As i contemplate some quite costly upgrades to my car, I wonder how many of us have regretted changes on our cars and if it put us off modding?

I'll start off.

When i had my 205 i went from a specialist built 1.9 8V engine to a 16V Mi16 lump i got from a scrappy, both running on lumenition TB's. It was a bit quicker, but not so good in other ways and i came to regret doing that!

On the plus side, i sold the 205 and got a Scoob

 

Hi Matt,

I can see you have been a member and probably a scooby member much longer than I have. But, i've been into modding cars since as far back as I can remember!

I guess the key is to figure what you want, and work towards that. Sounds like you already know there are lots of different ways in making your car go faster, but its getting the car to go faster in the way that you want it too that is crucial to your project.


Mine is a daily driver and makes 310-320 bhp (i know its not much for these, but i'm with it, for now!) and is still lovely to drive to work and back everyday! I'm sure if I took my car on track there would be a long list of things i would want to do!

But to answer your Q, out of all the upgrades i've done, the only one is regret is not getting a decated downpipe from the start, I went with a sports cat and regret it. I'm trying to sell mine and get a full decat now!

 

Upgraded the discs and pads on my old Hawkeye, bought and fitted by a well known specialist, brakes constantly squeaked at low speed soft braking, did my head in so much it contributed to me trading in the car soon after.

 

Depends what mods you're going to do.
I started with a basic Bugeye Wagon. Now lowered on Eibachs and running 350 BHP with an EngineTuner 2.1 Stroker. No regrets at all. Runs like a ***** cat around town. (Don't think the missus has even noticed the difference) Goes like a bat out of hell on track. Use it every day. Fuel consumption the same as when it was only 215 BHP.

 

think I am the opposite, I have a ful decat and wish I had a sports cat and maybe a nice full 2.5" exhaust. Bought MY03STI with ful decat 3" and might be a bit loud for my liking and with only 325 HP don't think I need the 3"

 

yes i seriously regret moded my 1st scooby 1998 uk car when i was 19 as long as 6 years ago i was going to college init,had a after market speaker system in the boot, whole boot caught fire destroying everything in the boot and the leather interior.......................................... ...........never again

 

Well, that answers that one!

 

What are you planning to do and why? Which area are you trying to improve?
I too had a 205 and the biggest mistake was to sell it only to get another one!

 

Engine out work, searching for power - as ever.

Nagging doubt that it will be more trouble than it's worth.

 

The best value for money is a filter, exhaust, fuel pump and remap.
If you don't mind the lag associated with a bigger turbo go for it.
For me I would like to have as much torque as possible low down so a filter, exhaust, fuel pump and remap is the most cost efficient way.
Horses for courses

Edit: I wouldn't mind a bit more power if driveability was not to be sacrificed and I won the lottery but then you end up always chasing more and more whereas you can still have plenty of fun in just a remapped IMHO.

Personally I would not pull the engine out unless it needed to but don't use this as an excuse to blow it.
What is your current spec?

In what way did you regret modding the 205?

 

I dont have it anymore but I also modded my Impreza as we do. Thought nothing of it, I rather enjoyed it. Suspension mods, ESL'd, brakes, the usual bla bla bla. Then after it was stolen and wrecked I drove my sister-in-law's standard car. It felt so much more refined, smooth, less stressful, and still had a good amount of power. It was a joy.

I think you get used to what you have. If I were going to own another....... Standard all the way.

 

I went 2.5" system with sports cat for that very reason. Got 334bhp still and 381 lb/ft torque so very pleased!

Can honestly say I love every upgrade I have put on my car. Some have had to be fine tuned a little, but love em all!

 

My Bug is a long way from std and it's great - does stall occasionally when cold, have no give on rough surfaces, catch front splitter on kerbs, sound a bit noisy when cold (forged), use excessive amounts of fuel when booting it with Anti-lag on and so on. However the std Sport is great day to day but sod overtaking or cornering!

 

That's what I'm thinking, the standard lump is sweet as a nut, seems a shame to open it up. 34K, never used a drop of the golden stuff.

05 Blob, all the usual bits on the standard Turbo, 345hp.

 

Definitely the engine swap, it made the turning circle smaller and i was less confident in the engine cos it was scrappy sourced.

Bigger brakes made the steering heavy and the suspension crashy.

I'm not saying a few choice mods aren't a good idea, but sometimes we go too far and the sum total is worse than what we started with

Still my favorite car so far (admittedly partly cos i was younger then) was a standard 106 Rallye S1 (1.3) it wasn't quick, but it was perfectly balanced and extremely playful.

 

i sadly regret all mods ive done to my wrx !!!! as i just wish id got an sti to begin with !! yet im still spending money on it !! this weekend i extended my bank loan and bought front/rear godspeed rotors with orange stuff pads , a new japspeed centre de-cat and a vi-data monitor next stop an sti box , bigger turbo , injectors and so it goes on !!!! boys will be boys its only money and you only live once , whatever makes you happy eh

 

Same here, only thing I regret is not starting with an STI before modifying it! Has made the whole process or modifying my WRX a heap more expensive in the long run!

 

i regret buying 18's.......look great but a tad harsh on our ****e roads...17's would have been the way..also wish id bought a diff exhaust system..currently got a tony banks 2.5" system with 4" backbox...really wish id bought a vortex afterburner system( i like noise)

 

I regretted taking my old wrx above the ppp spec, as I felt the cost of sportcat sti inter cooler decat uppipe and remap didnt perform noticeably better than without them, I took them back off before I sold the car and sold the mods on separate. Then I bought my jdm sti and realised it wasn't worth messing with the wrx as it was already what I was trying to convert my wrx into. But I do not regret having a wrx as at the ppp level is superb for cost vs gain, it only cost me £300 to get at this level using used parts.

 

My bank balance really regrets it
But awd with only 280 hp that's boring to drive zzzzzzzz

 

Ooooooh! I think anyone who's modified a car can recall at least one or two mistakes where they've made the car worse to drive rather than better.

My two whoopsies

1) Buying a 3rd party AP kit that consisted of AP calipers and 3rd party disc, bells and pads. No questioning they worked in terms of stopping the car, but they were bloody awful in terms of refinement. I sold them to a chap for a very good price and told him he was basically paying for the quality AP calipers and getting the discs bells and pads thrown in for free! Lesson: if you want AP buy AP. Now have AP 6 pot kit.... one less kidney, but they are just superb!!

2) Fitting Tein coilovers to the classic - they were a superb coilover for smooth roads, but just horrible for the rough stuff. I never got them to a setting that I was happy with. A1 quality and EDFC was excellent though - shame! The car was faster in the real world with the standard suspension!

Best thing I've done:

Forged 2.5 conversion by APi on the Hawkeye. About as good a set up as it gets for a road car i'd argue.

The key to modifying a car is to always

1) Know what YOU want - not what others say you should have. Try before you buy whenever possible or at least have informed opinion of your own, not just the reccomendation of others who have their own preferences and agenda.
2) Speak to the experts and find out how much it will cost to realise your ambitions properly
3) Don't take short cuts particularly on price! Reliable and useable performance costs: always!

 

Only a few words,


TSW Venom's :/

 

lol classics

 

Nearly....you just needed to add twin-scroll

 

Well said, +1

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSfuaGNyHV4

 

Had them on my VTS, 16" and too big for the arches, any corner would result in a noisy grind, thought they looked the nuts...

 

Only from the neighbours since I moved here, Got a bit worse when I fitted the 3.5 inch de-cat exhaust even with the bung closed.

 

Regret chasing horsepower despite never using the car to its potential as there's no cheap way to get there.
Reached 450 then did a trackday and knackered my engine, it was a good morning though.
A few more bits to add to finish the car then its goodbye modding.

 

Yes....very good