Mods for the 2002 Si

[Ritteri]

Hey folks, just found this BB after going through THOUSANDS of searches literally. Glad I found it as it looks to have alot of folks in my boat!:D

Anyway, just bought a brand new 2002 Si in black with floormats for $17,000 flat(includes title and admin fees too), and I have about $5000-$6000 for modifications roughly left over.

I want to do an intake(CAI if possible), header, high flow CAT and cat back exhaust, and a supercharger in the future if they make one. I may want to do a JET chip also for the time being, but am unfamiliar with the elctronic side of things as my other car is a 67' Goat with a 389 tri carb setup, so u know where im coming from!:D

For the suspension I would like to do a front upper bar strut brace, rear lower tie bar brace, maybe beef up the stabilizer bars, and add either coilovers or get springs and shocks. I want to lower the car about 1.5-1.75 inches, just enough to drastically improve handling and looks without bottoming out on bumps or completely killing the ride. I live in New England and pot holes and rough roads are abundant here.

For wheels, weight and performance are my only concern, so Im looking at replacing the current 15's with possibly 16x7's, either Rota slipstreams, Volk TE37's or possible RacingHart rims, like the CP 035's, weight is first concern as the less weight the better, 2nd is color(which I want plain black or similiar), tire width I have figured what is best for the car, I was thinking something like a 205-50 R16, I know that increasing the tire width increases drag, so whats the best size here??195,205,215?? Want the best combo for weight,traction, with least drag possible.

ANy tips,links, places for best pricing etc would be greatly appreciated! Also anything else to improve HP or torque for this car would be great too!

[greenguy]

Welcome! I'm also in your boat with the mods. I have to keep telling myself to be patient as not alot is available yet. There are some products available, but IMHO the best products that are in the test stages are yet to be released ( not that there arent any yet;) ).
Welcome again have fun and enjoy your stay. Oh yeah, buy some ephatch stickers and pimp the site to others! Link is at top of page!

[LazyAzzAzian]

hey what part of new england are you from?

[CleanBlackSi02]

Welcome to the site! Just be patient with those parts. I'm sure that we will be flooded with parts next year this time! Enjoy the EP!

[SBC31]

Congrats on the 02 Si, you will not be dissapointed.

[Steve02Si]

Hey, I also just picked up a new Si, I got it for just over $17k, including dest. and everything. Gotta love end of year sales!

Anyway, I bought it for a daily driver and it's going to see over 25k a year so I plan on keeping it stock at least until the warranty's up, then maybe swapping in the RSX type S motor/trans. Until then, I'm considering lowering the car about an inch since the wheel gap reminds me of a 4x4. Anyone done this yet and what feedback can you give me? Thanks!

[Ritteri]

Yeah Im from NH myself, I know there is an exhaust from Thermal(the stealth), a CAI from Injun and AEM(which one to get?),maybe wait for the comptech unit, dont know if a header pipe is out yet, but ill be callin up DC sports on Tuesday to find out.

I also know that there are coilovers already available along with lowering springs,shocks etc, I want to lower the car about 1.5-2.0"s total, and dont know which way to go. Its gonna be a daily driver, with possible occasional weekend racing next summer(so coilovers or lowering springs with struts/shocks?)possibly.

Rims, its a toss up between Volk 16x7 TE37's, Rota 16x7 Slipstreams, or Spoon SW388's or SSR competitions, just want the lightest wheel/tire combo, thats it.

Possibly do a Jet chip upgrade or oth3er small cheap HP gains until someone makes a supercharger for the unit. My goal is to get an extra 100 hp out of this engine, and 75 lbs of torque shouldnt be a problem I would think. Any tips or links, keep em coming please!

[DynaSpeed]

67' Goat with a 389 tri carb setup Tri-Power... YAY! That's what I'm talking about! Do you have the "Judge" trim?

I wonder if that'll fit in the Ep? :D

Any pics of this car?

[DrPimpSiR]

Originally posted by DynaSpeed
Tri-Power... YAY! That's what I'm talking about! Do you have the "Judge" trim?
I don't think the Judge came out 'till '70. Welcome, it's good to see that there are more people with taste for both kinds of pimpmobiles- Muscle and EP's.

[Ritteri]

The GTO "Judge trim" was only out for 2 years. 69 and 70. It used a Ram Air IV or III induction on a 4bbl 400 big block. Incredible torque off the line, but cant hold up to a tri carb in the midrange and top end. But it was alot easier to keep tuned.

[DJQuikFingaz]

Welcome.

[Ritteri]

Anyway, back to the questions at hand.


I think Im gonna scrub up some 16x7 Volk TE37 wheels. So my first question is who has the absolute cheapest price online or mail order???? Links please!


2nd Question: I want to drop my car about 1.5-2.0", it will mainly be used as a daily driver, but I plan on doing some weekend racing next spring summer possibly, so which is better?? Coilovers or lowering springs and shock/struts???

Also when you buy coilovers, is anything else needed to lower the vehicle or is that it, do coilovers have the shocks/struts already in em??? Im not familiar with them. Price here isnt necessarily a concern, just want whats gonna be best.

Also need a front strut upper brace and a rear lower link tie. Who makes the best? Cheapest place to get em?

[Steve02Si]

I would HIGHLY recommend staying far, far away from coilovers on any street driven car. A set of lowering springs that give you the drop you want will give you a much better ride and you won't blow out your struts in a couple weeks! We had coilovers on our shop car, a 98 Integra GSR, and the car rode like crap, bounced all over the place, bottomed out on small bumps, and just took the fun out of driving it. We recently put Eibach Pro-kit springs on it and it's like a whole different car! True coilovers are designed for racing and they come with a strut that's designed for the spring. To properly set up a coil-over, you have to weigh the car at each corner and adjust the struts accordingly. Most "coilovers" are just a universal spring that comes with an adaptor to fit your car, they're not matched to the damping rates of your existing struts and they're too small to control the car over bumps. I'm stil curious to get some feedback on what people think of different springs on this car.

[SVTNate]

I have to disagree about coilovers for street use. I have two friends that have Ground Controls in their Si's - a FBP '99 and an EBP '00. The guy with the EBP does auto-x as well, the guy with the FBP just drives it daily. Both have had the coilovers for a year or two, and the ride is very comfortable in both cars.

Of course, they aren't running stock shocks, one has Konis and the other has the Tokico Blues. Sure, coilovers are no good with stock shocks/struts, but if you care at all about performance you wouldn't be running aftermarket springs with stock struts in the first place ;)

[Ritteri]

Maybe I didnt clear things up here, I was going to replace both the springs AND the struts/shocks. I just dont want to waste $1-2000 dollars on a set of Tien coilovers if getting a nice set of strut/shocks and lowered springs are the better route to go. Like I said, I want a 1.5-2" drop to increase performance in everyday cornering ability and will do OCCASIONAL racing maybe next spring or summer.

Also, do the coilovers come with the struts or shocks or is that a seperate buy??

Basically I dont want to spend $2000 on coilovers if Im gonna only keep one setting only and can get 90-95 percent of the performance outta the basic lowered spring with new strut and shock combo which will only set me back half the money. More details please.

Still need to know the cheapest place to get TE37's too.

[greenguy]

Originally posted by Ritteri
I said, I want a 1.5-2" drop to increase performance in everyday cornering ability and will do OCCASIONAL racing maybe next spring or summer.



If I may sugest H&R's Cup Kit when they become available. Nice drop, and no fuss with settings. Only one problem....none available for our rides yet:(

[nickw252]

Whats up SVT Nate, havent seen you around ClubSi lately. I think I like this site better anyway since they are all haters on EP's and the moderators for the most part suck.

Anyway, I agree with you about coilovers. Whoever was saying that for daily driving they are bad, you are probably thinking about cheap ebay coilovers that are like $100. Those are not good, but something like ground controls or full coilovers like Tein, or Konis would be really good, but really expensive.