First Mods For Fg Xr6 Turbo

[PHANTMXR6]

The airbox or airfilter changes have not proven consistent results and as such, I would not bother with either. I myself have an xr8 airbox on my fg f6 and am not sure if it made any difference to overall power.

EnricoPalazzo, the airbox and snorkel does make a difference to an XR.

You have an F6. Different turbo configuration so different results.

This is the dyno sheet from my back to back testing with the standard airbox and snorkel and the XR8 snorkel and airbox.

The red line is the standard parts, the blue line the larger diameter items.

Arkayne, due to your town of residence and the high ambient temperature most of the year, it would be wise to upgrade the pipe if you are increasing boost.

[Buf-Phoon]

falls off the cliff pretty hard is that due to fuel ?

[Arkayne]

Arkayne, due to your town of residence and the high ambient temperature most of the year, it would be wise to upgrade the pipe if you are increasing boost.

Thanks for the feedback! Will go tomorrow to the tuners and sit down with him with these pages printed out, see what we can do! I'll let you guys know how I go tomorrow afternoon!

[PHANTMXR6]

falls off the cliff pretty hard is that due to fuel ?

Yep. Hard cut. Not a nice sound either.

[Arkayne]

So went to the tuner today to speak about the modifications.

This is what I was quoted.

1x VCM Tune (HP Tuners Software) - Custom Tune - $600.00 (does not include the unit. No unit is needed to tune, as the tuner will use his own)

1x Removal of middle muffler, replaced with appropriate steel tube (tig welded) - $250.00

1x Modification to standard airbox kit, includes performance air filter (K&N). Modification includes cold air intake on lower airbox - $350.00

1x Quad exhaust outlet (only from the centre to rear, includes rear muffler identical to the stock) - $600.00

1x Intercooler discharge pipe to replace stock - $180.00

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Total $1,980

Includes labour and 2x dyno run reports.

So, my question is if this is worth it? Of course, being the only tuner in town, the prices are going to be a bit dearer, but from what you guys told me in this thread, I'm a little confused about his options:

I mentioned to him about the High Flow CAT replacement, and since we're removing the centre muffler, he said it's not neccessary, especially since he's seen problems happen to cars when changing the CAT (car computer reading before and after CAT air pressure and flow, and not working correctly). What do you guys think? I was very keen on a CAT system, but he seemed to be pushing me away from it.

Also the modification to the standard airbox. What he said was we'll keep the original snorkle on the FG, and add an additional one that will suck air from the lower grill of the car. I'm not sure if this is the right way to go about it. I was very keen on the XR8 intake kit as posted previously on this thread, and concerned that modding the original could cause problems if not done right. Would you guys go for a modded airbox, or a replacement XR8 one? The XR8 one seems cheaper ($280 as apposed to $350, but the $280 doesn't include labour), and it's the one you guys have been talking about, so even though I mentioned this to him, he seemed to prefer the other method.

The intercooler discharge pipe is one he'll supply himself, not the CV performance one. He will make it out of the correct material after I showed him CV performance's replacement, but again, I'm concerned about custom work as something could happen. Should I push for the CV pipe, or let him bolt one of his own onto my car? I don't know if he's done this before, but I'm quite sure he hasn't done an FG before.

And I think that's about it. Any feedback is appreciated as I'm confused as to which road to take. Should I just tell him to do it the way everyone else has, and push him towards doing it my way, or let him do what he seems to know more about and start modifying stock parts?

Cheers for any help!

[RAP1D]

If the 2nd cai is a pipe that runs down to the grill, it is a better mod than the xr8 box/snorkel as the xr8 snorkel has to be cut and flattened down alittle to fit under the bonnet, restricting flow... go for the tuners cai, sounds solid in approach.

Changing the cat is where good power gains will be made... its odd that's he's not keen on it, re-tuning will/should fix up any over boost, cel issues.

FG's also get quiet loud when the centre muff is replaced with straight pipes, mine did so I swapped in a straight through muff at the time... but yeah, stock exhaust and 100cpi cat is proven to flow 350wkws on F6...

[PHANTMXR6]

If the 2nd cai is a pipe that runs down to the grill, it is a better mod than the xr8 box/snorkel as the xr8 snorkel has to be cut and flattened down alittle to fit under the bonnet, restricting flow... go for the tuners cai, sounds solid in approach.

I'd be interested in seeing where the XR8 snorkel has to be cut and flattened down a little, as you put it Chris?

I didn't have to do either to make mine fit??

[Arkayne]

If the 2nd cai is a pipe that runs down to the grill, it is a better mod than the xr8 box/snorkel as the xr8 snorkel has to be cut and flattened down alittle to fit under the bonnet, restricting flow... go for the tuners cai, sounds solid in approach.

Apparently it's a direct swap, and all that needs to be accounted for is the conveyer belt spacing (which PHANTMXR6 explained before). If you think that a second pipe is still a good way to go, this isn't an issue, I just thought that if this was the case, people would recommend it over the XR8 airbox kit, and from the looks of it, it seems the kit is what everyone is going for.

Changing the cat is where good power gains will be made... its odd that's he's not keen on it, re-tuning will/should fix up any over boost, cel issues.

Definitely thought this as well. "bear" sent me a private emssage explaining that it's where the restriction lies, and a tune should get rid of the engine light that appears on the car after the CAT is changed. Can you recommend me a better CAT? Is there a particular company online that makes them for the FG? The more I can buy in and the less he has to modify / make himself, the better it'll be I think, since I'm not too confident in his work at the moment.

FG's also get quiet loud when the centre muff is replaced with straight pipes, mine did so I swapped in a straight through muff at the time... but yeah, stock exhaust and 100cpi cat is proven to flow 350wkws on F6...

How loud is loud? Will it help airflow though? Because we had a look under, and just before the muffler there was a pipe that split into 2 and then rejoined. He thought by removing this, and putting a straight through pipe, getting rid of the muffler as well to give it a more deeper sounding exhaust, will also increase airflow. But if it ends up being too loud, I'm a bit concerned.

Edited 17/12/09 09:26 PM by Arkayne

[rockafellqeinstien]

I am going through the same process with my FG.

I have replace the centre muffler with a hot dog (straight through) which I am glad I did as one I replaced the cat it got louder (wouldnt want it any louder)

I have replaced the Cat with a 5 inch balistic cat which from my reseach is best. the 5" fits quite nicely. Sureflo are doing a group buy in these atm for $290

I am giving the xr8 air box a miss as I have seen dyno graphs that show no gain (I'll do the whole intake later )

I am going for bigger injectors of the bat ($400 from rapid at the moment) to take advantage of the new cat and proivide a bit of a safty margin (this should alow over 300 rwkw safly, where as standard injectors your limited to about 280ish with little head room)

I am going for the cv IC pipework - its been tested and it works -

Tune will be done by CV once the injectors arive (out of stock atm). I believe experience counts with the FG tune and I choose CV for this reason.

I was going to go for the vcm tune but then switch back to CAPA as it has a history and I can drop a lower octane tune in because I do alot of country driving and some times no 98 (or 95 even).

(the cost of all up is $2200 for 300+ rwkw and a good base to work from for future mods) and more importantly very little risk of things going boom

[RAP1D]

I'd be interested in seeing where the XR8 snorkel has to be cut and flattened down a little, as you put it Chris?

I didn't have to do either to make mine fit??

Ah ok well that's good to know then as the few guys I know that fitted them told me this, Rooster showed me his where he had to cut the little tab inside the snorkel so it would flatten down more to clear the bonnet, all good if yours fits in

I guese what I'm saying is think about future mods befor buying/fitting the xr8 box, sure it breaths in more air so it will make a difference, but most intercooler kits are designed for the stock snorkel, so the piping wont/may not clear the bigger xr8 snorkel, something to consider for future mods.

Arkayn,

One of the first changes I made to the G6et was a 5inch 100cpi cat, and then 3.5inch stainless pipe back to the centre muffler. Its free'd up the exhaust very well, though it sounded funny, bit like a civic with a cannon, not too desirable lol

After that I dropped the centre muffler, replaced with more 3.5inch pipe... just made it very droney inside, and louder again outside. Its now 3.5in from turbo to tip with 2 straight through mufflers.

it shouldnt be too hard for him to cut and weld in a new cat, I wouldnt stress about that.