My '03 Diamond Graphite 6mt, by way of Ebay, should be on the truck to LA tomorrow. Can't wait. Used to have a modded up S4, but ready for a change.

I'm not looking to go big here, but are there any essential mods that I should commit my first $1k towards?

Am I going to get much performance for that money, or should I focus on the cosmetics (but no rebadging)? Or, tell me about both.

With the audi, an $800 chip gives something like 70hp/80lb. An obvious winner, except for the potential for blown turbos. ;-) And, a short shifter was necessary to take out the shifting slop.

thanks in advance.

 

Others will post their thoughts, but I would suggest waiting until you receive the car to decide what to do. There may be other non-warranty things you might want to take care of (tires? brake pads? etc)
Either way, clear corners are a must. Really easy install. Aluminum pedals are good too, but dont try it without using wd40 or heating them...

 

z-tube, k&n drop in, crawford plenum, crank pulley, and high flow cats.
$60,$40,$400,$200,$200 and you will a hundred to spare to save up for an exhaust or some nice rims

 

hmm...$1k...i'd do the above for a start. probably add some drop springs too.

 

Eibach Prokit, Stillen Swaybars and rear camber rods are a must imho.

Prokit approx 250
Stillen approx 275
camber rods (450 stillen, but you can get cheapers ones)

 

Great advise on the mods (IMO I'd skip the pulley at first and do some research before buying/installing one), but the prices seem to be a little low. A new Z-Tube for $60 or a new set of high flow cats for $200 is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?

I'd say,
z-tube, K&N pannel filter, Crawford Plenum (click appropriate link), Crawford High Flow Cats (click appropriate link)

The installation on these are all DIY's, with the exception of the cats. The bolts on the drivers side are VERY DIFFICULT to get to w/o a lift and the proper tools. The above costs total $1010 (plus shipping which should total about $35-ish). The installation of the cats should not exceed $50. These items will gain you a solid 20bhp and that's about as much as you can hope for (staying NA) on this car. Total comes to just under $1100 so hopefully Santa will be a little generous to you this year.

Happy modding!

 

oops my bad on the price of the cats.

 

How effective are the cats with the stock exhaust?

 

Not too bad, maybe 5-7rwhp by themselves. Add a plenum and you have the rest of the 20bhp. These 2 mods work VERY WELL together on all VQ35DE's.

Now, don't go thinking "hey I'll get the plenum first and get the 13-15 rwhp", it doesn't work like that. If you get the plenum first you'll be lucky to see the same 5-7rwhp gain. You need BOTH to get the 20bhp because they BOTH help the engine to inhale/exhale much more efficiently.

Personally, I'm keeping the stock exhaust (after the y-pipe) until I run out of things to mod...

 

How much louder is the car with the hi-flow cats? Is there any drone? Is there anyone in the Detroit area with a Z or G with some exhaust set-ups I can see/hear?

This car will initially be my fiance's daily driver, and I don't want it to be too loud for comfort. My Mustang already is, I don't need 2 cars that way.

 

I've read that people have lost power with the Crawford plenum, is this true??

 

Lower it $250, pedals $85, Z-tube and K&N $150, Bat's overlays $100, window tint $175, Sways $250

You will not get much HP for $1K, plus suspension should be first in my opinion anyway and some cool cosmetics are fairly cheap as well! My .02

 

I figured you guys would have some solid advice on how how to personalize the car. And, when it comes down to it, I'll probably be willing to kick in a few extra dollars. just don't want to throw it all down at once - I like the idea of having something to look forward to.

I'll probably go with the tint / springs too. How can I not ;-)