Stock Manual 3.6l Sv6 upgrades?

[Chris619]

G'day first of I am new here. It's such a pleasure having a forum full of passionate individuals and professionals alike that can offer advice, suggestions and overall good quality information when our cars run into problems or just to generally improve the performance etc.

I have a stock 2010 sv6 manual with a sidi engine.

The car has 98,000km and I'm the 2nd owner. I am just wondering what upgrades I could look into for improving overall performance and upholding the quality of the car. I aim to keep this car until it fails so am happy to invest money into maintaining and getting the best out of it.

Can anyone please explain where I should start and what I should invest in?
From what I've read on various threads a dyno tune and OTR would be a good start?
but what & how much do these modifications actually improve performance?
& on average what is the price range for such modifications?

I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and hopefully can provide me with better insight into how I can enjoy my car that little bit more.

Cheers

 

[losh1971]

Dyno tune would be around $1000. Check Mace as they may have better CAI than an OTR. Might be able to fit a better flowing exhaust. Probably good to have a search for exhaust upgrades on a VE as I'm not sure on what's best. Decent set of headers might help too. Try a search on the Mace site, if anyone has upgrades for a VE they will.

 

[Chris619]

Thanks for the reply mate.
would you recommend getting an exhaust system first before getting a dyno tune or it doesn't really matter?
Tbh I was just thinking of getting bolt-on muffler tips from mace and getting a Dyno tune as well.
Or alternatively getting a much better exhaust system first such as a cat-back & headers then waiting a couple of months and then doing the tune.

 

[losh1971]

Figure out all the things you want to do then dyno tune or you may need to tune it twice. I'm not familiar with the VE but you may want to do all the upgrades then within a few days dyno tune it. I don't know if making any adjustments on a VE will adversly affect the way it runs. There are plenty of blokes on here who will know for sure. My old bus was tuned before the upgrades but it has much earlier technology than a VE, so you can get away with a bit more with basic mods.

 

[MYVESSV8]

look at doing otr, exhaust, tune, (even on a V6) look at the plenum spacers too (though i believe if you have the 25mm one the top cover doesnt fit back on as it hits the bonnet), performance is not just power etc, look at brakes and suspension too
any induction exhaust mods need doing before tuning,

 

[Kristian619]

Hey thanks for your input
so if I had a strict budget of around 2k for now would you suggest..
Tune and OTR + rear mufflers..
Or just cat back and OTR done initially.
Then tune at a later date when i save up more $$
Tbh I'm not really fussed on the cat back or exhaust upgrades unless I'm convinced it would be essential or worthwhile investing in.
how beneficial is a cat back system Compared to rear mufflers?
I'm really only after a better tone tbh - as from what i know performance is only increased slightly by a cat back sys.
I'm leaning towards tune, OTR and some rear mufflers just to create a nice tone & leave it at that for a while.

But if I'm convinced otherwise I'll get a nice cat back and OTR.
& hold off on a tune.

Cheers

 

[MYVESSV8]

if chasing better sound check out the sticky on V6 exhaust in the VE section, then look at tune etc, spacers can help too,

 

[Fu Manchu]

What about throttle controllers? Rev High do some.

 

[rtmpgt]

Clutch is another thing I can recommend. Mantic does a nice twin plate organic, and Xtreme does a really affordable single plate HD organic clutch that'll support all that extra power nicely. If you haven't got a factory LSD, that's another thing I can suggest.

I'd also consider SS brakes, they're slightly bigger than the stock SV6 brakes, and a cheap upgrade. All you need is the calliper brackets, SS rotors and better pads.

Also don't overlook suspension. It's all well and good making more power, but keeping it under control is a more important thing to do. I'd upgrade your sway bars in that case. If you want a cheap suspension upgrade, perhaps source some FE3 shocks and springs from a guy who's selling the suspension off their clubby.