Official *Best* First Mod Thread

Now that were on the new site everything will hopefully be much more organized. Thus the offical thread for probably one of the most frequently asked questions, "whats the BEST first mod to do to my SRT????"

Its all opinion like hozay said to me, first you need to determine what the hell you want to do/excell at before you go modding your car. Dont take this thread as an end all opinion, honesly I have never talked with the guy who made up the list but I agree with a majority of his fact/reccomendations.

Ok on to the point:

Thanks to our buddies at the forums which already did this thread. The numbers were based off a wrx website (he adjusted them for srt-4's) so hp gains may be off but yeah its pretty in depth and includes price ranges. Thanks "MRCLEANSRT4" from srtforums for the compilation. The end is purley (as stated in the disclaimer at the very end) opinion, dont take it or leave it b/c you dont agree with it, read it then make your judgement. I have read this post a few times throughly and its about 80-90% accurate.

Yeah here ya go:
First upgrades that are MUST haves for any SRT-4

Mopar or aftermarket short throw shifter (STS) and urethane shifter bushings ~$120-$400
(oh yeah most def.) The diff. is amazing Pm Psi Chick Or Hozay for more info
cuts your shift lengths by up to 51%

Motor Mounts :
Motor mounts (solid filled urethane,urethane inserts, dog bones,etc.) keeps your wheels from "hopping" in a launch and help you avoid breaking important things like oil pans, motor mount bolts and axels. (yup yup)

20 catch can :
What is it?
A can that keeps oil from getting into your intake.
http://dodge-srt4.com/howto/catchcan.html
Ehh your better off with a blow off valve imo.

Aftermarket spark plug wires/ how about sparkplugs (pff.)(MSD,Crane,Magnecore)~$50-$75
**** Only if your wires are rotting above the cap. See link below.
Rotting Spark Plug Wires

First upgrades for more power

AFTERMARKET SCHOOL OF THOUGHT :
240+hp-275+hp range
Stage 1 (pcm)(Performance Powertrain Control Module) mopar upgrade $399 =+10-15hp
(Price reflects full kit which gives the 577cc fuel injectors for the 03 and 04. The 2005 came stock with them ~
So it would be Cheaper....Nope its not i checked with dick(haha) greenfield dodge its $399 for the unit + tax gets you to $420ish range. Install is around $140 for dick greenfield so your looking at around $560ish if you dont tip. Id make sure your there when they are programming your pcm so you can have them tweak it to your liking also.

Spark plugs:
NGK plug#LZTR5AIX-1 (1 range colder than stock,.40-.45 gap)
Hozay swears by the copper/cheaper ones, and honestly hes got a bad ass car how can you ignore advice. Oh yeah his cars nickname *two times* do you want your car to be like that. Installing everything twice or will you learn from his mistakes??? Up to you.

Exhaust
-cat back ~$300-$750 =+7-12hp
-downpipe (cat-less) ~$149-$250 +10-15hp
-downpipe (high flow cat) ~$149-$350 =+7-12hp
-full turbo-back exhuast (cat-less) ~$350-$1050 =+12-25hp
-full turbo-back exhuast (high flow cat) ~$450-$1100 =+12-25hp

Waste gate actuator (WGA) ~$149-$200=+12-25hp
(Yup our stock starts to waste at 4psi)
Manual boost controller (MBC)~$30-$250=+12-25hp
OR
Electronic boost controller (EBC) ~$250-$650=+12-25hp

Intake ~$149-$350 =+1-12hp (depending on cai or short ram air)
OR
K&N air filter(stock air box) ~$30-$75 =+1-5hp
(dont wast your loot if you plan on intalling cai)

MOPAR SCHOOL OF THOUGHT :
240+hp-255+hp range

Stage 1 mopar turbo upgrade $399 =+10-15hp
(find someone to get you it at cost and its worth it and then some from what i've heard) Or find one that has been used by someone who's upgrading to stage two.
Exhaust Mopar cat back ~$300-$350 =+7-12hp
Mopar air filter~$35 =+1-5hp
(dont be cheap like jigga says cheap is never good get a f'n k&N)
NITROUS SCHOOL OF THOUGHT:

Basic "wet"EFI kit:
(NX,NOS,ZEX,DYNOTUNE,etc.)~$350-$650 =+30-80hp Better overhaul/ bulletproof your internals first!!!

REQUIRED SAFTEY ITEMS: (Wear your fucking Seat Belt Thats an IDEA!!!!)
Fuel pressure saftey switch ~$40
N2O pressure gauge,mechanical, on bottle ~$20-250
MSD RPM window switch~$90
Air/Fuel ratio saftey lean out switch~$80
Saftey"Blow Down" tube ~$25-$40

RECOMMENDED bolt on addtional parts:
Spark plugs:
NGK plug#LZTR5AIX-1 (1 range colder than stock,.30-.35 gap)

Wahlbro 255 lph fuel pump ~$99-120
Exhaust
-3" O2 sensor housing~$150-$180 +7-12hp
-cat back ~$300-$750 =+7-12hp
-downpipe (cat-less) ~$149-$250 +10-15hp
-downpipe (high flow cat) ~$149-$350 =+7-12hp
-full turbo-back exhuast (cat-less) ~$350-$1050 =+12-25hp
-full turbo-back exhuast (high flow cat) ~$450-$1100 =+12-25hp

RECOMMENDED N20 ACCESORIES
Aftermarket ignition,MSD#6211,or #6212 ~$318-$499
Bottle heater~$50-$150
Purge kit~$99-350
Remote bottle opener~$129-$300
N2O pressure gauge,electrical,dash mount~$150-$250



Second upgrades for more power

AFTERMARKET SCHOOL OF THOUGHT :
275+hp-300+hp range
First upgrades (as above)+

NGK plug#LZTR5AIX-1 (1 range colder than stock,.35-.40 gap)
Larger front mount intercooler (FMIC)
~$350-$1050 +10-20hp
60-55mm throttle body ~$250 +5-10hp (may even be worth an earlier mod. Supposedly erases the bounceyness of the deceleration/when you let off the gas after high rev)
True 60mm throttle body+60mm spacer ~$370 +7-15hp
Ported manifold ~$250-$399 +10-20hp
-3" O2 sensor housing~$150-$180 +7-12hp

MOPAR SCHOOL OF THOUGHT :
260+hp-280+hp range
First upgrades (as above)+
Stage 2 mopar turbo upgrade ~$799 (w/o toys)=260 hp
Stage 2 mopar turbo upgrade ~$1299 (w/ toys)=280 hp

NITROUS SCHOOL OF THOUGHT:
Direct port "wet"EFI kit:
(NX,NOS,ZEX,DYNOTUNE,etc.)~$750-$1050 =+100-150hp

Saftey upgrades (as above)+
(safety???????? When did that become a mod????)

Wahlbro 255 lph fuel pump ~$99-120
Aftermarket ignition,MSD#6211,or #6212 ~$318-$499
Clutch upgrade $650-$1100
Axle upgrade $770+

RECOMMENDED N20 ACCESORIES:
Progressive N20 controller~$350-$750

Third upgrades for more power

AFTERMARKET SCHOOL OF THOUGHT :
300+hp-650+hp range
Second upgrades (as above)+

BIG TURBO KIT $1550-$4000 =150+hp-450+hp
BRAKE upgrade $650-$1850
Clutch upgrade $650-$1100
Axle upgrade $770+


MOPAR SCHOOL OF THOUGHT :
310+hp-365+hp range
Second upgrades (as above)+
Mopar 2.5" downpipe ~$350
Mopar clutch upgrade ~$550-$600
Stage 3 mopar turbo upgrade ~$3000 (w/o toys)=310 hp
Stage 3 mopar turbo upgrade ~$3599 (w/ toys)=365
hp

NITROUS SCHOOL OF THOUGHT:
Direct port "wet"EFI kit:
(NX,NOS,ZEX,DYNOTUNE,etc.)~$750-$1050 =+170-250+hp
FORGED PISTONS~$450-$750
CRANE N20 SPECIFIC CAMS~$300

Saftey upgrades (as above)+
Progressive N20 controller~$350-$750

BASIC TUNING GUIDE

1.0 Intro
This is what I was talking about. Its opinionated just like the list. Quite frankly (Steven A. Smith anyone????) he did a much better job than anybody here has so far. (no offense i just copied and pasted so im the douch in reality)


1.1 -Intro To Tuning

1.2 -Common Mistakes
1.21 -Raising Boost Prematurely
1.22 -Installing An Intake Prematurely
1.23 -Voiding Your Warranty
1.24 -Soft Break In

1.3 -The Order Had to cut down the post was over 10000 characters BAAAAAH
|_____1.21 - RAISING BOOST PREMATURELY

People rushing for speed raise boost right away to gain 20, 30, even 40 horsepower. This is extreme dangerous and could lead to serious damage to your turbo and even your engine. I can’t stress this enough, 40 hp for free sounds great, but that for that price if something should happen, do NOT raise your boost levels until you have researched what you SRT and modifications can support.
-Staged upgrades on our car do allow for more boost. Blah blah blah blah hahahh
---Stage 0 (stock) boosts to about 10-12 psi.
---Stage 1 boosts to about 14psi, unmodified.
---Stage 2 boosts to about 15-17psi redline,~20psi spike, unmodified.
Stage 2 boosts to about 19-20psi redline,~21-24psi spike, unmodified.
Its been tested and proven that you can spike at 19psi and hold 15 w/o little or no reprucussions see bubbatanks latest post. In his Q&A thread. Its very frustrating not being able to determine the problem us noobs would be smart to learn from him. Hes the ideal example for use noobs he is a very informative source of info and willing to help with any question dont repeat questions research before you ask hopefully we have a faq by the time everyone reads this thread.
|_____1.22 - INSTALLING AN INTAKE

I fully understand the reasoning behind this mod in some SRT owner’s eyes. In most cars a good Intake is worth 5 to 10 hp. It does change the turbo spool sound to add a quite nice scream at full boost. The stock intake/airbox can support 400+ hp.
|_____1.23 - VOIDING YOUR WARRANTY

If you want to keep your car under warranty I would not recommend tuning at all. You can contract your dealer and find out what mods are acceptable, however even then risk the change of coverage. The best policy to assume is that if the car isn’t stock, it’s not covered. A simple Blow Off Valve can void your entire engine at some dealers.
|_____1.3 - THE ORDER

I lot of people have asked for my recommended order of upgrades and mods. For now I am just compiling a list for engine performance. For more details on any step please view the specific section for the upgrade.

NOtice his car is completly stock so yeah its great information and the numbers are true but dont live or die by his first,second, upgrades. Like i said before decide what you want to do. I'll try to help the noobs learn as im not much ahead of the noobs myself.

So yeah have a good time be safe and all that.