Which Recent Car Is Highly Tunable

[rtune]

Any opinions on which new(ish) car allows for a high degree of power

increase without opening a money pit of supporting mods ?

It seems the premium cars (lotus, BMW, audi, porsche etc) cost you an

absolute bomb for even the simplest upgrades (exhaust, re-flash, etc)

and because of crammed engine bays and tight electronics integration

it is really something few get into ..

Anything with a DSG or tiptronic or trick gearbox (hmm R35) is going

to have a fairly hard ceiling not too far above stock power output ..

so..

S2000? golf gti? mazda? vette?

Is after-market modification beyond the "flash for an extra 20% torque"

a dying business?

[PM-R33]

What kind of price range are we talking here? For something "relatively" cheap, xr6 turbos or anything with a LS2 in it can get quite a decent amount of power output with some small mods. Depends what your after though.

Edited December 7, 2008 by PM-R33

[Johnny]

Xr6 tubo definitely; exhaust, boost and an ecu upgrade will see 50% + power gains.

[GTR-N1]

Any opinions on which new(ish) car allows for a high degree of power

increase without opening a money pit of supporting mods ?

It seems the premium cars (lotus, BMW, audi, porsche etc) cost you an

absolute bomb for even the simplest upgrades (exhaust, re-flash, etc)

and because of crammed engine bays and tight electronics integration

it is really something few get into ..

Anything with a DSG or tiptronic or trick gearbox (hmm R35) is going

to have a fairly hard ceiling not too far above stock power output ..

so..

S2000? golf gti? mazda? vette?

Is after-market modification beyond the "flash for an extra 20% torque"

a dying business?

I have to disagree with you on BMs!

Herbert Gattermeier at Bavariacars Motorsport will according to a reasonable budget,

i) create performance modifications

ii) manufacture Turbocharger conversions on most BMs (except for E36 320i)

iii) add BMW Supercharger kits

That's his & his son's business and it's what they do best!

www.bavariacars.com.au or E-mail [email protected] or contact BMW Owners' Club

[Bakes]

Theres a S2000 in latest Hot4s with a super charger kit on it, looks great also.

XR6T etc are great for getting much more power but good luck getting it to the ground.

[rtune]

xr6 yeah I guess .. just. can't. bring. myself. to that point. In another life,

where I'm a successful tradesman with a thriving cash if possible mate business, maybe.

plus you probably have to spend $8k on a big brake kit even stock.

[kessian]

The easiest would be slapping on some twin turbos for an LS2, very good power gains on a stock engine, and not too pricey.

[ras1983]

+1 on XR6T's and LSx engined cars. Lets not forget Evo's and STI's of course. brits have already released an evo FQ400

[jay1]

xr6 for sure heaps of power

[Bakes]

With the XR, its still a Ford. Dont think I could ever bring myself to buy one.

[PM-R33]

Yeah not really my type of thing to personally own either. They are a good car though and have great potential.

Edited December 8, 2008 by PM-R33

[scathing]

Any opinions on which new(ish) car allows for a high degree of power increase without opening a money pit of supporting mods ?

Most turbo cars will still let you screw out good power gains without much outlay, once they figure out how to get past the electronic nannies. Most Euro cars (like the Golf GTi you mentioned) are tuned for flat torque delivery rather than outright power, so reflashing the ECU with no hardware changes do see massive power increases and a more "fun" delivery.

For example, a VW Polo GTi has 105kW stock, but reflashing the ECU with an Audi TT map will see you at 147kW with no hardware changes. Pop on an exhaust and filter and you might pick up some more, but after that you might need to look at high flowing / replacing the turbo as I think (but am not sure) that you'll have maxed out the small turbo in the car.

As people have said, it's pretty trivial to make lots of power from an XR6T these days. Even the LS powered engines can get a decent amount of power with just bolt-ons.

S2K I wouldn't bother with. The engine is already pretty high strung. I haven't seen too many mods for the Mazda3 and Mazda6 MPS', but then I haven't really been looking. With a Vette (or any car that shares the same small block), I reckon its just easier to buy a crate motor and be done with it. You can buy a ZR-1 or Z06 engine, and make big power with a warranty.