VXII S/C - What should I mod first

[vagure5]

Hey, I just bought a new car and I was considering some mods for it when I save up some cash. What should I do first, I was told to start with either Rockers, a Pulley Upgrade or a new exhaust system. I am about 50/10/40 in favor of the rockers, as I have been told that they improve the cars ability to reach the higher revs. Apparently this is meant to make it smoother? And not struggle through mid revs as it does now. At the same time though I would like the car to sound a little gruntier. I'm new to car modding and these forums and would just like to know what you guys think.

Thanks

[muvro]

Easiest way to start is with the exhaust. Put on a cat back system. It will open it up a bit, sound great, and set you up for the next mod.

If you can afford it, go extractors and high flow cats as well. If not just the cat back will do you for a while.

After the cat back I'd go a boost upgrade. 10-11psi. 10 seems to be the norm.

After your boost upgrade, I'd go the high ratio rockers. This will take advantage of the boost upgrade and exhaust and make a good improvment.

Finally I'd then go a set of extractors (if you didn't do it when you got the exhaust done whch is the best time to do it.) and high flow cats. Make sure you invest in good ones. Metal cored high flow jobbies are the best. There are many types to choose from. So choose your exhaust shop wisely and go with thier recommendation. Doing these things willl dramatically improve not only your top end but your throttle responce and sound.

With these mods you'll have a much more responsive and more powerful car.

After these mods I'd do the diff gears. A change to 3.73 will make the world of difference. I actually gained fuel economy just because the car was working in particularly on the freeway right where it's meant to be. Before the gear swap it used to labour quite badly.

Also launches are heaps snappier!

Best of luck with the mods. If you have any other queries don't hesitate to shoot over a PM.

Tark

[antvt]

yeah, id have to agree with everything said above. exhaust then boost would be the best places to start, good bang for buck.

[vagure5]

Thanks fellas, exhaust it is. Now all i gotta do is save up the cash

[sno]

first mod would be a chip.. then exhaust!!

[mattman]

Skip the chip.. just get a custom tune when you are done modding

[sno]

memcal claims 20kw improvement..

[mattman]

Yes and by putting in an aftermarket memcal you ruin any chances of a proper tune when you are done...

[AirStrike]

memcal claims 20kw improvement..

Get out mate! You have been reading ebay to much.
AirStrike

[vagure5]

Hell, I don't know what to do now...

[mattman]

Exhaust is a good place to start

Nothing horribly expensive.. just go twin cats into single 2.5" ..being s/c it runs twin cats factory. Sounds good and goes hard...

[VSIIBerlinaL67]

just do the entire exhuast system, then 10.5psi boost, roller rockers, custom tune

[donald]

http://v6supercharged.com.au/plan.asp this is what i would do {these people mod these all the time]

[vagure5]

Yeah FIT seem to know what they are talking about.

[mattman]

You would hope so Their whole business is modding the L67.

[muvro]

DO NOT go the chip first....

Jeez!!!!!

Man seriously go with an exhaust first. But I wouldn't limit myself to dual cats and single 2.5"...

It all comes down to what you want. As far as sound goes... Do you want a car that can behave and not be an attractant to the constabulary. Or do you want a car that turns heads and leaves everyone going what the hell was that?

Problems with something loud is the drone factor.... It's very hard to eliminate incar drone with large bore exhausts and keep the exhaust absolutely free flowing. It often requires the use of a center expansion chamber muffler or something similar, which can be somewhat of a restriction.

However if you go with a dual pipe setup you can actually get better flow and all but totally eliminate incar drone.

If good quality mufflers are used you can get a real good roar when you are up it and also have a very subtle and refined note at idle and cruz.

Size also should be a consideration, depending on the level of mods you want to do.

But as a rule, I prefere to use a dual 2.5" exhaust right through on most L67 powered cars. Using absolutely straight through mufflers. The mufflers I use are Magnaflow. And are made of stainless and have extremely good sound deadening characteristics whilst also keeping the flow at it's optimum. Not to mention they come polished and look great! heheh Going this route though requires you to get the exhaust custom made. It's alot more costly but if you plan on keeping the car getting one made in 316 stainless will ensure the exhaust will outlive the car. A well designed and constructed exhaust will always out perform a bolt on off the shelf exhaust. But it does cost a lot more.

You can opt for a bolt on system as the actual perfomance gain lost is extremely minimal. Something that would barely be noticed. Generally people aren't out to get every single hp available. So the savings made from a bolt on system far outweigh the gains of a custom made system. However with a custom system the sound can be varied and configured to suit your needs.

A system such as the X force dual 60mm system is fantastic. It's well constructed and made from quality components. They sound absolutely great and have no drone. Yet sound like a really well made custom system. I was very surprised when I fitted the first one.

With the extractors you can't really go past the 1 3/4 sets from FIT. They are your best bet. They are reasonably priced and will outperform the 1 5/8 sets.

Cats. Well I would save longer if needed and get some good quality hiflow cats. I use the metal cored cats from Catco. They are among the best flowing cats in the business and you can actually notice the difference between stock cats and these. The standard cats even if they have been opened up are hopeless at flowing any sort of hp. The problem isn't in the cats shape or the size of the inlet/outlet. It's the cats substrate that is the restriction. The material is made with very small holes and is ceramic based. They just don't flow enough for a supercharged vehical. They are designed for fast heatup and maximum catylising surface area. So metal cored cats are by far the best option. But shop around as these cats can vary in price quite dramaticaly.

As far as what to do... well ultimately you have to choose... Just do it wisely...

Best of luck with it all!

Tark