air intake yes wat else?

[coggo88]

ok so i hav a vs acclaim II
after reading thru i hav noticed a cai is a good idea to help out with some power and smoother runing
i had two qestions
1. wat sort of cost would i b looking at for extractors and are they more worth while than a cat back system
2. was thinking of other mods i could make like suspension etc
where would b best to start?

[Brett_jjj]

Id fit the extractors/headers along with the cat back system,they will complement each other.Also most older cars usually have worn suspension bushes etc.Id replace them using nolothane brand bushes which are (in my opinion) a lot better than the rubber type ones.Some people say they make the ride too harsh.I dont find that at all.Ive found they give an excellent ride.I fitted new genuine holden FE2 springs all round as well as the bushes.They sit about an inch lower than the standard springs, and help to tighten up the handling.They are cheap to buy too.Brand new from holden, I paid around $40 ea for the front springs and $50 ea for the rears.(solid or non IRS rear axle).Also fitted the FE2 swaybars (second hand) with new nolothane bushes.Also you might want to look into a performance ECU memcal or"chip" for better economy and better power/pickup/responsiveness.These take about 10 minutes to swap over from the factory chip and are well worth it.There are some dodgey ones about ,like some of the ones on ebay,so read up on them before buying one.Theres a couple of guys on here (JC) who sell these performance chips ,everybody who has bought one,posts up that they can definitely recommend them and are happy with the results they get from them.Ive never read a bad word anywhere about any of them,so that says it all.These are the only performance chips Id consider buying/using.These guys usernames are Delcowizzid, Greenfoam and Dr Bob.Cheers.

[maldotcom2]

Replace your spark plugs and leads. Get some MAF cleaner from supercheap and clean out the MAF sensor.

Also, Brett, do you happen to know the diameter of the FE2 sway bars?

[Brett_jjj]

Replace your spark plugs and leads. Get some MAF cleaner from supercheap and clean out the MAF sensor.

Also, Brett, do you happen to know the diameter of the FE2 sway bars?

Im not sure of the actual diameter,the FE2 bars are either 1 or 2 mm rounder than the standard bars.I thought they were the all the same size(they look exactly the same size) until I tried to fit standard size swaybar bushes to the FE2 bars and the bushes were too small.Had to take them back and get the bigger ones.The guy at autobarn looked through his parts book and reckoned there were a a few different size swaybars holden used on these commodores.

[wortus]

I think the FE2 front bar is slightly smaller in diameter than standard, on the rear I seem to recall being told they are the same size.
I think the front bar is smaller to reduce the tendancy to oversteer given the stiffer spring.

How thick is the standard front swaybar on VS S pac sedan??

[Brett_jjj]

My standard VS rear swaybar was a 16mm,and the FE2 bar I got was definitley a 17mm or 18mm.I was given the 16 mm bushes from autobarn and they were too small,I had to take them back,got 17 or 18 mm ones and they fitted just right.I cant remember what the front bar sizes were.I will have to check it out .Ive still got the ones I took off it, somewhere.Maybe the bar sizes are different for the FE2 pack between the V6 and V8 models.

[maldotcom2]

Yep i bought a standard diff which had a 16mm sway bar. I thought "damn that looks small". I measured mine which i thought was standard, and it's 19mm.

[maldotcom2]

I went to the wreckers with a caliper and did some measuring of swar bar sizes.

VS Wagon rear 16mm
VS Sedan rear 19mm
VT Wagon and sedan rear 15mm

Fronts are all 26mm.

Next time i'm there i'll do VN to VT and see if we can make it a sticky.