Hey, I'm new here and I was wondering what i should upgrade on my new 2009 Lancer Gts M/t? My friend has a 2007 subaru impreza and my other friend has a 2006 v6 accord (coupe), both manual, and they have helped me find a car and are going to be helping me find and install parts, but i was just wondering the opinions of fellow(future fellow) lancer drivers

Their opinions are:
- first a drop in filter and an intake (possibly a cold air but my friend informed me of some cons to a CAI
- then a header/ exhaust system.

but im not very car savvy so i was just curious.

drop in filter is good but if you really want to start at the right spots..start with intake,then exhaust,then headers, then i would do things like drop in,crank pully and such..and after your done with alllll of that. or whatever else you want i would get the works Tune thats all if you plan on staying n/a

Ouch, they helped you find a car? They might be playing a trick on you considering theirs have been around for a bit and have readily available performance parts and we're stuck in the dark... kinda like they're trying to keep you behind them for as long as possible.

I hope none of those CAI cons are about hydro-locking the engine... there's way too many people who just recite what they hear without really thinking about it. A hydroshield will do wonders for splashes and such, so they don't soak the filter.. but even a flood which submerges the intake would most likely stall the engine out from lack of burnable oxygen before anything else. Stay away from floods if one is worried.. if you find yourself up to your knees in water, shut the engine off asap then. Not like anybody would follow you through the Mississippi :P


Essential parts.. hmm

Intake is one. Since yours is m/t, go for the cai and get the hydroshield you won't hydrolock the engine.. about $350

Lightweight pulley to tighten throttle response.. about $150

Exhaust header seems to provide a reasonable boost by paper numbers.. about $400

A *proper* exhaust, not one of those Canadian Tire/NAPA/AutoZone/Pep boys/etc. specials... unless you prefer the sound of vehicle flatulence. Actually, now that I think of it, they all sound like that. I haven't a clue why. I'm not entirely sure if a catback is actually worth the expense over the axel back.. there's other people here that can answer that one. Granted, I don't really like the sound of the stock exhaust, but I'm not about to drop hundreds on something that just goes Ppbptptptptpbtptbptp 100% of the time and sounds like every other pizza delivery civic and cavalier around here.

Then there's the more radical solutions such as a piggy back (for small gains), ecu reflash (for larger gains), or turbo (for larger gains and total voiding of warranty)

Maybe shed some weight and get those lbs/hp numbers a bit lower. Hoods, doors, rims, roof, trunk, seats, glass.. whatever you can get rid of ;)

for now, i would just advise visual/suspension mods. power? your better off with the injen cai. just dont go driving into any lakes and youll be fine. get some rims/wheels, maybe an upper tower strut, debadge the trunk, tint it, go crazy but not too far. maybe even an HID kit. if you ever get bored one day look through post on the forum and you'll get ideas.

well im definitly not going to get a turbo, keeping it N/a because of gas mileage and because i heard that would eventually just ruin my engine, and i wouldnt get a reflash for performance because that would probably cause my mileage to go down the tubes. also, if the 09 lancer gts has 168 horsepower at the crank what is it at the wheels (dynoed) and what is the 07 impreza dynoed? is the impreza that much of a better car that they would be tryin to screw me over? i know that the accord is a much better car but its more expensive and other than that there isnt another car like it that is that powerful has good gas mileage and is in my price range. thank alot for your suggestions this has been a lot of help, my friends know a considerable amount about cars and i was just wanting a second opinion, and it seems like you guys are saying the same stuff as them. i just hope i can get a car soon.

I agree with just doing simple things like tinting windows, and visual enhancements, wheels/etc. Just drive it a couple more years and let everyone else break the important stuff first ;) Eventually there will be a great FAQ or something detailing what worked well and what didn't.

For about the price of the GTS loaded...just get a Civic SI & have fun :)


If you do get the Lancer.....


Get the Injen Intake. I was able to get mine off of E-Bay for $267.99 & add $2 for insurance. The thing was brand new. They guy had some sort of a Holiday sale going on. Buy the Hydro-Shield for sure! Maybe $30
I have been VERY happy with mine!

If you want to improve the handling....get the Megan Racing Coilovers from Crypto. Gain added handling & you can either raise or lower your car as you like it.

Add window tints if your state allows it. DON't FORGET to get the MoleSkin's for the windows BEFORE you get them tinted!

If youstill want to get some added bling....do some new rims.

Need even more performance....do a new exhaust...your likes/dislikes will be diff. from others so get something that you like...

You can always add extra "bling" or performance to your car at a later time...but that is a good start for sure.

...but

then you'd own a Honda. I view Hondas as cars for people with no imagination.

If they have other stuff that's nice, and on top of that a Honda with rust spots or something, then I see they can appreciate it for it's city value.

Otherwise, as a sole daily driver, jebus.. take a couple dollar hit on gas and get something nicer. I even respect those people with Del Sols more than the rest, just because I figure they're probably aware of its relative rarity. Unfortunately, if it has a poop shute double the diameter of my fist, well...

Seriously, every 7th vehicle around here is a Honda (especially a Civic), and 5 out of those 7 have fart cans. It's a requirement for some reason.

That's why I chose the Lancer....

twice.

I already added my 0.02 on parts earlier.

Oh, as SFD mentioned, get tint. It's not a performance part -- strictly speaking -- but these cars need it. *especially* if it's a darker colour body. My graphite gray looks naked with those tintless windows, but I don't know if I can justify getting them done just before winter.

lowlevel has a solid idea as well, especially those for the less financially deviant of us. Let other people find the problems with aftermarket parts, such like the Fujita short ram. Now we know never to touch one. And RRM pulley v1... being a bit late to the game can solve a lot of headaches.

It would be Cold Air Intake then followed up by proper done exhaust system.

At the wheels the power would be around 130-140

Does your friend have an Impreza, Impreza WRX, or Impreza WRX STI?

A 2007 Impreza horsepower is 173

WRX horsepower is 224

STI horsepower is about 316

my freind has the 2.5i, and to reply to the other statments, i will never get a civic, i hate the look of them(that stubby front end). also, any "visual enhancements" have to be strictly non ricey or i may be slaughtered by my friends. plus i just really like the look of the lancer, i'm going for a test drive today with my dad(its going to be awkward because i'm still learning how to drive stick). i plan on doing the upgrades my friends suggested, intake, exhaust(non ricey, look up the RRM exhaust), headers, crank pully thing(cant remember what its called exactly, sue me :D) and then the megan racing coilovers. if i get rims i do not want those very ricey ones, im looking for a five spoke, not to thick, and as ricey as some people think they are, i want them black :D. moderate tint would be nice as well :D.

My question to you is why are you focused on whats rice and not rice? What are rice wheels? 5-spoke wheels with thicker spokes? Its just a design some people like. And you are REALLY going about this the wrong way if you're getting a car that your friends "approve" of and modifying your car in a way so that your friends wouldnt "slaughter" you.

Stop looking at your friends and do your own thing

thicker spokes arent ricey to me, i just dont like them, and i dont like neon lights, and loud whiney exhaust systems, they are basically helping me with picking parts after i buy it, i picked the lancer on my own and they helped me find parts and specs. but if i came to school with neons spinners, huge flame decals, a five foot spoiler, a carbon fiber painted hood and huge body kits that nearly scrape the ground, not only would my friends kill me but every person on the road would try to run me off of it, run me over and basically destroy me to rid the world of that ricey abomination. basically if i turned into a civic owner owners at car shows.

EDIT: and my friends do think black rims are kind of ricey but i want them anyway because i think they look sweet. its just that usually me and my friends share a general consensus on what is ricy or not, they just know more about the parts and can tell me about them before i go check the parts out.

P.S. are these upgrades going to void my warranty?

Friends don't let friends drive rice.


Some upgrades have the potential to kill warranty. Generally, in the USA at least, they have to prove that it was the aftermarket part that destroyed the factory component. In Canada, I have no clue.. but I'm willing to fight for truth and justice everywhere I go -- except the turbo. That's pretty much an instant warranty voider no matter how you look at it. So easy for a turbo to take out an entire block.

The only way an intake will bugger up an engine is if somehow pieces of debris or the intake filter itself get lodged in the cylinders.
I've yet to actually find a way an exhaust system will destroy an engine, but improperly designed, it can melt bumpers, start fires, etc etc. Fire damage would most likely be covered under insurance in any regard.

Pulley could damage an engine, but it's rare. The engine block usually is the one to damage the pulley (as with our OEM sleeves and RRM v1s. The v2 is supposed to be even stronger than the OEM. It's on my list for next spring.. or Christmas)

ECU Reflash voids the warranty, but you can get it reflashed to OEM. How 100% foolproof that is with nosey dealer mechanics, I don't know. Piggy is removeable so that's easy.

Tint doesn't touch warranty. However, definitely get a warranty through the people doing the tint (for scratches, etc)

Wheels will require new tire pressure monitor sensors, or translocation and resetting may be possible.