MY WHIP

I love cars. I always have & probably always will. There's something about them that brings me a peace that I can't find anyplace else.

Most of us, though, can't afford to drive the car they've always wanted or can't justify spending mega-dollars on a car. There are, however, a few subtle, and relatively inexpensive, things you can do to make your driving experience a lot better. I've probably spent more on cars than the average person but I could've saved myself a whole lot of money if I knew then what I know now about cars, which still isn't a whole lot but it's enough to get by.

I've owned quite a number of cars, though never more than one at any one time. The current one is the only one I've really messed with considerably coz the others simply couldn't take the punishment of my daily driving. Not that I abuse cars but I push them pretty hard.

Here's my car's spec sheet:
- 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ Rally
- 2.0 Liter SOHC inline 4
- 120 hp @ 5500 rpm
- 130 lb-ft of torque @ 4250 rpm
- Front wheel drive

As you can see there isn't much going on over here, unlike its cousin the almighty Evo. I got the car brand-spanking-new because, for one, I had to have a car with a manual transmission. I liked its styling and the fact that you don't have to rev it to 6,000 rpm to get it going like the Honda Civic.

The first thing I did to it was yank out the OEM CD player and replace it with my trusty Kenwood MP3 XM-ready remote-controlled head unit. I did that the very next day after I bought it.



Next came the amplifier & subwoofers. I'm running a 600 Watt 2-channel Kenwood amp, thanks to Mose, connected to two Alpine type E woofers. One woofer is 10" and the other is 12" but both have identical power ratings. I did this for optimal frequency response coz the 10" handles high bass better and the 12" handles low bass better.




Next came the stainless steel high-flow catback. Not only does it free up a few horses but it sounds great too. In quick succession came the AEM cold air/short RAM intake. This freed up even more horses and gave the engine that 'bark'. Love it.



The stock shifter is OK but aftermarket parts are, for the most part, better. So I yanked the factory one out and put in this beautiful B&M short-throw shifter.



Something was out of sync while shifting but I figured it out and added these sport pedals.



The OEM headlight bulbs are OK but I needed more intensity so I went with 100W Xenon HID bulbs that are bright as $hit. They're not blue like every Tom, Dick & Harry's though; they're green-white. Nice. Hard to see during the day coz the color temp. is close to that of sunlight. [That's what they say anyway. Who knows]



I forgot - one of the first things I did was change the wheels from the 15"x6" factory ones to 18"x8" gunmetals.



They looked great but were too heavy and had considerable wheel-rub so I reverted back to the original wheels which are much lighter and have no wheel-rub. Performance first, right?

The car already came with nice gauges and interior and even had a functional [I hope] spoiler so I left those alone.



By now the whip was upwards of 135hp thanks to switching to higher-octane gas and using synthetic oil in addition to the other mods so I decided to invest in a brake kit. Not that I had that much power yet but hey, it never hurts to stop faster. I got some slotted rotors and high-performance brake pads. I chose the slotted over the cross-drilled rotors just so I don't have to worry about the structural integrity of the rotors coz drilled rotors are notorious for cracking. The difference in braking was phenomenal.



I'm rolling on all-season Yokohamas. They're OK but I'll soon get high-performance wet/dry ones.

The single greatest upgrade I did though was getting The Eibach Pro-Kit progressive lowering springs. They drastically improve handling and aerodynamics coz the car sits 1.5" lower. They're also compatible with stock shocks, though they work better with an Eibach damping kit. [I don't have that installed, though]



More enhancements, should I decide to install them, would be:

- A hi-flo catalytic converter
- performance headers
- high performance spark plugs and wires
- Stage one turbo kit....

The list is endless. I don't think I'll put anything else in it though coz I can only do so much with this car. If I ever get that Nissan 350Z maybe I can go all out but right now I have a nice, inexpensive, cheap to maintain ride that's fun and has decent punch.



Comments are always welcome.