best value performance upgrades?

[nelly100]

like sed, b4 anything big can be done you need to free up the breathing of the car, induction kit, exhaust and de-cat are a must. Then depends on the handling of the vehicle in which direction you next take

[Guest]

fit the best tyres (not necessarily bigger or the most expensive) that you can afford. it shames you mates at the bends and could save your life in emergencies. it is one of those 100 extra that people don't see but worth spending.

[Guest]

its a saxo vts.

sell it then buy a ducati or gsxr

[Guest]

mate the best way to get a quick car is to start off with a quick car ie m3 , evo , scooby ect dont waste 10k on your car only to be wasted by a proper car .if you want a quick van ? i got a transit cosworth for sale ! ??

[Rem Bran]

buy a fat turbo charger and your be on your way

[Misanthrope]

buy a fat turbo charger and your be on your way

Yes, on your way to knock/Detonation heaven because your compression ratio is too high and your ignition map is too advanced for the octane/boost from the Turbocharger. I.e your engine becomes scrap!

Try to speak with knowledge/experience or else don't!

[Guest]

buy a fat turbo charger and your be on your way

Yes, on your way to knock/Detonation heaven because your compression ratio is too high and your ignition map is too advanced for the octane/boost from the Turbocharger. I.e your engine becomes scrap!

Try to speak with knowledge/experience or else don't!

Hey, that's a bit harsh. Rehan's advice was incomplete but not necessarily wrong. There are a lot of performance shops that will do the conversion, including the re-mapping and head work.

Although, if you have a Japanese car its often better value to buy a grey import replacement engine from Japan complete with turbo, intercooler and engine management computer.

[Misanthrope]

buy a fat turbo charger and your be on your way

Yes, on your way to knock/Detonation heaven because your compression ratio is too high and your ignition map is too advanced for the octane/boost from the Turbocharger. I.e your engine becomes scrap!

Try to speak with knowledge/experience or else don't!

Hey, that's a bit harsh. Rehan's advice was incomplete but not necessarily wrong. There are a lot of performance shops that will do the conversion, including the re-mapping and head work.

Although, if you have a Japanese car its often better value to buy a grey import replacement engine from Japan complete with turbo, intercooler and engine management computer.

You'bve obviously missed the point also- you must lower the compression ratio, i.e change the pistons. So it's not a case of just bolting on a Turbo.

[Guest]

You'bve obviously missed the point also- you must lower the compression ratio, i.e change the pistons. So it's not a case of just bolting on a Turbo.

I never said it was simple, nor did I preclude changing the pistons as one mod that might be needed. I noted Rehan’s statement was not wrong but incomplete and that your comment was harsh.

For most 4 cylinder modern engines, turbo charging is of course no simple matter. This is not true for all engines and there are some over-engineered power plants with lower compression usually of 6 cylinder configuration that will handle a turbo with minimal change providing they are not wildly blow.

Our preferred method of turbo charging has been, as I noted earlier, to replace the entire power plant with a gray import. Engine, turbo, computer and gearbox takes around 2 days to fit where the manufacturer has used the same vehicle for their naturally aspirate model. The whole exercise lands up costing about the same as rebuilding your old engine. Of course, it depends on the laws in your country as to whether you’re supposed to do this.

[Misanthrope]

You'bve obviously missed the point also- you must lower the compression ratio, i.e change the pistons. So it's not a case of just bolting on a Turbo.

I never said it was simple, nor did I preclude changing the pistons as one mod that might be needed. I noted Rehan’s statement was not wrong but incomplete and that your comment was harsh.

For most 4 cylinder modern engines, turbo charging is of course no simple matter. This is not true for all engines and there are some over-engineered power plants with lower compression usually of 6 cylinder configuration that will handle a turbo with minimal change providing they are not wildly blow.

Our preferred method of turbo charging has been, as I noted earlier, to replace the entire power plant with a gray import. Engine, turbo, computer and gearbox takes around 2 days to fit where the manufacturer has used the same vehicle for their naturally aspirate model. The whole exercise lands up costing about the same as rebuilding your old engine. Of course, it depends on the laws in your country as to whether you’re supposed to do this.

You're obviously from North America where perhaps your "6 cylinder engines" have low compression ratios as standard. s52 BMW M3 units are 11.3:1, Porsche 993 3.8 litre 6 cylinder- 11.3:1, even the Jaguar AJV6 runs aclose to 11:1. I know a back street garage who boosts Porsche 968s and claims that just boosting it is enough, no piston change is required. This is ridiculous.
What back street places garages do, varies, most of them don't know what they're doing anyway.
I've seen engines mapped wildly away from MBT such that the exhaust valves are about to fall off , never mind the catalyst melting.
Simplifying engine performance mods is foolish, but often done by ignorant folk. OEMs put alot of effort into engine development only to have some "know-it-all" "do better".

[Misanthrope]

"
I never said it was simple, nor did I preclude changing the pistons as one mod that might be needed. I noted Rehan’s statement was not wrong but incomplete and that your comment was harsh.
"
because the statement was incomplete it WAS wrong. Fed up of ignorant idiots _ perpetuating myths about engines.

[Exodus]

This whole discussion of turbo's is stupid. You can minor performance to a car and not spend an arm and a leg. New cams, pulley's, mounts, exhaust, intake, throttle body, etc. Tubro's are expensive and put a lot of wear on the car. Also, I agree with the "its not easy" comment. Once you turbo your car, you have to make sure oil lines are running, your fuel pump can handle it, your ECU is re-mapped, pistons/rods can handle it, etc, your exhaust is good enough to handle it, etc. Giving a car a turbo that wasn't given one stock, requires a MINIMUM of around $2600 (depending on the brand/kit), and thats not even counting labor, other parts such as the rods, cams, exhaust, remapping, etc. When all is done, you've spent about $3000+ and basically doubled the power of your car, but just took a nice amount of life off it. Also, when you sell that car, you will NOT make back what you put into it, so thats a couple thousand lost. If you are building a speeder and go to the track or something, then going turbo or super charging it a good idea, but if the car came stock without one, just do minor mods and be on your way.

[Guest]

You're obviously from North America where perhaps your "6 cylinder engines" have low compression ratios as standard. s52 BMW M3 units are 11.3:1, Porsche 993 3.8 litre 6 cylinder- 11.3:1, even the Jaguar AJV6 runs aclose to 11:1. I know a back street garage who boosts Porsche 968s and claims that just boosting it is enough, no piston change is required. This is ridiculous.
What back street places garages do, varies, most of them don't know what they're doing anyway.
I've seen engines mapped wildly away from MBT such that the exhaust valves are about to fall off , never mind the catalyst melting.
Simplifying engine performance mods is foolish, but often done by ignorant folk. OEMs put alot of effort into engine development only to have some "know-it-all" "do better".

9.7:1 was the figure I was thinking of. At little high for a turbo but OK on low boost.

Yes I have seen and heard the horror stories about back yard boys and so qualified mechanics at speed shops. They have no engineering knwoledge other than a willingness to experiment at your expense.

But I didn't have these kinda shops in mind.

There are performance companies that put a lot of effort into developing and testing the upgrades for each model car before putting any offerings to market. These companies have a detailed knowledge of the vehicles (and not just the engines) they offer mods for and will usually know the simplest and most dependable way to start tweaking the vehicle without stuffing the whole thing. Some of them will license other businesses to install rather than leave their gear to backyard boys. The reputable performance companies often have links back to the manufacturer and in some cases work closely with them. I do not know the companies to deal with in your part of the world, but In my little corner of the globe APS and Herrod are just a couple of examples of those that will not wreck your car to get you a few extra kilowatts.

Perhaps its worth you guys listing a URLs for these types of companies from the UK and US so that thoses asking the question about best value mods can cantact them and perhaps get advice and even a solution that won't break the bank or wreck their cars?

[JJones]

Some great car models available here...

http://www.collectconnection.com

[anitaleeds]

I'm quoting from the "fountain of all knowledge" out in the garage as we speak.

"Get the head sorted and put some proper cams in it"