I Know I Said I Wouldnt Modify.....but...

[XR6TWolf]

Auto.....I'm getting old

[Plague]

Well we are in agreement on the stock brakes. They are less than inspiring. I'd be keen on hearing anyones experience in using premium brakes over the standard ones....is there that much difference in performance?

I have upgraded the stock front brakes on my BA to the premium ones with DBA5000 rotors and some decent pads (can't remember off the top of my head).

They are much more confidence inspiring as they work well and will pull the car up repeatedly when you need it, they are what the car should have come with stock. If you can I highly recommend getting the DBA5000s too, they handle the heat better and are lighter, giving better stearing feel (less unsprung weight).

Good luck making the car lighter...

[senna_T]

If you are intent on reducing weight to improve handling and acceleration you should look at lightweight wheels, these will be the biggest weight saving initially.

Have you got sway bars? They will increase the turn in and hold the car much flatter.

[davidald]

sell it buy a evo

Teehee, XR5 is lookn good. DBA 4000's are a good option as well for a cheap brake upgrade. I tend to thrash my car and I have no issues with the actual handling. If you do go down the weight shedding path make sure you keep us posted with your progress.

[XR6TWolf]

If you are intent on reducing weight to improve handling and acceleration you should look at lightweight wheels, these will be the biggest weight saving initially.

Have you got sway bars? They will increase the turn in and hold the car much flatter.

Lightweight wheels are certainly where my thinking is in the early stages. I figure there are quite a few kilos to be shed in that department and being all unsprung weight magnifies the decrease.

[XR6TWolf]

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?

[Buf-Phoon]

one question you need to answer is what you want more, power or legality?

Me, do the cat, do the valve springs, forget the FPV cooler( get a better one), get some squirters and a custom tune.

Do not go generic tune if you add pieces, need to be tuned to suit mods

At this power level ~v 270 ish a tranny cooler is a good idea also

[XR6TWolf]

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.

[XR6TWolf]

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.

[cobrav8]

Who are you using to do the tuning? I am in Wellington as well.