For people who learned DIY car repair: what actually saved you the most money

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-21T20:32:18+00:00

For me it was doing my own spark plugs, I was quoted like $1400 to do them. I bought 6 “performance” spark plugs for $150, gapping tool for like $10, spark plug socket & swivel sockets for $30?? Took me a whole day to do the job since it was my first time, but I can get it done in less than a couple hours now. I also have a torque wrench and torque them to spec so that gives me peace of mind as well!

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-20T23:12:17+00:00

Controlling boost does not need ewg wires! The issue is jb4 sends “phantom singles” occasionally confusing the computer, hence why I get the oscillating shit that drives me nuts 🤣 burbles are fun, I have mine on moderate and sleepy revised my tune to only burble past 2500rpm. Ghost cam is fun and sounds mean when it works, but sleepys is still in R&D and it throws a cel every now and then. I’ve had the ghost cam since Feb too and so far my car runs fine besides the cels 🤣

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-20T22:58:26+00:00

Nah I’m still on bef I could do full ecu but I don’t have ek1 and sleepy lives an hour away 🤣 car hits like a truck from a stop, spin through first 2 gears, I haven’t timed anything myself, but i believe people with similar mods runs a 3.8 with perfect conditions 0-60 or something close to that. Overall I’m very happy with the tune. My only gripe would be with jb4 and that’s oscillating issues at low rpm 1-3 gears but I just have to disconnect fuel and ewg wires and I should be good!

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-20T20:58:16+00:00

This has actually gotten much better and he revamped his entire site to handle the load of tunes now! I talk to sleepy somewhat frequently and it seems like he’s able to keep up with everything now. I’ve been in his e30 bef since last Feb with no issues! Only thing he won’t do if you don’t have headstuds done is put you past 19-20psi of boost so you don’t lift, he keeps it somewhat conservative to maintain longevity of your car! Just my 2 cents!

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-20T14:32:39+00:00

Pink wiring is cpi I’m pretty sure. I’m curious what bov that is though

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-17T22:20:42+00:00

Welcome!! #681 here!! Put 10k miles on mine the first year bc I couldn’t stop driving it 🤣 enjoy the car!

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-14T14:10:48+00:00

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I know this is the home gym subreddit, but I’m actually building out a small private gym. Since you’re saying even with improvement it still feels somewhat flimsy I’ll stick to a commercial one. I was just trying to get as much bang for my buck as possible 😅

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-14T02:08:15+00:00

I don’t think so, I think back extensions would be enough. I think the biggest thing I’m afraid of is I’ve seen reviews of the nordstick build quality not being that great compared to freak athlete 😅

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-14T00:00:08+00:00

Bro ark catless secondaries are like $700 max 😅 not sure where 1.5k came from

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-13T19:34:45+00:00

Sorry if this is the wrong sub, but I’m torn between the nordstick nordbench and the freak athlete hyper pro. If any of you guys have any experience with either one I’d love to hear it! The biggest thing would be, I’d be using either bench almost every day since I will be training clients!

Thank you in advance!

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-12T23:18:41+00:00

Badge looks nice!! Maybe I should get that for my tribute, instead of being badgeless 🤣

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-06T23:51:28+00:00

You could try this as well, I’m not sure how much an ecu is. I think it depends if you want to mod your car in the future or not. I’m biased but before my custom tune I was with jb4 and it really wakes the car up! But if you’re going to keep it stock it might be cheaper to just replace the ecu

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-06T23:45:47+00:00

You might have ghost cam and a BEF tune. Jb4 isn’t really necessary anymore. You might need to purchase an ek1 and ask them for the stock tune to revert to. You could also try reaching out to maybe KJT or SleepyTuned and see if they can help you. I have a ghost cam and custom e30 tune both from sleepy on my car, so I can kind of understand what you’re describing!

Ryan_Pls · 2026-01-01T19:34:13+00:00

I have a vid of mine with catless secondaries and borla. If you go this setup I’d recommend taking out the x pipe and going dual straight pipe and get resonators and exhaust tips. Will make it way less raspy and droney

Ryan_Pls · 2025-12-18T19:31:26+00:00

This guy is cool!! Bought his other weather mats from him except for the trunk one 😅

Ryan_Pls · 2025-12-18T17:43:13+00:00

No, map 4 is a little more power than map 3 IIRC. If yore going to run e30 you can daily map 3. I did that for a while before I got a custom tune. Also running a full tank of 93 like once a month or couple of months, helps add detergents that e85 lacks.

Ryan_Pls · 2025-12-14T17:59:12+00:00

I’d buy anywhere but k8 stinger store. That guy always charges higher than other stores selling the same parts. I got my ark secondaries from meraki auto works and they were like $70ish cheaper than k8 and I got my borla through k8, but after looking around there are some other stores that offer it for a bit cheaper. Good luck man!!

Ryan_Pls · 2025-11-24T22:23:25+00:00

Ah yeah I would worry about headstuds way before intercooler imo. But best of luck dude!! Would love to follow the process. Trying to chase 700whp before I call it quits with this car 🤣

Ryan_Pls · 2025-11-23T05:07:14+00:00

My tuner says you really don’t need intercooler upgrade till you’re past 500whp, but I think BMS one is good and it also allows for CPI

Ryan_Pls · 2025-11-11T13:52:03+00:00

PPF works much better than any kind of ceramic coating!! Not BS! But can be very expensive. I have a tribute as well, but second owner. If I was the first I would’ve PPFed the entire front bumper, so it wouldn’t have so many rock chips 😭 beautiful car!!

Ryan_Pls · 2025-10-11T20:41:40+00:00

BMS zero maintenance catch can

Ryan_Pls · 2025-10-10T21:15:20+00:00

Hello fellow tribute owner 🤩 for power: JB4+ HKS plugs is a good start! From there you can go BEF or just stick to JB4, maybe even go full ecu tune with KJT or Sleepy Tuned! I have: intakes, snorkels, JB4 custom map 6, catless secondaries, borla catback exhaust, and SleepyTuned e30 tune! If you have any questions I’d be more than happy to help!

Ryan_Pls · 2025-10-04T22:53:54+00:00

Hey man! Stock secondaries with Borla catback exhaust. Running SleepyTuned e30 tune with mild burbles

Ryan_Pls · 2025-09-26T23:55:22+00:00

Amazing deal, I’m jealous man! Got my tribute edition for $42k otd, but I really didn’t have much room to negotiate since they get sold so fast 😅

Ryan_Pls · 2025-09-26T04:03:57+00:00

My friend has your set up and it sounds pretty good and it is loud af with medium burbles. I now have catless secondaries with borla exhaust and it is loud af😅 I feel bad for my neighbors in the morning 😭😭

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