94 VR SII Exec

[FarSight87]

Name: Rick
Model: 1994 VR SII Exec
Colour: Sherwood Green
Engine Type: 3.8Ltr Buick V6
Engine Mods: Custom Air Intake with Pod & removed plastic Bellmouth in Throttle Body
Exhaust: Berklee 2.5inch Cat-Back exhaust
Gearbox: Standard (reconditioned)
Diff: Standard
Brakes: Standard (painted)
Suspension: Standard
Wheels/Tyres: 15" Speedy Tri-Spokes (17's coming shortly) Nankang 205/65 Rear, Intensa 205/65 Front
Interior: Standard
Other Mods: Clear side indicators, Altezza Chrome Taillights, Matching Boot Garnish, Debadged,
Stereo: Pioneer Head Unit, Four Kenwood 6" 3-way 280w speakers, Dual Visonik 12inch 1000w Subwoofers in enclosure with 300wrms amplifier
Future Mods: Extractors and maybe even a lumpier cam, lowered suspension and new shocks, 17inch rims (hopefully tomorrow)

[FarSight87]

I just finished debadging my vr following the debadging guide. It looks great now. Thanks for the guide on how to do it. Tomorrow my advanti five-spoke 17inch rims get fitted and i cant wait. Once theyre on ill go and give my car a wash then take some pics and post them on here so you guys can tell me what you think. The next step after the rims is hopefully new lowered suspension and shockies in the next month or so.

Im new to the forum and id just like to say its awesome and i love checkin out what other people have done to their rides and getting ideas from each other. keep up the good work.

Cheers

[LM8185]

Curious mate, you say it is a VR Buick, and its obviously a Buick motor if you removed the bellmouth from her, but did you put the newer badges on it too, or did you buy it like that. Unless Holden put them on the very last of the Series 2 VR's (which i am not aware of) it should have the older style badges on it.

Not that it matters anyway, i was just wondering, as at first glance i would say it was a VS, not a VR.

Anyway, back to your thread. The paint on her looks really nice man. Colour is nice, and she looks straight as too. Looks like a great starting point for some major mods. Looking forward to seeing it with some bigger rims and lowered to a nice stance.

Good luck with it in the future, and i hope to see that future mods list to grow, just like mine did.

[FarSight87]

Hey mate, yeah your right they are badges i put on there from a VS. It was one of the first things i did when i bought it cause they look nicer and because the front was was really loose and about to fall off anyway lol.

Thanks so much for your reply and i appreciate your comments.

I only took the plastic bellmouth out a couple of days ago and afterwards i realised i should have done it a lot sooner. The difference it made was extraordinary. The throttle response on take-off is HEAPS better and there is no shortage of air at higher rpm aswell. I think the pod is helping it breathe heaps too. I'll take a few pics of my engine bay and post them so you can see my setup.

Cheers

[FarSight87]

Heres a couple of my engine bay...

Also, does anyone know if i would be better off with the standard air box with a decent filter and a Cold Air Intake kit? Or would my setup be just as good? Cause it goes pretty hard as it is

[NickVR]

Looks neat mate, can't wait to see it with the new wheels. It should look even better. Good luck with your future mods, keep us posted.

[FarSight87]

Thanks Nick.

With the rims and it now being debadged (xcept for the circular lions on bonnet and boot) it should look sweet as. A whole new car. Ill post some pics tomorrow.

[LM8185]

Heres a couple of my engine bay...

Also, does anyone know if i would be better off with the standard air box with a decent filter and a Cold Air Intake kit? Or would my setup be just as good? Cause it goes pretty hard as it is

Tough question mate, different people will tell you different things.

I have ran with an SS Inductions CAI using a K&N Panel Filter and then changed to a K&N Pod Filter with a custom polished enclosure (for legal reasons - see attached pics), but both versions were pre-charger. In my experience i found the pod filter and custom enclosure gave more throttle responce, felt like it pulled harder, and had a wicked induction sound, as it utilised the front guard for the CAI. Unfortunately this was more expensive than the traditional over-the-radiator CAI.

In the near future i think i will be going to the Cold-Air Induction Enclosure from MACE Engineering. Have read good things about it from a few people.

At the end of the day its up to you, i would read up on the different styles and then make an informed decision yourself. As it is now though, it is illegal, as the Pod Filter is sucking in air from the engine bay. Like i said, the enclosure i used was legal, and it did the job, and looked pretty doing it.

[FarSight87]

Thanks LM. I think ill just keep my setup for now, it seems to give me enough response
My mate took my car for a drive today and was pretty impressed by the throttle response and low down torque after removing the bellmouth. Thatll be enuff to amuse for a while i think.
Thanks again for your thoughts.

[FarSight87]

Hey guys. I got my 17inch rims put on this morning at 9am sharp lol. Then i took the old girl for a wash. I think the rims have changed the car heaps and i absolutely love them.
Heres a few pics, tell me what you think...

[88GreenVN]

Good choice on the wheels. I like.

Few nics in them - but you can do that yourself in no time with a bit a bad driving and curbs.

[VZHSV]

nice car mate looks pretty clean.. as for the poddy i used to have one on my car
K&n at night it was nicee and specialy wit the load induction noise but during the day all it does is suck in hot air and u lose power that way..
if i was you i would either box the poddy off and run a CAI over the radiator $50 off ebay or you could just get rid of the pod fully and run a nice K&n or BMC pannel filter and be legal that way .. in the end up to you though

[chops90]

hey mate does the bellmouth make a differnece in how it runs........good or bad??????

[FarSight87]

Hey Chops. Yeah i definetly noticed the difference after removing the plastic bellmouth. I found that the engine responded a lot quicker when you put the foot down. It also seems to have more torque at low rpm now. Also at higher rpm (3500-5000) there is definetly no shortage of air.

[Ra1d]

looks better with the rims mate, should drop it a bit and remove the ol mudflaps although they do save your ar5e if you drive on dirt roads.

[LM8185]

The new rims look really good mate, and they suit the car nicely. Curious though, are they brand new, or used, cos the last pic looks like it has a little bit of gutter damage on top.

Anyway, you just need to lower it now and it will be one fine looking machine. Speaking of lowering it, is that next on the to do list, or do you have other plans sooner than dumping it?

[FarSight87]

Yeah theyre 2nd hand. I got them for $400 with tyres from the local wreckers and complete swap for old 15's i had. Wasnt too bad a deal. Reason theyre so cheap was because one of them has a fair bit of chrome or whatever missing on the sides of three of the spokes. One mate reckons it mite be from spilt brake fluid but i honestly have no idea. Ill post a pic. The rest arent in too bad nick tho. I really couldnt go past the deal, especially on my low budget and the fact that i only had 15's on it.

Yes the next step is it drop it on its butt. It sits SO high right now. Even higher then other vr's and vs's. Im not sure why. Ill take maybe an inch or inch and a half off it and itll look sweet.

Thanks for your comments!

[FarSight87]

Heres the one that has the damage. As you can see its as if the top layer is scratched off or something. Its black. I dont know what it is. Anyone know how much it would cost to fix them?

[Ra1d]

looks like something pretty volatile got on them alright. what finish are they, hyper silver? not sure how you would go about getting the finish back on them. if you find some nice paint to respray them with u could just do all four? maybe ask a paint and panel place what they would recommend.

[FarSight87]

Hey Thanks Ra1d ill check it out. Cheers.

[FarSight87]

Hey guys i decided in an effort to make my ride more presentable, that id give painting the door handles a go.
I went and grabbed some matching paint, primer and gloss at supercheap. Im just letting the gloss dry now and then ill put them all back on and take some pics. Im not looking forward to trying to get them all back in and the doors all put back together lol.

[FarSight87]

Also, i got quoted by autobarn for a pair of superlow king springs at $159. Is this a fair quote as im a bit unsure when it comes to suspension, not having anything to do with it until now.
And would anyone recommend a different brand for quality and fair price?
Thanks

[LM8185]

Yeah from memory i paid $300ish for my Super Lows (Front and Rear pairs). Probably be hard pressed to find any cheaper than that, at least not new. I would recommend you change the shocks aswell, to lowered ones, just to be safe, but obviously that costs more money.

Other springs to check out: you could look at Pedders, or Lovells, but i couldnt give you advice on them, as i picked the Kings basically for the "bang for buck" principle, they were cheap springs, that did a decent job. Havent been disappointed with them either.

Shocks i have are KYB, and made this decision over Monroes on the advice of the guy at Autobarn who had just put Monroes in his VS and wasnt as happy with the ride in his as he was with the KYB's in his mate VS. He said the KYBs were slightly less comfortable to start with, but the Monroes lost their comfort dramatically within a month of fitting and the KYBs kept going strong, and i would have to agree, since fitting them, the ride has felt pretty much the same, and still going strong.

Anyway, sorry to rattle on, but i hope this has helped mate. Good luck with you decision.

[FarSight87]

Thanks LM. Hey how much did your monaro bonnet cost you? Cause i love it and i want one lol.

[FarSight87]

I went to the local repco yesterday and they quoted me $440 for 35mm lowered king springs all round, fitted and with a wheel alignment. Not too bad i thought. Hes charging me $150 a pair for the springs. He also recommend that i get KYB shocks in the back as theyre stuffed and said theyre about $150 a pair. Hows that sound?