Young Aspiring Driver.

Thanks HD.

Do you advice me to wait till im older to Tune/modify the engines of my cars?
Or is there a way i could do it now without insurance killing me, it will be a third party insurance until im 21.

Also, what do you think of the honda s2000? My dad seems to think he can get me insured on one, I dont know how but yeah.

I like them and they look very attractive on the road.
 
Very good cars and very good engines. Highly recommended, if you can get yourself insured. Get a quote and see where it comes out. I assume it'll probably be alot more than the lesser power MX5
 
Thanks HD.

Do you advice me to wait till im older to Tune/modify the engines of my cars?
Or is there a way i could do it now without insurance killing me, it will be a third party insurance until im 21.

Also, what do you think of the honda s2000? My dad seems to think he can get me insured on one, I dont know how but yeah.

I like them and they look very attractive on the road.

Difficult questions to answer directly.

'Third party only risk' cover is generally more expensive than fully comprehensive cover. It's usually reserved for drivers with problematical records. I'm assuming your record is clean so don't focus on that one.

Modified cars can be difficult to insure, especially when the owner - the proposer - is relatively young, such as youself.

I'm 41 yrs old and I know what I'd do if I was 19 now:-

1. Get a half sensible 5 door hatch with a common rail diesel turbo engine.

2. Check with insurers re. mods and the likelyhood of stark insurance premium hikes.

3. Get it remapped properly, justifying this to the insurers in terms of efficiency (most like the idea of the Green credentials this will afford them). But do disclose the situation.

Car insurance is always pricey, there's no getting away from that. There's no profit in car insurance - it's a net loss for underwriters.
 
I agree.
Can you explain or outline what remapping is ? does it involve sorting any problems out in the engine ?

Sorry for the questions!!
Ok I just searched, feel pretty stupid , haha.
Need to look at some nice hatch's then me thinks!


Kind regards
 
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Most cars have some leeway built in to allow for poor attention to servicing or severe operating conditions. So that the manufacturer's prescribed service intervals are not likely to cause problems with reliability, and also that they don't give cause to warranty claims.

If you maintain your car properly then remapping the ECU is a cheap way to effectively ramp up the available performance. Modern diesels respond particularly well to this kind of tuning.

Re-mapping the ECU will not solve engine problems, you have to be happy and secure in the knowledge that your car is operating correctly before a remap. A good tuner will go through the engine sense data before changing the control code.
 
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would you not consider this condescending???
no body knows the driving back ground or abilitys of Zebzabi on here! so lets not judge him by just his age!!!

i remember a little while back when you had to justify your comments cause of your age by revealing your advanced driving in the forces;)

Im 25 with 7 years driving experience FFS!

And no, i dont consider it condescending, i consider it factual!
Those that know me, know i dont pussy foot around a situation, i talk straight, always have an always will.

All i was doing was making a point, that at 19 you can only have 1 years legal driving under your belt, and that in one year you will not get that much experience of different driving situations/hazards to know how to react to these things.

At the end of the day Herb, i dont need to justify myself to you, or anyone else for that matter. Being friendly is one thing but giving good advice is another. i know what id rather do....

Zeb, S2000's are great cars, but the insurance is high, and all of the power is at the top end of the rev range when the v tec kicks in, meaning you have to screw the nuts off it to get the power out of it, which we would all be doing! not ideal in round town public driving...
An mx5 is a very good all rounder, and will be significantly less to insure.

Another tip, although your dad may be able to get you insured on it, if that involves being a second driver on your dads policy, be very careful as insurance companies arent stupid, and will absolutely screw you if anything should go wrong and you are found to be the main driver of the vehicle.
 
Honda's S2000 was renowned for it's high power output from a naturally aspirated engine but it is, as PM says, not great fun to drive in general road use as below 5000rpm it's pretty lifeless.

If you can live without RWD then take a look at the 1.9 PD Golfs. There's a 150bhp model at the top of the range and it has torque more akin to a 3 litre petrol engine. Remap it and you'll see over 300lbft.
 
An S2000 would be a great car to have to blast around a track but everyday driving in a Honda isn't the best tbh. You have no choice but to rev it everywhere. One of the reasons I chose my BMW E36 over my old Honda Civic.

Get something you can learn with first. Then go for a major project. I started doing this at your age and knew as much as you did. But 3 years later I'm telling people what's best for their project. You will learn so much.

What will you be using this car for?

(BTW... WELCOME TO THE FORUM!)
 
Hey guys ,

I just turned 19 and I've finished all my educational part in life, now I'm working and saving up money for what I've always wanted to do. Buy a car and Tune it to perfection.

I need advice, A LOT of it. I want a RWD car that's relatively cheap and I want to be able to tune it, and i also want to ask what order should i do everything in ? Obviously performance first but which parts? and WHAT parts :p.

I want to be able to drive it daily so no 1500BHP projects please. HAHA. I'm sorry if I make no sense, I'm not very experienced with parts etc, but I am a hell of a driver if i say so myself :D.

So all the help is appreciated and hopefully my confusion will end!!!

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RWD cars are great fun, having owned Capri's, Cortinas and Granadas in the past, and I do miss them.

Choose your car, then decide how much power you want from it and how much you're willing to spend to get there.

Unless you're going turbo/supercharged/nitrous, you're never going to get amazing amounts of more power out of the unit than stock, so choose carefully to begin with and get something you'd feel happy driving as it is, then tune that.

As said remapping is a possibilty, with probably the biggest HP advantage depending on the engine. The standard factory map is more interested in efficiency, driveability, low emissions, reliability, etc, when we are more interested in performace first.

I'd look at a decent cat back exhaust system, and cold air induction kit to start with.

Depends on how much you want to spend, and how far you're willing to go. ;)
 
Both FWD and RWD have come on bundles since the days of the Ford Cortina with it's live rear axle.

RWD is possibly slightly purer in its steering response and you can certainly get the power down earlier and harder on the way out of a corner or bend.

But in general there's little to spilt FWD and RWD for road driving. RWD can be a real handful on snow and ice. With fully blown dynamic stability control you're very unlikely indeed to spin the car out but getting it moving on even the slightest incline can prove to be very problematical.
 
As I found out one icy morning when I couldn't get the Granada off the slope outside my house.

No chance
Pullhairout.gif

I had some 'fun' :sad2: last December with my E39 and that's a much more sophisticated RWD setup than that of a Granada. The DSC takes care of everything in normal conditions, it'll even apply individual brakes if you over corner, for example, simply to correct and understeer or oversteer.

But the traction control portion has nil chance when there's NIL grip. I ended up loaded about 150kg of bagged gravel into the boot. Thus completely destroying the near 50:50 weight distribution but at the same time managing to get my journey started.

FWD is definitely easier in such situations.

Which Granada do you have? I love the last of the MkIIs Ghia X and Executive models especially.
 
I had some 'fun' :sad2: last December with my E39 and that's a much more sophisticated RWD setup than that of a Granada. The DSC takes care of everything in normal conditions, it'll even apply individual brakes if you over corner, for example, simply to correct and understeer or oversteer.

But the traction control portion has nil chance when there's NIL grip. I ended up loaded about 150kg of bagged gravel into the boot. Thus completely destroying the near 50:50 weight distribution but at the same time managing to get my journey started.

FWD is definitely easier in such situations.

Which Granada do you have? I love the last of the MkIIs Ghia X and Executive models especially.

Oh I don't have the Granadas anymore, I've had a few, mostly MkIII's - all the 2.0 Scorpio hatchbacks, but I did have a black MkII 2.8 Ghia X a few years back when we lived in Rochester, Kent. That was a beast, but drank petrol :lol: Thinking about it now, should have kept it, but hey ho.

I remember putting a paving slab in the back of my Capri one year, that car was lethal in the cold conditions, and always wanted to drift round roundabouts in the ice rather than drive around them :lol:

My favourite RWD car I've owned was my first, a MkIII Cortina, only a 1.6 but was dark blue with the black Vinyl roof and rectangular headlights - only paid £250 for it back then, but they are worth a fair bit now.

Hindsight is great ain't it :(
 
RWD has moved on (so has FWD). My car has fully independent suspension - the rear axle even has CV joints at both ends of both half shafts but it's still needs some 'persuasion' in very bad ice and snow, despite also being plastered in electronics. In normal wet/dry conditions it's totally benign.

The MkIII Cortina is the curvy Coke bottle shape I think. With the cliff face dashboard.

Many years ago (circa 1989-90) I nearly bought a MKII Granada 2.3 LX and stupidly went for a Montego 2.0 EFi instead. As you say, hindsight.............

For ZB's purposes though I really think he'd be better off with a FWD car at this point in his driving career. If for no other reason than because there's far more choice of cars available to him.
 
For ZB's purposes though I really think he'd be better off with a FWD car at this point in his driving career. If for no other reason than because there's far more choice of cars available to him.

At less expense as well. FWD also takes less getting used to than RWD.
 
I learnt to drive in my Cortina, but then it was summer, and it was only a 1.6 so no powersliding there I'm afraid. :lol:

FWD are arguably easier to control, and are certainly more plentiful, giving better a better pool to choose from initially.

Depends whether Zeb has his mind set on RWD, in fact why did you decide on RWD, Zebzabi?

If you really want to go gung ho with some major mods, then RWD does give some options not really available to a FWD setup. At 19, though, I doubt he'd get insured on anything remotely that modified, but then he did say he didn't have a massive budget, so I don't think he's aiming for Jag back axles, etc.
 
I think Z will get a more pleasing drive, more of the time, in decent FWD diesel hatch.

Golf GT TDi PD 150 comes to mind. But the PD 130 is still no slouch. Both remap very well. Neither is the quietest of 4 cylinder diesels, look to Peugeot or BMW for that but the performance is not in dispute.

The only downer with the PD engines is that they can, in some cases, be very heavy on oil consumption and the cambelt changes are frequent due to the nature of the PD engine's fuel delivery system.
 
hey and welcome to the site mate.

more advise from me, more to do with the law
you were saying about the s2000 and your dad insuring you. please dont do that unless he is going to put you as the main driver - with insurance cost just now i doubt hell get a decent quote, ie under a couple of grand.
if your dad is the main driver you are severely limited to what you can do as a named driver. also if you do have an accident and the insurance company finds out your driving it more than the main driver then the insurance can be voided, leaving you out of pocket.
i found out reading the small print of my insurance a few years ago that although my wife was a named driver she wasnt covered to take my car to her work.

in all honestly id say gain more driving experience in a fwd hatch for a few years (4 years still isnt that much) and build up your own no claims before going mad on power.

ill agree with prince i had a civic when i was 19 and it was fun back then, but as said it was annoying that you had to keep dropping gears to pass.
look to and old prelude as well. i had a 89 (christ thats older than you) mk3 2.0 for a while and while not massivly powerful it was light and fun to throw about despite its length
mr2 might also be worth looking at. more looking at an older cars here :
a) because they are cheaper to buy
b) they are normally cheaper to insure
c) they have simpler engines than todays and will allow you to gain some experience on them, rather than your ealier post about how to fit the performance stuff.

the only issue you may have with older cars is rust and reliability. rust look for good examples and you will not need to worry as much.
reliability again helping you understand the cars by fixing them up
 
Okay after reading everything I think I have come to the conclusion that I should get more experience and know more about the engine before getting a real project car.
I think I will take Hd's advice and get a hatch like the golf gt Tdi, They remap pretty good as i recall from the reviews. is there anything else I can do it one of these for performance?

Thank you all for the messages and replys, you have all helped me so much and most off all welcomed me properly this time :D. Thankd everyone. Keep them coming!!!

I'll leave the honda s2k till im older i think . HAHA.
 
Found a suitable Golf mark 4 gt tdi hatch 3 door , looks very nice and at a price of
£4495, anyone know the price of a remap ? and what good exhausts are there for these aswell?

Sorry to seem demanding
Thanks!!
 
Found a suitable Golf mark 4 gt tdi hatch 3 door , looks very nice and at a price of
£4495, anyone know the price of a remap ? and what good exhausts are there for these aswell?

Sorry to seem demanding
Thanks!!

Wouldn't worry too much about exhausts just for now - diesels generally flow pretty freely anyway and they don't need to rev like petrols. All the action is well below 5000rpm.

Look at Celtic Tuning (http://www.celtictuning.co.uk) for remap figures and prices (might have to email or phone for exact quotes). I expect around £300 for your car. The TD150 will tune slightly harder than the TD130 but both, even in stock tune do give very very good account of themselves. £4495 is a good target price, what age/year model is the car?

Celtic comes highly recommended by many, not least of all myself.

Good luck - keep us informed,

Rgds,

HD.
 
Thank you HD, its 65,000 Miles and its the TDI 150, is that a problem? will it remap as good as the 130?
Its 2003 so its not too bad.

Thanks a lot.
Zeb
 
Found a suitable Golf mark 4 gt tdi hatch 3 door , looks very nice and at a price of
£4495, anyone know the price of a remap ? and what good exhausts are there for these aswell?

Sorry to seem demanding
Thanks!!

if £4.5k is your budget? im sure we can do alot better for you than a mk4 golf for you collectively on here!!!

what type of car do you prefer hatch, saloon, coupe??
 
Thank you HD, its 65,000 Miles and its the TDI 150, is that a problem? will it remap as good as the 130?
Its 2003 so its not too bad.

Thanks a lot.
Zeb

The 150 remaps harder - 206bhp and 322 lbft (source: Celtic Tuning)

Celtic did my 406 (2.2 HDi 16v) back in 2006 and the results were superb. Your car is offering more power and torque and is substantially lighter than the Peugeot - it will fly.

I actually drove a remapped TDi 150 back in 2003 (this was done by Superchips) and it's brilliant. Not the super quietest of diesels but still very refined. 6th gear after the remap felt more like 4th in stock tune. 3rd will spin wheels in the dry.

Check the Golf over carefully for servicing history;, though 2003 at £4495 seems about right. If it was £1495, for example, I'd be wary.

I have a couple of AA's used vehicle checks still available to members of Torque Cars. I bought 6 in a batch last year and only used one. So if you have a specific car in mind let me know the plate and I'll run the check for you and email the results. I don't want payment, all I ask is that you just stick a tenner in a charity of your choice.
 
The 150 remaps harder - 206bhp and 322 lbft (source: Celtic Tuning)

Celtic did my 406 (2.2 HDi 16v) back in 2006 and the results were superb. Your car is offering more power and torque and is substantially lighter than the Peugeot - it will fly.

I actually drove a remapped TDi 150 back in 2003 (this was done by Superchips) and it's brilliant. Not the super quietest of diesels but still very refined. 6th gear after the remap felt more like 4th in stock tune. 3rd will spin wheels in the dry.

Check the Golf over carefully for servicing history;, though 2003 at £4495 seems about right. If it was £1495, for example, I'd be wary.

I have a couple of AA's used vehicle checks still available to members of Torque Cars. I bought 6 in a batch last year and only used one. So if you have a specific car in mind let me know the plate and I'll run the check for you and email the results. I don't want payment, all I ask is that you just stick a tenner in a charity of your choice.

Ok HD, Thanks so much and I think The gold gt tdi 150 is the car ill finally go through, never thought id get one of these haha, im going to look around to see any cheapers ones but we'll see and ill message you, thanks so much for everything and everyone who posted.

So apart from remapping is there anything else that can be done ?

Rgds
Zeb
 
Herb , My budget is around 6k, and I think ill go for the Diesel Hatch like HD pointed out. Much better on insurance too than a s2k hahaha.
 
The remap will give the single biggest gains if it's the only change you make. However, if you are planning other mods then wait for these before remapping as the tuner will be able to take account of these as well.

There's always the possibility to go bonkers later on with bigger injectors and hybridised turbochargers. Allegedly there's a Golf TDi around in the UK which is running in excess of 300bhp !!!

The thing I like about remapping is that it's TOTALLY invisible from the outside (though you must tell your insurer). The car looks and sounds standard to all observers.

Once you go for sports exhausts etc the noise gives the game away. I'm all for banishing noise, but other people feel differently about this.

A remapped TDi 150 will have similar midrange prowess to a Jaguar XK8 and that's the fun thing about keeping it covert and discreet.
 
if you looking at the PD engines then make sure it has been serviced well and with the correct vag spec oil. if not there may be increased wear on the cam.

as Hdi has said exhaust dont do much for the tdi itselfs however ditching the cat will help with the spool. cats arent needed on the diesels as they are not emmsissions tested only smoke tested
 
CO and unburnt hydrocarbons are measured at a diesel MoT test and both have to be within limits. However, you'll probably get through without the cat in place, though technically the car is now not roadworthy.
 
I should have really said not road legal rather than unroadworthy.

Because it's been changed from the original specification when type approval was granted for the model.

Additionally, diesels use only two way unregulated cats, so will probably meet CO and HC under MoT test conditions with the cat removed.

However, under load the emissions will be massively higher than the cat equipped car.

It's a moot point though, as it's not a legal requirement for any car to be fitted with a cat therefore you could argue that if it meets the MoT requirements without it then it's road legal from an emissions POV. I suppose it's similar to crippling the traction control. It's not a legal requirement but if it's there then technically it's an offence to operate the car with it crippled (even though it can be turned off in most cases).

I'm only advising caution really.
 

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