recommended mods for standard sti (non ppp)
13 April 2011, 01:08 AM
#1
recommended mods for standard sti (non ppp)
Hi guys
Bought a completely standard bugeye sti a few months back and hoping to have a little bit of cash on it at some point in the near future although not too much, I'm thinking somewhere between £500 - £1000 would be all i want to throw at the car.
Have read a few old threads etc to try and get clued up, although I have picked up a bit, am still a little lost!
...So I'll outline what I'd like to achieve.
- Slightly better performance (not after crazy gains...bit of bhp & more response lower down the rev range would be nice though)
-Tastier exhaust note without going too far. I would also like to be able to do track days and not have problems with noise limits. Don't want to be annoying neighbors etc.
- I don't want any trouble at MOT time. So don't want to remove any cats which would push emissions too high, also don't want to mess about switching them over just for MOT.
So, basically I am after low hanging fruit here, easy gains for little £££!
Bearing in mind my aims, are there any things that people would recommend? From what I have read, this seems like a good start point...
- prodrive sport cat downpipe?
- decent sounding, free flowing CAT back exhaust replacement. De-resonated or resonated pipe? Any recommendations
- ECU tweak (necessary/useful with the above? - even though not removing all CATs)
- fuel pump (again is this necessary/useful considering its only minor mods)
- anything else i should think about?
Advice appreciated, cheers
Bought a completely standard bugeye sti a few months back and hoping to have a little bit of cash on it at some point in the near future although not too much, I'm thinking somewhere between £500 - £1000 would be all i want to throw at the car.
Have read a few old threads etc to try and get clued up, although I have picked up a bit, am still a little lost!
...So I'll outline what I'd like to achieve.
- Slightly better performance (not after crazy gains...bit of bhp & more response lower down the rev range would be nice though)
-Tastier exhaust note without going too far. I would also like to be able to do track days and not have problems with noise limits. Don't want to be annoying neighbors etc.
- I don't want any trouble at MOT time. So don't want to remove any cats which would push emissions too high, also don't want to mess about switching them over just for MOT.
So, basically I am after low hanging fruit here, easy gains for little £££!
Bearing in mind my aims, are there any things that people would recommend? From what I have read, this seems like a good start point...
- prodrive sport cat downpipe?
- decent sounding, free flowing CAT back exhaust replacement. De-resonated or resonated pipe? Any recommendations
- ECU tweak (necessary/useful with the above? - even though not removing all CATs)
- fuel pump (again is this necessary/useful considering its only minor mods)
- anything else i should think about?
Advice appreciated, cheers
13 April 2011, 04:24 AM
#2
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your choices sound about right for a nice gain and for the cash.
in terms of the exhaust, my WR1 has a sports cat first and decat second, and that is probably the minimum you can get away with!!
if you don't want too loud, i would recommend a resonated centre rather than deresonated, as deresonated can be a bit annoying at cruising speeds on the motorway (sound great when you put your foot down, monotonous tone on long journeys)
If you want the best out of the exhaust, and to release extra power, get the ECU retuned (this may be essential after changing quite large amounts of the exhaust system). be wary that an ecu retune will most likely result in having to run the car on v-power from then onwards (not a problem if you already do this).
also, possibly look at a decent panel filter? probably won't really make any big difference, but a decent one is only about £40, and can't do any harm.
so:
- panel filter £40
- ECU - ECUtek - £600ish
- Exhaust - loads of good second hand ones on here - £200-300ish
in terms of the exhaust, my WR1 has a sports cat first and decat second, and that is probably the minimum you can get away with!!
if you don't want too loud, i would recommend a resonated centre rather than deresonated, as deresonated can be a bit annoying at cruising speeds on the motorway (sound great when you put your foot down, monotonous tone on long journeys)
If you want the best out of the exhaust, and to release extra power, get the ECU retuned (this may be essential after changing quite large amounts of the exhaust system). be wary that an ecu retune will most likely result in having to run the car on v-power from then onwards (not a problem if you already do this).
also, possibly look at a decent panel filter? probably won't really make any big difference, but a decent one is only about £40, and can't do any harm.
so:
- panel filter £40
- ECU - ECUtek - £600ish
- Exhaust - loads of good second hand ones on here - £200-300ish
13 April 2011, 09:21 AM
#5
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Replacing the tired 9 year old fuel pump is a "no-brainer"...
Re-mapping doesn't mean you have to use V-Power BUT you may have to use a more relaxed driving style whilst on the cheap stuff...
330 bhp is around the sweet spot for a nearly std. car more power means lots more money.
Enjoy it !
dunx
Re-mapping doesn't mean you have to use V-Power BUT you may have to use a more relaxed driving style whilst on the cheap stuff...
330 bhp is around the sweet spot for a nearly std. car more power means lots more money.
Enjoy it !
dunx
13 April 2011, 09:27 AM
#6
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Good luck
14 April 2011, 12:03 AM
#7
Grateful for the replies. Been really impressed by the help available on this forum since joining up! Thank you guys 
That's good, sounds like I am on the right track then! Will look more into everything you suggested - and cheers for the fuel advice, I pretty much always use 99Ron anyway, otherwise its 97 if I'm nowhere near Shell/Tesco.
Time to keep an eye on the marketplace and the group buys etc for some goodies! ...Well after I have dealt with the not so cheap matter of insurance renewal anyway
Got no modifying experience and I am no good at all with a spanner but luckily I have a decent relationship with a small local workshop. Seems like its reasonably straightforward and really worth it to get to a sort of "stage 1" with the STI
That's good, sounds like I am on the right track then! Will look more into everything you suggested - and cheers for the fuel advice, I pretty much always use 99Ron anyway, otherwise its 97 if I'm nowhere near Shell/Tesco.
Time to keep an eye on the marketplace and the group buys etc for some goodies! ...Well after I have dealt with the not so cheap matter of insurance renewal anyway
Got no modifying experience and I am no good at all with a spanner but luckily I have a decent relationship with a small local workshop. Seems like its reasonably straightforward and really worth it to get to a sort of "stage 1" with the STI
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