So... I have an '87 Lude Si... low mileage. What types of things can I do that will actually improve performance? (short of forced induction) I want to keep stock reliabilty, and keep the budget low, as this is my daily driver. i have another car to pour bigger money into. I am just looking to give her a little extra zip. I have heard that N/A mods do virtually nothing for this car... I was thinking throttle body, header, and fuel... what can iexpect to get out of this, and what is a good source for parts for these cars. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

put an intake from a civic on it (very little modification to make it fit), get a header and catback exhaust, and if you really feel ambitious enough, upgrade the fuel system. the i/h/e will give you a little more zip, nothing more than 20 hp or so, but enough to notice a difference. it will sound a lot better too. other than that, i wouldn't put too much money into that car. you won't get a lot out of it without serious money.

 

I have an '87 Si as well, but with 195k miles on it...ive got it down to 16.5 in the 1/4 mile with only custom exhaust, Civic intake, Bosch Platinum +4 spark plugs, Bosch plug wires, new distributor, and a new rotor for the distributor. thats basically it.

I just purchased my new header and I HOPE to get to low 16's with it.

I would suggest going to http://www.nopionline.com for parts, they have quite a bit of stuff for the lude, I was quite surprised.

 

go to http://www.ptuning.com and you will find pretty much everything you are looking for on that 87 si.

 

Don't forget weight reduction and braking...

 

Yeah... I actually do get some really mean brake fade... I'm not going to go crazy with weight reduction though, ac doesn't work, so i'll be pulling the compressor etc... bu that will prolly be the extent of my weight reduction... IMO, things like gutting the interior, removing spare, etc... is really silly... unless you have the vehicle primarily for race use, its kinda ricey

 

No offence, it's far from ricey my brotha. I will let you off since you already proclaimed yourself "preludenewbie". Maybe learn what ricey really means - i.e. valve stem lights, stickers, etc.

 

No offense was intended to you either... i'm simply saying... for a car that is typically daily driven, i find it pretty obsurd to rip out everything but the damned drivers seat... which i have seen.I live in Wisconsin, and it would get pretty damned cold with nothing around you but a bunch of tin to save a couple dozen #s. It's just my personal opinion... (and just because I'm a newbie to the 'lude doesn't mean that I'm new to the automotive scene... I just usually focus my time/energy on sports cars... with rear wheel drive...) And before I get flamed for that one... let me explain that <U>I</U> prefer the feel of rear wheel drive, and I in no way intend to slight the potential of these cars.

 

actually, by weight reduction, i believe what woot was saying was to take out what you don't use. if you don't use the ac, remove the components. if you don't use the sunroof, take it out and put in a nice piece of tinted plexiglass. things like that. i know woot doesn't mean take everything out. looks are still important for a daily driver. there are a lot of little things that can be taken out of 2nd and 3rd gen ludes that are useless and add extra weight.

also remember that the lighter the car, the less power you need to move it, the better the gas mileage.

 

Preludenewbie: I didn't mean to sound as offensive as I was... I get what your saying.

 

I know... me either... I wasn't pecific enough when I first called it rice... and thanks for the advice... I do appreciate it. BTW... what are some of the other things that are useless weight?

 

the trunk lining and spare tire are really all that you will probably want to take off. if you really want to go crazy and do some weight reduction - start by taking off your door panels and get rid of some of the metal that is on the door. they are heavy doors. if you take the seatbelts out of the car and put in a racing harness of some sort that will get rid of more weight. the glass sunroof can be replaced with plexiglass, the hood can be lightened by getting rid of some of the underside - since your hood opens backwards it won't be much of a problem with the safety latch, since there isn't one. if you don't use the ac, take out all the parts to it - including the compressor on the block. get a shorter belt and you will notice a little more power too. get rid of all the plastic pieces for your intake and put on either just a filter or get an intake to put on the car. there are lots of things you can do to the car, it just depends on how extreme you want to go.