3 Mods you should do that are under $1K

amirza786

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If you own the X gen Si, you know that you have a pretty special car. But what if you are an amateur like me, want smoother shifting, better performance, but don't want to spend a bunch of money, or bolt on a bunch of aftermarket parts and turn under the hood into Frankenstein? No plans to race a Dodge Charger? Well you are in luck. For older and new Si owners, here are 3 must do "mods" that won't break the bank, or your car:

1. Drop in a K&N air filter or similar "dry" performance filter (for those that don't like the oil type filter)
Cost: $49 on Amazon
Why: Simply put, a K&N filter allows more air to enter your engine. The better your engine breathes, the better it performs. It's not going to give you a ton of power, but it will make your engine smoother. Some people state that a K&N filter lets in a lot of contaminants, but if you look at the published filtration on their website, it meets or exceeds the OEM filter in filtration. Plus it can be cleaned after 50K, up go 4 times. I have been using these filters for years, and none of my cars have ever had an issue, even after over 100K miles plus

2. Change out the factory fill Manual transmission fluid with Amsoil Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid
Cost: 2 quarts at $16 each plus 2 x crush washers at .25 cents ea. If you do it yourself, labor is free, $20 to $30 if you take it to a garage
Why: I have a multi-page post on this, so you can check out that post, but like many of you, I felt the shifting was not as smooth as it could be, and I also felt the transmission was just not performing well. After changing out the factory fill, life changed for the better! Smooth shifting, most of the notchiness gone, and generally my transmission performs one thousand percent better! Do it for your car, do it for your stick...just do it!

3. Ktuner with Two Step Performance stage 1 tune
Cost: $449 for a new v1.2 Ktuner
Why: Why not! I have another post on this as well, basically with Ktuner and the tsp stage 1 tune, you have a choice of 3 different maps, all you need is a laptop to install the tune, and you can drive your car in 3 different modes. Map 1 slightly enhances the driving experience, and Map 3 brings the cars whp to 237! That is 55 extra horses! I won't go into a lot of detail, you can read my post on Ktuner, but let's just say the performance increase without adding any additional add-on's is crazy!

So do yourself a favor, do these 3 mods, and your car will thank you!
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fenix-silver

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Aftermarket drop-in filters provide negligible performance increase and oiled filters can cause MAF sensor issues if over-oiled. Obviously people can spend their money however they want, but I'd never consider a drop in "performance" filter a "must-do".
 
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gtman

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Not a must do but I always use performance dry air filters in my car. They do give a small bump in throttle response and mpg's. Can't hurt, right?
 
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amirza786

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Aftermarket drop-in filters provide negligible performance increase and oiled filters can cause MAF sensor issues if over-oiled. Obviously people can spend their money however they want, but I'd never consider a drop in "performance" filter a "must-do".
The reason why I listed it "a must do" is although it doesn't increase performance that significantly, it still does boost it noticeably. Engineering Explained did a video on this, and it actually increased 2 to 3 hp over the oem. Plus this filter lasts pretty much the life of your car. You can over oil it, but it is really not that difficult to re-oil. I have these in all my cars, two of my cars have over 100K on them so I have cleaned and re-oiled them twice each. The cleaning/re-oil kit costs $18 on Amazon and can be used 4 times per filter. For two of my cars, I have not bought a new filter for almost 6 years
 
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SCOPESYS

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ANOTHER MUST DO "soon" is going to be a replacement upgraded Clutch, is you do #3, the Ktuner map 3 !!!

Not Inexpensive !!!
 


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amirza786

amirza786

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ANOTHER MUST DO "soon" is going to be a replacement upgraded Clutch, is you do #3, the Ktuner map 3 !!!

Not Inexpensive !!!
That is why I stick to Map 1 and use Map 2 when I want some extra umph. If you don't use Sports mode in Map 3 a lot you should be fine
 

fenix-silver

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The reason why I listed it "a must do" is although it doesn't increase performance that significantly, it still does boost it noticeably. Engineering Explained did a video on this, and it actually increased 2 to 3 hp over the oem. Plus this filter lasts pretty much the life of your car. You can over oil it, but it is really not that difficult to re-oil. I have these in all my cars, two of my cars have over 100K on them so I have cleaned and re-oiled them twice each. The cleaning/re-oil kit costs $18 on Amazon and can be used 4 times per filter. For two of my cars, I have not bought a new filter for almost 6 years
I wouldn't consider 2-3 hp noticeable. I'm not risking the lower filtering efficiency of an oiled gauze filter, especially now that cars are running 10K mile OCIs. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3148386/1
 
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amirza786

amirza786

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I wouldn't consider 2-3 hp noticeable. I'm not risking the lower filtering efficiency of an oiled gauze filter, especially now that cars are running 10K mile OCIs. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3148386/1
I really wouldn't worry about that, I just did an oil analysis of oil run 7K through harsh conditions. There were several trips between Northern and Southern California (360 miles each way) through lots of farmland and very dusty conditions, and my oil was in good condition with no unusual particulate matter and could have gone another 2 or 3K before being changed, and that was only because oil dilution was moderate. The same is true for both my Toyotas, both have had 10K oil change intervals, one has 113K on it and the other has 140K, none have ever had a mechanical issue, nor any type of sensor malfunction. But hey, I get your concerns
 
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charleswrivers

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https://www.civicx.com/threads/prl-motorsports-project-snow-white.12424/#post-227218
Project snow white posted 4-9 whp from the Green drop-in filter. It is an oiled filter as well.

I'm in the camp that OEM-style filters do have a bit higher filter efficiencies, and it really matters how you clean a reusable filter. If you just dunk the thing in water and get the particles to get freed on the dirty side and go over to the clean side... you're going to have some junk, even if it isn't plainly visible on the clean side that'll get dislodged and into your engine after you've dried and re-oiled the engine. I've pulled MAFs and looked at them/cleaned them on a bunch of vehicles and really never sew anything... but cleaned them anyways. I've never had a MAF sensor fail on a vehicle except an Xterra, which failed and was replaced under warranty and had an OEM style filter. My Z runs double oiled cone filters through 2 MAFs to each cylinder bank. In the end, I acknowledge I've probably lost a little filter efficiency for lower long-term cost as I buy them early when I have a car and use them for years, cleaning them annually and am content they provide some additional power, albeit small. I would certainly not recommend them in a very dusty environment.

K&N themselves claim 96-99%.

https://www.knfilters.com/efficiency_testing.htm

3rd party testing confirmed this (linked from another one of my old Z sites...)... and it is less than many 3rd party filters.

https://nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

The dirt holding capacity bar graph is very skewed based on the heights. You have to read the numbers and realize that, while the other filters may be able to hold more, it isn't 10X+ more... it's more like 2x-3x more for many. This is also being measured in grams. I'm sorry... but if you have over 500 grams of dirt (over a pound) in that AC Delco filter... you were probably running around in the sand in the desert.

It is a compromise. Given clean highway driving and a desire for more power... even if it's minimal... it's one I've made. Folks should not think a K&N specifically is better at filtering though. I can't say to how other dry/oiled filters other than K&N do... but I assume they're going to be similar in they have a little better flow... gain a few horsepower... allow lower, al be it minimally different, operating costs by being reusable... but at the cost of lower filtering efficiency.
 


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amirza786

amirza786

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https://www.civicx.com/threads/prl-motorsports-project-snow-white.12424/#post-227218
Project snow white posted 4-9 whp from the Green drop-in filter. It is an oiled filter as well.

I'm in the camp that OEM-style filters do have a bit higher filter efficiencies, and it really matters how you clean a reusable filter. If you just dunk the thing in water and get the particles to get freed on the dirty side and go over to the clean side... you're going to have some junk, even if it isn't plainly visible on the clean side that'll get dislodged and into your engine after you've dried and re-oiled the engine. I've pulled MAFs and looked at them/cleaned them on a bunch of vehicles and really never sew anything... but cleaned them anyways. I've never had a MAF sensor fail on a vehicle except an Xterra, which failed and was replaced under warranty and had an OEM style filter. My Z runs double oiled cone filters through 2 MAFs to each cylinder bank. In the end, I acknowledge I've probably lost a little filter efficiency for lower long-term cost as I buy them early when I have a car and use them for years, cleaning them annually and am content they provide some additional power, albeit small. I would certainly not recommend them in a very dusty environment.

K&N themselves claim 96-99%.

https://www.knfilters.com/efficiency_testing.htm

3rd party testing confirmed this (linked from another one of my old Z sites...)... and it is less than many 3rd party filters.

https://nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

The dirt holding capacity bar graph is very skewed based on the heights. You have to read the numbers and realize that, while the other filters may be able to hold more, it isn't 10X+ more... it's more like 2x-3x more for many. This is also being measured in grams. I'm sorry... but if you have over 500 grams of dirt (over a pound) in that AC Delco filter... you were probably running around in the sand in the desert.

It is a compromise. Given clean highway driving and a desire for more power... even if it's minimal... it's one I've made. Folks should not think a K&N specifically is better at filtering though. I can't say to how other dry/oiled filters other than K&N do... but I assume they're going to be similar in they have a little better flow... gain a few horsepower... allow lower, al be it minimally different, operating costs by being reusable... but at the cost of lower filtering efficiency.
K&N actually claim 98%-99% efficiency. Also K&N will not void your manufacturer's warranty. I have been using K&N filters for years, before that I used TRD air filters, which are basically rebranded K&N filters. 113K and 140K with zero engine problems over 13 years of driving through all types of harsh environments means the filter is doing it's job properly. Anyway, I was hoping this would not turn into a K&N vs OEM debate, but I probably should have know better
 

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it was either k&n vs oem or ktuner vs hondata. or maybe to clutch mod or not to clutch mod.
i'll take the filter discussion over the alternatives any day..

at least no one is arguing tranny oil replacement!
:thumbsup:
 
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amirza786

amirza786

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it was either k&n vs oem or ktuner vs hondata. or maybe to clutch mod or not to clutch mod.
i'll take the filter discussion over the alternatives any day..

at least no one is arguing tranny oil replacement!
:thumbsup:
Ha Ha you are so right. 1 out of 3 is not so bad when you think about it....
 

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K&N actually claim 98%-99% efficiency. Also K&N will not void your manufacturer's warranty. I have been using K&N filters for years, before that I used TRD air filters, which are basically rebranded K&N filters. 113K and 140K with zero engine problems over 13 years of driving through all types of harsh environments means the filter is doing it's job properly. Anyway, I was hoping this would not turn into a K&N vs OEM debate, but I probably should have know better
Well... sorry... that wasn't my intention. I meant to defend a quantifiable increase in power with a (up to the user) acceptable amount of loss of filtering efficiency against other OEM style filters. I've also used them on something like 10 cars now without issue. I think the benefits of lower lifetime costs through reusing the filters with minor, but measurable rise in power is worth it for vehicles outside very dusty environments. K&N themselves acknowledge a range if 96-99% on their website, with the other 3rd party test coming in on the lower end of their estimate. That 3rd party test is opinionated against them... and I formulated my own opinion and chose to use them... but I think the data is still applicable and, again, within K&Ns own estimates. K&Ns comply with ISO and SAE standards. They are, by those standards, 'good enough'.
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