Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

If u had a completly stock car. what would be the 1st 3 things u would do to the car (within 5k limit).

mine would be the following

Looks = Body, New paint, Sound system(still kinda looks lol)

Performance = exhaust, FMIC, power FC

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/115541-what-are-your-top-3-mods/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

don't know whether you can ever have too good brakes... could vary from just pads, to rotors,calipers and braided lines... - i think a really good set of pads should very much be something up there with initial mods...

full exhaust

suspesion

boost controler

wouldnt even bother upgrading brakes, factory are fine for what u would be chasing with 5k

by brakes i mean

braided lines

good pads

good fluid

and maybe slotted rotors

IMO

Turbo-Back Exhaust ~$1500

PowerFC & Tune ~$1500

Suspension ~$2000

This is providing a good condition stock motor and a good set of tyres. Prices could vary alot with even these items and it would be pretty easy to get a few trick mods done within the budget aswell.

Being a tad more realistic. Good tool kit, jack, and stands. $500 should easy cover it.

Not knowing what the car is but assuming its a turbo...

Stereo, at least a head-deck if the orginal is a bit RS. But I could EASY spend $10k on a car stereo and justify the cost.

Brakes as mentioned, just the normal if the lines are fine just the fliud pads etc. Say a good $1.5-2k there if your paying for labour. Maybe $1k if your lucky getting stuff on the cheap and do the stuff yourself.

Suspension. Probably worth while doing all bushes to be safe anyway, new suspension coils and shocks, sway bars, blah blah blah then install and a proper wheel alinement... $2-3k quite easy.

Then with the $50-400 you have left depending on how much you spent on your head deck... You could get a better filter, and or a bleed valve, and maybe someones cheap 2nd hand exaust, maybe...

You need to learn how to drive the wheels off the car before getting more power, if you dont know the car more power is pointless.

If I had 5k and a stock car..

I'd ditch the stock air box, and replace it with cone filters.

Buy a good turbo back exhaust

Buy a wideband

Buy a remappable ECU (AEM EMS, or a PFC)

Spend a long time researching how to tune the above ECU.

Buy a boost controller

And then some dyno time, and tune it yourself.

I know its more than 3 things, but its 5k's worth.

Ben

I was adding up a mods list last night and it came in under $5K

K&N panel in stock airbox - $100 - here

3" turbo back exhaust - $700 - here

Turbotech manual boost controller - $40 - here

Boost gauge - $40 - any auto store

Generic FMIC - $100 - here

Piping kit - $230 - here

Fuel pump - $180 - here

PowerFC w/ controller - $950 - here

Tune - $600

Total so far: $2940

Clutch $320 here + $300 fitting unless you can DIY.

Front and rear stabiliser bars - $460 - here

DBA rotors - $450 - here

Pads - ~$100

Total: $4570

Most of those prices include delivery,. The parts listed are all pretty easy to fit if you have a decent set of tools.

Thats $5K for a car that will produce ~200rwkw and turn and stop reliably.

I presume you liked the look of your car to begin with or you wouldn't have bought it, so why not leave it that way and avoid unwanted attention. And as far as the stereo goes, I'd rather listen to my car most days.

edit: throw in a HICAS lock bar from GTRgeoff and a set of pinepples to use up the remainder (bad maths skills):(

Pineapples - $60 here

HICAS lock - $150 - here

revised total $4780 :D

Edited by Lazy-Bastard
I was adding up a mods list last night and it came in under $5K

K&N panel in stock airbox - $100 - here

3" turbo back exhaust - $700 - here

Turbotech manual boost controller - $40 - here

Boost gauge - $40 - any auto store

Generic FMIC - $400 - here

Piping kit - $230 - here

Fuel pump - $180 - here

PowerFC w/ controller - $950 - here

Tune - $600

Total so far: $3240

Clutch $320 here + $300 fitting unless you can DIY.

Front and rear stabiliser bars - $460 - here

DBA rotors - $450 - here

Pads - ~$100

Total: $4870

Most of those prices include delivery,. The parts listed are all pretty easy to fit if you have a decent set of tools, so we'll soak up the remaining $130 in hardware along the way :D

Thats $5K for a car that will produce ~200rwkw and turn and stop reliably.

I presume you liked the look of your car to begin with or you wouldn't have bought it, so why not leave it that way and avoid unwanted attention. And as far as the stereo goes, I'd rather listen to my car most days.

edit: throw in a HICAS lock bar from GTRgeoff and a set of pinepples to use up the remainder :D

Pineapples - $60 here

HICAS lock - $150 - here

....i went $80 over budget ;)

$80! :( Not good enough! jks

That seems to be the best cost analysis so far! Im down with it!

$80! :( Not good enough! jks

That seems to be the best cost analysis so far! Im down with it!

A lot of people will not like it because there aren't any brand names involved, so they can triple the price and get the same performance. Oh, and pay someone else to do all the work and learn absolutely nothing about their car along the way :D

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • This. A 3d wheel alignment is like $120...just take it to the shop. Since theres probably multiple adjustments that need to be made after changing something. Mine has front/rear lower arms, traction rods, tension rods, camber arms, toe arms, front upper arms, hicas kit, sway bars and coilovers. I measure from the edge of the bolt holes on the originals and set the same length on all the adjustable stuff to dial it as close as I could to OEM. Took it straight for alignment; it didnt feel right at all...after alignment, it feels perfect. Similarly i've just changed the springs on another car; and I still needed multiple adjustments to bring it back in spec.
    • A full Veilside kitted JZA80 Supra in Meriken park in Kobe city a few weeks back
    • Its a well known brand in New Zealand; its a rebrand of the Rhino RAV3.  I don't know what the wiring difference *is* between the rev.1 (installed about 15 years ago) and rev.2; but as you say I would think its reasonable that it uses the same immobiliser relay circuits. I had a look but couldnt see a similar harness; but didnt move things around since I didnt want to mess with it   It was one of AVS well known Authorised Installers; I spoke to AVS themselves about it but theyre unsure hence seeking advice more so from the skyline community who are more familiar with the actual car and its wiring. Im in Auckland; but the installer is on the other side of the city so hes very reluctant to come back to even look at it to confirm something isnt connected into the wrong wire.  I dont want to drop the name since they *did* do a really good job for the most part. Everything is very tidy and he fully replaced all the alarm wiring, all the sensors, the wiring to the door motors, installed a switch which was never installed in the first place...really happy with the alarm install itself..just not this one issue. We all make mistakes, if it is the alarm, I just want my fuel pump getting proper switched, fused, power as it was; without having to shell out for an auto electrician to switch a wire and tell me it was the alarm. 
    • Even with the piston at TDC there was room for it to drop, but I don't think it can drop fully into the cylinder, the problem you have is that you need something pushing against the valve to hold it up so you have enough room to put the new stem seal on and the spring etc.  I used compressed air only because putting rope in the cylinder seemed a bit risky to me, I know people have done it countless times before like this. Overall it's a pain in the ass job. Honestly you'd probably be better off taking the head off because the risk of dropping something in the engine and the finicky-ness of it all is very stressful. If you are going to attempt it though i 10000% recommend a 36050 valve spring/keeper tool. I had both the traditional lever type and after doing 1 cylinder it was absolute pain to get those valve keepers in place, even with 2 people. That 36050 is amazing, you do have to push hard to get them in place but it works perfectly almost every time. Back to my actual issue I think my engine is just tired and old and the rings have gone bad. The comp numbers (cold, no oil) were: Cyl 1 -129psi Cyl 2 - 133psi Cyl 3 - 138psi Cyl 4 - 137psi Cyl 5 - 157psi Cyl 6 - 142psi   Cylinder 5 and 6 having the most carbon on them.
    • Who did you have do the installation? I actually know someone who is VERY familiar with the AVS gear. The main point of contact though would be your installer.   Where are you based in NZ?
×
×
  • Create New...