Upgrades and Performance

[Pete]

I've been looking to do something with my '93 S13 convertible. It's an auto, and either the gearing sucks, or I'm just expecting too much from it when I start off from a dead stop. Anyways, from reading around here it would seem that there are a couple things I could do to up my horsepower. I've given seroius consideration to the UR pulley, a K&N kit, and possibley even a Jet or Jim Wolf ECM upgrade. Now, from all the numbers, it looks like I could get around 26+ rwhp from those upgrades, but my question is, how much does increasing HP affect the cars performance when "launching", especially given an auto transmission? At what point do you readily notice the increases in HP? And is the Wolf ECM better than the Jet?

Again, thanks in advance for any help on this.

[S14Life]

Well torque would be your "off the line" power. The UR pulley and K&N filter are good upgrades for that. I'd also consider headers and a full 2 1/2 inch exhaust if you plan to keep the KA motor setup. No need for a Jim Wolf ECU deal becuase the most they can really do for you is take off the rev and speed limiter (I think..). You could also do a automatic to manual transmission swap. I've heard it's fairly easy. http://www.zilvia.net has a tutorial. Another thing you can do it suspension stuff, getting the power to the ground. Stiffer motor and transmission mounts... Hope that helps.

[MainEvent212]

another thing i'd recommend on top of what he said, is ditching the mechanical fan for electric...the engine will be much more "rev-happy" once it's taken off

[AZhitman]

Pete - Welcome to NICO!

Don't miss our "convertibles" forum under 240 General!

[drifter_for_life06]

AZ your really tryin tog et people to hit-up that vert forum arent ya? lol its all good

i would say a torque converter? my brother said hes putting one on his cougar thats an AT? is that anything worth while?

[Pete]

Thanks guys, I'll most likey do the air box replacement and the UR pulley, in that order, as funds allow.

One other question though; is the K&N the best so far as intake kits go?

[Oatmealman]

personally i like k&n the best but i think there are better,thats my 2 cents

[drifter_for_life06]

intake wise id get a weapon-r/dragon intake

[quiksilvia]

knn

[Oatmealman]

rock on quiksivia finally someone agrees with me

[thelinja]

Have you even tuned the car up yet?

[drifter_for_life06]

yea tune up first, then performance. Get da car running like a champ from the showroom floor. then mod it

[Pete]

OK, so what's involved with "tuning" it up? New wires, plugs, etc? Or something else?

[SeVa-S13]

New plugs, (NGK's, the good ones)Mobil 1 10w-40High Quality air, fuel and oil filters

That would be a good start and should return a bit of power and response.

[drifter_for_life06]

that just clean everything et it all running properly, new distributor and what seva said too

[xns]

...hmmm, you need to watch out for the underdive pulleys that are after market, they can mess up your crank, and dont buy electric fans they dont do that much. Not worth the money

[drifter_for_life06]

xns i beg-the-differ. elctrical fans are far better than mechanical

[cdlong]

only because you can turn them off. there is no need to have a fan running when the car is moving. clutch fans don't move much but can pull lots of air when needed. electric fans can pull lots of air but they cause a lot of drag on the alternator when they are on. but when they are off there is no drag at all.

[drifter_for_life06]

i guess so

i just liek the fact of a fan constantly cooling and bringing in cool air

[AZhitman]

Two words: Thermostatically controlled.

On when needed, off when not needed.

[drifter_for_life06]

Wow Greg thats a good idea : )

[SeVa-S13]

Yeah! Someone should invent one of those "thermostat" thingies! I bet it'd be cool. :thinker

[burnin240sx]

^ I hope your being condesending

[AZhitman]

I'm still looking for a replacement set of fans so i can get rid of the clutch fans on my S13...

[Pete]

That's actually a damn good idea. My CBR929RR (sportbike) works the same way, i.e. the fan only come on at certain temps, so if they can do it on bikes, why not cars.

So far as the tune up stuff, my FIL had all that stuff done beforehand, except I'm not sure what brand of plugs they used when he had it tuned up. I had him put in a K&N filter when I was visiting last year, and he never drove it much. The fueld filter probably hasn't been replaced though.

[drifter_for_life06]

get it replaced. and i guess it could work on cars if it can on bikes.

[burnin240sx]

you can buy temp fans at jegs and summit racing.com they been around for years. i got a 14" for 60 bucks

[drifter_for_life06]

ive bought lots fo stuff through jegs for me and my fathers old NOVA project. only thing i can say about them is their service is great, shipping was slow however

[tar0icy_w/tapioca]

i would say do the manual swap first, if u want any fun factor out of ur car do it first, after that , stick with a stock set up and do ur best at get the most efficientcy out of ur engine, i have nothing but hot air intake and exhaust, and newly added vlsd, and its fun as hell to drive (note i try to use the best tune up parts available for my car) just need to finish my suspension pieces and put it on,

[cdlong]

the stock fan is already thermostatically controlled, but it comes on at 212*. i have dual maxima fans wired into the stock wiring. they only kick on if the car is sitting and running for 5 minutes or so and they usually run for less than a minute.