Bought a Strong I4 ... what next?!

[Sphinx]

A few months ago we bought a 2000 Galant ES. Its pretty well loaded, power everything, sun roof, auto tranny, ect. It doesnt have ABS (or it doesnt work :() but it was a 1 owner all the way to us and 150,000 miles.
Im in the process of checking all the needed maintenance items but would like some help (and suggestions).
If Im going to replace parts I want to upgrade them! On the flip side I dont want to spend a fortune on a 150,000 mile car. But Ill drop cash on a part or service thats going to make a difference in reliability and/or performance.
It pulls hard for a older four cyl!!! Im impressed and want to give this car some love while I have it :-D Its smooth and was well taken care of. For an older ride Im very happy and know it can be a fun ride with some help from The Galant Center!!!
My interests:
1. Tires (have my eye on some Bridgestone Pontenza RE960 15's. Debating on wheel size and when to buy, but need new ones quick for the rain in Seattle)
2. Brakes (Ive spoke with Steven from R1 so far)
3. Struts/Shocks (keep it tight, mild drop)
4. Wheels (Stock alloys might be just fine for me, suggestions? Yes I know if I buy 15 in tires they wont fit on a larger wheel after the fact.)
5. CA Intake (For a lil kick and it sounds nice)
6. Exhaust (still reading the posts on this)
7. Misc. (Strut tower braces, wires, sensors, computer, ect. Basicly what I havent thought about yet)

Mind you Im reading post after post after post about all these items but its alot to sort thru. So if any of you can share your thoughts, ideas, and experience with these issues as you've gone thru them, please share.
Do's and Dont's ... "I did this and it was Killer/Sucked" ... Look at thread *** , All these would be great and very much appreciated!

Thank you Galant Center!!!

Sphinx

[Reelax]

change the timing belt and water pump if it hasn't been changed yet (actually it should have been changed twice allready w/ your mileage); the timing belt should be replaced every 60,000 miles... if it breaks, the repair will likely cost more than the car is worth.

[03-Galant-ES]

Exhaust:
https://www.thegalantcenter.org/show...t=plan+exhaust

Most people just buy an eclipse exhaust and extend it, but there are parts u can use to make your own.

CAI:
Sounds nice and does nothing for u pretty much 1hp maybe.

Struts/Shocks:
Look for AGX for 00-05 eclipse and some nice springs.

ABS:
4cyls didnt come with TCS or ABS I believe, I know mine doesnt have it and I like it that way.

Brakes:
R1 concepts rock I got their brakes on my bimmer. Before you order R1 consider doing a rear disc swap from v6 cause your braking power will be so far off balance if u get drilled slotted with your rear drum still there.

Wheels:
I am partial to 17s nice amount of meat and tires are relatively cheap compared to 18s and some 16 sizes. Both my cars roll on 17s.

Tires:
Get what you need for your region all season if you get cold weather or get snow tires on 15s and come spring hook up 17s with summer tires and you're set.


Welcome and search there is a thread for everything most likely.

[E_Emerson88]

welcome. looks like you got all the info you need from him lol

[es_fact]

gotta disagree with the the brakes portion of that comment. Ideals you'd think that by getting disks in the back you'll be stopping better, but cars have a valve that proportions the amount of force that goes to the back, and the front. drums are set up to use much less force than disks, so if you were to do the disk conversion you would be putting al ot more force on your fronts than you should.

Don't get my wrong lol. I did the same thing and I am now in the market for a proportioning valve from a v6 in order to actually use the brakes they way they were intended.

For some reason it does in fact feel like your stopping better, but theoretically, you cant be...lol

[Galantfan88]

Welcome to TGC!!!!!! Hope we can help you in any way

[Sphinx]

Absolutely Great!!! Thanks for the quick and thorough replys. Much appreciated!
Any ideas on how to squeeze a few more ponies outa my motor? I dont expect much, Im realistic. Not interested in boosting or gas; just tuning, computer, injectors, pumps, ect. Feel free to shoot me links to usefull threads. In the mean time Im exercising the search function.
Thanks!@!!

Sphinx

[4g63lover]

Absolutely Great!!! Thanks for the quick and thorough replys. Much appreciated!
Any ideas on how to squeeze a few more ponies outa my motor? I dont expect much, Im realistic. Not interested in boosting or gas; just tuning, computer, injectors, pumps, ect. Feel free to shoot me links to usefull threads. In the mean time Im exercising the search function.
Thanks!@!!

Sphinx

You're a 2000, so IIRC there is no way to tune the stock ECU without a piggyback or ECU swap.

IMO the mod that I felt the most difference in was the V6 TB. Some say it's 60mm some say it's 65mm but whatever it is it's miles away from performance compared to the dinky I4 TB. Might not add power but betters the response 100%. Also, some people will say that the intake does not add power, but anything that helps the engine breathe better is always a good thing. Might not make noticeable power but it helps the motor work a little less than usual. The kits might get expensive but you can fairly piece your own intake with some aluminum piping, couplers, a MAF adapter, and a GOOD air filter. I wouldn't mess with the exhaust just yet. I am planning to get a baseline dyno after I swap the Galant and play with the exhaust and see if there are any gains.

$65 for 3 hits without a wideband at a shop in my area so 90whp here I come!!! lol I sure hope it's more than that. lol

[tamim13]

With 150K+ on the car, I would suggest you do maintenance first before you invest a lot of money into upgrades, as your car hasn't been used to a lot of the upgrades and you might start finding deterioration in other parts that cost even more than the upgrades. Not to sound negative on your idea, but personally I've found the following things going bad after 100K miles -

1. Heater Actuator going bad
2. IAC going bad
3. Oxygen Sensors going bad
4. Suspension components going bad and rattling
Control arms, swar bar links, sway bar bushings, shocks and struts and the rear suspension arms
5. Transmission solenoids giving up (maybe be specific to the 02-03 transmission.
6. Of course other tune up items like spark plugs, wires, air filter, throttle body cleaning, MAF cleaning, transmission fluid, brake fluid, etc.
7. As mentioned earlier, the drive belts and timing belt and water pump should be changed
8. Radiator cracks (look for them, if you see hairline cracks on your radiator, you should be ready to dump money into that
9. Oil drain plug ends up losing it's threads and might cause your oil pan threads to go bad too (might have to change it in the end)
10. Oh and not to forget the hoses going bad and might require changing. Leaky radiator hoses might usually need only clamps, but I usually change the hoses when I get it done, so that I can stop worrying about them.
11. My oil pan gasket got bad with time and I had to replace that too to prevent an oil leak (might be specific to my car though)

Personally I got some great advise on this site and went with the following comfortable and great components

Struts and shocks and springs - Eibach Pro Kit for the 00-05 Eclipse with KYB Gr2s + mounts and all other hardware
Brakes - R1 Concepts Slotted and drilled Rotors (rear disk swap also and changed the proportioning valve too as mentioned above for great and comfortable stopping power). Brake pads are Akebono Ceramics all round (Dave's recommendation) couldn't get any better than this
Tires - Go for Toyos. They are cheaper and they have great reviews all round with performance that exceeds Michelins and Bridgestones
Wheels - Stock 16" alloys from an eclipse. You can go with 17's. 17s will look great with a mild drop like what comes with the Eibachs. But I personally prefer the eclipse rims as they look stock but look great as well.

These are things that cost a lot of money in the long run and it's best that you keep funds aside for this. I have ended up dumping a lot of money into the car and left all the mods for times when I don't have to fix something that goes bad. Just my two cents.

[Sphinx]

Thanks I appreciate the 'straight to the point' detail. Ive gone over the car a couple times and hoses, CV's, seals, ect seem to be in remarkably good shape for the age and mileage on the car. It was a one owner and she took good car of it.
My next step is to have the belt checked and the sensors checked. Any reccomendations who I should have check those?
Sphinx

[tamim13]

Ideally, if you want to get it done properly, I would suggest you go to an independent mechanic who will go over the car along with you, to recommend things. I've had bad experiences with shops, as they will just tell you you need all this stuff according to the 150K mile guide. And not really check anything under the hood.

[dillaoe223]

i have the same 2000 galant, i had to replace water pump, belt, and radiator hoses at 125,000 but its at 136 now with CAI and 3" catback exhaust, runs and sounds perfect, thinking of upgrading suspension though

[Sphinx]

Tires are taken care of.
Brakes will be done this week.
Belt and water pump Ive arranged and will have done very soon.
Struts/shocks are in the near future.
Plugs and wires in the month.

I have an oil change due this week and will be running some ATF thru it for a few minutes to flush out some sludge and gunk.

This is working out well :)

Sphinx

[mrg7243]

sounds like she is treating you well, any mods planned??

[Sphinx]

Diamante TB and intake, strut tower brace, and music. Maybe a manifold but not sure yet.
Oh and some decent wheels, if I can find a set I like that will fit the 15" brand new tires I put the the steelies LOL

[mrg7243]

lol you know that the Diamante TB has some wireing behind it?? what type of manifold exhaust or intake??, cause there arent any intakes only exhaust

[Jeffylou87]

Welcome and enjoy your stay..

[keith6110]

Welcome and enjoy your stay..

He's been here for awhile now.. lol. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I almost did the same thing.

[Sphinx]

Ive read up on the diamante wiring and not worried about it :)
I was talking about the intake manifold but then I realized I never checked to see if any other manifolds fit my 4G64 LOL

PS Thanks for the Welcome non-the-less!

PPS Just started looking at sway-bars, any suggestions?