VE Calais Mods

[zac_sa]

Hi,
Im in the process of finally getting a VE Calais. Picking it up from Vic later this week.
Im keen to get some mods on it and straight away I will need to put new tyres on.

Whats the cheapest tyre size out of 19" and 20"? At the moment the Calais has 17s but I want to go 19 or 20, 18 if I really have to.

Also im having a hard time coming up with a nice rim for the car to put on it. Its Phantom colour and I want to lower it also and would love it to have that Pimp/Gangsta look with some nice chrome rims.

Lastly with the exhaust, the motor is a 3.8 V6 (195kw)
What muffler or even a cat back system would be good on it to make it sound nice and throaty.
And can anyone comment on these??
COMMODORE VE PERFORMANCE EXHAUST PIPES (eBay item 220782873617 end time 22-May-11 14:07:28 AEST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats

[Lumps of cheese]

Personally i wouldn't bother with that stuff but that's just me, just a catback to get a bit of a note would do i reckon.
Tyres aren't bad price wise these days. 19's for around $200 a corner just to give you an idea.

[zac_sa]

Cheers,
With 19s, I thought I heard somewhere that 20s are cheaper due to being a more common size. Not sure if thats true.

What type of catback seems to be the go for a V6? from what ive seen, Xforce seems to be the better and I can only tell from the utube clips.

[stirringaxe]

Here is my Calais V with the 20" GTS wheels & painted calipers.

Tyres are cheap in my opinion.

Just buy tyres to suit your budget, there are plenty of brands to choose from.

Here are a few pros & cons from my wheel change that you may wish to consider:

1) The original 17" or 18" wheels & tyres had a much nicer ride - especially over bumps or rough roads - car handled fine then. Corners like on rails now !
2) If you hit a curb you WILL damage the wheels. I have done so twice on the left rear now & still don't know how I managed it. Was driving inside car parks both times.
3) Big wheels are hard to balance & unfortunately the cheaper the tyre the harder they are to get right.
4) They look so god damm AWESOME though that the negatives are minor.

[zac_sa]

Wow nice,
I take it the car isnt lowered? I plan on getting King SSL's

[stirringaxe]

You are correct regarding the lowering. I have considered lowering it but have resisted doing so yet. I am happy with handling & also love the stance the car has as is. However I am in my 40's & a lowered car doesn't have the visual appeal younger owners may like. I guess everything we change is a compromise & based on personal taste.

The other thing I would mention is regarding exhaust changes. My V6 exhaust experience on my previous VT showed me that a larger exhaust is good for a slight performance increase, but the hassle of getting the right sound verses the dreaded exhaust drone is a real drama.

I actually really love the sound the factory Calais V has standard so have fitted dual twin exhaust tips & left it alone.

It has a nice growl under power.

I think the 195kw engine goes great as is.

[StoneX]

Same wheels as on my VE Calais-V... I need to do something about my brakes though

Also, I had a rear 275/30/20 replaced a few months back and it was $275 for Federal brand as that is what was on the rear already. Last weekend I got new fronts 245/35/20 Kumho R31's and they were $295 each.

[zac_sa]

Ok I just got my Calais and loving it
Ive a couple questions on suspension and audio.

Its got the FE2 springs now, if I was to put the King SSL springs on, how much lower would it go?
Also how much rougher would the ride be if I keep the same shocks etc.
I just want to close the gap between the top of the tyre and the guard.

Also in relation to the audio system, I was expecting good things from it, but my JVC Unit and 4 speaker setup in my VS was much better sound wise.
Is there anything that can be done to tweak the system?
The audio settings on the VE Calais unit arent too desirable either.

[stirringaxe]

Not sure about the suspension, but here's what I did to the sounds.
I disconnected the front centre speaker.
Fitted a good MTX front component speaker set, a 12" sub & an amp to run it all off a signal converter to RCA box.
The sound is quite acceptable based on what I'd have to do to go any further.

[Har92]

Hi. I have recently bought a VE calais v myself in black. Since then I have put pedders sports rider suspension. The pedders rep told me it would drop an inch at the front and an inch and a half at the back. So far, only 20mm at the front and 25 at the back.
I like the height as it is now, and it is the lowest I could get without changing the shocks. It was only $310 for 4 springs. Rides great too!

The exhaust, I was told by a forum that if you just replace the rear resonators with straight thru pipes it's a nice note- WRONG! Highly unreccommended! It is waayy too loud and drones a lot. I recommend the xforce cat back mild steel..

The stereo I am currently in process with.
I would also like a plain black honeycomb front grill ( without Holden badge ) if anyone knows where I could get one that would be great.
And.. If anyone knows the whereabouts of a senator style boot lip spoiler.

Cheers =)

[RUF-60L]

ebay has the bootlip spoilers, or JHP

[Har92]

Cheers mate. Still deciding wether the bootlip is the wayto go or just the all too popular ssv spoiler.
Here Is a link to mine btw :
http://hphotos-snc6.fbcdn.net/277643..._4806283_o.jpg

http://hphotos-snc6.fbcdn.net/278895..._7128790_o.jpg

[MacD]

Easy mate go the bootlip, it will look great.

[Gravity]

Bootlip looks good to me. Subdued. Understated.