Just picked up a 94' FD from Arizona last night.

Just wanted to confirm with the community on a couple things.
First is has a 3" down pipe and Racing Beat cat back exhaust. Do no mod anything further with intake and exhaust before power fc correct?

Also replacing all the coolant hoses, radiator hoses and radiator cap.
180 thermostat and 185 thermostat switch.

Ceramic coating the down pipe. Is it worth to do for the exhaust manifold and exhaust side of the turbos as well?

Future Plans -
Water temp gauge
Fuel Filter
Relocate battery to trunk
Aluminum AST
oil temp/pressure gauge
boost gauge

Any other suggestions on things that should be done right now before I start driving her around. (not a daily)

 

Yes, that's the general rule of thumb to avoid overboosting/boost spike. Congratulations on your new purchase!

 

I would do a full fluid swap, diff, trans, etc.

 

Nothing wrong with what you have said but it is not the only way to go. You could put on a boost controller and then do some other common bolt ons like an intake or open up your airbox with an AdamC/CBI type mod being sure to limit boost to 10psi. Just don't make main catalytic converter elimination such as gutting it or putting on a mid pipe one of your mods for now.

Just depends on whether you want to drop the money for an ECU now.

There once was a "three mod rule" but most consider it superseded by the 10psi boost limit. From reading this site it seems that most think that the additional flow from common mods is safe with the stock ECU if the boost is limited to stock levels. But if you don't do the ECU now a boost controller has to be done before any more mods increasing the airflow. For example, with your exhaust mods any opening of the intake and you will definitely boost too high. Also, a cat back frees up the exhaust so much, if it was my car, I would want to know what I was boosting right now. I wouldn't hurt to rig up some kind of gauge in the car at least temporarily, take a ride, and check your boost readings. If you're not ready to buy your boost gauge right now there are some inexpensive combination vacuum and pressure type gauges sold in parts stores that you could use to see running a length of vacuum hose into the passenger compartment via under the back of the hood and through a cracked window just like checking boost when test driving a car you're considering purchasing. You could just do this check once and it would give you some peace of mind that you're absolutely safe on your boost levels with your current mods.

 

Congrats on your new purchase, you should come hang out at the EVOLV BBQ on August 17th.

When I got my FD, the first thing I did was install a Koyo N-FLO and FC fan switch, then boost and water temp gauge.

 

I think you're referring to the "3 (performance) mod rule" on the stock ECU. Still valid IMO.
Good. Don't forget the turbo coolant hoses. They tend to swell with age. As mentioned previously, changing out the fluids and plugs gives you a good base-line. I would stick with OEM t-stat.
To heat-coat the manifold will require removing it, which means removing the turbos. Not a small job and you may need new gaskets which are pretty pricey. Gains, IMO, will be minimal.
How are you using the car? If it's just for the street- pleasure use, coolant or oil temps are fine. Coolant temp is usually easier/cleaner. And battery relocation is usually done for space and some weight re-distribution. Unnecessary on most cars IMO.
Always get the car to full operating temperature before boosting. If you haven't done so, download or get a hardcopy of the Factory Service Manual. Read through all the FAQs in the sticky. Just do maintenance, no performance mods for a year or so until you learn more about the car.
Do it. Learning first-hand from experienced owners is golden.

 

I went onto Mazdatrix and found about 7 coolant hoses I plan on replacing not including the ones going to the radiator.

The idea behind it was more about heat prevention that it is about horsepower gains at all. Just trying my best to get the heat down before I start driving.

I'm actually planning on using it for HPDE and then Time Trials through NASA. Ive been drifting for 4 years now and I'm looking to expand my driving.

I was planning on relocating that battery. One because of the heat coming from the engine bay and two it looks like the air flow through the radiator into the engine compartment is pretty poor.

 

I was assuming the same, that he was making reference to that rule. However, I probably didn't make my point in a very straightforward fashion. You could add 1 more performance mod and you wouldn't even be going against the 3 performance mod rule. Add boost control at the same time and you should be totally safe IMO.

My boost went so far up with just intake, DP, and CB. It was fine before the CB. I put on boost control right after the CB. But I'm at 3 perf. mods total right now with the stock ECU.

I probably will go beyond the 3 mods and add an IC to my car w/o and ECU upgrade based on keeping a 10psi limit. I'm going to see if I want to stop at that point or add an ECU/fuel mods and turn the boost up to 12psi. But that's with my own car and my 4.5 years of ownership experience and reading on this site.

You can add the ECU now but it doesn't necessarily have to be your next mod.

 

Perfect. Consider new caps too. FWIW, I like to change coolant annually. Usually when it comes out of winter hibernation.

I was talking about heat too. DP yes, but for the work and expense I think I'd wait on pulling the turbos and manifold for heat coating....IMO.

If you're going to corner weight it and/or anticipate needing to move it for an aftermarket IC, then fine. I was speaking for a car that's strictly street-driven. In fact, if you go to that EVOLV meet, check out Henry's (ZE Power MX6) car. One of the nicest battery relocations I've seen.