Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance The Chicken or the Egg??

I am just about ready to start my mods... but have a very limited budget so it will be done in small sections.
the question is which came 1st... the chicken or the egg?
Intake or Exhaust?
i know you can't use what you put in unless you can get it out, but what can a stock tour LX exhaust? will intake mods be a waste of time w/o modding the exhaust?
i would like to start with KKM cold air intake, 9mm wires, MAF, & Unorthodox pulley.
Then do exhaust next summer. will i shot myself in the foot by doing things in this order?

please advise.

tim.

Exhaust then intake is ideal.
Or if you really want the intake first, have you resonantor removed from you stock intake and get a higher flowing mufler.
That exhaust mod shouldn't cost you more than $100 and will compliment the intake well enough.
Just my opinion though.

Personally, I think you should mix it up a bit. Do the intake, and just do alittle exhaust work. I think many people on here will agree that the high flow y-pipe is one of the best mods for our cars. You can get the high flow y-pipe without a cat for 150.00, and believe me, you will enjoy the results.

A very limited budget?

You might consider switching to a K&N drop-in (50$) and removing the intake resonator. Some people even report better results with this than with all the fancy "cold air" stuff. I know you have the panel-type filter, but it may still be worth a shot.

Exhaust, I'm anything but a guru. I bought a Borla cat-back, but you might do better with a custom-built system locally, or just replacing your res and stock mufflers with some high-performance units. Dynomax, Magnaflow, I don't know. Search around for opinions. I love my exhaust, but knowing what I know now, I think I could have gotten away cheaper.

FWIW, I started with an ITG open-element foam filter. Didn't notice much difference until I 1)installed the exhaust, and 2) removed my hoodliner. I don't know about power, but throttle response was quicker, and everything felt better.

Since I am also on a "very limited budget," the only other power mods I'm even thinking of are 1) custom Y-pipe (retaining stock cats) and 2) Superchip, or equivalent.

I installed SVT exhaust which was gracioulsy donated by a fellow CEG'er and then Intake(KKM) for about a 100 bucks. Fairly cheap, but after driving my dads stock 99 and then my 98 i noticed a difference. I would go exhaust first because your stock exhaust is a limiting factor and it would helpthe motor get rid of the air it is already intaking easier vs. trying to stuck more air into it. Just my $.02

Pretty safe rule of thumb to follow is to always upgrade your exhaust first, then add to the intake side. Not a end-all-be-all piece of advice, but a good reference point.

Reason being that if you're adding more air in to the engine, it must be expelled. So if you do intake first, you're not giving the extra gasses anywhere to go...therefore not making maximum power from the intake mod.

Get the exhaust upgraded first to deal with the extra gasses you'll be adding with the intake later.

HTH

i did the filter first and really need and want my exhaust now but i have to start fixing this bad boy now before i can have anymore fun parts

im not sure which is the way to go i got the filter first as i've always known of people who got filters but never did any exhaust work and i did notice top end breathing improvement....but i dont know that getting the exhaust wouldnt have been a better way to go

but case is to get filter and exhaust at same time for best results