Ever wonder... what's next... what mod should I go with? Maybe what you read here today might lead you in the right direction. First and foremost if you haven't begun to mod your car I suggest you sit down and set your goals before proceeding. This car can be used for many different things... drag racing, auto-x, road course racing, daily driver, etc. Decide what you want to do and what your goal is as far as horsepower. So you made your decision or atleast think your set with the goal... let's proceed... Suspension/Traction As you may know a lot of people overlook this. As I have and currently working on getting suspension mods. Suspension means a lot on these cars and you'll come to realize it more when you add power mods and its hard to keep the tires on the ground and the car stable. Suspension is something you want to do once and go with it. Research first then buy. Suspension aftermarket components such as Lowering Springs, Coilovers, Swaybars, Strut Braces, Traction Bars, H-brace, etc. is all essential and much needed parts for these cars. I understand it can get a bit pricey but when you feel the rear end of these cars get a bit squirly you'll understand why suspension work is much needed. One of your first mods for this car should be motor mount inserts w/ transmission inserts or solid motor mounts and transmission mount. Turbocharger The turbocharger is what makes this car what it is as far as performance is concern. If you set your horsepower goal here it comes down to what turbocharger your going to go with to get that desired goal. Stock turbo - its good for about 320whp with every bolt-on possible Super Stock turbo - these are modified stock turbo's that have had work on them... bigger wheel, ported, clipped. These are generally good for around 360-380whp with the proper bolt-on's. Hahn 16g / Hahn 20g - HRC (Hahn Racecraft) sells turbo kits and their market is 16g or 20g for these cars. Numbers unknown but I believe their in the high 3xx whp range. Big Turbo (3147, 50 trim, 60 trim, etc.) - untuned and low boost these have put some numbers in the 3xx whp range, tuned with higher boost they are in the 400-500 and even a few in the 600 range. But before you go shooting high for the horsepower goal you'll need the proper bolt-ons/modifications to get you there. Monitoring Monitoring... what's that? Well with modding comes the assurance that your car is running right and within its conditions that it can handle. A Wideband is a MUST HAVE its not an option and should be a mod you get before going high depth within the performance modding process. A wideband monitors your Air to Fuel ratios and can save your engine if you so desire to use it and watch it. Also its a great tool to use when tuning. An Aeroforce Scangauge is another tool I highly recommend. Yes, I'm aware of there's other scanning tools but this by far to me is the best one. You can monitor Knock, Timing Advance and many other parameters. Also its got a built in shift light and datalogs. For more info on the Aeroforce Scangauge go here: http://aeroforcetech.com/ Intercooler So you do a first run then go to do a second run... and the car feels slower. Ever wonder why that is? If your still on the stock intercooler its called heatsoak and if you've ever seen the width of a stock intercooler on these cars you'll want to upgrade. Here comes the deciding factor on if you want a Big Front Mount Intercooler or a Direct Fit Intercooler. -BFMIC or Big Front Mount Intercooler is just what it is... a big intercooler which takes up the majority of the grill part of the front bumper. Not only will the car be effecient with one but will help cool the charge system. Many companies make these for this car. -Direct Fit Intercooler or DF/DFIC is an intercooler in which looks stock but has a wider core. This retains the stock crash-bar and its a direct fit with some work. I've yet to hear about one that is a direct fit with no modifications needed to be done. Make sure you get the proper intercooler for your horsepower goal. Intake This is up to you and has to go with your desired horsepower goal. Some Stage 3 cars are still running the stock intake system w/stock air box. If you choose to stay with the stock air box I recommend getting a drop-in filter such as K&N or Mopar. SRI or Short Ram Intake - will not net you the gains you think it would, I consider more of a dress-up item for this car. The engine bay gets hot... extremely hot and sucking in hot air may harm the performance. CAI or Cold Air Intake - Some noticeable gains but nothing extreme. Car performs well especially during the cold season. Risky driving with one where roads flood, have puddles, etc. Sucking up water through a cold-air intake will/can cause the motor to hydrolock. Some companies make CAI splash shields for these cars to prevent that. Some come in 2.5", 3", and 4". Based on your horsepower goal, do some research and pick the correct size intake system. Exhaust The stock exhaust is very restrictive and you'll need some type of planning on which route you'll want to go with. 3" is ideal for this car. Well, you have many options here because of the vast number of exhaust options companies offer for this car. 5 exhaust options I've seen for this car: SEE (Side Exit Exhaust) Cat-back exhaust Dump exhaust Single Exit Exhaust (Muffler out the back) Turbo Back Exhaust Systems Misc. Parts needed to complete the exhaust system: Downpipe (cut-out or no cut-out) O2 Housing 3" is the key here! WGA / Wastegate If your sticking with the stock turbo or going with a Super stock turbo... One of the first things people realize is the stock wga is weak. It will spike to 14.7 psi and then drop around 10 or so. The stock wga has a 4psi spring so it opens early. Well to fix that people look into going aftermarket and open to other options. These options are as follow: Stage 2 WGA (Adjustable and ideal if you choose to stay on PCM controlled boost) AGP WGA PTP/Kinetic/Slowboy Racing WGA Forge Motorsports WGA Forward Motion WGA I can sit here and type information on all those but it would be paragraphs worth. I recommended researching before you decide which one to go with. This narrows it down to your basic mods. Of course there's a vast amount of mods available for this car then the basic one's I listed. If you so happen to have any questions please feel free to ask. If I can't answer it I'm sure someone can.
def no matter what route you go, unless you are using this car as a grocery getter, do suspension. what good is high whp if you cant put it to the ground?
I think for the most part we all learned this. At first everyone is all about going faster and the suspension is over looked. Suspension is something I should have worked on at the beginning.
jesus, this may help you... this is a quote from hahnracecraft... Hahn Racecraft Turbo upgrades for the SRT-4! Available with the proven Super 16G or 20G turbo, the HRC kit delivers power while keeping your SRT perfectly drivable for everyday use. 16G kits will make approximately 350whp and the 20G can deliver 420+! Either turbo will still be cooled with oil and water!
nice write up alot of usful info. I would add to all of that a Catch Can schould be a first on anyones list, due to the bad pcv system design on our cars. Also if you are looking to make 300's into the 400's you will need a good clutch. our module clutch will not last or hold that power. I run a ACT 6puck unsprung and it is great no problems at all. Last if you are big into track racing I would rec. N2MB WOTbox/2step to save your tranny and grab some more time in the 1/4.
