^^^^ whs^^

Good info in that post Z2TT

Agreed, this is a fantastic thread. Gives a lot of people currently modifying or looking to modify a great idea of things to do and not to do.

My favourite mod would have to be 'ZUTUTUTUTUTU'.... No not really, although I do enjoy a good flutter.

Anyways, I have to agree with what a lot of people have said. Doing things right the first time is always the way to go, even if it costs a little more. I've been a stinge on things and regretted it later.

Brakes are a great mod to go for. If I was throwing a heap of cash it's the first thing I'd do. Definitely see a fair few cheap(ish) brembo sets up here and there, or there's plenty of threads with peoples experiences on different brands like DBA/RDA/Project Mu's/Bendix etc.

Another great modification is suspension. My FG had only new shock absorbers and was lowered on springs, didn't even have coilovers or any substance modification and it made a huge difference to the feel and mainly body roll of the vehicle. I would recommend adjustable suspension as you can obviously fine tune the feel you want, however something as simple as new shocks and lowered springs make a world of difference on their own in my opinion. Believe the Koni's are fairly good, have heard good things about the XYZ's (I believe sienna_T is the man to speak to), and believe Tein to be a good brand.

Always go safety mods, all the things that seem to go wrong and will go wrong. Bushes are an issue that I would say the majority of us have dealt with, changing them early on is always good if you are looking to mod a lot.

As Boris (Z2TT) said, the flex plate is another great thing to sort out early on as I believe the factory is a 2mm. I've used the 9mm chrome-moly atomic flex plate and was pleased with it.

Obviously different models have different common problems, so read up and ask questions, but I would always recommend doing everything right the first time if you are looking to keep the car. Don't bodge out because of price or you'll find yourself later down the track spending the extra money on top which you could have done in the first place.

Yeah, if I was starting from scratch again would definitely be tyres first, then shocks/bushes/brakes.

Lots of good options to up the power, multiple injectors/intercoolers/turbos etc. The key is having a great tuner.

The other under rated mods I have been surprised by are sound deadening the boot and doors and adding the spark booster, Road/driveline noise is much better. The added spark and wider plug gaps makes the engine much much smoother.

Where the hell does one go for sound deadening their boot and/or doors?

Clarke Rubber have good sound dampening material.

I use the rubber inlay in the back of my ute, did make a big difference in road noise.

Forgot I did the flex plate. Went the Pitlane reinforced jobbie and ARP bolts. Hi Mick

The other must have I forgot to mention and I think was my first mod, was the Earls filter kit for the turbo supply line. Some will say just pull the factory strainer which is better than nothing but...having the remote filter is a better option.

Good mods:

Billet wheel gt3576 and external gate

PW Surge

Regretful mods:

Rapid cooler (should have bought PW stage 1)

Rear muffler delete

Hurricane dump and cat (should have gone full exhaust)

First tuner

Sound system

Rims (should have stuck with stockies)

Springs and shocks (should have gone coilovers for better handling)

Camber bushes in the rear (should have bought camber arms)

RDA rotors and remsa pads (Should have got brembo's and pbr)

A lot of things to change and fix over the next 5-10 years and I will get there, but other financial priorities have arisen

^^^^Good honest feedback^^^^ Hard to come by.

Well put Bellato

Man does raise a good point about things not to touch

Satisfaction:

Keeping good tyres on the front = excellent braking in the wet even from 110kmh. 245/40/18 Nitto Invos specifically, at 40PSI. Rears can be cheap if you like to have fun too much and aren't worried about putting power down 100%.

Brakes...4 piston Brembos made a massive difference in braking during high speed runs (220+) at Racewars. Could pull up in about 66-75% of the distance the stock BF brakes could, even with an extra 5km/h on the dial. Pulling up so fast is very satisfying. Rims to suit which look great even if they need new clear coat.

Custom paint job on brakes, gets positive comments (even from Expensive Daewoo owners)...and I still get a semi over them every time I check them out when walking away from the car.

$1200 of suspension (Koni Reds/King Springs) is cheap (self installed) and excellent ROI.

Good brakes and handling means needing to change bushes (Superpro). I agree that handling mods make the car really "feel" like it should. More performance car, less boat.

Rolled chrome twin exhaust tips, look so nicely finished off, bling factor is a win too.

Peace of mind mods worth every penny: PWS ZF heat exchanger, Earl's turbo oil filter/remove stock filter.

Regret:

Not going ID1000s, but at the time it would have cost me an extra $700 or so dollars compared to the 42lb ones I got for a song...besides 320 odd rwkw is plenty enough for some reliable daily fun on the highway on ramps and to not be shamed by most cars down at the drags.

Paying $1800 for a full exhaust in mild steel. Manta at least so supposed to be good quality. I've bashed it on rocks so many times though, poor thing. Could have saved a grand if I waited for a used dump and big cat section. Would mean keeping the stock tip though.

Not getting an exciting colour car (orange/red/blue). Silver has pros (clean, avoid attention) and cons (hard to tell when actually clean, no attention hahaha). Not a "mod" as such though.