Locating a Mechanic

[shockfx13]

Hey guys,

Long story short, I didn't mod my car while it was under warranty because I couldn't afford to have it voided if something went bad. Now that my car is coming off warranty (and I've saved money for 4 years), I'm looking to have some mods installed. The problem is that while I've had my friends work on my car before, they all live in the Midwest. So I'm out here with no tools and I'm also not that mechanically inclined, regardless of how easy some of these mods are. I'd like to know if there is a good shop around here to do these mods, which I'll list after this. Alternatively, if someone near the Boston area wants to earn some extra cash for installing these mods, I'd be more than happy to pay someone with tools and experience to do so. Note: I'm not worried about inspections, my car is registered in Michigan and will continue to be.

DIY Mods I'm not able to DIY
EGR Mod
TB Coolant Bypass (assuming this is ok to do here in Boston)
Optimized TB
Steeda TBS
CPE MAFci w/Water-Repellent Pre-filter (how does one go about tuning this if they purchase the tunable version? Would I have to get it done at a dyno or something? Does it have a default setting?)
Mazdaspeed STS including Royal Purple trans fluid swap
Stacker 8 (is this worth it?)

Shop installed (I think) mods I want to install now
INJEN SES Cat-Back
Phantom Grip LSD

Shop installed (I think) mods I want to install later
Headers + Resonator (CPE or MSDS. Also, will installing the INJEN SES affect what headers I can use?)
Front/Back Sways
Springs
Flywheel
Clutch


Pretty long list, I know. I've been planning this for a while, and now that I have to make decisions it's hard because I'm not that handy with a wrench. Let me know what you guys think and thanks in advance for any advice.

[xshellshock]

I've installed about half of those mods, and would be willing to do what I can for you. I'm going to school up in Norwood for auto repair starting in October, but will be moving up to Allston September 1, so after school starts I'll have full access to a shop, lifts, etc. Before then I can install a good chunk of that stuff on my jack and jackstands with my tools.

[shockfx13]

QUOTE (xshellshock @ Aug 9 2008, 03:06 PM)

I've installed about half of those mods, and would be willing to do what I can for you. I'm going to school up in Norwood for auto repair starting in October, but will be moving up to Allston September 1, so after school starts I'll have full access to a shop, lifts, etc. Before then I can install a good chunk of that stuff on my jack and jackstands with my tools.[/b]

That sounds great man. I'll PM you contact info in September. Based on the mods you have installed on your 6, which is very close to my ideal setup, is there a better order to install the mods? I was thinking maybe it would make sense to install these in 3 sets over a couple months.

Set 1:
STS w/Royal Purple
OTB w/spacer
Rear Sway Bar
CAI
Springs
CPE Engine mount

Set 2
Front Sway
LSD
Flywheel
Clutch

Set 3
Headers
Exhaust

Does that makes sense or are there other mods I should be looking into?

[raygiang]

QUOTE (xshellshock @ Aug 9 2008, 07:06 PM)

I've installed about half of those mods, and would be willing to do what I can for you. I'm going to school up in Norwood for auto repair starting in October, but will be moving up to Allston September 1, so after school starts I'll have full access to a shop, lifts, etc. Before then I can install a good chunk of that stuff on my jack and jackstands with my tools.[/b]

oh cool. you're going to UTI? i've wanted to take some classes there just to check it out because they seem to have some pretty cool stuff going on there. i hear you can just bring in your car to work on there since they need cars for the students to work on.

[xshellshock]

QUOTE (ShockFX @ Aug 10 2008, 04:02 PM)

Does that makes sense or are there other mods I should be looking into?[/b]

That seems like a pretty good set up, very similar to what I'm running. You gotta ask yourself what you wanna do with the car, what your goals with it are. Do you have a HP/TQ goal, are you looking to take it to a track, or just make it a more fun DD? One thing I would probably add though is some form of tuning such as the Sniper unit that will hopefully be coming out sometime in the next few months.

QUOTE (ronin45 @ Aug 14 2008, 12:06 AM)

oh cool. you're going to UTI? i've wanted to take some classes there just to check it out because they seem to have some pretty cool stuff going on there. i hear you can just bring in your car to work on there since they need cars for the students to work on.[/b]

yeah you should definitely go in and take a look, the place is AWESOME. It is a massive facility and its extremely clean and has a TON of engines, cars, diesel's etc to work on. I can't wait to get up there. From what I've heard and they told me you can bring your car in on weekends and work on it so I am really excited for that.

[Hockyguy171]

Im going to UTI right now, so i could lend a hand in installing some stuff, I graduate in 4 months.

[xshellshock]

QUOTE (Hockyguy171 @ Aug 17 2008, 02:50 PM)

Im going to UTI right now, so i could lend a hand in installing some stuff, I graduate in 4 months.[/b]

speaking of which, I gotta ask some questions about the school. and I move up the first so hit me up.

[shockfx13]

I'm just looking to make it a more fun daily driver. Basically a FWD Mazda equivalent of a 330i. It's not terribly unrealistic, and a hell of a lot cheaper. Also, if you need help with the move let me know. I'd swap help with moving for help with mod installing anyday.