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Old 19-10-2007, 01:25 AM   #1
323Racer
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should i modify my car??

hey guys btw forgot to tahnk you guys for my other posat on spoilers...much appreciated...its been about 5 months now since i bought my first car which is a mazda astina 323 1997 BA model....i want to modify the wheels, exhaust, spoiler and parts of the engine but is all this worth it on my 1.8 L ??

im really like struggling here....isit worth spending a grand on this car?? i mean theres nothing wrong with it...i do enjoy driving it but should i put all this moeny into this car or get a better newer one and then put money into it???

u guys have done way more moding than me and have alot of experiance...so i dont think anyone elses advice would be better than you guys....

thanxxx
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Old 19-10-2007, 01:45 AM   #2
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Well, what you'll find on these forums is that they are full of drivers whom have decided to mod, as for whether you should or not or the money you want to spend it all depends on what you want to get out of your car. If it's performance you want, then you'll be looking at $4000 + to turbo charge that 1.8. It'll certainly be fast enough to satisfy most people then. If you are after aesthetics, then a grand will get you fairly far, also depends on how much you do yourself and how much you outsource.
Worth it? Big question, for a 97 model, not many came out with 2 airbags and ABS was pretty much a merc/beemer exclusive club, not sure if your 1.8 came with those, but that’s one advantage. If it's outright performance you want, then sell you astina, add the $4000 you were going to spend modding it and get and S13 200SX. Local or grey import, at least there you are getting a performance oriented package, where is here, you've got what is essentially a spiced up family car. A very few dollars on a 200SX goes very far in performance modding terms.
Hope this advice has helped you. BTW if you do go turbo charged rear wheel drive jap performance car, make sure you learn how to drive first, easiest thing in the world to wrap one of those around a pole, very light cars with lots of torque = loss of rear wheel traction so know what u r doing before you hop into one.
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Old 19-10-2007, 02:40 AM   #3
323Racer
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$4000 to add a turbo charger?...is that just for the turbo....what other important things do i need to change to suit the turbo?? whats the positives and negatives of it on my car and how much would it add...sorry for all the questions but i can't seem to get a straight answer off the net.

but i also dont want a car thats gonna really stick out to the cops say put a yellow sticker on me....would a more advanced ecu chip improve the efficiency of the engine using less fuel but more power??

and i have a white car and i wanna get white rims...what do you think??
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Old 19-10-2007, 05:33 AM   #4
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more like $5000+ to make a BA a turbo car.

lower it, put wheels on it. then after spending $2500 on those 2 things, decide whether you want to spend any more money on the car.

ryan
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Old 19-10-2007, 07:05 AM   #5
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mate, we cant tell you to mod it or not...you should think about it...if you love the car and want to keep it for a longtime and want to change things, change em...there an underrated car...its all up to you mate...have a look through the readers rides to see if you like what people have done there and if ya doo then start lookin at modifying...
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Old 19-10-2007, 07:58 AM   #6
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Yeah, its all about whether you want to keep the car in the long term or not...I plan to eventually get around to throwing some cash into my car, but only to a certain extent. i.e. no going crazy lol.

I think you should just make your car nice, slap some rims on it, extractors, exhaust, maybe a nice HU and speakers. With those mods, i think you would be really happy with the BA, it will make it alot easier to keep her for alot longer and it gives you the chance to save for your next car longer...so yeah, they are a very nice car - but be careful...once the modding bug bites - theres no going back lol.
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Old 19-10-2007, 08:46 AM   #7
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I always wondered the same thing, whether to just keep saving or to buy a new and better car. But in your case, how much does 1k compare to buying a 'newer' car? I don't think it's a lot of money (depending what 'newer better' car you want) Personally there's no car design shape i like better other than an rx7, or as practical with 4 doors (of course under the 50k mark), and a 97 BA is right at the end of the line of production for BA's.

For me, I was happy paying an extra 5k on this car on suspension and exhaust/induction, knowing that i'll probably keep it for another 5-10 years, and get so much more enjoyment out of driving it because of the mods I have, (exhaust, CAI, shocks, springs, rear sway bar, strut braces), without being a cop eye catcher (i.e. grey import) or an invitation for a pointless drag down the street.

If I was looking at my car from an outside perspective, i'd think it were a 'hairdressers' car with nice rims, but under the stock look the thing handles like a go-kart when i want it to = awesome
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Old 19-10-2007, 06:38 PM   #8
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hey thanx for the advice guys....has helped answer most of my to do or not to do questions haha...

but i've seen some of your rides and there just one of a kind....im in perth n i see wrx's, skylines, 200sx's, honda integras and supras about 20 times a day all over the place....i mean there awsome cars but i just want my own car that represents me ..not what everyone else has....but then what everyone else has is far more powerful than mine....

mayb im juss thinking too much about this....i think im going to go ahead with it....i like my car n i dont think i can handle someone else driving it ...

im slapping on some wheels...exhaust and spoiler n i'll see how that goess..

thanx again guys...hey also...do you know anything about ecu chips...will it ehance my cars power and efficiency and use less fuel?? i know the more power the more fuel but juss curious...and also my car is 16 valve so does that mean double the air intake and double the exhaust or isit just divided into 2??
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Old 19-10-2007, 07:18 PM   #9
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16 valve means it has 2 intake valves, and 2 exhaust valves.


as for chips, most chips (that I have witnessed) are bull****. they make very little, if any, extra power, and there are much better power gains to be made from cheaper things like intake/exhaust.

the only ECU mods that do anything worthwhile IMO is standalone or piggyback units that can be programmed to the individual car to take into accounts any mods it has/hasn't got.

to cut it short, my opinion is that for the price, ECU mods wont give you much at all, unless you have substantial mods to other areas.
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Old 20-10-2007, 12:07 AM   #10
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imo go rwd, even if u go turbo those 2 front wheels are gonna spin like crazy! also like Cinncinatus said before, a few dollars spent on a turbo car go a real long way!~
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Old 20-10-2007, 03:20 AM   #11
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Having gone from mild to wild more then once

NO it's not worth it. UNLESS your into it.

All my cars have had bascis done - Intake exhuast - suspension. To me they are the basics. I didn't quite finish the astina off. Didn't do exhuast.

All my previous car did.

I do it because it's too hard not too. You have to be dedicated to go further. IMO. Anytime you take any car that was never really desgined for a certain use you will find it's limitations. Alot of people talk about cars can take 50& more this that. Yeah they can if you drive them the way car maker think most normal people drive.

Having dystroyed stock cars, My first box was a 96 WRX in 98.

I cant tell you it's expensive, trip in that long term the money Iv'e spent and I'm sure others would say better off in a decent investment that is profitable.

BUt I would never go back to change my mind.

THe advanatage of using other types of cars is Support. NOT that many parts off the shelf for Mazda's other then Rx-7's and MX-5's. It's getting bigger as they take up more of the market. Especially the new Mazda 3.
BUt like alot of people it's custom.

BUt As you have pointed out In doing a car that does not have massive support makes it orginal and an expression of ones self.

As they say it's not if you win or loose it's how you play the game. But for me it's how much you enjoy playing the game.
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Old 20-10-2007, 07:10 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rodhog View Post
As they say it's not if you win or loose it's how you play the game. But for me it's how much you enjoy playing the game.
300% true! dont do anythin to you car for anyone else but yourself...youll enjoy and love it alot more that way...
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Old 20-10-2007, 04:41 PM   #13
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so ecu chips dont do alot huh?......ok thanx again for the advice guys....and what do u mean by intake/exhaust.??how do you mod dat? and IMO??

i know 16 valve means 2 intakes and 2 exhausts but is double the intake/exhaust of a normal car or isit the same as a normal car but just divided into two valves for more airflow??
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Old 20-10-2007, 04:45 PM   #14
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ECU are only good once the engine develops a need for them. At stock they wont do much.

intake exhaust means you get extractors plus a larger, better flowing exhaust to let the engine get rid of the exhaust fumes better with less resistance and to counterpoint you improve the air intake to better the intake. eg CAI with a high flow filter.

More valves for more airflow. In my V6 the intake valves run on one set until the magic 5000RPM when the second set opens up, does this happen in the I4 also?
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Old 20-10-2007, 05:27 PM   #15
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oh so thats how it works...so the 2 set of valves dont open until a certain rpm huh??

coz i've noticed that when i go above 3000rpm its goes alot faster and feels more powerful but uses up a fair bit of fuel....
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Old 20-10-2007, 07:33 PM   #16
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No, all sets of valves open at the same time on both the I4 and V6 engines.

It's the intake manifolds that you're getting confused with. They have a set of butterflies in them that basically change the length of the intake runners to give you different power characteristics in the rev range.
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Old 21-10-2007, 08:16 AM   #17
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Ahh I see.
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Old 21-10-2007, 08:59 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by 323Racer View Post
coz i've noticed that when i go above 3000rpm its goes alot faster and feels more powerful but uses up a fair bit of fuel....

that's different alltogether, that would be where the engine makes it most torque (twisting force), if you look at a dyno sheet you will see the torque line will slowly climb, then peak at Xrpm (on 4cyls it seems to be around 3-4k)



Quote:
BUt As you have pointed out In doing a car that does not have massive support makes it orginal and an expression of ones self.
tell me about it......... my car has practically NO support outside of Europe.

even car dealers have said "what the f@#k is that model?"
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Old 21-10-2007, 05:52 PM   #19
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twisting torque?? butterfly?? ok i gotta seach this up...sounds interesting....do i increase intake by adding a CAI high flowing filter?? what is that?? and will a catback exhaust be enough to help the airflow of the exhaust or do i need extractors for that to work??
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Old 21-10-2007, 06:04 PM   #20
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I'm sorry but you have used too many question marks without envoking the search facility.
You are now a 1st level grumplin with a base level short dagger and no shielding.
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