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

ambystom01 · Dec 14, 2007, 11:03 PM

-----Struts-----

Currently there are only two strut options out there, stock and KYB GR-2s. The KYB GR-2s are not a performance strut, they will not increase handling ability nor will they withstand the stresses of lowering springs (although they may last longer than stock).
For cross referencing purposes, OZ struts will fit on an ES as long as you use the OZ front top strut mounts. Similarly the Ralliart struts will fit the OZ but without any modifications needed (and thus they will fit the ES with the OZ/Ralliart front top strut mounts). Only the evo front struts will fit, the rears are different.

-----Coilovers-----

These are the caviar of suspension modifications. They are matched struts and springs and they usually come with other features like ride height adjustability, dampening adjustability, upper pillowball mounts and/or camber plates. If you want to be able to lower your car in the summer and raise it in the winter, these are for you. If you want to compete in autocross or track events, these are for you. If you want a properly working suspension, these are for you. The coil sleeves you see on Ebay for 80$ are not coilovers and are only made for ricers, done. Tein, Ksport, JIC, NEX and Megan all make various coilover kits for the lancer, deciding which one is for you is your job. Something to keep in mind, the ride quality will go down significantly when you install coilovers. I found the ride to be flat-out ridiculous at times. This is not a universal property of coilovers but rather a property of entry level coilovers. Because of the limited market and the nature of the lancer, manufacturers are not going to spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours tuning their coilover kit, selecting the ideal strut size and valving, spring strength, etc., if they did you’d be paying double if not triple the price.

Proper coilovers should look like this (these are Bilsteins which are very proper coilovers). You can see the adjustable spring perches, the dampening adjustability knobs on the top and the metal top plates.

These are what the crappy ebay coil sleeves look like. If someone tries to sell you these, kick them in the groin and run away. Notice how they are effectively just a spring with a bolt attached to allow you to compress them.

-----Sway Bar-----

Currently only an aftermarket rear sway bar is available. It is made by Progress and RRM sells it. The purpose of this mod is to replace the crappy stock unit (if you have on OZ) or add one that wasn’t there from the factory (ES guys). It’s a good idea to replace the stock perches at the same time as they have a tendency to snap. This mod is a real winner in my book, it is noticeable from the minute you have it installed (at least if you take a corner within that minute). It causes the car to oversteer more into a corner leading to a more neutral feeling since the car naturally understeers from the factory. It does this by basically linking the two sides together and causing them to move up and down together as one unit. There are bushings available for the front sway bar from Deyeme.

The bars for the lancer look a bit like this.

-----Strut Bar-----

There are front and rear strut bars available. RRM is a major manufacturer of these. They both do the same job, they link their respective struts together. In theory this acts to stiffen the car up thus reducing the flex you see in hard corners. However, given the location of the struts on a lancer (close to the firewall in the front, close to the back seat in the rear) how much these work is debatable. If you like them, get them, if not, you won’t exactly be missing them.

Here’s the rear strut bar from RRM.

-----Lower Tie Bar-----

This is a small bar that links the control arms together. RRM makes one. Some people love them, others think they’re useless. I’ll leave it at that.

-----Wheels and Tires-----

There are plenty of wheel FAQs out there so I’ll only touch on this briefly. If you care about performance, you don’t want big rims especially on a car as underpowered as the lancer, you want small and light rims. Now you might ask “why small rims, I thought weight was all that mattered”. While it’s true that weight is important (don’t say that to your girlfriend) diameter plays a role too (you definitely don’t want her saying that about you). To understand this, imagine lifting a 5 lb weight. Which is easier, lifting the weight when your hand is at your chest or when it’s as outstretched as possible? The same goes for your car, it works best when the weight is as close to the hub as possible. See the other FAQ for info on what wheel sizes fit and what tire sizes you need for them to fit.
For reference, here’s the bolt patterns for various lancer models:

2003-2005 ES 4 x 100
2003-2006 OZ and LS, 2006 ES 4 x 114.3

Here's Lancerman's thread on wheel offset.

As far as tires are concerned, you want to buy the best tires you can afford and ones most suited to the job at hand. This means if you want tires that stick like glue during the summer, buy dedicated summer tires. If you want great traction in the winter, buy winter tires. As Tirerack says, tires are like shoes, you need to use the right ones for the conditions. You can have the best suspension the world but it doesn’t mean squat if you don’t have the tires to handle it. Some people like the idea of an AWD conversion in order to increase grip but AWD cannot perform miracles. For a clear example of this, ask the Evo or STI drivers who crashed because they tried to use their dedicated stock summer tires during the winter. If you’re interested in buying tires and want to see how they compare to others in their class, consult The Tire Rack.

The Car Bible has everything you could ever want to know on wheels and tires.

-----Brakes-----

Brakes are the most important part of the car, don’t skimp on them unless you have a death wish (or your parents are related). Here is an incredible article on brakes (once again by the Car Bible).

-----Pads-----

These are what stop the car. You want to buy the best you can afford. This means 60-100$ for a set that only last 1-2 years. Sure you could get the ones with a lifetime warranty on them but they won’t stop very well and they’ll eat up your rotors. The reason they have a lifetime warranty is because they are made of a very hard compound. Like tires a softer compound means a sticker surface. Axxis, Porterfield, EBC and Hawk all make great brakes. RRM is just one possible source for these.

-----Rotors-----

These are what the caliper presses the pads against. You can get stock replacements, slotted, drilled or both. Slotted means slots are cut into the metal. Drilled means holes are drilled through the rotor. Both techniques serve the same purpose, to cool the rotor and allow hot gases to escape. These hot gases form at the pad-rotor junction and can act as a cushion that leads to a less responsive brake feel. Heat can cause the brake pads to fail as they basically glaze over and melt. With all that in mind, you don’t need either. Unless you are hurtling down a track at 100 mph and slamming on the brakes you aren’t getting the brakes hot enough to fade. If you want some cool looking rotors though, go with slotted. Drilled rotors are known to crack under stress especially on a car with tiny rotors like the lancer has. RRM offers some quality rotors but you can also get some from Tirerack.com.

This is what a rotor looks like.

-----Stainless Steel Brake Lines-----

If you’ve looked at the brakes you’ve seen the brake lines, they are simply rubber tubes that carry the brake fluid to the caliper. You can replace these with stainless steel lines. The basic idea behind this is the stock lines can change shape since they are rubber and this can contribute to a mushy pedal feel. Obviously stainless steel doesn’t change shape easily thus you don’t get the mushy feel. They can help with the brake feel but don’t expect them to make the brakes perfect. RRM offers them but you may be able to find them elsewhere as well.

-----Big Brake Kit-----

I’m sure everyone has seen those gigantic rotors behind gigantic rims and thought “damn I want those too”. Well I hate to be the bringer of bad news but you don’t need them. The purpose of gigantic brakes are to prevent brake fade (remember I mentioned that earlier?) by basically creating a larger surface. They are designed for race cars. Yes they look cool but they won’t make you stop faster on the street in fact they’ll make you stop slower because they cool the pads. Like tires brake pads want enough heat to soften them up but not enough to melt them. Go too far either way and you’ll reduce their ability to function. Wilwood, Brembo and RPW all offer kits. If you need them, you won’t be reading this.

The Wilwoods look this and they are certainly very shiny and nice.

-----Rear Disc Conversion-----

The lancer comes stock with rear drums. They are ugly, you know it and I know it. However, you don’t need to replace them. The majority (75% or more) of your braking is done by the front discs. As ugly as they are the rear drums are more than capable of handling the remaining 25%. If you want to upgrade them, RPW has a kit.

There are also various bushing kits available for different parts of the suspension. If you want them, get them, but unless you’ve done everything else they won’t do much.

-----Drivetrain-----

In this section we’ll take a look at upgrading the components that help put the power to the ground. This means the transmission and things related to the transmission. If you have an auto, none of this applies to you. Disappointed? Well that’s what you get for being a little guuurl.

For an easy to understand explanation on how a transmission works, look at this Howstuffworks article .

Here is a similar article on automatic transmissions.

For information on everything to do with the transmission, go here.

-----Clutch-----

The clutch is what takes the energy from the engine and transfers it to the transmission. It’s composed of a pressure plate and a clutch disk. Both are modified when you go to an aftermarket kit. A stronger pressure plate is used to push harder against the flywheel which increases how much horsepower the clutch can take before it fails. This also results in a stiffer pedal feel. A different clutch plate is used to handle more power. How far you need to go is dependent on much power you plan on making and how you plan on using the car. You don’t need a 300 lb pressure plate if you’re just going to bolt on an intake and an exhaust system, however if you plan on turboing the car and going to the drag strip it’s probably a good idea. ACT, Clutchmasters and WORKS all make good kits and have varying stages.

Here’s how the clutch and flywheel are arranged.

-----Lightened Flywheel-----

A lightened flywheel serves the same purpose as a lightened crank pulley, it acts to reduce the amount of weight the motor has to spin. This particular mod makes the car rev up easier. This can make daily driving a bit more difficult. Fidanza and WORKS are two sources for this.

-----Underhood/Shifter Linkage Bushings-----

These replace the stock rubber bushings with harder plastic or metal bushings. This reduces much of the sloppiness found in the stock shifter. If you like to drive stick, this is a worthwhile mod. Kartboy makes a great set but you can find others at Lancershop.com. The bushings made for the evo fit the lancer.

The kartboy bushings look like this. The ones I had were bright green which made them that much better.

-----Short Shifter-----

This is pretty straightforward, it’s just a shorter shifter that reduces the throw and the height of the shifter. B & M, Perrin, Kartboy, Lancershop.com and Ebay are all great sources. Any kit made for a 5-speed evo works for the lancer.

This is the Perrin unit.

-----Shifter Base Bushings-----

If you take apart the center console (as you would if installing a short shifter) you’ll see the base bushings. These replace those pieces with harder plastic or metal units. It’s one of those mods that you might as well do while doing the shifter but it won’t make a noticeable difference so the decision is up to you. Energy Suspension, Kartboy and Lancershop.com all offer packages.

-----Automatic to Manual Conversion-----

Yes it can be done. If you have to ask what you need you haven’t done enough research.

-----Interior and Exterior-----

Alright that’s all the mechanical stuff out of the way. All that’s left is the cosmetic aspects namely the interior and the exterior. For both of these it’s purely opinion, if you like neon lights and a giant wing, go nuts, if you like JDM, get JDM stuff, whatever you think looks good is possible. There’s no point in making thread after thread asking what looks good as it’s a subjective matter, it’s like asking what the best color is or who the hottest chick in the world is.

For the interior, some companies you may want to know about are Recaro, Sparco, Corbeau and Bride. All the manufacturers make racing seats. Sure you can buy seats from Pepboys but you can also buy your prescription drugs in an alley, neither are good ideas. The big companies I mentioned spend millions ensuring their seats can survive a major crash and are found in pretty much all aspects of racing, Pepboys only makes seats that look racey. Like brakes, you don’t want to skimp on seats.

I’ll touch on the subject of harnesses and harness bars briefly since I feel it’s an important aspect of the tuning community. DO NOT USE A HARNESS BAR AND HARNESSES ON THE STREET!!!!! Again, DO NOT USE A HARNESS BAR AND HARNESSES ON THE STREET!!!! Get the point, good. Harness bars are not safe for use in any situation where the chance of a rollover is relatively high (ie. higher than 0). Now you might say “well why do people make them?” Simple answer, because they like money and they know idiots will buy anything they make. People sell oxygen and bottled tap water, never gauge the worth of a product by the fact people make it. Now on to the explanation for why I’m so touchy about this subject (and no it’s not sand in my vagina, I keep it very clean thank you very much). A harness bar acts to hold the harnesses in place. This is fine, it’s doing what it was designed to do. The harness is generally run through the seat effectively meaning the harness bar is holding the seat up too, again as it should. There are two big problems associated with this system though. First off, in the case of a rollover, the harness bar provides no additional protection and actually stops the stock system from working properly. The stock system is designed to be able to move to cope with an accident. This means if the roof collapses (as it would in a rollover), the seats can go back or sideways to make roof. If the harness bar is holding them up this isn’t possible and the roof just comes down on your head, at best doing serious damage, at worst, snapping you in half and killing you. The other problem is that with a bar behind your head you’re at risk of hitting your head and smashing it in like a watermelon against well a metal bar. There are other problems associated with harnesses (namely 4-points) but I would hope the risk of death is enough to dissuade you.

Realistically there is no way to run harnesses on the street. If you want to deal with the rollover risk, you need a rollbar/rollcage. However, both of these items add metal bars in the cab which stop you from carrying passengers in the back seat and require you to wear a helmet at all times. The padding you see in race cars is meant to shield a helmeted head against impact, not a bare head. Even with a helmet on you could easily get concussed, without on you could leave a mess for the paramedics.

If you want more holding power, get a CG-Lock. It’s a device that holds the seatbelt tighter, holding you in place. It’s safe, cheap and effective, there.
If you just want the harnesses for shows, go nuts.

As for the rest of the interior, the sky is the limit. You can wrap everything in carbon fiber or fiberglass, paint it, add speakers, add gauges, whatever you want.
For the exterior, there are a number of body kits out there. I don’t care which one you want, only you can make that decision. RRM, Accolade and Kaminari make kits for different years. Take a look at them if you want a kit. RRM also has other exterior goodies so check them out too.

Dec 14, 2007, 11:03 PM	#3
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	-----Struts----- Currently there are only two strut options out there, stock and KYB GR-2s. The KYB GR-2s are not a performance strut, they will not increase handling ability nor will they withstand the stresses of lowering springs (although they may last longer than stock). For cross referencing purposes, OZ struts will fit on an ES as long as you use the OZ front top strut mounts. Similarly the Ralliart struts will fit the OZ but without any modifications needed (and thus they will fit the ES with the OZ/Ralliart front top strut mounts). Only the evo front struts will fit, the rears are different. -----Coilovers----- These are the caviar of suspension modifications. They are matched struts and springs and they usually come with other features like ride height adjustability, dampening adjustability, upper pillowball mounts and/or camber plates. If you want to be able to lower your car in the summer and raise it in the winter, these are for you. If you want to compete in autocross or track events, these are for you. If you want a properly working suspension, these are for you. The coil sleeves you see on Ebay for 80$ are not coilovers and are only made for ricers, done. Tein, Ksport, JIC, NEX and Megan all make various coilover kits for the lancer, deciding which one is for you is your job. Something to keep in mind, the ride quality will go down significantly when you install coilovers. I found the ride to be flat-out ridiculous at times. This is not a universal property of coilovers but rather a property of entry level coilovers. Because of the limited market and the nature of the lancer, manufacturers are not going to spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours tuning their coilover kit, selecting the ideal strut size and valving, spring strength, etc., if they did you’d be paying double if not triple the price. Proper coilovers should look like this (these are Bilsteins which are very proper coilovers). You can see the adjustable spring perches, the dampening adjustability knobs on the top and the metal top plates. These are what the crappy ebay coil sleeves look like. If someone tries to sell you these, kick them in the groin and run away. Notice how they are effectively just a spring with a bolt attached to allow you to compress them. -----Sway Bar----- Currently only an aftermarket rear sway bar is available. It is made by Progress and RRM sells it. The purpose of this mod is to replace the crappy stock unit (if you have on OZ) or add one that wasn’t there from the factory (ES guys). It’s a good idea to replace the stock perches at the same time as they have a tendency to snap. This mod is a real winner in my book, it is noticeable from the minute you have it installed (at least if you take a corner within that minute). It causes the car to oversteer more into a corner leading to a more neutral feeling since the car naturally understeers from the factory. It does this by basically linking the two sides together and causing them to move up and down together as one unit. There are bushings available for the front sway bar from Deyeme. The bars for the lancer look a bit like this. -----Strut Bar----- There are front and rear strut bars available. RRM is a major manufacturer of these. They both do the same job, they link their respective struts together. In theory this acts to stiffen the car up thus reducing the flex you see in hard corners. However, given the location of the struts on a lancer (close to the firewall in the front, close to the back seat in the rear) how much these work is debatable. If you like them, get them, if not, you won’t exactly be missing them. Here’s the rear strut bar from RRM. -----Lower Tie Bar----- This is a small bar that links the control arms together. RRM makes one. Some people love them, others think they’re useless. I’ll leave it at that. -----Wheels and Tires----- There are plenty of wheel FAQs out there so I’ll only touch on this briefly. If you care about performance, you don’t want big rims especially on a car as underpowered as the lancer, you want small and light rims. Now you might ask “why small rims, I thought weight was all that mattered”. While it’s true that weight is important (don’t say that to your girlfriend) diameter plays a role too (you definitely don’t want her saying that about you). To understand this, imagine lifting a 5 lb weight. Which is easier, lifting the weight when your hand is at your chest or when it’s as outstretched as possible? The same goes for your car, it works best when the weight is as close to the hub as possible. See the other FAQ for info on what wheel sizes fit and what tire sizes you need for them to fit. For reference, here’s the bolt patterns for various lancer models: 2003-2005 ES 4 x 100 2003-2006 OZ and LS, 2006 ES 4 x 114.3 Here's Lancerman's thread on wheel offset. As far as tires are concerned, you want to buy the best tires you can afford and ones most suited to the job at hand. This means if you want tires that stick like glue during the summer, buy dedicated summer tires. If you want great traction in the winter, buy winter tires. As Tirerack says, tires are like shoes, you need to use the right ones for the conditions. You can have the best suspension the world but it doesn’t mean squat if you don’t have the tires to handle it. Some people like the idea of an AWD conversion in order to increase grip but AWD cannot perform miracles. For a clear example of this, ask the Evo or STI drivers who crashed because they tried to use their dedicated stock summer tires during the winter. If you’re interested in buying tires and want to see how they compare to others in their class, consult The Tire Rack. The Car Bible has everything you could ever want to know on wheels and tires. -----Brakes----- Brakes are the most important part of the car, don’t skimp on them unless you have a death wish (or your parents are related). Here is an incredible article on brakes (once again by the Car Bible). -----Pads----- These are what stop the car. You want to buy the best you can afford. This means 60-100$ for a set that only last 1-2 years. Sure you could get the ones with a lifetime warranty on them but they won’t stop very well and they’ll eat up your rotors. The reason they have a lifetime warranty is because they are made of a very hard compound. Like tires a softer compound means a sticker surface. Axxis, Porterfield, EBC and Hawk all make great brakes. RRM is just one possible source for these. -----Rotors----- These are what the caliper presses the pads against. You can get stock replacements, slotted, drilled or both. Slotted means slots are cut into the metal. Drilled means holes are drilled through the rotor. Both techniques serve the same purpose, to cool the rotor and allow hot gases to escape. These hot gases form at the pad-rotor junction and can act as a cushion that leads to a less responsive brake feel. Heat can cause the brake pads to fail as they basically glaze over and melt. With all that in mind, you don’t need either. Unless you are hurtling down a track at 100 mph and slamming on the brakes you aren’t getting the brakes hot enough to fade. If you want some cool looking rotors though, go with slotted. Drilled rotors are known to crack under stress especially on a car with tiny rotors like the lancer has. RRM offers some quality rotors but you can also get some from Tirerack.com. This is what a rotor looks like. -----Stainless Steel Brake Lines----- If you’ve looked at the brakes you’ve seen the brake lines, they are simply rubber tubes that carry the brake fluid to the caliper. You can replace these with stainless steel lines. The basic idea behind this is the stock lines can change shape since they are rubber and this can contribute to a mushy pedal feel. Obviously stainless steel doesn’t change shape easily thus you don’t get the mushy feel. They can help with the brake feel but don’t expect them to make the brakes perfect. RRM offers them but you may be able to find them elsewhere as well. -----Big Brake Kit----- I’m sure everyone has seen those gigantic rotors behind gigantic rims and thought “damn I want those too”. Well I hate to be the bringer of bad news but you don’t need them. The purpose of gigantic brakes are to prevent brake fade (remember I mentioned that earlier?) by basically creating a larger surface. They are designed for race cars. Yes they look cool but they won’t make you stop faster on the street in fact they’ll make you stop slower because they cool the pads. Like tires brake pads want enough heat to soften them up but not enough to melt them. Go too far either way and you’ll reduce their ability to function. Wilwood, Brembo and RPW all offer kits. If you need them, you won’t be reading this. The Wilwoods look this and they are certainly very shiny and nice. -----Rear Disc Conversion----- The lancer comes stock with rear drums. They are ugly, you know it and I know it. However, you don’t need to replace them. The majority (75% or more) of your braking is done by the front discs. As ugly as they are the rear drums are more than capable of handling the remaining 25%. If you want to upgrade them, RPW has a kit. There are also various bushing kits available for different parts of the suspension. If you want them, get them, but unless you’ve done everything else they won’t do much. -----Drivetrain----- In this section we’ll take a look at upgrading the components that help put the power to the ground. This means the transmission and things related to the transmission. If you have an auto, none of this applies to you. Disappointed? Well that’s what you get for being a little guuurl. For an easy to understand explanation on how a transmission works, look at this Howstuffworks article . Here is a similar article on automatic transmissions. For information on everything to do with the transmission, go here. -----Clutch----- The clutch is what takes the energy from the engine and transfers it to the transmission. It’s composed of a pressure plate and a clutch disk. Both are modified when you go to an aftermarket kit. A stronger pressure plate is used to push harder against the flywheel which increases how much horsepower the clutch can take before it fails. This also results in a stiffer pedal feel. A different clutch plate is used to handle more power. How far you need to go is dependent on much power you plan on making and how you plan on using the car. You don’t need a 300 lb pressure plate if you’re just going to bolt on an intake and an exhaust system, however if you plan on turboing the car and going to the drag strip it’s probably a good idea. ACT, Clutchmasters and WORKS all make good kits and have varying stages. Here’s how the clutch and flywheel are arranged. -----Lightened Flywheel----- A lightened flywheel serves the same purpose as a lightened crank pulley, it acts to reduce the amount of weight the motor has to spin. This particular mod makes the car rev up easier. This can make daily driving a bit more difficult. Fidanza and WORKS are two sources for this. -----Underhood/Shifter Linkage Bushings----- These replace the stock rubber bushings with harder plastic or metal bushings. This reduces much of the sloppiness found in the stock shifter. If you like to drive stick, this is a worthwhile mod. Kartboy makes a great set but you can find others at Lancershop.com. The bushings made for the evo fit the lancer. The kartboy bushings look like this. The ones I had were bright green which made them that much better. -----Short Shifter----- This is pretty straightforward, it’s just a shorter shifter that reduces the throw and the height of the shifter. B & M, Perrin, Kartboy, Lancershop.com and Ebay are all great sources. Any kit made for a 5-speed evo works for the lancer. This is the Perrin unit. -----Shifter Base Bushings----- If you take apart the center console (as you would if installing a short shifter) you’ll see the base bushings. These replace those pieces with harder plastic or metal units. It’s one of those mods that you might as well do while doing the shifter but it won’t make a noticeable difference so the decision is up to you. Energy Suspension, Kartboy and Lancershop.com all offer packages. -----Automatic to Manual Conversion----- Yes it can be done. If you have to ask what you need you haven’t done enough research. -----Interior and Exterior----- Alright that’s all the mechanical stuff out of the way. All that’s left is the cosmetic aspects namely the interior and the exterior. For both of these it’s purely opinion, if you like neon lights and a giant wing, go nuts, if you like JDM, get JDM stuff, whatever you think looks good is possible. There’s no point in making thread after thread asking what looks good as it’s a subjective matter, it’s like asking what the best color is or who the hottest chick in the world is. For the interior, some companies you may want to know about are Recaro, Sparco, Corbeau and Bride. All the manufacturers make racing seats. Sure you can buy seats from Pepboys but you can also buy your prescription drugs in an alley, neither are good ideas. The big companies I mentioned spend millions ensuring their seats can survive a major crash and are found in pretty much all aspects of racing, Pepboys only makes seats that look racey. Like brakes, you don’t want to skimp on seats. I’ll touch on the subject of harnesses and harness bars briefly since I feel it’s an important aspect of the tuning community. DO NOT USE A HARNESS BAR AND HARNESSES ON THE STREET!!!!! Again, DO NOT USE A HARNESS BAR AND HARNESSES ON THE STREET!!!! Get the point, good. Harness bars are not safe for use in any situation where the chance of a rollover is relatively high (ie. higher than 0). Now you might say “well why do people make them?” Simple answer, because they like money and they know idiots will buy anything they make. People sell oxygen and bottled tap water, never gauge the worth of a product by the fact people make it. Now on to the explanation for why I’m so touchy about this subject (and no it’s not sand in my vagina, I keep it very clean thank you very much). A harness bar acts to hold the harnesses in place. This is fine, it’s doing what it was designed to do. The harness is generally run through the seat effectively meaning the harness bar is holding the seat up too, again as it should. There are two big problems associated with this system though. First off, in the case of a rollover, the harness bar provides no additional protection and actually stops the stock system from working properly. The stock system is designed to be able to move to cope with an accident. This means if the roof collapses (as it would in a rollover), the seats can go back or sideways to make roof. If the harness bar is holding them up this isn’t possible and the roof just comes down on your head, at best doing serious damage, at worst, snapping you in half and killing you. The other problem is that with a bar behind your head you’re at risk of hitting your head and smashing it in like a watermelon against well a metal bar. There are other problems associated with harnesses (namely 4-points) but I would hope the risk of death is enough to dissuade you. Realistically there is no way to run harnesses on the street. If you want to deal with the rollover risk, you need a rollbar/rollcage. However, both of these items add metal bars in the cab which stop you from carrying passengers in the back seat and require you to wear a helmet at all times. The padding you see in race cars is meant to shield a helmeted head against impact, not a bare head. Even with a helmet on you could easily get concussed, without on you could leave a mess for the paramedics. If you want more holding power, get a CG-Lock. It’s a device that holds the seatbelt tighter, holding you in place. It’s safe, cheap and effective, there. If you just want the harnesses for shows, go nuts. As for the rest of the interior, the sky is the limit. You can wrap everything in carbon fiber or fiberglass, paint it, add speakers, add gauges, whatever you want. For the exterior, there are a number of body kits out there. I don’t care which one you want, only you can make that decision. RRM, Accolade and Kaminari make kits for different years. Take a look at them if you want a kit. RRM also has other exterior goodies so check them out too. __________________ This FAQ is a great starting point for new lancer owners If you want my help, PM me, I won't post in technical forums lest I make waves. Last edited by ambystom01; Mar 1, 2008 at 09:47 PM.
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