hi all. i just got a wicked tax return, been working my ass off lately, and i'm planning to mod the balt up.

here is a short mod list i have planned, i would like to know if it's a wise path, or perhaps if there are better alternatives. trying to plan it all out in advance so i can get the basics done first, then do it up:

cooling mods;
-i plan to run a secondary h/e in addition to my stock one, i know a guy i go to school with who has a cobra h/e i can get, or i will get a crx h/e (or cx, or cr i forget) whatever will do the job. or shall i just get 1, large h/e??
-option b, or hatrickstu-style secondary coolant reservior with dual pass end plate. was considering the single pass intake, but i'd rather save some $$ and get the dual pass with the 2nd h/e
-now that things'll be a bit cooler, water/meth with a throttle body spacer b4 the sc. btw, do our sc's have teflon coatings, and what's this i hear about the meth eating the teflon? fact or fiction? either way, all this cooling (and some power from water/meth) will be great for when i do...

power mods;
-OTTP stage 1 kit which is the 2.8 with 60lb injectors. the kit seems attractive to me cuz people like their canned tune, and on the site it gives options to add mods so they can give you a proper tune to match what you have! is that realistic, or should i get tuned from a professional? never got a car tuned b4 so that's a new area for me...

I plan to do the h/e and option b cooling mods first. then, i'll do the water/meth when i go with the stage kit so OTTP can give me a tune based on the install of their stage 1 with the other supporting mods.

i've done the airbox mod with a K&N filter, the cheap way for more air lol i'll consider an intake, but i g2 price this all out first. definately want some good cooling before i make power so it's safe.

also, how about getting a 'guage' to read iat2? i hear about the interceptor and the aeroforce a lot, what are the differences and what is practical to a guy like me who wants to have bolt ons and kits for extra performance, not looking to have a ton of data at my fingertips since i don't tune with HPT.

Right now i'm looking at ~$150-$200 for the h/e setup with piping, $100 for dual pass endplate (rather order it instead of getting the stock one welded! yikes that scares me lol) extra tank and lines say $50, water/meth base kit for ~$225, tb spacer for ~$70, stage 1 kit for $460 (stage 2 belt & pulley+hub)

grand total = ~$1k. this is not bad for what i want to accomplish, not including a guage, but if i don't need the gauge that's cool. i'm gettin a usb scan tool pretty soon, any1 know of any apps (i can get anything, thanks internet ) that will allow for iat2 reading??

How am I doing in planning this all out? any tips, help and suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks in advance!

 

Okay, I won't speak for everyone else, but yes, the methanol is eatting the coating off the sc rotors on my car, that's not stopping me from running it though..lol

I actually just did the dial pass set-up this past weekend. Spent $33 total, but we did weld my stock plate. I also enjoy this mod...lol

 

come to think of it, the dual pass i'd be ordering is from OTTP, and they weld theirs... i'll see if i can find a competent welder in my area, that's worth looking into at least.

and since many people run pre-sc water/meth, i guess no1 is too concerned with that teflon coating heh. it's my understanding that since the coating will be gone, the blades will be farther apart. the sc will become less efficient, but when ya spin it faster and cool it, it's not really a big deal, right?

 

Meth'll eat away at it as its METH, lol. I ran my meth for months and months as have other people on here and so far, it hasn't caused me any damage other than I ran out under a WOT pull at 24 degrees advanced timing so... Nevermind

Get a Custom Tune.. You can run their canned tune for a while, but with meth and a few other mods you'll want a nice custom tune.. Try looking up 06blackg85ss as I know he has HpTuners and if his car speaks of how he is as a tuner, "bad ass" is what I would use to describe it and him, Lol.

Aeroforce and Interceptor are the same gauge and it is very nice to have as it shows KR and IAT's, well thats what I always had up, but it also shows an ass ton of other options. A good buy.

Another good thing to have would be a Wideband.

OTT Stage 1
H/E
Dual Pass
Methanol
Aeroforce
Wideband

That would give you a nice setup that would pull decently hard, but I would recommend doing a Exhaust combo soon after or before buying all those..

It looks pretty solid, you can never have enough cooling mods, the gauges are just extra security to monitor, iat's, knock, and your Air Fuel Ratio. I don't know if I would run meth without my gauges letting me know whats going on. Thats just me

Happy Modding.

 

I like your mods but as the guy above me said it would be wise to grab a cold air intake and an exhaust system. I would grab a 3 inch header/downpipe/exhaust and you will be set =D

 

everyone sounds pretty knowledgable in their responses, thank you.

if i were to reprioritize, i guess i can go in this order?

-dual pass + heat exchanger 1st. def g2 keep this thing cool as i have read numerous times.
-definately the ottp stage 1 kit. i can pass on the meth for now, at least things will be fairly cool with those minor cooling mods, not looking for anything too extravagent but some more power would be nice.

this seems like a good path to take for now. i can only get so many things, i still do have a lot of credit card debt so i can't exactly go all out. if i do those basic things first, i can utilize the stage kit performance while keeping iat2's fairly low (130's would be nice as i have read it's possible with dual pass and secondary h/e) on WOT pulls. i'll let the ottp tune do its thing for now, and let the ecu kick back timing if things get hot enough for kr which hopefully they shouldn't. mind you all that I don't go to the track, and i very rarely race other people. my car could knock retard all day, if my pedal is to the floor and i'm going fast i have no idea this is for my own personal enjoyment

some basic cooling and the stage kit will put me where i wanna be for now, and run me ~$200 or so for cooling + ~$500 after shipping for the stage kit for a total = $700 or so. the 2nd round of mods could include the intake and exhaust, go for the ls4 throttle body and a spacer w/ a tap for the water/meth. when that's in, get a custom tune for it all. how does that sound? then i can get the power i want 1st, then tweak it with upgrades

as for the wideband, it'd be nice to have a 2nd gauge in the a pillar that'd be a cool look plus informative on kr and iat2. like i had said earlier, any1 know of any good pc apps that can allow me to read iat2's? getting that usb OBDII scan tool as a present for doing well in school this past semester, w00t. i can at least have an idea of how well the cooling mods are working for me, without having to dish out $200+ for an interceptor or yet another $200 for a wideband. i'll do the wideband when i plan on getting custom tuned, or else it really isn't necessary for me, yet.

the cold air intake and exhaust, water/meth and the wideband and interceptor i can do that later on so i can save up more for it for when i'm ready to get custom tuned on the whole setup. just got my insurance bill today due for june 11th, call that irony heh. god's way of saying hey dude don't mod too much you're gonna crash and die. yea i'm a religious guy

does this sound like a good path??