Best mods for under 50 notes

[obi_waynne]

Put your suggestions here. What gives more power for so little cash.

Mine are:-
Drill out bottom of airbox. (Free)
Full up with superunleaded (thats the whole 50 notes gone.)
Bend the turbo actuator arm (Free an old Rover trick!)
Upgrade brake pads. (Around 50 notes.)

 

[the_names_james]

Drilling the airbox is hardly going to increase power, it'll just increase noise.
Brake pads won't give you more power.
Higher rated fuel won't give you more power unless you alter the timing, increase the compression ration or the car has a knock sensor.
Bending the actuator arm is just plain dodgy.

It's highly unlikely £50 is going to get you more power. Better off spending £50 on tools to help you strip the car of weight. This will increase the power to weight ratio.

 

[Freddie]

Cor', that wasn't the most friendly of replies James!

And I agree with Wayne's higher octane fuel.

Stripping the car is a good one, it's free, and makes you feel like you own a track day slag! Next on my list once I've got the buckets and harnesses sorted

 

[obi_waynne]

Fair play to james - i did say increase power and brake pads don't do that! (In my defence can I argue that the pads I was thinking of were 2oz lighter so the car is quicker :? )

The airbox mod will increase airflow and top end power. In a recent road test a modified airbox actually out performed an induction kit.

Super unleaded does increase power in most modern cars as the ECU controls fuel rate with emissions. I agree that for best effect a remap would help.

50 notes is not much but so many people ask me how much power they can get for this much and I do struggle to think of anything! James may have the answer that it can't be done but lets see what the general consensus is?

Losing weight seems to be the way to go. How much do you reckon you can trim off a car - keeping it a 4 seater and without it falling apart when you brake?

 

[Freddie]

Thats an impossible question to answer! I know that the people who made the Z-Car's Saxo cut holes in most of interior metalwork to reduce weight.. I odn't think you would lose much weight if you wanted to keep it as a 4 seater, unless they were 4 super-light buckets with no padding!

I know people on the SSC go to extremes, hacking up wiring, removing sunroofs, poly windows, dashboards out!

It's amazing how much difference weight makes, there is a video of a super light, throttle bodied VTS beating an Impreza round the track at Bruntingthorpe proving grounds!

A few engine mods.. Lots of weight saving and decent suspension and brakes and you can have a car which is a lot faster than standard.

 

[the_names_james]

My reply wasn't supposed to sound unfriendly, so I apologise if it did.

In a recent road test a modified airbox actually out performed an induction kit.

I can believe this. An induction kit without a suitable heatshield is going to be sucking warm air.

 

[turbonutter69]

Thought i'd revive this thread and see if anyone has any more suggestions.
I'd say drill the airbox and smooth out the inside. Also on standard air boxes there is normally a resinator box attached to the cold air feed pipe. Removing this and puttin a cold air feed to the bumper will help loads.
Anybody else got any thoughts?

 

[HDi fun]

Fifty quid. Bit of backstreet surgery to lose some weight from one's own person?

 

[prevtec]

take out the whole airbox, (the part buried in the bumber), with an induction kit, its not needed
if you have aircon, take out the pump and radiator, ive done this recentley, and ll tell you now that it takes the weight off by 5 kg

this will cost you nothing

 

[HDi fun]

I shan't be parting with my A/C. I've got too accustomed to it having been fortunate to be driving air conditioned cars since 1997

 

[nig]

give me the £50 and ill take the seats out lol.
lose weight i would say

 

[turbonutter69]

take out the whole airbox, (the part buried in the bumber), with an induction kit, its not needed
if you have aircon, take out the pump and radiator, ive done this recentley, and ll tell you now that it takes the weight off by 5 kg

this will cost you nothing

The "Part in the bumper" is the resinator box silly. I've already said remove that. :blink:

 

[MasterAuron]

5KG isn't a fat lot! If you're not going mental and getting rid of loads more, I'd rather have had the air con! :amuse:

 

[HDi fun]

Yeah - what's all that box in bumper business about? Both our cars have 'em and I cannot see the benefit apart from reducing intake noise a bit. But I don't care what pedestrians think of the sound my car makes.

 

[turbonutter69]

Yeah that what they are for HDi just to reduce intake noise mate. Ridiculous I know.

 

[HDi fun]

Yeah that what they are for HDi just to reduce intake noise mate. Ridiculous I know.

That seems bloody pointless. It might be why I came close to disaster driving through a flood a couple of years ago. Had the air intake been mounted at a sensible height then I wouldn't have drawn water into the MAF!

I was very lucky to get away with nothing more than drying the air filter panel and MAF on a radiator. And getting the fault light extinguished.

Had more water gone in it could well have been bye bye engine.

 

[Loz]

Go to tool shop buy some basic tools with some of your £50.
Go home & remove the interior & seats & sell on ebay.
With money made buy a decent air filter & decat pipe & fit.
Sell cat for £60 :amuse:
Sell your big speed sapping alloys & wide tyres. Put with remaining money made & buy some sensible sized wheels with a fun tyres like the Toyo R888's.
Job's a-good-un!

Or...

Use £50 to advertise car in Autotrader.
Buy motor bike. :toung:

 

[MasterAuron]

You won't get much of an R888 for £50 lol.

 

[Loz]

No, that's why you've just sold your over sized alloys & put that money towards it.

 

[MasterAuron]

That's cheating though! :sad2:

 

[Loz]

I'd like to think of it as creative rule massaging! :amuse:

 

[petrol head]

what about buying parts to give your car a good service? make sure your engine is running efficiently and to its full potentiel before you start tuning it,
if you can get the parts on trade price you should be able to get everything you need for 50 notes, maybe even have enough left over for a bottle of redex to give your injectors/carb a bit of a clean out!
you wont be gaining any power but you could restore lost power from doing this!

 

[dpsubaru]

by a hacksaw and multiple blades then set about sawing off as many things a posible to reduce the weight.
alternatively so you would still keep the doors etc cut of from the cat back - might send the sensors a bit wild but maybe would work.

 

[Prince]

I'll take the £50, go and get a boneless banquet, then go and have a b***** good night out!!

 

[turbonutter69]

I'll take the £50, go and get a boneless banquet, then go and have a b***** good night out!!

Nice idea that. I love a good boneless banquet.

 

[Sid447]

Agree,

Though intake resonators (if that's the correct term) also allow a larger reservoir of air between the actual TB and filter, when it is fitted between the two.
When like this, it can help with initial throttle response when you stomp the throttle as the engine is able to take a bigger gulp of air at the instant the TB goes to WOT. This can in some cases allow higher MAP readings during the transient condition than if the intake system wasn't fitted with one in the same place.