I recently bought a ’92 240 SX (hatchback). I’m in college and kinda on a limited budget. Its bone stock, almost the whole things original. All I’ve done is put in ngk plugs and a set of accel thundersport 8mm wires. So I’m not sure where to go to next, especially with limited funds. I was thinking intake or exhaust? But not real sure. Any wisdom for the lowly grasshopper would be much appreciated.

always do exhaust first!it makes alot of diference. people will notice it more, and you'll notice it more.just dont go cheap, save up and buy something solid and worth it.

greddy, apexi, or 5zigen. i chose option #3:)

Yeah I would do an intake and exhaust first and just start building up your car gradually and slowly as you have money. I would prolly do the exhaust first also cause i like the sound of it and it does help increase some power but I would try to do the intake soon also cause you can't spew out any more than your ingine can take in.

ninjak84 wrote:always do exhaust first!it makes alot of diference. people will notice it more, and you'll notice it more.just dont go cheap, save up and buy something solid and worth it.

greddy, apexi, or 5zigen. i chose option #3:)

IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE AND i WOULD DO THAT TOO... the rest will come in time..

Apexi Dual n1 exhaust

word.

My advice is more practical as you said you had limited funds and in college. I say wait until the parts need replacing then upgrade when you replace them. You'll probably replace tires/brakes/and the muffler soon, that's when you should upgrade. Regular maintenance will eat up a lot of your cash anyway. As reliable as 240s are, they're not zero maintenance. When you get an better income flow going, then consider the bigger mods. FYI I have had my S-13 since it was new and it's still bone stock. Good luck

you can do a free HP mod

well at least it feels like it ads some power.

if you plan to get an intake in the future anyway.. there shouldn't be a problem with doing this.

cut a nice big hole in the front of your airbox.remove the "ypipe" that is attached to the side of the airbox.

remove the um... water collector?? not sure what the hell it is, or its exact purpose.. but its a box about the size of a shoe box (a womens shoe box maybe), it is under the fender wall, under where the airbox is.

with all this removed, your car should breathe a lot better, and you will hear your intake suck air like never before!all the while giving you some HP gains you'll notice a difference also after the exhaust is installed.

hope this helps a bit

-Dan

here are some pics



shoe box thingie

Bubba wrote:My advice is more practical as you said you had limited funds and in college. I say wait until the parts need replacing then upgrade when you replace them. You'll probably replace tires/brakes/and the muffler soon, that's when you should upgrade. Regular maintenance will eat up a lot of your cash anyway. As reliable as 240s are, they're not zero maintenance. When you get an better income flow going, then consider the bigger mods. FYI I have had my S-13 since it was new and it's still bone stock. Good luck

This should be your gospel until you get out of college. But I'm also for the free mods, like the airbox. You can also punch out the cat for a little more flow if you're not worried about emissions.

I recently spent $250 replacing the entire set of rear brakes on my '92 notch. Calipers, pads, and discs. Basic stuff can add up quickly. I'd set aside $ for a clutch replacement, just in case.

And I know of no car that is truly "zero maintenance".

Preventative maintenance is a lot more effective than mods.

Why buy an aftermarket intake when the intake (and throttle body) you have just needs to be cleaned?

Get some BG 44K injector cleaner and run that once every 3 months.

So has anyone besides Dan tried the air box trick, just wondering if anyone else has had any success whith it?

yeah it works great. an aftermarket intake is a pipe with an open filter element. all ur doing is cutting holes in the intake box so it becomes and works like an open filter element. It's a very simple and quick mod that frees up a lot of the restriction that was there before. Plus it's absolutley free

Check out the 240sx General section. One of our friendly mods has posted an amusing and informative step-by-step on how to "modify" or mutilate your airbox. It becomes a free-breathing cold-air intake... free HP baby!!

You gotta be mindful of your state's emission tests. I don't believe you can get away doing that in PA or NJ.

so maybe im a little slow, but i cant find the tread in the general section, hows about a little more directionplus about the emission test, how do i get that sort of info.

Dude I did the Free ColdAir Intake that Dauntt came up with and it works alot better. I had the bright idea to put a vent in the op of my left headlight for colder air. Please dont try it it didnt work! I will try get the pictures tommrow

As far as the emissions test, talk to your mechanic. I have no idea what the emission/inspection requirements are in your state if there are any. Not all states test emissions.

I'm in college too

since i got my 240, i replaced the master cylinder and slave cylinder, driver's side balljoint, put slotted rotors in the back, and recently slotted rotors/carbon pads for the front and an injen intake (needless to say my checking account became overdrawn $300 because of buying books and taking my mom out to dinner on top of all the car stuff)

coming up this week i need to order a fuel filter (maybe a K&N)and come up with $ for a custom-made exhaust ...of course i am still debating on going custom or getting an HKS or Borla/Apexi (i saved my b-day $ this time)

like everyone said though, wait till your'e about due for something and then upgrade.

theres an easier way to modify your stock intake, plus it doesnt involve mutilation of your old box, so that way come inspection time, if anybody gives you crap bout it you can just re-hook it... take out the lower half of your air box all together, get 2 zip (wire) ties and zip tie your flat filter into the top half the box... we call it the crx custom intake... it still filter fine, doesnt leak dirt around the sides. for added fun throw a K&N filter into the mix (you may still want to pull the silencer crap out of your fender, thats the y pipe and the shoe box sized piece of plastic the y pipe sucks from, but its not nessacary) also on ebay theres countless MAF adapters, i got one for like 16 bucks for the se-r, i now have an AEM CAI, so im giving the adapter to my brother to replace his crx custom intake... all the MAF adapter does is allow you to throw a cone filter on in place of the whole airbox assembly, again allowing you to keep the parts incase of problems with inspection.for exhaust, another cheap trick is go to pep-boys, or autozone (or preferably a local speed shop) and pick up a glass pack muffler (cherry bomb, thrush) and find a place to stick it on your exhaust to get rid of the restrictive double muff set up on the s13... but from experience... its kinda hard to find a place to stick it.. lol, but that normally costs about 20 bucksi have to agree though with bubba... aside from the intake mods... dont upgrade till its needed or busted, i just put out about 1100 into my suspension on my se-r... but thats because i had 2 blown out struts, 4 possibly sagging springs, a bunch of blown out overworked bushings and 4 tires that were burned through the metal!trust me.. it all goes bad after you buy the car... lol... theres no way around itsave it for when its needed -Pete "my car eats all my money" S.

skydragoness5 wrote: come up with $ for a custom-made exhaust ...of course i am still debating on going custom or getting an HKS or Borla/Apexi (i saved my b-day $ this time)

Get the Apexi!!!! I gave myself the N1 dual for my birthday... best present I ever got!