I need some advice

[AndrewSilverMP5]

Hey everyone ... I just picked up a brand spanking new silver MP5. I am in love, and my girlfriend is jealous that I look at the car more often than her.

I have two general questions:

1. What mods would you techies recommend that I install initially ?

2. Does flipping to neutral and coasting to a stop every time I hit a red light do any damage to my auto tran ?



Thanks !

 

[derrick1623]

1 it depends if you want n/a setup or a turbo setup...

2. why? and i dont think it hurts the tranny

 

[AndrewSilverMP5]

I feel a slight jolt right before I stop completely ... It's almost negligable, but this car is my investment, and I want to make it last.

Oh, and I was hoping to at least increase the torque and improve the car's performance from 0 to 40. 40 to 60 is only average as well, but if i had to make a choice between upping one or the other, i'd want a faster pick up.

 

[REMillers]

If you plan not adding power adders than to get near 40 extra hp would be diffuclt. Perhaps the CAI, full exhaust, intake/exhaust cams, headers etc would hopefully get you there.

Coasting is not really a issue, just make sure you are a complete stop before shiting back to drive. But it should not be making a very loud noise when stopping otherwise.

 

[mypfizzle]

intake and exhaust help it pick up a little more even. i have a silver auto too.. dont expect mass hp gains but u will get up a lil quicker.
then all u need is a drop some 18s and your set. -=)
oh.. hids are nice too

 

[AndrewSilverMP5]

40 hp ?! Is that possible without turbo ? My ambitions were for more modest addition of 10 to 15 hp's/torque.

A friend suggested Sylvania Superstars (??). Do any of you have an opinion on which brand of whiter lights to install ? I'm not looking to replace the entire head unit though.

So shifting back to drive/seq shift while still in movement is not healthy for the tranny ?

 

[REMillers]

shifting from netural back into drive while still moving is not heathly. But if you are talking about the sport shift mode, then its fine to go between the two at any speed.

Ya 40 without turbo is possible, all depends how far you are welling to go with the internals of the engine.

 

[mypfizzle]

catz hid full conversion. -=)

 

[AndrewSilverMP5]

I have to switch to drive in order to get to the sport shift, so I suppose I won't switch to neutral unless I'm sure I have to come to a complete stop. I'm a such a scrooge with gas.

Catz hid full conversion ... that sounds like I have to replace the entire head unit ? Those run up costs to several hundred dollars, rah ?

If i plan to put in an intake/exhaust system ... Should I go with the AEM short ram or the Injen CAI for more torque ? Or does it matter ? And how does the bosal catback system sound on our cars ? Loud and ricey ? (notcool)

Thanks for putting up with all my questions

 

[Don]

Cars are never an investment ("to lay out money in order to earn a financial return") as your "return" is always going to be negative.

Now if you have some extra money that you could use to "mod the car" and you instead make an extra car payment or two, then you have "invested" that money, as the interest you save by paying off your car early will earn you a positive financial return on your money.

Don

 

[AndrewSilverMP5]

I have 0% APR on the life of the loan. I suppose I used 'investment' in a loose, figurative sense. I laid out the money, yes, but I do receive <i>a</i> return, albeit not anything that has monetary value: a smile as I'm hugging a curve, a head or two turning as my car passes by, sex in the backseat ... etc etc

 

[FSRbikr98]

coasting to a stop in neutral is not an effective way to save gas, you'll save more gas driving with your windows closed.

 

[mypfizzle]

i have a injen intake.. i like it.. kinda loud but hey.. im younger so it doesnt bother me an i can always turn the stereo up.. I am also in cali where i dont get much rain.. if your in a flood plain or a area with lots of rain.. got for the short ram an keep yourself from the hydrolock scare everytime u see clouds.
As far as the hid kit.. its a pretty easy install about 1hour and it was the first time i have ever done this type of thing. Its a plug and play kit so no splicing required which means u can always got back to stock headlights if u want.. the cost on the kit is like $400 or $500 bux.. i got mine from liteswap.com and it arrived in about a week. -=)
the way i looked at it.. hid are supposed to be good for 7,00 - 10,000 hours of use.. if everything goes right (we all know sometimes things break) piaa lights .. so far i have heard nothing but bad things on this forum about them goin out.. so i figured.. 100 bux a set for piaas or 500 for something brighter that will last longer..
make sense?
as far as exhaust goes i have a racing beat.. nice and quiet -=) you can hear the intake over it.. i didnt notice much of a hp gain.. but hey.. i have a automatic.. what was i expecting. -=)
John

 

[REMillers]

In a N/A car the introduction of a intake system is not really used for large HP gains. At most 1-5 in most applications. Now the RSX Type-S is a strange case, but most cars will only get a few HP. The real difference is throttle response, the engine should seem to "jump" to life much faster than before.

 

[AndrewSilverMP5]

Thanks for all the input!

Hmm ... I suppose I'll settle for throttle response until I rebuild the fundage. It rains a significant amount here in Jersey so I'm leaning towards an AEM short ram and a Bosal catback, since it's cheaper.

What mods, if any, transfer more power to the wheels ?

 

[mypfizzle]

manual transmission -=) or turbo kit

 

[REMillers]

To effectively lower the lost of power to the wheels you are going to have to start looking at flywheels and other drivetrain related components. These will start to get expensive and require some knowledge to install by yourself.

To start off the intake and exhaust are good, later down the road you can start looking into more "intrusive" installs.

But our cars are setup more for road course handling than big power producers. You may want to look into taking that route later.
Power may not always win a "race", being able to control and maintain that "power" is more important.

 

[KYREDP5]

Thanks for all the input!

Hmm ... I suppose I'll settle for throttle response until I rebuild the fundage. It rains a significant amount here in Jersey so I'm leaning towards an AEM short ram and a Bosal catback, since it's cheaper.

What mods, if any, transfer more power to the wheels ?

Don't forget the e-bay intakes.

 

[AndrewSilverMP5]

Hahah ! Ebay all the way

Hmm ... You have a very good point REMillers. I'm not a huge race enthusiast, so I doubt I'll be revving my engine at riceboys stopped a light. But I think I would enjoy driving the P5 <b>much</b> more if it had a tad more response and power. An intake/exhaust it is !

Pfizzle, I don't want to completely replace the head unit of the headlights. I'm really happy with the build quality and performance of the stock lights. I would just <i>prefer</i> a whiter, less yellow beam. Anyone have any suggestions ?

 

[KYREDP5]

I was being serious. They are every bit good in quality/looks as the aem, at less than half the cost. I've got one and love it. I haven't heard of anyone that's got one that was dissatisfied.