engine upgrades with an automatic?

[carsandguitars5]

hey guys, my 02 p5 is an automatic, not by choice, trust me. i want to put in a cold air intake and a new exhaust, but is it going to help much? and if so, what else can i do to make my car faster? thanks

[Lil Freek]

SRI and catback got me to 94whp :P
get a header, too.. anything more than that, you're gonna have to start shitting money

[Super Matty P]

whats your budget and desired power level?

[carsandguitars5]

my budget isnt very high, im just a poor high school student, but im more planning for when schools out, because ill have money then with my summer job.

power wise im not really sure. as much as i can probably. im not too experienced in car mods at all, but my friends helping me with that, as well as the tutorials on this site. what would be my best options for not too hard of an upgrade at a reasonable price?

[carsandguitars5]

SRI and catback got me to 94whp :P
get a header, too.. anything more than that, you're gonna have to start shitting money

what kind of SRIs, catbacks, and headers do you suggest? once again, im not very experienced.

[Lil Freek]

for that.. you gotta read up for yourself..
to me.. they're all pretty much the same. I would suggest you steer clear of magnaflow for catback.. the fitment on mine was more troublesome than it should have been.

I have a ractive SRI.. got it for free... noticed no performance or fuel economy improvements.

[dosle]

k&n typhoon instake. personally one of the nicest and sturdiest sri/cai on the market.
obx 4-1 header also a nice match to in/out of airflow
underdrive pulley, lighten up the parasitic weight loss

you should be able to get all of these things currently from www.protegegarage.com. thats where i got em

[65racecoupe]

Without Boost, and without messing with the internals of the engine, you are not going to be a killer on the streets. It is this way with all 4 cylinder cars, not just Mazdas.

4 Cyl. engines aren't like V8s. You can open up a V8 and actually gain 30 plus HP with a set of Long Tube headers, a good exhaust, and a good intake.

Intake and exhaust will help a bit, but if you had earplugs on and drove 2 seperate P5s, both entirely stock, but one with intake and exhaust, you wouldn't feel the difference.

Also, 4 cylinder cars are difficult to get to go fast if they are automatic because the power is on the top end of the RPM range, which is tough to get to with a slush box. (My Mustang is a "top end" type of 302, and it still makes a decent ammount of power under 4000 rpm).

To make a long story short - Don't dump too much into the engine mods. You honestly won't go that fast.

[Lexusviper]

Without Boost, and without messing with the internals of the engine, you are not going to be a killer on the streets. It is this way with all 4 cylinder cars, not just Mazdas.

4 Cyl. engines aren't like V8s. You can open up a V8 and actually gain 30 plus HP with a set of Long Tube headers, a good exhaust, and a good intake.

Intake and exhaust will help a bit, but if you had earplugs on and drove 2 seperate P5s, both entirely stock, but one with intake and exhaust, you wouldn't feel the difference.

Also, 4 cylinder cars are difficult to get to go fast if they are automatic because the power is on the top end of the RPM range, which is tough to get to with a slush box. (My Mustang is a "top end" type of 302, and it still makes a decent ammount of power under 4000 rpm).

To make a long story short - Don't dump too much into the engine mods. You honestly won't go that fast.

agreed....well put

[65racecoupe]

agreed....well put

Thanks.

I am not bashing, I am just being honest. I don't want anyone to waste their money. Some cool wheels and light engine bolt ons are all that I would do.

[J-Love Hewitt]

Sweet

[rednecks_r_us]

for that.. you gotta read up for yourself..
to me.. they're all pretty much the same. I would suggest you steer clear of magnaflow for catback.. the fitment on mine was more troublesome than it should have been.

I have a ractive SRI.. got it for free... noticed no performance or fuel economy improvements.


I have a magnaflow and have no fitment issues.

Ractive header
Denso Iridium plugs
high flow mid pipe and 1 cat
had a mazdaspeed exhaust
had a K&N SRI

Got 116.4 horses to the wheel.

I need to re-dyno to see if the magnaflow and injen made any difference

Just remember every little bit helps.

have fun

[yourfather_luke]

my honest opinion here is this:

you're a "poor h.s. kid", right? don't waste your money making a slow car feel a wee-bit quicker. sure, the i/h/e combo makes your throttle respond better, but what good does it do when the soccer mom in her camry can woosh past your ass when merging onto a freeway. spend your money on more important things like investing for a down payment on a faster ride- if that's what you're after. i've spent, what, approx. $700+ on performance mods now to gain a crappy ~10hp. ooooh. that's the curse of our cars- all show / no go.

unless you want to spend the bones on a boosted solution (shout out to the WOMP crew), it's not even worth it IMHO. if you really want to spend it on the car get some rims, tint it so you can get some stinky finger in the backseat, upgrade the stereo...appearance mod it so it looks good in the slow lane

flame on:)

[Super Matty P]

I just received a "shout-out"....awesome!

I have a strong feeling that anyone with an automatic tranny who's looking for more power is going to be headed my way real soon.

[ArchPro5]

hey Luke! I actually prefer "stank on the hang-low" rather than the stinky fingers!