[Nevin]

The best way to plan is to get a horsepower figure in mind before you set out for anything. From there you can determine what you'll need to replace/upgrade and you can figure out before you do anything whether or not a project is actually feasible moneywise. That will make a big difference. Not only that but you need to decide what nature of horsepower you want. A 500whp car at 7k rpm and a 500whp car at 4500 rpm are going to be WAY diffferent cars, and knowing exactly what you want is a VERY good way to start. Do you want a street monster or a track machine, the choice is yours! And yes, you can sometimes have both, but you just have to do it right, and spend the $$ where it needs to be spent. I've never regretted buying new parts with a warranty whenever I could, and spending less for the cheaper part I've often regretted. Not saying you can't do a good build for cheap, but you just have to figure out what parts you can spend less on and get the same result.

Always guess the highest price you see for a product, because you seldom get a "sweet deal" on enough parts to actually make a budget build. lol It sounds stupid, but sit down and physically write down what your goals are. It will help you plan better, visualize what you want and ultimately help you get where you're going with less headaches.

The moral is: Going blindly into a project like this is a GOOD way to spend more money than you need to, break parts, and maybe even give up on your baby altogether. We don't want that, do we?

p.s. Sorry for my rant, that's just how I see it.