a late birthday present from my mom left me about 13 hundred to spend.

93 fd, bought in Nov.

current mods
- rebuilt motor
- rebuilt turbos
-spec stage 2 clutch
- apexi catback exhaust
- lightened flywheel
- b&m short shifter
- NGK plugs
- apexi power fc + commander
- greddy bov
- cusco trailing arms

whats going bad....
- radiator took a **** (bought slightly used oem for $50, plan on upgrading to fluidyne asap)
- needs new pads
-stero doesnt work whatsoever
-minor cosmetic flaws

aside from the things that need replacement what should i look into? i know $1300 wont get me all too far so i would like to spend the money wisely

 

reliability mods, save the rest

 

so im looking at a pettit ast, dp, hose techniques silcone and call it a day?

 

Don't touch the vacuum lines if they still work.

 

I would upgrade the radiator and change all coolant hoses, pressure cap, thermostat, 2nd gen thermoswitch, and AST.

Dave

 

i would def listen to these guys and so some reliability mods, besides if you shop around alot and find some good deals you might even have enough cabbage left to do something about that stereo

 

This is a good start list and you should have some $ left over. I didn't know to do the coolant hoses and blew one after having the car 4 months. The hose I blew was $1.25 to replace. However, because I dumped all the coolant, I melted the seals and had to pull the motor. Replacement seal kit is $500. Not to mention the time and $ to pull and work over the motor.All because of a $1.25 hose

 

i'll def put the coolant hoses on the checklist, fluidyne radiator, replacement oem thermostat or aftermarket...(if any), ast, pressure cap

i have a pfc... thats programmable to turn the fans on at any desired temp correct...?

arent the oem vacuum lines prone to failure tho?

no one mentioned a downpipe. should i just leave that for later mods?

 

thats a good start.

as far as vacuum lines, they are only failure prone if you touch them.... as long as the car runs fine and boosts normally they dont need to be replaced. plus when doing the job you're gonna find a few things need to be replaced as well such as check valves solenoids and the like(which are slightly costly). so unless you got another car to get you around until you get the job done, or if you got about $500(rough estimate) for a rotary shop to do it for you. then do touch them.

downpipe? leave it for later.... if you already got a catback, you dont need a downpipe until you can afford to have someone tune the PFC with your mods.



once you get you reliability mods done, and vacuum lines done. and once you get a re-tune(im assuming you already have a tune) you're looking around 280-300hp easy

 

You need a Datalogit to change the fan settings with the PFC.
The OEM vacuum lines do bake and harden over time, but if you aren't having a problem, don't go in there until you need to.
A downpipe was mentioned explicitly and implicitly. It is considered a reliability mod and should be done.

What? A downpipe should be done immediately on any FD. The PFC can easily handle a downpipe and catback without being tuned.

 

ok thanks for all the info!

one last thing tho...i know i wont have enough after all this is taken care of, but once i get some duckies stacked up again should i go for an intake next? hks twin suction is what i'll be getting. it seems like the next obvious step after all that. just making sure im not forgetting anything else....

 

I agree with these guys, but I'd also like to summarize everything concisely:

-Downpipe (mine is Jet-Hot ceramic coated and wrapped with Thermotec fiberglass wrap)
-New Radiator (Don't buy a used one, it could be clogged. I recommend the all-aluminum OEM replacement from radiatorworld.com , it's less than $300 IIRC)
-New OEM thermostat (don't buy aftermarket ones, they're not reliable at all)
-New pressure caps (for both the filler neck and the AST)
-New coolant hoses
-New or upgraded AST (the stock one is usually OK for 30-50k miles or so)
-FC Thermoswitch, unless you use a Datalogit to change your fan turn-on temps

-Boost gauge and Water temp gauge, if you don't already have them.
-New fuel filter, if you haven't changed yours lately
-New ignition wires, if you haven't changed yours lately

-s-

 

^^ +1

after Radiator and new AST, you should get these first before all else.. then the rest of the reliability mods