On a budget

[habeansha]

So i finally decided to mod my car and I am only going to spend $500 max
so what should i get, the only thing I have right now is the ebay intake, so i was thinking maybe OBX headers from ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OBX-EXHAUST-HEADER-MAZDA-PROTEGE-MP3-2-0L-ALL-01-03_W0QQitemZ140128282439QQihZ004QQcategoryZ33631QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

the header cost about $200 unless i can get it cheaper elsewhere or find a used one from someone on the forums

and i will buy an exhaust but what is something thats good? I like the one that comes stock on the msp but havent seen any recently on the for sale section, is there anyother exhaust that is cheap but good, and is there anything else i could possibly get within my budget?

[mazda protege 2]

theres always an MSP exhaust on the sale usually, i just payed for mine and im waitin for it to come in any day

[mhrebin]

500 bucks is a tight limit to have.lol i had the same exact vision in the beginning too. and now ive got a good amount into the car already.lol

just keep your eyes pealed in the For Sale section. good deals come up all the time. if you can. get a hold of the mazdaspeed axle back and take it to a muffler shop and have them bend up a custom mid section to match the MS axle back. that could be a cheaper route.
if you dont have lowering springs, i would invest in some of those. lowering and exhaust/intake are more or less what everyone does first.

good luck with the modding.

[habeansha]

Im not to sure about the lowering springs cuz i live on a dirt road and it has lots of potholes but there is a guy with a dropped golf and another guy with a srt-4 and they seem to do alright

they do drive super slow though, i dont know if i can do that, the road is dusty so i drive fast so i can avoid other cars going fast that will get my car dusty

[03promaz]

Get an ebay intake then just buy a good filter. That will save you some money. Cost you like $80

[habeansha]

Get an ebay intake then just buy a good filter. That will save you some money. Cost you like $80

I already have the ebay intake and a simota filter should be on the way

[mike2225]

With a budget of only of $500, you would probably want to get a cheap ebay muffler then have a local exhaust make up some custom piping.I did this before i went turbo, it cost me like $300 from the midpipe back

[JCell]

springs and a muffler

[crashkelly]

springs and a muffler

+1


and dude if you want the car to last...stop buying ebay and OBX and other non-name brand stuff(just poney up the money for the good stuff! ...i know OBX is technically a namebrand but they totally suck...i had a muffler from them on an older car and the shit rusted out and broke fast than you can say "piece of shit")

[crashkelly]

actually you might also consider a midpipe...it would sound nice and give good performance gains...and they are about 100-300 (got mine cat-less from MAM before they went out of business for $99!)

[habeansha]

+1


and dude if you want the car to last...stop buying ebay and OBX and other non-name brand stuff(just poney up the money for the good stuff! ...i know OBX is technically a namebrand but they totally suck...i had a muffler from them on an older car and the shit rusted out and broke fast than you can say "piece of shit")

yeah i found a wagner shorty header from some guy locally so hopefully less cost for shipping, and its only $100

[Rome04]

make sure the welds are good on the wagner i think they are known for cracked welds