Hi there Brian :
Im Neil from england: I own a 1996 Ford Probe 2.0ltr 16 valve , the same as yours..
I can tell you straight that it aint easy getting more power without needing alot of engine work done.. Of you go ahead with the body kit, remember you are adding weight so in effect it will make your car slower..
As far as rim sizes, or wheels as we call them over here, i have 17 inch rims with 215/45/r17 tyres.. Its a good size wheel, but again, increasing the rolling diameter will slow down acceleration slightley but slightley increase top end. Also , if your going up in wheel size then remeber unless you ae paying loads for light weight wheels, then your rolling weight is going to increase, so more weight again..
Here is what i did.. : i will try and get a pic of my car and send it to you if it helps but mine is running around the 130bhp mark and to be quite frank with ya, its not a bad runner. if you want something mega fast .. get a supra... thats what im doing next year..
but anyways.. hee is what i have done..
1) Taken the old exhaust off and fitted a twin exit tail ( power flow exhaust system), looks the dogs....
2) Lowered my car on progressive springs 50mm all round.. definately a must as our cars sit far to high up...
3) Taken off my standard crappy 15 inch wheels and had some 17 inch 5 spoke alloys fitted, ( looks mean with the car being lowered).
4) In the boot ( trunk), under the carpit there is a tonne of insulation , ive taken it all out.. ( its just added weight and doesnt appear to do anything),
5) Taken the door panels off and got rid of all the crappy insulation bits, theres tonned of it in there.
6) done the same on the rear panels where the rear speakers are, theres loads, and again havnt noticed any increas in noise or anythig.
7) while the panels were off i upgraded the speakers from the 20w standards to kenwood 150w output and chaned the head unit.
8) Take the old air box and filter off, put on a ram air induction kit, this sounds really good and improves the pick up slightley as the engine can breathe more.(about $80)
9) Take off the fuel regulator on the side of the inlet manifold and put on a fse power boost valve, ( $110). this gives you more punch with the fuel so again giving it more power without the lag.
10) Superchip the car, the ecu is restricted quite a bit while its a stock, this makes the engine rv up quicker and releases a bit more torque and bhp.($300)
11) if you car has air con then get rid of it , it slows the engine down loads and who needs it anyway, if its power your after then your going to be going quick enough to get a good cool draft through the window.
12) i also took the centre console out of my car and re-sprayed it silver, it looks mint, i was really pleased with it..
anyways i hope this helps you out... the thing you got to remeber is, its power over weight. yout got to get your weight down first, then bring up the power. another mod to do for weight reduction is a carbon hood. that will take quite a few pounds of it.. but cost you about ($300)
take it easy
neil.
p.s: feel free to email me if you need any help etc...
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