XR6TWolf

I am with you on that 100%. The decision has already been made to use Robin.

Drill the injectors? Right about the moment I heard that I would be running in the opposite direction. Erko is right on the money....the $2500 quote is WAY too much for a simple tune.....though I imagine their could be a fair bit of time involved trying to get it to run at all after drilling the injectors. I know it is out of town for either of these options but I highly recommend Torque Performance in Auckland or IPV (Irvine Performance Vehicles) in Taupo. Both have extensive experience with XR6Ts, both have achieved FAR better bang for buck than that $2500 quote and both err on the side of caution when it comes to tuning. Best advice I can give is ring around. Dont jump for the first guy who claims to be able to work magic, you have invested too much to see it lunch itself as a result of a piss poor tune or to invest more money for a half hearted result.

Yep, and there are plenty lighter than advantis around in 18" too if you want to spend the $. I would truly hate to run 20s on mine at the moment......trying to enjoy the Rimutaka Hill is like rowing a dinghy in a 3 meter swell.....god knows how bad it would get with another 5kg of unsprung weight dangling on each corner. Trying to actually balance it in a corner is actually an art form....understeer on turn in, a 3 second bum clench as you feel it progressively load up the outside to the point of oversteer....meanwhile the late model Nissan Primera with Ma, Pa, 2 kids and a small lapdog cruise past around the outside blissfully unaware that the howling whale they just overtook is actually marketed by one of the world biggest auto manufacturers as a performance car! That said however I did drive a BF XR6 with only 21000km on it thismorning over the same road and the difference is beyond belief. That was all the evidence ever need to show that at 85000km +, even with Bilsteins the suspension in these things has deteriorated to the point of being useless.

I had the same problem getting DS3000s last time I used them (different car) but found a guy in Christchurch who would bond and rivet the DS3000 compound if we supplied old pads. Used several sets and never had a problem. Hopefully this will be the same trick

You could be right. The last car I used them on was on some pretty heavy duty suspension. Oh well, I suppose that justifies the Teins then

That would explain the vague feedback and unpredictable responses. Bushes it is then. Sounds like the DS2500 is the go. I recall the DS3000s could be heard from a fair distance away....frankly it was embarassing. I am staying 18" and have a new set of Toyo RA1s already mounted on the wheels. Ive run them before and actually had reasonable mileage from them considering how soft they are and the grip is just something else. Thanks for the tips on alignment, I will do the bushes first then the alignment after the new feet go on. The only thing that has stopped me putting them on already is that it is pulling left quite heavily so obviously has need for alignment now and I dont want to start a bad wear pattern on a soft tyre compound. I'll let you know my opinions once the wheels are on but I dont doubt it will be huge. Been down this road before and had impressive results...better stopping, power down and (unless it was the mind playing tricks) hugely improved turn in.

Erko... Cheers muchly. I have already got its new feet sitting in my lounge. By my calculations after weighing one of the wheels (with tyre) off it on Saturday and weighing the replacement complete with uninflated tyre there is a total weight saving of 28.5kg unsprung. Brakes. Once again no argument. I spent a few years circuit racing and back then used DS3000s which were difficult to kill but lacked any sort of useful performance when cold...I am guessing the DS2500 is better in that respect? I hear you on seats. I havent had one out but even looking at them they must weight a ton. I am growing attached to the leather though so might have to think hard on that. I already have Bilsteins with dobisport springs....not certain how much better it would be going to Kings?? But swaybars will be on the list for sure. Love your description of a wallowing barge.....nothing could be more accurate in standard form, they just inspire no confidence at all and provide bugger all feedback. No drama and considering the age and original target market no complaint either......it is easily cured.

Cobrav8. Sent you a PM

Good on ya! I swore I wasnt going to modify but after a long drive on the weekend, most of it spirited I could actually feel how strangled these are. They are not slow but you can just feel they could be a hell of a lot quicker without much effort. Cats are not mandatory in New Zealand YET.... the truth is that VINZ & VTNZ already have the ability to test emmissions and it will soon be a requirement for all WOF testers. What that will translate to is the same as the US and Australia....no cat, no wof. I don't mind ditching it but it can sit in the shed just incase it needs to be reinstalled briefly for a WOF. Cost of tuning worked out at $1350 plus injectors, nizpro valve springs & fitting additional. Robin @ Torque Performance is pretty real about the valve spring issue. On a car with 80000kms on it they are already tired and will always be the limiting factor in tuning. The injectors could be ignored but in this case I figure that it is worth the relatively minimal expense to avoid getting close to a situation where the factory ones are maxed out leaving no margin for error. I'll fit the cooler, airbox and under battery pipe myself before it goes up to Auckland to minimize labour costs.

I am going to transport it to Auckland to Torque Performance. I have seen the results of Robin's work many times and have confidence in what he does. Not dogging any of the local tuning options but it seems to me there is little experience down here tuning the xr6t so it is best taken to where the experience is. BTW Cobra.....was it you who mentioned you might have a factory air filter box coming up in the near future?

Same here!!!

Oh god why did I start this. I found a tuner today, one I have used before and trust implicitly. He has ordered valve springs and agrees that the existing ones are probably shot based on the description of its performance on the weekend. Given what we are aiming for power wise we have agreed that the Process West direct bolt on cooler with under battery pipe will be plenty. He seemed to think that the factory injectors would be ok given our aims but I have decided to upgrade in the interests of giving him a little more room to play. Cat is off to be amputated on Thursday.

I have used the G4 kit before on an R33 gtr skyline and it comfortably out stopped the equivalent car on factory 4 pot brembos. How it compares price wise I dont know but highly recommended in terms of sheer stopping power and heat disipation.

Cheers Buf, you just corrected my thinking error. Logic says a bolt in cat replacement pipe will do just fine....any problems as warrant time and the cat canbe bolted back in for the day God....I must be going soft in my old age. Already have a trans cooler, previous owner had it fitted due to towing so no drama there. Custom tune is where my thinking is at though the options over here are fewer than you guys in the land of Oz.

Ok, this thing is going to be the death of my wallet. After length deliberation and reading the input from those with more knowledge than me with these beasts I am still going to carefully work through the process of removing a little weight and a few other little tricks I have up my sleeve. I am however going to progress down the path of tuning as well despite my previous resistance. I have a morbid fear of the inherent weakness of the BA engine but I figure if we do this properly it should be ok. Given that it is a BA MKI I figure the best option is to start with the basics and keep it sane. I have not read up much on the abilities of the 4 speed auto in these so if that is likely to present issues with any increases someone please speak up now The plan is as follows. 1. Find factory or FPV airbox and get rid of the putrid pod that is currently floating around in there without brackets. (Blame the previous owner). As much as I understand a pod would have advantages over the airbox I hate the sound of the thing as well. 2. Valve springs. Mileage is now at 87000kms and after a heavy drive today it was showing all the signs of them not being up to the task. 3. Cooler. The idea has been floated of using an FPV cooler.....I am not sure if they are significantly better but given that I'm not shooting for a the stars here would that be up to it? 4. Hard piping kit. I have always had issue with the huge lengths of rubber hosing used on turbo vehicles and a couple of the connections on this one just look plain dodgy despite having been tightened. I figure that a piping kit just makes it all a little more bullet proof. 5. Cat. I thought the existing cat was dead but it turned out to be just the shield. I suppose just replacing it with a cat replacement pipe might be an option but I am not sure on the legality of that when it comes to warrant of fitness time. 6. Tune. Done at the same time as cooler, piping kit and cat. Is that going to provide a real improvement in terms of numbers and seat of the pants measurement?

Trough Lolly..... thanks a heap for the link to detail paradise.....talk about inspirational! There is some amazing stuff there. Thanks also to everyone else who has contributed here. I have ordered an RO today along with Menzerna 106ff so (weather permitting) next weekend is detailing time. Hopefully by then my new wheels will have arrived so I can bolt them on to complete the look.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Some really interesting reading. I admit to knowing less than nothing about grooming and simply took the advice of the guys at Supercheap who swore by the Mothers stuff as the cure to the swirl issue. :tosser: So obviously now the thing is to hit it with a product more suited to the purpose.....heading off to waxit to hammer the credit card now. The one thing I havent seen much consensus on is the issue of machine polish vs hand polish.....am I risking anything by using a random orbital?

Step 1 is California Gold Pre Wax Cleaner Step 2 is Sealer and Glaze (This is the one I had hoped would deal with the swirl marks) and according to the Mothers website Regular application of Mothers® Sealer & Glaze will increase your paint’s depth and luster. Whatever the color, it will give your paint added character and a brilliant, glowing shine. Sealer & Glaze fills and hides minor swirls and defects, minimizing unsightly visual imperfections. It also contains a super-fine polish that further improves the paint surface. Sealer and Glaze is key to giving both light and dark colors their perfect finish. Step 3 is Carnauba wax (I used the liquid version) Not sure if that helps much

Ok, after another weekend of pampering the purple beast I have found that my attempt at getting that showroom shine was a failure. I opted for the Mothers 3 step kit. Used a random orbital for application of the first two steps. The first step worked well in terms of removing old wax and grime from the paint but appeared to have no impact at all in terms of removing the many swirl marks and scratches.....these are the type of scratches you would expect from going through a carwash for example, not deep but highly visible on a colour like Vibe. Nothing deep enough IMO to warrant a clay bar and in any case I lack the experience to be confident trying one. So...have I missed something....should there have been a mild cutting compound used either before step one or somewhere else along the way? Any tips appreciated.

Ok, slight update. I let the car run down last night and set the a/c controls to recirculate while it was still running. Thismorning just very slight misting on the windscreen the was gone within 10 seconds of the demister hitting it. By the sound of it the system is supposed to self seal by closing the vent behind the glovebox but from this little experiment perhaps it isnt. No big drama, set to recirc and the problem would appear to be sorted. Thanks people. Oh....and cobraV8....legend. Heat shields were all rattling around so they are about to find a new home....in the rubbish bin. Once again you saved me some cash! Cheers!

Ahh nice, I will have a look underneath tonight and see if that's the cause. Cheers!

Sweet. Ive put a day aside over the weekend to hit the old girl with a buffer and make it look a little happier so I will play around to make sure the vent thingy is closing and give the heater a good workout while I am at it. Next on the agenda will have to be a cat as mine has something rattling in it which I presume doesnt spell good health.

No idea if or when the air cond was last serviced as I have only recently purchased the car. The car is driven daily and air cond runs all the time to avoid the screen misting up which it tends to do unless it is a really fine day.

This might be a hard one to answer for those in warm climates. My beasty seems to be suffering from severe condensation.....in the mornings it is litterally running down the inside of the windscreen and windows when its cold. There is no obvious wetness in carpets and the window seals are all good so I cant see any logical reason for it being this bad. Is something wrong or is this just normal in colder weather?

Mine had had the plastic pull handle broken off when it arrived and judging by the stiffness trying to pull the cable with plyers it is no wonder. New cable and buy a cable lube from a bicycle shop to lubricate the new cable properly and they are much easier. The cables end up stretching purely because they are not lubricated.