Dear NAM's Abby, What should I do?
 

I've got the basic bolt-ons and mods and have gotten the weight of my car down to 2590 lbs:

Webb 15% pulley
Webb/DDM Intake
Invidia Catback
Denso IK-22 Plugs
Rear seat delete
M7 Springs
Stock S-Heavies/Advan A/S Tires
Hawk Pads, SS Brake Lines, Tyrol Caliper Bushing kit, Motul Fluid, Drilled & Slotted Rotors
What should I spend $500-$700 on?

I've been looking into lightweight rims (OZ's?), but I'm also thinking that a good tune from someone (LDG??:confused: ) would make me more happy. I want power, quicker response, more [insert Tim Allen voice] Ug, Ug, Ugh [lose Tim Allen voice] from my car. I love it what I have now, but it's still not enough. I plan on going with Jan's head on down the road, but then I'd have to re-tune...so would it be better to wait and tune, just go with rims now, or what???

Sincerely,

Never satisfied... :grin:

What's a header cost these days? That might give the extra grunt you wunt.

If I were you, I'd begin to look towards handling improvements over power increasing mods. Rear sway bar, better tires, better brakes. If you are going to get the wheels, wait until you need new tires. No reason to pay to mount old tires on new rims only to have to pay to have new ones installed soon afterwards.

+1 on suspension and brake upgrades.

swaybar, camber plates, rear control arms, and better/bigger rotors & pads/steel lines.

Power is nothing if the car cannot handle it. Like the old muscle cars.

I too am looking for a LDG tune, but want a new header and Jan's head. I should wait for those first.

Big brake kit, after you ditch those S-Heavies!

Someone has to say it - Driver school.
A good school will make you faster and better than any mod.

However, if you want parts +2 on the suspension. Wheels would also be good if they are part of a good suspension.

I would also wait on the tune until you get the head.

If you are looking for quicker response then getting lighter rims will definitly help. My OZ's are 8lbs. lighter than S- heavies, made a big improvement :thumbsup:. But I think they are more expensive than what you want to spend.

+1 RIMS!!!!:thumbsup:

I did forget to mention brakes. I already have upgraded my brakes.

SS Lines, Bushing kit, Hawk pads, RB drilled/slotted rotors, Motul fluid...

I have thought about a sway bar and that is on my list, I'm just looking to make the car a little faster.

I had figured light weight rims would be the best of both worlds as I would lose weight, gain a little more quickness, improve braking, and so forth... Thanks for your imputs so far guys. I appreciate it.

For me, a bigger rear sway made a big difference in the overall feel of this car. I cannot imagine driving one without it at this point.

TJM

two words:
 

+1 on the sway bar....I have the same mods, but I did them in a different order.If I could have a do over, I would have started with the sway bar....

lighter wheels won't make the paradigm shift in performance you are looking for. if you have decent tread left on your current tires, maybe do the GP intercooler, rear sway, some camber plates or a tune. Those seem to me to be a better use of that money. YMMV

...

At the school I did last spring, there was a Evo 9, stock, that was passing a STi that had more the 100hp and was stripped down for weight. The best mod that the Evo had was the driver. Carried more speed thru the corners that most everything else too, which ment, in the straights, he blew by cars that he should not have been able to catch.:nod:

The "nut behind the wheel" is the part that offers the most opportunity for improvement for any car and driver combination.

However, other parts can improve performance, too.

I did rims and tires as one of the first mods, and the difference was very noticeable, IMO. Significant weight loss and the car seemed to do EVERYTHING better. Of course, unless you find a really good deal, forged rims and good tires are could be over your budget (less than $800 for the lot, and I would question whether you even want to go there unless they are used and NOT abused).

And, of course, tires should be the only thing that actually touch the road, so they definitely effect all aspects of performance. I didn't see if you still have the run-flats, but if you do, then dumping them would do a lot even if you don't do the rims just yet.

S-heavies&runflats to anything else, say the 15" holies (something Ive tried before) will free up what seems like 50 hp. You will also be able to stop faster too, and the steering responce will become crisper. As a plesant side effect, if the holies have the stock contis on them, expect to have loads of fun tossing the car about.

Thanks for the added inputs. I have switch out the runflats for Advan A/S's. I've got some time yet to make my decision (all winter, basically) so I'll continue to do more indepth research. Thanks to those who have trailblazed before me, this decision shouldn't be too difficult to make.

:thumbsup: