evolutionm.net - View Single Post - 2002-2006 Lancer Super FAQ

ambystom01 · Aug 1, 2007, 07:41 PM

This FAQ page is meant to answer the basic questions that new owners of lancers usually have (and if you’re reading this I assume you have). If you can’t find your answers here, try searching first than start a thread. All the info here is based on years of personal experience with Lancers and Evolutionm.net.

Disclaimer: It should be noted that this is my opinion (it should also be noted that Doug AKA Blacksheepdj will be helping with this FAQ). While some of it is based on things like basic physics, fluid dynamics, dyno results and the experiences of other members, it is still my opinion. This means you can ignore it all you like, I don't care and I'm certainly not going to lose sleep over it.

-----Table of Contents-----

Engine Information
How An Engine Works
Modifications:
Naturally Aspirated
Forced Induction
Motor Swaps
Electronic
Tuning
Suspension
Drivetrain
Interior and Exterior
Useless Mods
Suggested Upgrade Paths
Lancer Vendors/Useful Websites

-----Basic Engine Info-----

The engine code is 4G94. It is based off the old 1.8L 4G93 found in the

Mirage. The motor is stroked and bored. This is why the motor cannot handle high amounts of boost or rev as high as the Mirage motors. For the 4G94, the bore is 81.5 mm and stroke is 95.8 mm. For the 4G93, the bore is 81.0 mm and the stroke is 89.0 mm.

The motor has a single overhead cam thus it is SOHC.

The displacement is 2.0 liters.

The major weakpoint of this motor is the bottom end, namely the pistons and the rods. If you plan on heavily modifying the motor, it is suggested to upgrade to forged pistons and heavier duty rods.

The stock compression is 9.5:1.

The 2002-2003 lancer used a return fuel system. This means that some fuel that didn't get pulled into the combustion chambers would return to the fuel tank. One end of the fuel rail is the supply line and the other end is the return line. Fuel is constantly circulating in the fuel rail. The 2004-2006 used a returnless fuel system. The fuel rail only has a supply line and fuel is only delivered when needed. This comes into play when you want to make modifications to the fuel system.

Naturally aspirated (NA) means only the motor is used to make power, no forced induction (although generally nitrous is still considered an NA mod). Forced induction, as the name implies, means something from the outside forces more air into the motor thus making more power. For the Lancer this means a turbocharger or a supercharger (or nitrous technically).

Other motors to be aware of:
The engine code for the Evolution I-IX motor is 4G63.
The engine code for the ralliart engine is 4G69.
The engine code for the older eclipse motor is 4G64.

-----Some useful engine concepts-----

-----How an engine works-----

An engine is basically a massive mechanical pump designed to do work, it sucks in air and releases exhaust gases with some fancy stuff in between. In order to explain this better, we’ll follow a chunk of air through the entire engine.

The air starts off outside doing its own thing, it’s floating around, mingling with other gases and generally having a good time. Along comes the car and the air gets sucked into the intake. From here the air moves through the open throttle body, into the intake manifold where fuel is injected and finally into the engine through the intake valves. In the engine, the air is compressed by the pistons. The air does not want to be compressed, it is much happier being relaxed and laid back so this increases the heat substantially. When the air reaches the peak of its compression, the spark plug goes off and the mixture ignites. This releases a lot of energy and the piston goes down at a very high rate. The now spent air is released from the motor through the exhaust valves. It passes through the exhaust manifold first, then the downpipe, then the catalytic converter and finally the exhaust system.

For more info, please read the information available through these links,

Wikipedia article on internal combustion engines.

Howstuffworks article on car engines.

The head of an engine is the top section which contains the camshaft, valves and all the supporting material needed.

This is what the head looks like. This is from an LS1 motor.

Here is the lancer head courtesy of Road Race Motorsports (RRM).

The block of an engine is the bottom section which contains the pistons and the crankshaft.

This is an example of a block (not sure what motor it’s from).

-----Air to fuel ratio and detonation-----

When people talk about AF ratio, they are talking about the air to fuel ratio. As an example, an AF ratio of 10:1 means that for every 10 units of air, there is 1 unit of fuel. What fuel ratio is ideal depends on the application. For reference, the stoichiometric ratio for gasoline is 14.7:1 and this is the ideal ratio for the complete combustion of gasoline. You do not want this in the motor at all times however!

As a general rule, NA motors want to run on the lean side (meaning a higher AF ratio) while turbos want to run rich (a lower AF ratio). This is because fuel is also a coolant in a motor. Running richer reduces the intake charge temperature, reducing the likelihood of detonation. This increases fuel consumption and is why some cars shoot flames out of their exhaust systems.

Detonation is a nightmare for tuners. It is as nice a thing as the name suggests, it is when the air:fuel mixture ignites and detonates prematurely in the engine (ie. at the wrong time in the cycle) which puts strain on the pistons and the rods. If it is severe enough and occurs at the wrong time, it can cause the motor to literally destroy itself.

-----Timing-----

There are two types of timing, cam timing and ignition timing. While both can be modified, most people just deal with ignition timing as it is the easiest to do using various piggyback or standalone ECUs. Cam timing is modifiable using adjustable cam gears.

Cam timing refers to the relationship between the rotation of the cam (and thus the opening and closing of the valves) and the crankshaft (and thus pistons). By modifying the cam position, it’s possible to change the power characteristics of the motor. Care needs to be taken though as if the position is changed too drastically, you can completely destroy the motor (imagine what would happen if the valves and the pistons collided).

Ignition timing refers to when the spark plugs go off in the engine cycle. Correct ignition timing is extremely important to the proper functioning of a motor. Advancing the timing means you are making the spark plug go off earlier, retarding the timing means you are making the spark plug go off later. Both of these are in reference to the top-dead center (TDC) position of the piston. Setting the timing too advanced can lead to detonation and a lose in power, retarding the timing can lose power and is very inefficient.

-----Powerband-----

The term powerband refers to the correlation between engine power (measured as horsepower or torque) and RPM. This is what you see when you look at a dyno graph. People normally break a powerband into various parts such as the lower powerband, mid powerband and upper powerband. This is based on what RPM range is being discussed.

Here is an example of a lancer powerband.

Here is a more indepth definition of powerband courtesy of Wikipedia.

With that out of the way on to the mods!

-----Naturally Aspirated-----

A lot of the mods here can be used with forced induction. Those that cannot will be indicated.

This is generally where most new owners start, they want a little more power for cheap. Unfortunately when it comes to Lancers there is more emphasis on the little part than the cheap part. Don’t expect major gains this way, I went this way and netted a very small increase (5 hp increase and 3 ft-lb torque loss). This was with close to $5000 in the car. More information is available here. It is important to decide early how far you want to go with the car and whether you want forced induction or not. With lancers, it’s go big or go home; if you think you can make a slow car fast with $1000, you’re being delusional.

-----Intake-----

All intakes are the same, there I said it. I don’t mean to step on people’s toes but it’s true. If you like a specific cold air intake (CAI), get that, if you like a specific short ram intake (SRI) get that and if you want to make your own using a mass air flow sensor (MAF/MAS) adapter and a filter, go nuts. This is more of a cosmetic mod as all you really get is more noise. Yes this makes the car seem faster but it actually isn’t. As an example, Import Tuner testing found gains of roughly 2 whp and 2 ft-lbs with the Buschur SRI (as seen here). Some good manufacturers are AEM, Injen and RRM. When you go turbo, your intake is replaced.

Here is an example of an intake (most look something like this).

-----Exhaust-----

As with the intake, this is a cosmetic mod. Get whichever one you like the best. This is important, the one you like the best not what some nerds on the internet think. The stock diameter is around 1.5” give or take a bit. Generally the max you want to go to is 2.25” but if you are turboed you could go to 2.5”. If you go with a large exhaust on an NA motor you’ll notice a drop in low-end torque. This is because of backpressure. Essentially backpressure helps the motor to work properly and not over exhale itself (imagine how fast water moves through a standard hose and through a sewer pipe). Greddy, magnaflow, JIC and eBay (yes eBay) are all good sources for an exhaust. Alternatively, you can get one made for you at an exhaust shop using whatever muffler you want. This is often the best solution as it is cheaper than a name brand exhaust but offers the same gains.
More information can be found here as well.

This shows what an exhaust system generally looks like.

-----Header-----

Say it with me, header, a lancer has only one. This is a good mod but be prepared for a louder car especially if you have an exhaust system. When I say loud I mean loud as in people can hear you coming from blocks away (no I am not kidding). It is designed to aid mainly in the mid to upper RPM range. RRM, RPW, OBX and Kamikaze all make a decent header. The best is RPW because it is a long-tube header. This means more low-end power in theory but some people have observed different results. It is also the most expensive so the decision is yours. If you go with RRM’s turbo kit, this can be used in place of a turbo manifold utilizing an up-pipe, down-pipe system. Otherwise it is replaced.

RRM’s header

-----Throttle body-----

The stock throttle body is 52 mm. Currently the only manufacturer that has these readily available is RRM. They bore it out by 5 mm (making it 57 mm) and flute it to 65 mm at one specific portion. I would not recommend doing it yourself as you have to get a new butterfly valve as well. It is designed to aid in throttle response.

The lancer throttle body looks very similar to this one. Notice the butterfly valve in the middle.

Here is the stock throttle body compared to the bored out RRM throttle body.

-----Intake Manifold-----

This is also bored to match the throttle body. As before the best source is RRM or you can do it yourself/get it done. This is also designed to aid throttle response. Alternatively you can use the 4G93 manifold. It is supposedly better but there are no hard facts to base that on so take it with a grain of salt.

This particular manifold is from a Honda and appears to be a truly aftermarket model rather than a modified stock unit.

Here is the RRM intake manifold (powdercoated in a very nice red that looks fantastic under the hood for you show guys).

For a comparison between the 4G93 and the 4G94 intake manifold, look here.

-----Fuel Rail-----

This is simply a bored out stock fuel rail. Again RRM is the best source or you can do it yourself/get it done. It is designed to remove some of the hesitation seen with the stock rail by allowing more fuel to be present at any moment in time.

No picture for this cause it just looks like a metal tube.

-----Lightweight Crank Pulley-----

If you’ve ever felt the stock pulley you’ll notice it’s heavy. By replacing it with a lighter unit you help to reduce how much weight the motor has to spin. This doesn’t make power persay but it allows the motor to use what it has more effectively. RRM makes one but you can find them on Ebay as well.

Here’s a general example. Most cars have very similar looking pulleys since there’s no point in reinventing the wheel when they serve such a basic function.

-----Pistons-----

As far as pistons go you have a few options. You can get forged pistons with the same compression as stock (9.5:1) or you can get a different compression ratio. If you plan on staying NA (permanently) you want to go with a higher compression ratio, ideally 10.5:1 or higher. How high you can go depends on what octane you are willing to run and how much tuning you’ll do/get done. For these you can go Wiseco, Ross or get a set from RRM or RPW. These can make power if you change the compression but at the very least they allow the motor to handle more power.

Pistons normally look like this.

-----Rods-----

Rods are what link the pistons to the crankshaft. Since these are a weak part of the motor, you’ll want to upgrade them if you plan on going in deep. Pauter and Crower are currently your only options that I know of. They do not make power but allow the motor to handle more power without going boom (or snap).

An example of Pauter rods.

-----Camshaft-----

The camshaft is responsible for opening and closing the valves in the engine. For a cam upgrade there are a few options. RPW is by far the best source as they make turbo and NA specific cams meaning you get the most out of it. RRM makes a universal cam but because of this generalization it will not make the most power. Alternatively you can get a custom regrind from a shop/company. Depending on how aggressive the cam is you may need to upgrade the valvetrain (valve springs, retainers, valves, etc.), the cam gear (available from Fidanza or RPW) and get some sort of ECU for tuning. If you get an NA cam, you cannot use it with a turbo motor and vice versa.
Most vendors that sell cams order them in different stages (ie. stage 1, stage 2, etc.) This refers to how aggressive the cam profile is. If you have a daily driver and just want a little more power without needing a variety of other parts (like the previously mentioned valvetrain upgrades or intake and exhaust modifications) or tuning, a stage 1 cam is probably best. If you’re looking for more power and already have or are willing to do more engine modifications and tuning, a stage 2 cam would work. Generally, stage 3 and up are for people who race their cars (and I mean real racing, not once or twice a year at a local parking lot) and need maximum power in the upper region of the powerband.
It is very important to select the right cam for a variety of reasons. Driveability is a major one, the more aggressive the cam, the more loopy and rough the idle will be which makes for a bad daily driver. This relates to another problem, where in the powerband the cam is beneficial. A very aggressive cam will typically sacrifice low-end grunt for high-end power, making it difficult to drive in relaxed fashion. To help understand this, imagine driving a car in stop and go traffic that only made power at 10000 RPM. A lesser discussed problem is efficiency, a more aggressive cam only works properly if you supply it with everything it needs. If you bolt a stage 4 cam to a stock engine, A. it probably won’t even run, B. if it does run, it could ultimately damage the motor and C. if it does run and the motor doesn’t break, you’ll be making less power than stock because the motor will be highly inefficient. Something else to consider, two cams with identical specs (lift and duration) may not perform the same. Think of lift and duration as being equivalent to the height and the weight of a person. Sure it will give you a general idea of what that person looks like but it won’t tell you the details.

For those unfamiliar with how a camshaft works, here is an excellent explanation.

-----Ported and Polished head-----

This is a pricey mod no matter how you cut it. RRM offers a professionally P & P head but it costs an arm and a leg, same goes for RPW. Alternatively you can get it done at a machine shop/race shop but this will mean being without your car for some time.

Aug 1, 2007, 07:41 PM	#1
ambystom01 Evolved Member Personal Sales Rating: (7) 2007 Subaru Impreza Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Canuckistan Posts: 12,651 Drives: Robut bear cavalry to the bearpocalypse	2002-2006 Lancer Super FAQ This FAQ page is meant to answer the basic questions that new owners of lancers usually have (and if you’re reading this I assume you have). If you can’t find your answers here, try searching first than start a thread. All the info here is based on years of personal experience with Lancers and Evolutionm.net. Disclaimer: It should be noted that this is my opinion (it should also be noted that Doug AKA Blacksheepdj will be helping with this FAQ). While some of it is based on things like basic physics, fluid dynamics, dyno results and the experiences of other members, it is still my opinion. This means you can ignore it all you like, I don't care and I'm certainly not going to lose sleep over it. -----Table of Contents----- Engine Information How An Engine Works Modifications: Naturally Aspirated Forced Induction Motor Swaps Electronic Tuning Suspension Drivetrain Interior and Exterior Useless Mods Suggested Upgrade Paths Lancer Vendors/Useful Websites -----Basic Engine Info----- The engine code is 4G94. It is based off the old 1.8L 4G93 found in the Mirage. The motor is stroked and bored. This is why the motor cannot handle high amounts of boost or rev as high as the Mirage motors. For the 4G94, the bore is 81.5 mm and stroke is 95.8 mm. For the 4G93, the bore is 81.0 mm and the stroke is 89.0 mm. The motor has a single overhead cam thus it is SOHC. The displacement is 2.0 liters. The major weakpoint of this motor is the bottom end, namely the pistons and the rods. If you plan on heavily modifying the motor, it is suggested to upgrade to forged pistons and heavier duty rods. The stock compression is 9.5:1. The 2002-2003 lancer used a return fuel system. This means that some fuel that didn't get pulled into the combustion chambers would return to the fuel tank. One end of the fuel rail is the supply line and the other end is the return line. Fuel is constantly circulating in the fuel rail. The 2004-2006 used a returnless fuel system. The fuel rail only has a supply line and fuel is only delivered when needed. This comes into play when you want to make modifications to the fuel system. Naturally aspirated (NA) means only the motor is used to make power, no forced induction (although generally nitrous is still considered an NA mod). Forced induction, as the name implies, means something from the outside forces more air into the motor thus making more power. For the Lancer this means a turbocharger or a supercharger (or nitrous technically). Other motors to be aware of: The engine code for the Evolution I-IX motor is 4G63. The engine code for the ralliart engine is 4G69. The engine code for the older eclipse motor is 4G64. -----Some useful engine concepts----- -----How an engine works----- An engine is basically a massive mechanical pump designed to do work, it sucks in air and releases exhaust gases with some fancy stuff in between. In order to explain this better, we’ll follow a chunk of air through the entire engine. The air starts off outside doing its own thing, it’s floating around, mingling with other gases and generally having a good time. Along comes the car and the air gets sucked into the intake. From here the air moves through the open throttle body, into the intake manifold where fuel is injected and finally into the engine through the intake valves. In the engine, the air is compressed by the pistons. The air does not want to be compressed, it is much happier being relaxed and laid back so this increases the heat substantially. When the air reaches the peak of its compression, the spark plug goes off and the mixture ignites. This releases a lot of energy and the piston goes down at a very high rate. The now spent air is released from the motor through the exhaust valves. It passes through the exhaust manifold first, then the downpipe, then the catalytic converter and finally the exhaust system. For more info, please read the information available through these links, Wikipedia article on internal combustion engines. Howstuffworks article on car engines. The head of an engine is the top section which contains the camshaft, valves and all the supporting material needed. This is what the head looks like. This is from an LS1 motor. Here is the lancer head courtesy of Road Race Motorsports (RRM). The block of an engine is the bottom section which contains the pistons and the crankshaft. This is an example of a block (not sure what motor it’s from). -----Air to fuel ratio and detonation----- When people talk about AF ratio, they are talking about the air to fuel ratio. As an example, an AF ratio of 10:1 means that for every 10 units of air, there is 1 unit of fuel. What fuel ratio is ideal depends on the application. For reference, the stoichiometric ratio for gasoline is 14.7:1 and this is the ideal ratio for the complete combustion of gasoline. You do not want this in the motor at all times however! As a general rule, NA motors want to run on the lean side (meaning a higher AF ratio) while turbos want to run rich (a lower AF ratio). This is because fuel is also a coolant in a motor. Running richer reduces the intake charge temperature, reducing the likelihood of detonation. This increases fuel consumption and is why some cars shoot flames out of their exhaust systems. Detonation is a nightmare for tuners. It is as nice a thing as the name suggests, it is when the air:fuel mixture ignites and detonates prematurely in the engine (ie. at the wrong time in the cycle) which puts strain on the pistons and the rods. If it is severe enough and occurs at the wrong time, it can cause the motor to literally destroy itself. -----Timing----- There are two types of timing, cam timing and ignition timing. While both can be modified, most people just deal with ignition timing as it is the easiest to do using various piggyback or standalone ECUs. Cam timing is modifiable using adjustable cam gears. Cam timing refers to the relationship between the rotation of the cam (and thus the opening and closing of the valves) and the crankshaft (and thus pistons). By modifying the cam position, it’s possible to change the power characteristics of the motor. Care needs to be taken though as if the position is changed too drastically, you can completely destroy the motor (imagine what would happen if the valves and the pistons collided). Ignition timing refers to when the spark plugs go off in the engine cycle. Correct ignition timing is extremely important to the proper functioning of a motor. Advancing the timing means you are making the spark plug go off earlier, retarding the timing means you are making the spark plug go off later. Both of these are in reference to the top-dead center (TDC) position of the piston. Setting the timing too advanced can lead to detonation and a lose in power, retarding the timing can lose power and is very inefficient. -----Powerband----- The term powerband refers to the correlation between engine power (measured as horsepower or torque) and RPM. This is what you see when you look at a dyno graph. People normally break a powerband into various parts such as the lower powerband, mid powerband and upper powerband. This is based on what RPM range is being discussed. Here is an example of a lancer powerband. Here is a more indepth definition of powerband courtesy of Wikipedia. With that out of the way on to the mods! -----Naturally Aspirated----- A lot of the mods here can be used with forced induction. Those that cannot will be indicated. This is generally where most new owners start, they want a little more power for cheap. Unfortunately when it comes to Lancers there is more emphasis on the little part than the cheap part. Don’t expect major gains this way, I went this way and netted a very small increase (5 hp increase and 3 ft-lb torque loss). This was with close to $5000 in the car. More information is available here. It is important to decide early how far you want to go with the car and whether you want forced induction or not. With lancers, it’s go big or go home; if you think you can make a slow car fast with $1000, you’re being delusional. -----Intake----- All intakes are the same, there I said it. I don’t mean to step on people’s toes but it’s true. If you like a specific cold air intake (CAI), get that, if you like a specific short ram intake (SRI) get that and if you want to make your own using a mass air flow sensor (MAF/MAS) adapter and a filter, go nuts. This is more of a cosmetic mod as all you really get is more noise. Yes this makes the car seem faster but it actually isn’t. As an example, Import Tuner testing found gains of roughly 2 whp and 2 ft-lbs with the Buschur SRI (as seen here). Some good manufacturers are AEM, Injen and RRM. When you go turbo, your intake is replaced. Here is an example of an intake (most look something like this). -----Exhaust----- As with the intake, this is a cosmetic mod. Get whichever one you like the best. This is important, the one you like the best not what some nerds on the internet think. The stock diameter is around 1.5” give or take a bit. Generally the max you want to go to is 2.25” but if you are turboed you could go to 2.5”. If you go with a large exhaust on an NA motor you’ll notice a drop in low-end torque. This is because of backpressure. Essentially backpressure helps the motor to work properly and not over exhale itself (imagine how fast water moves through a standard hose and through a sewer pipe). Greddy, magnaflow, JIC and eBay (yes eBay) are all good sources for an exhaust. Alternatively, you can get one made for you at an exhaust shop using whatever muffler you want. This is often the best solution as it is cheaper than a name brand exhaust but offers the same gains. More information can be found here as well. This shows what an exhaust system generally looks like. -----Header----- Say it with me, header, a lancer has only one. This is a good mod but be prepared for a louder car especially if you have an exhaust system. When I say loud I mean loud as in people can hear you coming from blocks away (no I am not kidding). It is designed to aid mainly in the mid to upper RPM range. RRM, RPW, OBX and Kamikaze all make a decent header. The best is RPW because it is a long-tube header. This means more low-end power in theory but some people have observed different results. It is also the most expensive so the decision is yours. If you go with RRM’s turbo kit, this can be used in place of a turbo manifold utilizing an up-pipe, down-pipe system. Otherwise it is replaced. RRM’s header -----Throttle body----- The stock throttle body is 52 mm. Currently the only manufacturer that has these readily available is RRM. They bore it out by 5 mm (making it 57 mm) and flute it to 65 mm at one specific portion. I would not recommend doing it yourself as you have to get a new butterfly valve as well. It is designed to aid in throttle response. The lancer throttle body looks very similar to this one. Notice the butterfly valve in the middle. Here is the stock throttle body compared to the bored out RRM throttle body. -----Intake Manifold----- This is also bored to match the throttle body. As before the best source is RRM or you can do it yourself/get it done. This is also designed to aid throttle response. Alternatively you can use the 4G93 manifold. It is supposedly better but there are no hard facts to base that on so take it with a grain of salt. This particular manifold is from a Honda and appears to be a truly aftermarket model rather than a modified stock unit. Here is the RRM intake manifold (powdercoated in a very nice red that looks fantastic under the hood for you show guys). For a comparison between the 4G93 and the 4G94 intake manifold, look here. -----Fuel Rail----- This is simply a bored out stock fuel rail. Again RRM is the best source or you can do it yourself/get it done. It is designed to remove some of the hesitation seen with the stock rail by allowing more fuel to be present at any moment in time. No picture for this cause it just looks like a metal tube. -----Lightweight Crank Pulley----- If you’ve ever felt the stock pulley you’ll notice it’s heavy. By replacing it with a lighter unit you help to reduce how much weight the motor has to spin. This doesn’t make power persay but it allows the motor to use what it has more effectively. RRM makes one but you can find them on Ebay as well. Here’s a general example. Most cars have very similar looking pulleys since there’s no point in reinventing the wheel when they serve such a basic function. -----Pistons----- As far as pistons go you have a few options. You can get forged pistons with the same compression as stock (9.5:1) or you can get a different compression ratio. If you plan on staying NA (permanently) you want to go with a higher compression ratio, ideally 10.5:1 or higher. How high you can go depends on what octane you are willing to run and how much tuning you’ll do/get done. For these you can go Wiseco, Ross or get a set from RRM or RPW. These can make power if you change the compression but at the very least they allow the motor to handle more power. Pistons normally look like this. -----Rods----- Rods are what link the pistons to the crankshaft. Since these are a weak part of the motor, you’ll want to upgrade them if you plan on going in deep. Pauter and Crower are currently your only options that I know of. They do not make power but allow the motor to handle more power without going boom (or snap). An example of Pauter rods. -----Camshaft----- The camshaft is responsible for opening and closing the valves in the engine. For a cam upgrade there are a few options. RPW is by far the best source as they make turbo and NA specific cams meaning you get the most out of it. RRM makes a universal cam but because of this generalization it will not make the most power. Alternatively you can get a custom regrind from a shop/company. Depending on how aggressive the cam is you may need to upgrade the valvetrain (valve springs, retainers, valves, etc.), the cam gear (available from Fidanza or RPW) and get some sort of ECU for tuning. If you get an NA cam, you cannot use it with a turbo motor and vice versa. Most vendors that sell cams order them in different stages (ie. stage 1, stage 2, etc.) This refers to how aggressive the cam profile is. If you have a daily driver and just want a little more power without needing a variety of other parts (like the previously mentioned valvetrain upgrades or intake and exhaust modifications) or tuning, a stage 1 cam is probably best. If you’re looking for more power and already have or are willing to do more engine modifications and tuning, a stage 2 cam would work. Generally, stage 3 and up are for people who race their cars (and I mean real racing, not once or twice a year at a local parking lot) and need maximum power in the upper region of the powerband. It is very important to select the right cam for a variety of reasons. Driveability is a major one, the more aggressive the cam, the more loopy and rough the idle will be which makes for a bad daily driver. This relates to another problem, where in the powerband the cam is beneficial. A very aggressive cam will typically sacrifice low-end grunt for high-end power, making it difficult to drive in relaxed fashion. To help understand this, imagine driving a car in stop and go traffic that only made power at 10000 RPM. A lesser discussed problem is efficiency, a more aggressive cam only works properly if you supply it with everything it needs. If you bolt a stage 4 cam to a stock engine, A. it probably won’t even run, B. if it does run, it could ultimately damage the motor and C. if it does run and the motor doesn’t break, you’ll be making less power than stock because the motor will be highly inefficient. Something else to consider, two cams with identical specs (lift and duration) may not perform the same. Think of lift and duration as being equivalent to the height and the weight of a person. Sure it will give you a general idea of what that person looks like but it won’t tell you the details. For those unfamiliar with how a camshaft works, here is an excellent explanation. -----Ported and Polished head----- This is a pricey mod no matter how you cut it. RRM offers a professionally P & P head but it costs an arm and a leg, same goes for RPW. Alternatively you can get it done at a machine shop/race shop but this will mean being without your car for some time. Last edited by ambystom01; Mar 1, 2008 at 09:54 PM.
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