03 p5 automatic MODS?

kodi4u2c

Member
:
03 P5
Its a 2003 protege5, have a header, muffler, air intake, and underdrive pulley.

Looking for more....without using nitrous or turbo........would cams do the trick, or am i getting in over my head here???

Suggestions or comments???
 
hi flow catted midpipe & cat back exhaust, major headwork, p&p the intake manifold & remove VTCS, tranny fluid cooler/AMSOIL atf/lentech valve body upgrade, 1.8 coil swap/NGK wires/long reach plugs, throttle body bored out, ground wires. Some of this is longevity, some is smoother operation, some is a little bit of hp. Nothing really bumps hp that much other than a turbo kit (with low boost to not destroy the tranny). Sorry, just the way it is. No magic pills & the FSDE doesn't like nitrous either. What it lacks under the hood it makes up for under the wheel wells. Welcome to the forums.
 
hi flow catted midpipe & cat back exhaust, major headwork, p&p the intake manifold & remove VTCS, tranny fluid cooler/AMSOIL atf/lentech valve body upgrade, 1.8 coil swap/NGK wires/long reach plugs, throttle body bored out, ground wires. Some of this is longevity, some is smoother operation, some is a little bit of hp. Nothing really bumps hp that much other than a turbo kit (with low boost to not destroy the tranny). Sorry, just the way it is. No magic pills & the FSDE doesn't like nitrous either. What it lacks under the hood it makes up for under the wheel wells. Welcome to the forums.

Honestly, all that seems like a waste of time. Why P&P on a N/A? You want velocity not volume. And running better plug wires doesn't even result in a noticeable gain. Ground wires... not needed. I would suggest new motor mounts though if you haven't already. Want more out of your auto? Drop in a MT and then turbo it.
 
Different mounting locations, one set is from a 2.0 & one set is from a 1.8 & one set has a big sturdy mounting bracket & one set has 2 wires, the other has 4 wires & & & & & & & & & & ...............................
 
Honestly, all that seems like a waste of time. Why P&P on a N/A? You want velocity not volume. And running better plug wires doesn't even result in a noticeable gain. Ground wires... not needed. I would suggest new motor mounts though if you haven't already. Want more out of your auto? Drop in a MT and then turbo it.
All of what you just said was also included in post 3................
 
All of what you just said was also included in post 3................

Yes, I did read the second half of your post.

Some of this is longevity, some is smoother operation, some is a little bit of hp. Nothing really bumps hp that much other than a turbo kit (with low boost to not destroy the tranny). Sorry, just the way it is. No magic pills & the FSDE doesn't like nitrous either. What it lacks under the hood it makes up for under the wheel wells. Welcome to the forums.

But you didn't mention how a P&P job can actually hurt the performance of a N/A engine, unless you are just removing carbon buildup or the such.
 
P&P was just smoothing the ridge from VTCS not gutting out the whole intake. As far as AT > MT swap, that doesn't address the original question here. Just get another car that is already MT if that's what you want/need. I didn't speak to building the kick everybody's ass-end all-road king anyway. I spoke to squeezing a bit more from what the thread starter asked about. If you're that sad about the performance then get a completely different car, the manual tranny or turbo doesn't turn this car into some monster race machine anyway. Nothing you can do for less than a ridiculous amount of money that could've bought a much better car can.
 
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why is it such a bad suggestion?

AT > MT would make the car significantly quicker: better gearing, no torque converter loss, + 100% more fun to drive

granted it would be a lot of work
 
without going turbo, it's much to do about "very little" gains...i know, i've been there! i'm not saying don't do the mods, but the gains are very small, overall..good luck!!
 
wow

Ok, thanks for all the input.........

I dont disllike my car at all, i was just looking for something else, to get me a bit more "feel-able" power without adding turbos, etc........

which is why i thought cams might do the trick, but I'm not hearing anything like that back in responces.....

Thanks for all the information though.
 
Check out the mods in my sig and the link to my dyno in my sig. Overall, the car doesn't feel like it only has 100 hp- not that it feels like it has a whole lot more either though. I think with what I've added to it has made the car more fun to drive than it was the day I bought it. If you watch the For Sale section with enough patience, you can usually get alot of what you need fairly inexpensively.
 
why is it such a bad suggestion?

AT > MT would make the car significantly quicker: better gearing, no torque converter loss, + 100% more fun to drive

granted it would be a lot of work
Not saying it was a bad suggestion. IMO, the amount of time/work/money involved vs. the gains is a wash at best & would be simpler to just go get another that is already manual. Again, it wasn't the primary question in the thread. I'm assuming based upon the original question about modding an auto that he wasn't going after doing a tranny swap but doing the best he could with what he already had. My answers have channeled in that direction.
 
That might be a good option. Finding another P5 that's already manual (might even be cheaper!) and transfer the current mods to that one.
 
tranny

Not exactly looking for a tranny swap, i agree it would make a big difference though.

I may just suck it up and drive it as is, or atleast untill i sell it.
 
Long reach spark plugs, intake manifold spacer, VTCS removal, and if you do not have a 4-2-1 header get one. I believe it will give you a better spread of power than a 4-1 header. I would also get motor mounts, that will improve responsiviness and free up wasted hp. I also mention that a standlone ECU would be awesome. There have been reports that there are gains to be found on just a stock P5. The only downside is that's it's over a grand in price and you need a good tuner if you do not know what your doing.

Magus
 
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