Oh ok, thanks for the heads up on that johnny. So If I bought a magnoflow exhaust with no rear bumper thats a ricer? (by the way I have a rear bumper=).
because so far I have removed the stock badging on the trunk I added a Vortex generator and I have spray painted the grille black I'll have about $250.00 to spend soon any suggestions on whats a good combo?(example=header/air intake,

 

Well like I said before, it depends on the person. Another example would be a guy that used to live in my apartment building that has a civic that had a body kit. He did something to tear off the mounts off of it from one side so it kind of sagged. Guess what he did, used scotch tape to hold it up with no plans of fixing it.

Now to your other question. From the sounds of it you are on a good path already. One thing I would do would be to save up for rims. It might take longer but you WILL be happy with the results. Rims will really set your car off.

First off, if you haven't figured it out yet, this car does not respond to mods well in the NA form. If you add a muffler or even a cat-back exhaust you will not gain more than a few HP. It WILL sounds nice though especially if you pick the right muffler. At first I wanted to get ALL the bolt-ons but I realized that I would be wasting money. To ME anyway, the few HP do not justify the price of the bolt-on power mod. If you have patience you could save up for a turbo which is the best way to get power out of this motor. I am not saying you shouldn't get bolt-ons. If a cat-back exhaust makes you happy even though you don't gain much then go for it! Your car will sound great. I personally am looking at getting one of those.

A good place to start, though, would be with handling. Check out RRMs website(www.roadracemotorsports.com). They have TONS of products for our cars. What I felt the most difference with was the rear strut bar. It will make the rear end of your car a lot stiffer and if you combine it with a front strut bar you car will handle awesome from what I have heard(I dont have a front one yet).

To answer your question I would get front and rear strut bars first. If you come across anything you dont know feel free to PM me or search these forums. They have TONS of information. Basically anything you want to try and need advice on, chances are someone on here has done it.

How about posting some pics of your car.

 

Don't waste your time with bolt-ons if you're doing it for performance. A nice catback does look and sound good though. Read the FAQ and the thread in my sig to understand why bolt-ons suck.
The best mod you can do to your car is the rear sway bar from RRM. Currently your car doesn't have one (so you'll need the perches too) and adding one does wonders for the handling.

 

Ah I forgot the sway bar.

To OP: Listen to this guy here. He knows a TON about these cars and helped me out a lot in my decision on what path I would take my car down.

 

Like amby said.. 15's or 16's are best for the lancer. A bigger sidewall tire usually isnt that great for handling. More sidwall flex. Its not just the size of the tire but brand matters more anyway.

I agree. rear sway bar makes a huge improvement. If I were to do my car over I would do sway bar/ coilovers/rims/tires first thing. Also. Don't forget about brakes. I got the Wilwood big brake kit for the front and its probably my fav. mod so far. SS brake lines make a huge difference.

 

A good alternate to the big brake kit idea would be to just get slotted rotors and some good pads like Axxis or Hawks. It all depends on what you have in the bank.

 

Thanks for all the advice! I got some decisions to make. What about an air intake? worth it?

 

An intake is a nice noise maker, it won't give you noticeable power. It does look cool under the hood though. As for brakes, a nice set of pads and rotors is enough. Big brake kits don't actually decrease braking distances, in fact they often increase it. They are generally seen as either show pieces (cause they look friggin awesome) or track only parts where brake cooling is important.

 

yeh. I assumed my brake distances would be increased but from my butt dyno. that is nowhere near the case with the willwoods. I do agree that when the ceramic pads are not warmed up that are noisy and not as good but after two hard brakeing corners they are good to go. Pedal feel is incredible and it will toss you out my front window if you didnt have your belt on. I was amazed even being as skepticle as I was.

But I agree. pads and rotors are fine. I got the kit because I got a great deal on them used in amazing shape.

 

I'd assume the pads and calipers are the main reasons for that. Gotta love anchor strong braking though.

 

Yeah. 4 piston calipers and ceramic pads bite hard. If you were just to add a bigger rotor and keep a crap caliper like our stocks there would be issues but with the 4 piston.. Your correct, its like dropping anchor.

 

They're 4 piston calipers? Wow, hardcore brakes.

 

Yeah. there is allways talk of the big brake kits being worse. Only better in cooling but with the addition of the better calipers. They are much better all around...... Once they warm up. Well worth the cost imho.

 

hmm interesting. So what if a person who doesn't want to pay for a turbo install but hasn't ever done wants too try to install a turbo is it hard?

 

Depends on your level of mechanical experience.