3 plus 1

Silver 99 LS. Got rims and Yokahama tires on it. OEM body kit. I love the car the way it looks now, and I've gotten many compliments already. So I'm not looking to invest anything more in cosmetics (that includes dropping it). What I am looking to invest money in is performance.

Now, I know I have an B18B1 block and not a B18C, and I dont intend to spend a lot of money turning it into an LS-Vtec or dropping another engine in (car only has 38k miles on it). So whatever I'm gonna do I want to keep the engine block itself the same as when I bought it. Also, I dont have money coming out my ass (I'm a college student after all). The only thing I do have on my side is a history of never having a spending habit. What money I had pooled up for mods kinda went down the drain when I invested the extra $1300 for this car in particular and the other $800 in new rims and tires. So whatever I end up doing, I wont be doing for another half a year or so, but as I write this out I'm saving up every last bit of money in preparation for my soon to be project.

There's a couple options I've been toying with, and I wouldnt mind any of them. Price and reliability are what really separate them all. First, I could go supercharger. It would put down enough power to keep my happy with less tuning than something like a turbo. But at the price I might as well just save up a bit more and go turbo. As for turbo, yes, it would put down the most power, but would also require the most tuning, and the biggest pocketbook. The only real concern I have about turboing is streetability. The LS is my daily driver and will remain my daily driver. I'm not sure a turbo LS, even with proper tuning, would be a nice car to drive in any application. If there are people who have done it that use their car as a daily driver, I'd like to hear their input. The last option is the NA build-up. The only problem with that is it will net probably the least power and still cost the same in the end. It will be a lot more reliable (if done correctly) and last a lot longer with out being as harsh on the engine, but I wont be much more powerful than a stock GSR. Now I could invest a decent amount of money and create a really nice nitrous setup that doesnt harm the car too much.


So there's people here who've probably done everything I suggested. What's your input on it all? Which would probably be easier? Cheaper? More reliable? I know the age old saying, 'fast, reliable, cheap; you can only have 2' , but if you could do it all over again, what would you do?

Turbo4Teggy

drop it!! but not just with springs, get coilovers. suspension is the best thing that ever happened to my car. i highly recomend tein. suspension is good especially if its your daily driver cuz its something you dont have to be racing around to enjoy

turbo > supercharger. i really wanted a supercharger cuz my friend blew up his car with turbo...but now i'm really happy with. basically superchargers take away power in the low end before they give you the boost (kinda like when you turn on you ac sorta) so its almost like they have "turbo lag" too, and teggy turbos, well greddy at least, are little anyway so turbo lag isnt a huge issue. (i'm really bad at explaing things and i'm nowhere near an expert on anything so sorry if that makes no sense.)
anyway in the end both are hard on your engine, but if you dont drive hard all the time, it should last you a good long while. an intercooler greatly decreases your chances of blowing up and gauges let you know if anythings being funky. turbo has more potential to build and get more power out of. and 7-8 psi is fine on the stock motor and gives quite a noticable power boost

my intentions were originally to go NA. but its a lot of money and work, when building a turbo'ed engine would be much zippier. ls/vtec is an option, but its not so reliable. and ls's have lower compression i think than the b18c's and they are pretty strong.

but you know what they say...forced induction is for those who can't get their car fast enough na..but oh well....my car is basically still the same car with the turbo...it still rides really smooth...its just is quicker...and mines legal..(drag kits offer more power...but they are pricier and not street legal...but my car isnt a drag racer...i like auto x)

3 plus 1

The greddy turbo kit is pretty much the only one I'm interested in. Small turbo, so no lag, and it makes all the power I'd need. Plus I'd never have to worry about emissions.

As for dropping my car, its not that I'm not interested, its that I know I'll tear it up in the end. There's a lot of paved roads around here, but I dont live inner-city, and in college I wont either. I've already managed to take a nice big gash of paint out of the OEM kit and I'm riding stock height. I've bottomed out on a couple spots already. Not because I'm careless, but because I cant avoid it. I'm getting more used to driving a car instead of a truck, but I worry my ass off already about scraping. When I'm dropped it'll only get worse.

Turbo4Teggy

teggys are nice cuz they have pretty good handling stock...but there's alway adjustable suspension that doesnt have to change ride height it really is worth the money

3 plus 1

First I'm taking care of performance, later, if I still have money left over and feel a drop would compliment, I may go adjustable suspension, but while the turbo would only be a year away, the ride height would be years away.

revhappy420

i got a suggestion. sell your oem kit to me and use the money to buy suspension. kill two birds with one stone. but seriously, on all my cars, suspension has always been first, before anything else. if you choose the right setup, you'll be glad you went that route. no offense, but it feels kinda odd to have bigger rims and low pro tires with a stock suspension. it gives it that 4x4 stance. but its all up to you, though. the greddy kit does seem like a good setup for what you want. it'll basically give you good power in the low, midrange, and top end, but its not too much of a total dragger setup. if you want your car decently quick and you want that extra pep around town, it'll work just fine. for me, i'll just save up a lil more for a revhard stage2 or even better precision60-1

3 plus 1

I need something driveable, so the greddy kit is pretty much the only one that I think I could handle without running into long term problems. As for suspension, I do need to get a FSTB, but I seriously dont want to drop it. I've never had anyone say it looks jacked up like a 4x4 and it only has 16" rims. If I was on 18's, ya, drop would be a must, but I want to make the most streetable car possible, and while a drop may even ride nicer, it will still run into problems with scraping. Considering how hard it would be to find another OEM kit if I scratched mine up, I think I'll stick stock ride height for now.

stealthteg

well when you have power, and when your going fast the stock suspension just wont cut it.
dont just think about suspension for the looks think about the performance, and suspension will give you a significant amount.
i would suggest gettin suspension first, dont SLAM it. you could even get type R suspension if you dont want it low. i would say get some stabilizers, strut bars, etc.

BonzoAPD

droping a car is a performance mod It gives you much better handling. To think that dropping a car is purely cosmetic is just a noob statement. As for wanting to go fast, I totally understand that. But if you want your teg to handle the speed, invest in some suspension mods.

teg_fan

I was astounded with the increase in handling capabilities that my friends gsr had to offer once it was lowered. But with that amazing oem kit, I dunno. BUT, I bet you will get a lot more used to avoiding holes and bumps.