highflow Cat seemed a bit enticing, but I'm not so sure about the cost of work involved getting that installed. I'm not sure who I can go to to trust the job they'll do on my Lancer in the Bay Area yet either.

Bottom line, if anything else, this is simply an A to B car, however, I want to make it both an affordable AND enjoyable ride. My budget is slightly limited to what I can do (if I can install it myself, I'm going to damn well try with help), and I REALLY want to steer clear of the flashy chrome and ugly ricers that I see drive on Highway 880.

Any advice?

P.S. The thought of scrapping everything and taking BART crossed my mind, but after today, I'm not so sure... >_>

 

dont bother with the Road Race kit. Just go to autozone and buy an "MAF adapter" then get a regular K&N cone filter.
You can install this yourself. Its VERY easy. Here are some instructions
http://www.kandn.com/instructions/69-6540.pdf
That should cost you around $60

As far as anything else. just search around the forum and look at what everyone else is doing, alot of stuff will be pointless for your price range, but things like a: pulley, engine damper, strut bars etc. are in your price range, and picking any of these popular things will benifit your car and make it more fun to drive.

Im in the same boat as you, i wanna work on my car, but im on limited funds. I got a 03 auto OZ, all ive done to it is a new intake, and i got a damper on the way.
But like i said. "search" its much more benificial than asking, that way you can decide what you want to do and not have 20 people yell what they think you should do.

 

Hmm.. Well If you want an enjoyable ride stick to the little things for now since your pockets are on a short leash. Do the intake mod, Crypto mentioned... then from there you can get some strut bars for the front and back. That should be enough to hold you up for a little time. You can also try and contact RRM and see if they have anymore greddy mufflers left, that way you can get it for a good price, and have it installed customly at a muffler shop. Trust, this'll be a fraction of the cost to actually purchasing the whole cat-back new. Then from there, just save up your money in case your car happens to need some other mechanical fixes. Search around and you'll find the thread that shows you everything available for our lancers... set your budget and purchase wisely.

OH one more thing! Don't get a Body kit! Seeing how you mentioned your car has had 3 accidents, and 2 weren't your fault If you have a body kit on there, it'll cost you even more to repair it... and that will totally suck.

 

You can get an adapter off Ebay for like $15 the one for the mitsubishi Eclips fits our MAS then buy yourself a K and N

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-99...19157889QQrdZ1
This one works. my mother has a eclips and we got her one. It is the same adaptor as our cars just would want to get a K and N

 

pep boys also sells piping if you don't want to buy from the net
just get a good filter

 

If you are going for better gas mileage with some performance thrown in for flavor then the big ones that tend to pop up a lot are the intake and a piggyback ECU with a lighter pulley helping out as well.

The Piggyback ECU you can pick up from Road/Race and it will put you back about $399, however, I believe that Rock mentioned that it will get you between 5-10% gains on your mileage.

Be very careful on the intake - since you are in CA you to be careful about your emissions. If a manifold adapter with a K&N cone filter is legal there (check it if you are not sure!) then go for it, otherwise it would wise to invest in a kit if only for the CARB exemption sticker - that will put you back between $150-$250 depending on the kit and where you get it from. Not sure about what the average mileage gains are, but it seems to be accepted that they are there.

The pulley is the third thing that gets mentioned and I have no idea what the gains are in terms of mileage, however, you will notice an imporvent on the throttle response and less energy spent spinning the pulley means more energy going to the wheels. The part is $79 through Road/Race, however, odds are you will have to go to a shop to have the part swapped out so you have to factor in labor.

Beyond that the performance is going to depend upon what you are aiming for and how much money you are willing to spend.

 

this is a good thread with questions i have/had myself. my only problem was finding a k&n cone that'll fit the 4'' maf adaptor. so i had to settle with the spectra cone filter since it came 4''.

 

Best thing to improve miles per gallon I did was did a auto tranny flush, but not the power flush they'd do at like Jiffy Lube or something. Just during the last 3 oil changes, I drained the 4 qts that would come out, then replenished it with Mistu OEM ATF... On getting 50 miles more per tank!

BTW, just turned 75k miles...