I haven't done any performance mods before, but I'm interested in trying it out. I have a 95 tegi LS non v-tec, automatic transmission. A friend recommended starting out by putting in a cold air intake. I've also heard that cold air intakes can spill oil on an important sensor and cost lots of money to replace. Is this true, or are there good and bad CAI (cold air intakes) that can be used. All advice is much appreciated!

 

Spill oil? The filters are sometimes coated in oil, but the filter will be down in your wheel well, no sensors there that I know off. A CAI is a good, cheap first mod. You won't really gain much power (maybe 2~3hp), but it does have a nice sound, and does improve the breathing a bit (which will be important in the future if you add more mods). Before doing any of that though, i'd recommended getting a good tune up on your car though. Replace all filters (air, fuel), oil change (oil filter), new plugs, new wires, check the compression, etc.

 

You will not get much performance from installing bolt-ons. I would look into suspension mods first, if I were you.

The transmission hinders your performance.



-I've seen pictures of a hydrolocked motor, so I can't say I'm a fan of the CAI.

 

Suspension will make a much bigger difference IMO. It will cost a good little bit to get the car really tight but it's worth it since it will make the car really strong in the corners and since FWD cars aren't really meant to be fast in a straight line.

 

Carta and Bluetwo raise very good points.

Anything short of a bolt-on turbocharger will not produce meaningful gains on an automatic transmission Integra. And the internal design of the auto trans makes it fragile, so more money would need to be spent reinforcing the Integra trans to handle the power of turbocharged motor.

I would recommend that you focus on suspension tuning, starting with a set of lightweight, strong rims and quality tires.

 

Tires do make all the difference in the world in most cases. I know the only real advantage my Civic has on bigger displacement engine cars is that I can haul azz through the corners.

 

i dunno, but modding an automatic........? :slap:

 

it is asking for trouble by modifying an AT tranny
i agree with everyone else
work on your suspension and tires make a big difference as well

 

Yeah i kindda agree, an automatic teg isn't the best thing to be modding, have you thought of selling your car and getting a 5spd?

 

A modded automatic can still be fun, I don't know about an automatic Integra specifically, but some cars i've driven or been passengers in we're automatic, modded and still alot of fun. The only downside is that you need a bit more power to go the same speed, you usually have 1 or 2 less gears in the transmission, and it cost enough to properly build an automatic to handle the power... actually, like SP00NFed said, ever think of selling yours and buying a 5 speed, it would be a much better starting point, less expensive and more fun.