Good mods vs. not so good mods

[GLHS592]

We had this thread on our local forum and I enjoyed it. Here's how it started:


In this thread, please make two lists. In the first one, state all the mods on your car that have enhanced performance in some way (power, braking, handling). In the second list, please list the power/braking/handling mods that were not quite as good as you were expecting.

I find posts like this useful for people who drive the same type of car, so we can see what has worked and hasn't worked too well for others.

I would also like to see your neutral mods. The ones you aren't sure either way.

Here are mine:
Good:
1. SDS efi standalone electronics - Easy to set up and easy to use. I can adjust it as I go without waiting for a recalibrated stock computer that may not work anyway. I just gotta get rid of the yellow plug wires and blue anodized coil pack base. ;)
2. My complete engine (I can give you a list if you want) - I did everything at once, so I don’t know which was best. All I know is the car is running about 3.5-4 seconds faster in the ¼ mile than it did from the factory. It runs about 7 tenths faster in the 1/8 mile on less boost than my old stock turbo 2 converted set up. I still have plenty of room for more performance.
3. Koni/Eibach coilovers - I can lower my car where I want it and it handles like it’s on rails.
4. Dodge Caravan front brakes and master cylinder (SLH brakes) - Stock brakes are adequate, for a go-cart. The minivan brakes sound silly but work on my car like Baer brakes work on Mustangs.
5. Paint - The car finally looks good. No more, “At least my car looks better” comments.
6. ACC carpet kit - It fit great with minimal cutting and weighs much less than the stocker. It along with my perfect seats helped the interior look great. I’m still waiting on a perfect dash.
7. A-520 transaxle swap - The stock A-525 was a dud. The 520 with the chromoly end plate and limited slip differential insert holds up fine.
8. Relentless Racing 4 puck clutch-Every time I drop the hammer, that sucker GRABS.

Bad:
1. Mopar Performance autocross shocks, struts, and springs - They were advertised to lower the car 1” all the way around. If anything, the rear was RAISED 1”. The car did handle better, but not like expected. I paid roughly $500 for them and got about $275 out of them when I sold them.

Neutral:
1. Bogart Drag - on Star 3 racing wheels-They are super light, but I’m not sure how much they help out. All I know is they look swwweeeet! The wife still doesn’t know how much they cost.
2. Heater delete - The car weighs maybe 50 pounds less, but driving in the winter is out of the question.
3. Power steering delete - Again, the car weighs less, but I’m out of shape and getting older. Turning that steering wheel while sitting still is a chore.
4. Homemade ball and spring boost controller (G-valve) - Cheap and easy. Hard to fine tune. That's why I'm going electronic.
5. Relentless Racing recalibrated stock computer-I had to send it back twice. The car quit running both times and power to my coil was lost the last time. The car wouldn’t start even after installing the stock computer. Maybe if I sent it back one more time. I just think people like me, that don't know how to do custom calibrations, should live fairly close to the guy that built the calibration. At least I could use the GM 3-bar MAP sensor that came with it.

Things I want to do:
1. Electronic boost controller
2. Zeitronix Wideband O2/EGT/boost datalogger
3. Polished factory wheels for the street

All in all, I’m VERY happy with my car. I never thought it would turn out this nice considering what I started out with. It will blow the doors off of cars that cost much more money. I’ve made most of my modifications with plenty of research beforehand. So, I haven’t made too many mistakes or poor choices in items I’ve purchased for it. I ain’t going to lie to you and say it was cheap to build my car, but I have a lot less in it than anybody thinks. I’ve done most of the work myself or traded out work to pay for stuff I couldn’t do or couldn’t do well. I’d say I have 25%-40% of the money in it that it would have cost if I paid guys to do it for me.

[MVaughn]

Great write-up Kevin. I will post soon on my findings. It seems that I did most of what you did except I went with the FAST system, 555 trans, and didn't do the coil overs yet.

[GLHS592]

I had a 555, but the 520 was recently rebuilt when I got it. I wonder if the 555 is really that much stronger.

[MVaughn]

Not sure Kevin. From my understanding through the years the 52o's strength was atained alot by the casing not flexing like on the 525's. I have several friends that have hammered the 520's w/ alot of passes and they lived quite long. Maybe a trans. guy w/ come on and help answer.

[CSX321]

Good:

- I've become a big believer in suspension. $100 or whatever it is for a full polyurethane bushing kit would be money well spent.

- Lightweight wheels and tires. I love my Centerline Storm wheels and Toyo Proxes T1-S tires on the SRT-4.

The wheels, tires, bushings, and other suspension improvements took about 0.4 off my ETs.

Bad:

- Clipping the turbine in a 0.48 housing. I couldn't tell that this did anything for the CSX but lower the efficiency and kill the bottom end of the RPM range.

[GLHS592]

- I've become a big believer in suspension. $100 or whatever it is for a full polyurethane bushing kit would be money well spent.


Yeah. I forgot about that. I bought a complete kit for my car. Night and day difference.

[GLHNSLHT2]

Good: 2.5 in a heavy car with 2 piece intake, Aluminum flywheel on same car, UDP, Ported exhaust manny, Bigger exhaust housing, full 3" side exit exhaust, 1st gen cummins i/c (raised shift points 300rpms to 6k), 89/90 kemember setup, Konis/Eibachs, Rear shock tower bracing, solid rear tranny mount, S10 airdam with sealed nose.

Neutral: PB.com Prototype 90dm rear axle poly bushings (stock shelbyZ bushings are almost as hard), 89/90 Shelby Tona brakes (need better pads to really see any stopping performance, but the ebrake actually works)

[GLHS592]

Come on. I thought this would be an excellent topic. Do any of you have any real experience or are you a bunch of E-Racers? :)

[GLHSKEN]

Good:

Full 3" exhaust
Exhaust cut-out before high flow cat (22 ft lbs and 11whp as seen on the dyno)
Front mount I/c
Swapped out the 525 trans

Bad or least effective:

Ud pulley... swapped back...
swapped to roller cam... the 87 slider is a good cam...

[BadAssPerformance]

Not sure Kevin. From my understanding through the years the 52o's strength was atained alot by the casing not flexing like on the 525's. I have several friends that have hammered the 520's w/ alot of passes and they lived quite long. Maybe a trans. guy w/ come on and help answer.

I'm not a trans guy, but have broken a few and fixed a couple. I made well over 100 5000 rpm launches on slicks on the original 520 in my shadow and it did not break at the tarck. It finally broke when I was driving home from an SDAC-Chicago meeting and after spiritedly driving on the highway exited and when I went to shift into 2nd at the light at the bottom of the exit ramp, 2nd gear was toast. The case is almost identical to an A555 so it is much stronger, however, the gear pitch is the same as an A525 so not any stronger. The A555s have the coarser 'getrag' gear set in it that can take much more abuse.

My good bad list? Man, I need to re-do the list on the Z to try and remember what all is done to it. I do know one thing on the GOOD list that has helped both the Daytona and Shadow:

Bogart Drag-on-fly Stars with 24.5x8.5 M&H's and Moroso DS-2 skinnies

Although I've never run other slicks on the car to prove it, I'm pretty sure these are one of the main reasons my (almost completely stock, full interior, full exhaust) T2 shadow runs consistent 13.00's

[inmyshadow]

I think your assesment of the MP springs doesn't apply to all cars.

With MP springs installed on my shadow, it was slammed. Those springs lowered the car by 2inches. Looked great but didn't work well with autocross tires.

My 3.0 datyona iroc, the front was no change in height. The rear looked to sagging.

I've talked to several other pbody owners how experienced the samething.

[Marcus86GLHS]

hey i recognize that shadow up there, wheres the oil on the driveway?

good mods:
3" exhaust & swingvalve
a MBC w/ a custom cal
increased flow fuel injectors
boost gauge and a wideband a/f monitoring system
slicks

bad and neutral mods:
i cant tell, the good ones are all i ever did

[someday i hope to build a real race TD and pilfer all the good mod ideas i see here]

[GLHS592]

I think your assesment of the MP springs doesn't apply to all cars.

I was talking about just Shelby Chargers. Omnis and Rampages may also be different.

[inmyshadow]

For that picture I used the good clean part of the driveway.

Now it isn't that clean anymore.

Just remember this quote when/if I ask to use your nice big warm garage to replace my timing belt.

later



hey i recognize that shadow up there, wheres the oil on the driveway?
]

[SwiftTech]

This is what I have found for my 84 'tona.

Good:
Dry ice- cut .5 second off my 1/4 mile times and added around 11mph or so.

555trans- if the darn intermediate shaft in the trans wouldn't get damaged by the bearing so easily.

MP computer-It may run lean at 12psi but hey at least it doesn't over boost until 15 psi unlike the stock computer that shutsdown at 11psi.

8"wide wheels- no more sidewall bulge with 225's. thinking of stepping up eve wider infact.

Neutral:
+20 w rrr setup- sure I can run more boost but it is a pain in the rear to dial in nicely. Too much gain its fat in the midrange, too little and it runs lean. Runs fat all the time until the adaptives trim it down unless base fp is around 20-25psi. I thought that is what you run +40's at???

Joe Oconner's rear anti drop mod- havent seen drastically reduced 60' times yet but it does launch nicer and more consistantly.

G valve- works great on the street but for some reason at the track I can't get more than 13 psi out of it even with it bottomed out. As soon as I leave though it boost fine. I think it has to do with some weird electromagnetic field that encompasses the race track:confused:

Bad:
Phantom Slip(grip) LSD insert- I had nothing but troubles with it. I machined the side gears flat, Shimmed the springs till they almost bound, and I could still spin both wheels with my hands. And at the strip one whell would spin then the other would. they would alternate grabbing and spinning causing horrible torque steer. It was a handful to drive and people were constantly asking "whats wrong with your car it doesn't drive straight?" Switching out the PG solved it.

There could be more but thats all I can think of right now.

[shadow88]

First post . the good, 2.5" exhaust, srt-4 intercooler (see the bad as well), cold air intake, 1 coil cut off front springs. super 60 cam and related parts. Solid rear bobble strut, battery relocated to passenger side (no more wheel hop) , shimmed sway bar (poor boy's posi lol ) bfg drag radials ( 8 thenths) The bad, volvo intercoolers, koni struts, 52m throttle body, gen 1 talon bov BEFORE CRUSHING. A-555 trans. I drive 280 kms from the nearest drag strip.

[Tony Hanna]

Good:
1g Talon cooler (way outflows a stocker)
Manual boost controler
2.5" manderal bent exhaust with free flowing muffler (not as good as 3" but still loads better than stock.
Alky injection. 28 psi on pump gas with absolutely no detonation. 'nuff said.
Holset hx35 wastegate can (holds 28 psi no problem)
Sealed Power cast pistons. Granted they saw a fairly safe (rich) tune, but 28 psi without a failure and you can replace quite a few of them for the price of forged.
1g talon blow off valve (modified as listed on Gary's site)

Bad:
Stock intercooler. (went to a stocker from a 1g talon cooler to make the install look cleaner. Big mistake. Lost 2psi max boost and the car felt noticably sluggish)
Turbo muffler. Cool name, lousy performance. I'll stick with straight through from now on.
N/A Omni radiator. This might be an option for a drag car that's allowed to cool down between runs, but on a street driven Daytona it just couldn't keep up.
Sylvania Silverstar headlights. Expensive and I couldn't see as well with them as I could with a new set of regular halogens.

[riceboyler]

Bad:
Sylvania Silverstar headlights. Expensive and I couldn't see as well with them as I could with a new set of regular halogens.

Odd, I had the exact opposite effect. I've had many people who ride with me comment about how much brighter my Silverstars look than their regular halogens. :confused:

Good:
JoeP Dual Ball Manual Boost Controller - No more boost spiking like I was getting from a homemade g-Valve
1G DSM BOV - Cheap, performs well, gets people's attention when necessary
StarQuest FMIC - Worked wonders on the old Omni converted to a TII setup. I still have it, and I'm considering trying it out on the CSX (if I don't trade it).

Neutral:
FM475 Cam - really good on the top end, but it makes the car considerably more laggy for street driving. I'm thinking if I end up keeping the car I'll probably try swapping in an '88 TBI Cam instead.

Bad:
Cheap E-bay MBC - Uh, no. Holy boost spike Batman.

[show-off]

The bad, volvo intercoolers, koni struts, 52m throttle body, gen 1 talon bov BEFORE CRUSHING. A-555 trans. I drive 280 kms from the nearest drag strip.

Please explain that one to me???

[Tony Hanna]

Odd, I had the exact opposite effect. I've had many people who ride with me comment about how much brighter my Silverstars look than their regular halogens. :confused:


I noticed with the Silverstars that I could see reflective objects like road signs a tad better than with regular halogens but the non-reflective stuff like deer didn't become visable until I was closer to them. This was comparing a brand new set of Silverstars to a brand new set of standard halogens.
I wondered about this so I did a little research. It turns out that the whiter light effect is created by a filter material that blocks out the longer wavelengths of light. Basically, you're not getting all the light from the bulb as the filter is trapping a good deal of it.
If you're interested, there's a pretty good write-up about the details here (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html) It even goes into detail about the Osram Silverstars vs. Sylvania Silverstars (Osram owns Sylvania, but what each company markets as Silverstar is two completely different bulbs) at the bottom of the page.

[CSX321]

I dunno. That site said Sylvania Silverstars have blue glass and are inferior. But the Sylvania Silverstars I have in my SRT-4 (I won them in a raffle) are clear, and while the bulbs looked identical to the stock bulbs, they definitely are brighter.

[Tony Hanna]

I dunno. That site said Sylvania Silverstars have blue glass and are inferior. But the Sylvania Silverstars I have in my SRT-4 (I won them in a raffle) are clear, and while the bulbs looked identical to the stock bulbs, they definitely are brighter.

Maybe they changed the design.:confused:
I bought a set for my white Daytona when they first came out and the bulbs had the blue filter. They looked brighter to look directly at the bulb, but didn't seem to do as well while driving as the regular ones with anything but reflective surfaces.
I guess another possibility could be that you got a set of Osram Silverstars mispackaged as Sylvania. That would explain the clear glass and good performance.

[shadow88]

Show-off, The koni struts didn't perform as well as expected (like it says on the first post) for the money spent, I'd have been better off doing lots of little mods to get a better response.

[turbovanman²]

Good-
Forged pistons
3 inch ex and dp
lowering van 2 inches
rear sway bar
11 inch GTC brakes
Hybrid turbo
ported head with bigger valve
2 piece intake
Tu cal
Custom cold intake setup made by me
Hi stall converter
1 1/8 master cylinder
16 inch GTC lace wheels and P255/55R16 tires, :thumb:
PT lifters, Conical valve springs


Bad
Cast pistons
Using stock front struts and squishing coils to lower
cast control arm poly bushings


Neutral
RX7 turbo 2 ic
Flowmaster muffler-better bottom end, boost hits softer
91 and up K-member, lost an inch of travel but got it back using Daytona struts
Total seal rings-have oil coming out of PCV system but compression and leakdown unreal.

Sure theres more, but can't remember

Things to do-

Install bigger IC
Install GTC rear discs
Fix rear 1/4's-rusting
Install coilovers in the front or get some Koni's.
Maybe install the Shadow racing type seats-way more comfy and more supportive than my stock seats.

[GLHS592]

Let me add to my bad list.

My Autometer boost gauge is about 2-3 psi off according to the Innovate LM1 datalogger. I also have an Autometer monster tach with shift light. The shift light never worked correctly. I should have sent it back, but got busy. The Autometer A/F gauge seems ok. I'm just not too high on Autometer.

[Whorse]

I'm also gonna say the Slyvania Headlights are waaay brighter on my lebaron (white, not blue).

[turbovanman²]

I have used them all, PIAA's, Slyvania's new ones, etc and the brightest and best priced are the APC units. I have them in my van and wow, awesome, well, as best as those crappy stock lights will work. :eyebrows:

[riceboyler]

That's really surprising Simon. One thing to be careful of with the APCs is that they are a higher wattage bulb, meaning they will place more of a load on the wiring. I have witnessed personally a car (well, a Honda at least) melt down the entire light harness because of high-wattage APCs.

But hey, if you like them, that's what matters, right?

[turbovanman²]

That's really surprising Simon. One thing to be careful of with the APCs is that they are a higher wattage bulb, meaning they will place more of a load on the wiring. I have witnessed personally a car (well, a Honda at least) melt down the entire light harness because of high-wattage APCs.

But hey, if you like them, that's what matters, right?

Hmmmmmmm, we all know everyone finds something different, lol! :eyebrows:

Had them in my van for 2.5 years and no melting or hot wires at all.

[Tony Hanna]

I'm not famaliar with the APC lights. Got any info or a link where I could check 'em out? I'm about half nightblind anyway, so anything in the way of improved lighting interests me.:thumb:
Thanks!

[Bossman429]

I don't have a whole lot of experience with my car quite yet but I can say what I have learned
-The poly alternator bushings are a lifesaver, and I would recommend them to anyone running a 2.2/2.5 Turbo or N/A. They solved a lot of my problems I had with belts
- Removing the A/C helped greatly in getting to the belt, and shaved off a few lbs as well.
- A G-vavlve is the only way I'd run a turbo car these days. Sans a good cal.
- An Adjustable Zener diode, Why bother fidgiting with regular diodes, this little gem is great, and I ran the wires to my glove box for simplicity.

I don't have a lot of money to play around with, so I can't say what is good or bad, I try to concentrate on things that will net me some HP or simplicity.

[turbovanman²]

I'm not famaliar with the APC lights. Got any info or a link where I could check 'em out? I'm about half nightblind anyway, so anything in the way of improved lighting interests me.:thumb:
Thanks!

Let me see what I can dig up, I will look for the part #s on my 9004's tomorrow and give you the low down.

Maybe in the summer after I save some money, I am going to buy the REAL HID lights, the kits are getting so cheap, around $250-$300 a kit now. My buddy bought a kit 3 years ago, cost him $800, :eek:

[cordes]

Good:
3" exh.
FMIC
Hybrid turbo (huge favorite)
Custom cal
AFPR
G valve

Bad:
booger bushings that won't push over the selector lever
Removing GFXs with no real plan to patch holes etc.
T2 cover with T4 wheel in it.

[turbovanman²]

Ok, info on the APC bulbs.

There DOT legal, and called Ultra White bulbs.
Specs 65/45 and equiv to Zenon 100 watts.
Colour temp 4000k, remember-lower number is better-brigher and whiter.
Part # 9004
HB-1
50.9004.uwt

I paid around $30 for them.

[Tony Hanna]

Thanks Simon.:thumb:
Anybody tried the replacement housings that go in place of the old sealed beam and take a 9004 or whatever?
I've seen them at the parts stores, and I seem to remember Squirrel having a set on his SC, but I cant say that I've ever heard any feedback on them.
Thanks

[turbovanman²]

Thanks Simon.:thumb:
Anybody tried the replacement housings that go in place of the old sealed beam and take a 9004 or whatever?
I've seen them at the parts stores, and I seem to remember Squirrel having a set on his SC, but I cant say that I've ever heard any feedback on them.
Thanks

Yep, if there made by Bosch, they rock. Very good product.

[GLHNSLHT2]

I have the Hella H4 ECode conversion setup "Off-road only" They ROCK! BEST mod I have done to my GLH! I used to get flashed all the time even by semi's that were 20-30ft above me across the divided highway. I had them aimed properly too. Since swapping in the "Illegal" H4 hella's I HAVEN'T BEEN FLASHED ONCE! On low beams anyway. A couple times I've had the high beams on during the day. Doh!. These or the CIBIE's are the ONLY way to do it. DO NOT get the cheapie ricer lights. You'll blind everyone. www.rallylights.com or http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html

[CSX321]

Bad:
booger bushings that won't push over the selector lever
Really? What trans? They work well on the SRT-4 trans.

[cordes]

Really? What trans? They work well on the SRT-4 trans.

An A568. There were some that were made a while back which were derlin, and don't always go on very easily. I could probably squeese the one on there that comes off if I really wanted to pull off enough stuff to get some channel locks down there.

[CSX321]

Ah, okay. Three of the ones I put on were fairly easy to pop on with my fingers, but one of them needed the channellocks. There was plenty of room in the SRT, though.

[Tony Hanna]

I have the Hella H4 ECode conversion setup "Off-road only" They ROCK! BEST mod I have done to my GLH! I used to get flashed all the time even by semi's that were 20-30ft above me across the divided highway. I had them aimed properly too. Since swapping in the "Illegal" H4 hella's I HAVEN'T BEEN FLASHED ONCE! On low beams anyway. A couple times I've had the high beams on during the day. Doh!. These or the CIBIE's are the ONLY way to do it. DO NOT get the cheapie ricer lights. You'll blind everyone. www.rallylights.com or http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html

That's awesome I was looking through rallylights.com and noticed the Hella part # hl21100. From what I read, that one is DOT legal, comes with a bulb and isn't much different in price than the cheapie ricer lights they sell at Advance. :thumb:

[TopDollar69]

The best improvements that I made to my car were, 2.5 inch mandrel bent exhaust, quick spool option on my rebuilt turbo from TU.com, A555 trans from the original A525, and the TII swap.

Negotiable things, 1.25 inch front sway bar, autometer AF gauge that was far from acurate. The whole thing with autometer gauges really ticks me off, because they were suposed to be some of the best gauges availible, but now that I have them, I dont know what to think. I guess alot of it has to do instalation.

[GLHNSLHT2]

That's awesome I was looking through rallylights.com and noticed the Hella part # hl21100. From what I read, that one is DOT legal, comes with a bulb and isn't much different in price than the cheapie ricer lights they sell at Advance. :thumb:


Those are what I just put in my Daytona. I love them. So much better than the stockers. They're still a bit dim though so I'm going to relay them in to see if that helps a bit. I have the illegal E-code only Hella's in my GLH and I love them as well. I don't know why they're illegal though. The beam pattern in them is far far less blinding to oncoming drivers than the stockers. Semi's going the other way 30 ft above me would flash me in the rain with the stockers and they were aimed right. With the Hella's I've never been flashed and I can see so much better. Either the new DOT/Ecode 165mm hella's or the full illegal Ecode versions should be on Every Turbo Dodge and should be the beam pattern for every car out there. Can't beat the safety and performance out of them with a stick. Chevy's are the worst. Anyway I could go on and on about lighting and beam pattern. But I'll stop for now. Try relaying them if they're not bright enough for you. I'd do that before upgradeing the bulbs.

[Tony Hanna]

You talking relaying them so that both filiments run on high or just to get more current as in running heavy wire from the battery to the relay?
I was under the impression that running both filiments overheated the bulb and caused it to fail quickly.

[turbovanman²]

You talking relaying them so that both filiments run on high or just to get more current as in running heavy wire from the battery to the relay?
I was under the impression that running both filiments overheated the bulb and caused it to fail quickly.

He's talking about running a relay so the headlight switch turns on the relay which then gives the headlights full battery power as they will be hard wired to the relay from the battery with thicker, shorter wire.

[GLHNSLHT2]

simon is right. You're also not passing all of your headlight voltage through the headlight switch which sucks the voltage out of the wiring.

[Tony Hanna]

Gotcha.

[J&H Ryan]

Those are what I just put in my Daytona. I love them. ... I have the illegal E-code only Hella's in my GLH and I love them as well. ...
I'm about to buy some from rallylights - would you get the free formed ones or the e-code ones? The FF ones dont have a cover over the bulb that could create glare. Have you noticed any?

[GLHNSLHT2]

I have the bigger 200mm Ecode ones on my GLH, and the 165 FF ones on my Tona. Both are awesome. I've heard that the smaller 165 ecodes have a vent hole in them and when they're in the closed postion on Tona's that it can collect water in them and ruin them. The 165's have no opening that I saw and so far are ok. I've only had them for a couple weeks though. Both are a huge improvement over the stockers. You'll be happy with either. One thing I'd recommend is going down to an auto detail shop and getting some of that "clear bra" stuff put on them as the glass likes to get small nicks in it over time.

[J&H Ryan]

"clear bra" stuff put on them as the glass likes to get small nicks in it over time.
Thanks for the input - I'll be getting the FF's then. I'll prolly get some of that covering stuff, tho my lights will have the advantage of being behind retractible doors 75% of the time.

I'll be getting the 100w jobs, so relays will be in order from the start.

[J&H Ryan]

Got them today - they sent me the e-codes instead of FFs... Invoice says FFs. Going back they are *yoda voice*

[GLHNSLHT2]

hehe they made a mistake on my order too. gave me a 25 amp fuse instead of a 15 amp fuse. While you've got them there can you look them over and see if there are any vent holes in the housings?? I'd be curious to know if the rumor I heard about them was true or not.

[85lebaront2]

I am still working on mine, but.
Good mods:
Replacing weak, cracked head 2.6L with 2.2L TurboII
Installing factory IC
Mopar Performance Chip in LM
Replacing 85 style Monroe struts and mounts with 86 style KYBs and mounts (used springs from 87 Reliant 2.5L)
Dodge 600 cluster with digital tach
Bad:
So far non
Neutral:
Installed Design Tech remote start, alarm and keyless entry
On lights, I ran CIBIE units on my 66 Shelby back when bulb and socket styles were illeagal in Virginia. I could read the registration numbers on a boat parked 2 blocks away with them. I used a pair of relays, one for low beam and one for high as they would trip the breaker on the Mustang headlight switch. I am looking for some brighter lights for the K LeBaron 4 light system, I have put halogen replacements in as they need it.

[GLHNSLHT2]

follow the links above for your lebaron headlights. They're just four 165mm headlights.

[J&H Ryan]

hehe they made a mistake on my order too. gave me a 25 amp fuse instead of a 15 amp fuse. While you've got them there can you look them over and see if there are any vent holes in the housings?? I'd be curious to know if the rumor I heard about them was true or not.
Its true, there are little vent holes, one on either side of the bulb hole. The large rubber "seal" covers them, but I can see how water could easily get in them when in a daytona if the lights dip towards the front slightly. These look great, its just that the FFs cost $7 more, haha.

[james]

damn you old bastards!:yuck: i never even turn my bright lights on!:evil: :eyebrows:

[ScottD]

Good:
- Polybushings motor mounts and bobble strut.
- FWD-P 2.5 mandrel bent exhaust
- Vacuum block w/ rubber lines to replace brittle factory plastic lines
- TU computer, G-valve, UD pulley, roller cam, drop in K&N, adv timing to 14, 180 t-stat, 88 roller cam and open downpipe took my 87 Lebaron sedan T1 from 16.91 @80.3mph bone stock to 14.97@90.0mph.
- Strut tower bar on a t-top Daytona. It really helped stiffen the car up
- Rebuilt front suspension. On my last silver 89 Daytona Shelby, I rebuilt the front suspension with all NOS pieces. It drove like a new car after it was done. For my 89 Daytona C/S I'm working on, I'm using Polybushings for the front end this time.

Bad:
- Poly shifter bushings from FWD-P. These were orange in color. They were tough to get on and even tougher to get off. The shift feel was good, but these needn't be so stiff it takes an hour to work the one off on the back side of the trans.
- Crimp bent exhaust. I have a 2.5 crimp bent exhaust that was done in 1998 or so on my Spirit R/T. At the time the mandrel bent systems weren't out there, I would never do less than mandrel bent again.
- Put 90 VNT rad/ic in 91 Daytona. It didn't fit! There is a difference between the 90 and 91 rad supports. I made brackets to make it work and it worked but I would just get a 91-93 RT rad/ic if I had to do it over again.

Neutral:
- UD pulley. I'm sure this added some HP, but I had it on two cars that had lots of power items, and the accessories seemed to have issues after the install. I'm putting another one on my Daytona C/S which has no power stuff other than the radio so I hope it is not an issue.

[iTurbo]

Another not-so-good mod:

I once 'upgraded' my '87 Shelby Lancer TII airbox to a '90 TI airbox. I also installed a KN drop in filter at the same time. I did this primarily so I could have room to install an aluminum pipe between the stock intercooler outlet and the throttle body, thereby eliminating the airbox 'ziptube' and accordian hose.

This worked OK, but I think performance suffered with the later airbox. It definately looks more restrictive than the original TI/TII airboxes but I don't have any numbers to back up that claim. A few months ago I finally ditched the '90 airbox and installed a mandrel bent aluminum air intake with an open element filter underhood. The turbo spooled up noticeably faster and it sounds cool too, if you are into turbo sound FX coming from under the hood.

[turbovanman²]

Another not-so-good mod:

I once 'upgraded' my '87 Shelby Lancer TII airbox to a '90 TI airbox. I also installed a KN drop in filter at the same time. I did this primarily so I could have room to install an aluminum pipe between the stock intercooler outlet and the throttle body, thereby eliminating the airbox 'ziptube' and accordian hose.

This worked OK, but I think performance suffered with the later airbox. It definately looks more restrictive than the original TI/TII airboxes but I don't have any numbers to back up that claim. A few months ago I finally ditched the '90 airbox and installed a mandrel bent aluminum air intake with an open element filter underhood. The turbo spooled up noticeably faster and it sounds cool too, if you are into turbo sound FX coming from under the hood.

And now Dempsey has the dyno numbers to prove the later T1 airbox sucks, but not literally, :p

[cordes]

Thus far, socketing my LM and burning my own chips has been great. I love being able to adjust every thing myself, and I am really happy that I am using a flashable chip.

[ShelbyZD]

Ok, info on the APC bulbs.

There DOT legal, and called Ultra White bulbs.
Specs 65/45 and equiv to Zenon 100 watts.
Colour temp 4000k, remember-lower number is better-brigher and whiter.
Part # 9004
HB-1
50.9004.uwt

I paid around $30 for them.

You got that backwards. ;) Higher color temps = brighter/whiter light.

Anyways, I bought the Hella H4 Conversion Kit from Rallylights with Premium +50% Zenon bulbs and new free form lenses. The bulbs themselves are garbage. Can't see a thing unless its completely dark and no rain. High beams however are good. Color temp isn't very good either (3200K) looks quite yellow...same color as your interior roof light bulb. The Lenses themselves.. well Im still in the process of getting them pointed where I want them.. but I don't feel they are any prize. If you look at other cars their headlights flood the road ahead of them in an even manner. These lenses seem to have triangles of bright light spots and then the rest of the road is fairly dimly lit.

I replaced the Hella bulbs with Silverstars and it made a nice difference. The Silverstars are rated at 910 Luminens (Hella were 1150) and are a fair amount brighter than the Hella bulbs. Not to mention the Color temp is I believe is 4k and is much whiter than the Hella's.

When it comes down to it... the Silverstars are ok. Not so great in the rain.. but what light is? Personally I'd save up for the HID kit.

[The S is Silent]

Mods...can we split this thread into a good/not-so-good mod thread and a lighting upgrade thread to be put in the electrical forum...I feel it got a little off topic.

Good mod: Racing solutions mandrel bends. Doing intercooler piping with these things is AWESOME! It looks so much better than running straight sections of exhaust pipe connected by radiator hose bends.

So-so mod: Replacing the 2.5 in my van with a 2.2 turbo II engine. The reduction in torque is noticable, but at least the van is running now. :) But it is really fun to take the 2.2 out to redline. I wouldn't go out of my way to convert another turbo van to 2.2...but in a pinch it isn't too bad.

[LynX853]

ok, ill spill the beans... Im getting my 3.5in (not a misprint) swingvalve welded up REAL soon. (ill post pics dont worry) so if TU's 3in is good, 3.5 in should be better right? specially cause its a 90* bend and all. it should complement my PORTED tbi header .63a/r exhaust side and my ported head. it all should be running in car with new cal by late august. ill document everything and throw in a dyno chart too.

when it comes down to it GOOD MODS: ANYTHING WITH LESS RESTRICTIVE EXHAUST

not so effective mod: removing my high-flow cat completely with a test pipe. no noticable difference besides possibly being caught by cops without a cat... in my area they carry mirrors now and HAND SNIFFERS!!! (northern VA/DC area) i decided im cutting the cat in half and welding it to the test pipe so it looks like i at least have one.

[Chris Faulk]

i decided im cutting the cat in half and welding it to the test pipe so it looks like i at least have one.

It's easer to cut the ends off the cat. and then weld a piece of pipe THROUGH it.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/go-to73/1991%20Spirit%20RT/825f8404.jpg

[turbovanman²]

You got that backwards. ;) Higher color temps = brighter/whiter light.

.

Nope, go to any HID site, higher K or colour temp equals duller and more purple light, :p

[r00tcause]

Ok!

Good mods: turbovanman

Not so good mods: dakotakid


Thats what you meant by mods right? :)

Sorry I had to.

[GLHS592]

^ Groan!

[turbovanman²]

Ok!

Good mods: turbovanman

Not so good mods: dakotakid


Thats what you meant by mods right? :)

Sorry I had to.


Ok, now thats funny, I don't care who you are, :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Wes85L]

This thread is really interesting!

Good Mods:

-Odyssey dry cell battery, it weighs only 12lbs, a large difference over the ac-delco monster, made working on that side of the engine bay easier, can be mounted vertical or horizontal, room to route a cone filter, won't corrode or leak, less than $100
-No cat. converter, car pulled harder and with the mitsu turbo made boost alot easier, sound was music to my ears, less weight
-Dynomax Super Turbo, sounds awesome, noticeably more power over stock, lighter than similar mufflers, gotta keep the rear light
-Mobil 1 synthetic, not really a mod, but I had tried various dino oils and none are as good as synthetic for a turbo car especially, other oils would 'gum' up inside, also less friction will free up power, will help keep turbo running smoothly for a long time
-A/C delete bracket and a/c components, I shouldn't have because it was summer in FL but it would have been an expensive repair bill so I ditched it, the bracket makes getting to the #1 plug way easier and in addition having all those a/c hoses, compressor, etc gone makes repairs to that side of engine so much easier, looks much cleaner, increased cooling to the radiator with condensor gone, will lose a bunch of weight
-T2/T3 clutch, it held consistently, went 9.53 @ 74mph with a mitsu, stock head, no cat, dynomax muffler, cheap kumhos, in my shadow
-Fel-pro Permaseal thermostat gasket, reusable hundreds of times, never leaked, used on both shadow and charger, much better than scraping off rtv and old gasket and cleaning mating surfaces just to change a thermostat
-Vac. block, looks awesome, very professional, clean vac. routing, no leaks

There's more but I'll give others the chance.

Neutral Mods:

-running no cat. converter, smells bad, workers at fast food drive thru would complain, pollutes environment, causes mitsu to overboost horribly combined with a hi-flow muffler
-Mobil 1 synthetic, leaks everywhere, on these cars and with high mileage that's hard to avoid but it's usually worse when switching from conventional to synthetic, everywhere that can leak will, expensive oil change
-K&N cone filter, sucks in hot engine air, sounds good though, trying to find some where to get cool air on these cars is hard, something like the fox body mustang setup would be great, on the charger i'm happy with the stock setup over a cone filter setup

[LynX853]

I have a true CAI, I relocated the battery to do it though.. oh yeah these were last years pics... engine bay is totally re-done now, please ignore/excuse the vac hoses and I have 3.5in pipe now instead of PVC
http://thumb5.webshots.com/t/44/45/8/53/74/364985374SUOGoY_th.jpg (http://community.webshots.com/photo/1364985374069772405SUOGoY)

http://thumb5.webshots.com/t/12/12/8/54/51/364985451JsQVRF_th.jpg (http://community.webshots.com/photo/1364985451069772405JsQVRF)

and pics from last winder (a little more recient)

http://thumb7.webshots.com/t/61/61/2/27/59/2525227590076281847XwQFFk_th.jpg (http://community.webshots.com/photo/2525227590076281847XwQFFk)
http://thumb7.webshots.com/t/62/162/4/88/73/2965488730076281847bBduyd_th.jpg (http://community.webshots.com/photo/2965488730076281847bBduyd)
http://thumb7.webshots.com/t/57/57/0/28/75/2784028750076281847TwnJGn_th.jpg (http://community.webshots.com/photo/2784028750076281847TwnJGn)
http://thumb7.webshots.com/t/54/54/3/31/89/2463331890076281847esJOBB_th.jpg (http://community.webshots.com/photo/2463331890076281847esJOBB)

when im done putting everything back together this summer ill post up some really good pics of everything. enjoy!

[iTurbo]

Good mods I've done in the last few months:

OTC 4000E - I should have got one of these a long time ago
Apple iPod w/Pioneer deck and iPod interface - can't imagine getting along without it!

Not-so-good:
Kumho 711 tires - lucky to get 15000 miles out of them
XM radio - audio quality sucks, even with the Pioneer IP-Bus XM Tuner

[Chris Faulk]

-K&N cone filter, sucks in hot engine air, sounds good though, trying to find some where to get cool air on these cars is hard, something like the fox body mustang setup would be great, on the charger i'm happy with the stock setup over a cone filter setup

I was going to reply a while back, but got busy and forgot.
Install the filter in the proper place and it won't suck any hot air in.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/go-to73/1991%20Spirit%20RT/962ea255.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/go-to73/1991%20Spirit%20RT/b9c8e38d.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/go-to73/1991%20Spirit%20RT/DSCF0019.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/go-to73/1991%20Spirit%20RT/DSCF0018.jpg

[Whorse]

This gets pretty cold air to my intake. Some shrouding and it'd be money.

[Tony Hanna]

That's a nice looking setup Chris, what kind of tubing is that? I may have to do something similar when I build a CAI for the Sundance.

[Chris Faulk]

That's a nice looking setup Chris, what kind of tubing is that? I may have to do something similar when I build a CAI for the Sundance.

Why thank you sir! :thumb: It's silicone high-temp. aircraft intake tubing.

CLICK HERE. (http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/duct.htm)

I've been using this stuff in every TD I've owned since I started 11yrs ago. VERY flexible, VERY tough, & looks nice too.