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VF SS first modifications

Sheppbloke

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Hi Flaggers. My 2 bobs worth after going through lots of pain before gain. 1. Research research. If you're going to have the car for a long time, there's no hurry (Mistake no 1 for me) 2. If it's an SS, get a Brake Upgrade first. There's no substitute for having great brakes to improve the overall driving experience and confidence in feeling like it will always pull up easily. 3. Focus on the suspension next. Again, this is the Next greatest source of driving enjoyment. Lots of threads on here for spring, shock options and Coilover set ups to guide you. I personally went for Coilovers and couldn't be happier. 4. When you're ready for an exhaust, cam tune etc, don't skimp on this. Reputable workshops are not the cheapest out there but they're like that for a reason. They have many happy customers and years of experience to draw on. I use DPM (Dale Paterson Motorsport) and couldn't recommend them enough for a full drive in out package that will keep you smiling every time you drive you car for years to come. Enjoy
 

Skylarking

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Far out.. is that on the spot or do you get a warning?
Yes and no, sort of, but not really sure...

1st, I’d expect you’d get pinged by the roadside constabulary and given an on the spot fine for driving an unroadworthy vehicle and they’d probably slap a yellow canary on your windscreen just to add to your troubles.. The gestapo may also take pics of the offending bits and send them off to the EPA for their consideration (which is where the real problem start to occur).

2nd, you’d get a letter to present your car to an authorised emissions testing centre to have your car tested at your cost which isn’t much but the test must be done before a specified date.

Obviously you’d not want to turn up to the emissions test with no cat and/or a very fuelly tune as you will certainly fail and just compound your wose. Returning the car to a factory compliant exhaust and tune may be the best approach but this can be rather costly...

The testing mob may or may not take pics and send them to EPA. So the EPA may have before and after pics which clearly show a removed cat, so just because you passed the emissions test doesn’t automatically mean you won’t get done...

Passing the emissions test is not the same as getting a roadworthy which you’d still have to do to be able to clear the yellow canary.

Personally, I don’t know the exact process and for me, it’s simply not a path I’d want to explore as I have lots of other things I’d rather be spending money on than undoing mods and worrying about a potential $22k fine...

Whether anyone has actually been fined $22k I have no idea but I don’t want to the the “example” that is used to “send a message” to all those that break the rules :eek: AsI said, I’ve got other things I’d rather spend $22k on than lawyers and/or fines:p
 

Flaggers

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Hi Flaggers. My 2 bobs worth after going through lots of pain before gain. 1. Research research. If you're going to have the car for a long time, there's no hurry (Mistake no 1 for me) 2. If it's an SS, get a Brake Upgrade first. There's no substitute for having great brakes to improve the overall driving experience and confidence in feeling like it will always pull up easily. 3. Focus on the suspension next. Again, this is the Next greatest source of driving enjoyment. Lots of threads on here for spring, shock options and Coilover set ups to guide you. I personally went for Coilovers and couldn't be happier. 4. When you're ready for an exhaust, cam tune etc, don't skimp on this. Reputable workshops are not the cheapest out there but they're like that for a reason. They have many happy customers and years of experience to draw on. I use DPM (Dale Paterson Motorsport) and couldn't recommend them enough for a full drive in out package that will keep you smiling every time you drive you car for years to come. Enjoy

Thanks for your input mate. What kind of prices are the packs at DPM? I noticed they don't show their prices on their website, whereas GM Motorsports does.


Thoughts on this stage?
 

Sheppbloke

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Hi Flaggers. I checked GM Motorsport (GM does good work too) site prices and pretty comparable but you would need to get an updated price from DPM as mine has been done for a while now. Dale uses quality components and offers a choice of exhaust between his own design or a DPE system (slightly more $) and I think he only does 3 inch now (was most all of his sales anyway) along with ceramic coating option. I have his system and am very happy with it. Important to note. I took my car back for a few minor tweaks to the tune (mostly cold start up and idle) after driving for a while and he was only too happy to help out. I'll be taking mine back there for servicing too from here on. That stage would be a great place to start. I think Dale offers a significant discount should you want to come back to do a cam upgrade at any point. Mine is an auto with the stage 4 package. It has great road manners and is every bit as easy to drive as stock but with much more mid high power & Torque
 

Milo 6.0

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Just on the cold start,when mine was tuned my tuner wanted to keep it overnight to check cold start,make sure whoever does it does the same.
Saves you taking it back later on.
 

Sheppbloke

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Good advice Milo 6.0. Dale did all of that on mine but my issue turned out to be a vaulty Maf which explains why it was good when l first picked up but went to custard later on. Even though that was the case, Dale put on another Maf for me (guess he’s got a few from Maffless tunes) and rechecked the tune. Cost me zero. Awesome service.
 

Flaggers

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Hi Flaggers. I checked GM Motorsport (GM does good work too) site prices and pretty comparable but you would need to get an updated price from DPM as mine has been done for a while now. Dale uses quality components and offers a choice of exhaust between his own design or a DPE system (slightly more $) and I think he only does 3 inch now (was most all of his sales anyway) along with ceramic coating option. I have his system and am very happy with it. Important to note. I took my car back for a few minor tweaks to the tune (mostly cold start up and idle) after driving for a while and he was only too happy to help out. I'll be taking mine back there for servicing too from here on. That stage would be a great place to start. I think Dale offers a significant discount should you want to come back to do a cam upgrade at any point. Mine is an auto with the stage 4 package. It has great road manners and is every bit as easy to drive as stock but with much more mid high power & Torque

Thanks for your response mate.

I emailed Dale last night and got a price for the stage 3 and stage 4 packs, however he recommended going straight for stage 4 over stage 3, as it would be cheaper instead of going stage 3 now and then stage 4 later on. I'll speak to him about keeping the car overnight to check the cold start as well, seems like a smart idea instead of having to come back again (especially when he is located 2 hours away from me).

Cheers.
 

Ginger Beer

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Definitely get the headers ceramic coated or some form of heat sheilding
 

Flaggers

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Hi Flaggers. I checked GM Motorsport (GM does good work too) site prices and pretty comparable but you would need to get an updated price from DPM as mine has been done for a while now. Dale uses quality components and offers a choice of exhaust between his own design or a DPE system (slightly more $) and I think he only does 3 inch now (was most all of his sales anyway) along with ceramic coating option. I have his system and am very happy with it. Important to note. I took my car back for a few minor tweaks to the tune (mostly cold start up and idle) after driving for a while and he was only too happy to help out. I'll be taking mine back there for servicing too from here on. That stage would be a great place to start. I think Dale offers a significant discount should you want to come back to do a cam upgrade at any point. Mine is an auto with the stage 4 package. It has great road manners and is every bit as easy to drive as stock but with much more mid high power & Torque

Since yours is automatic as well, I noticed this on the bottom of the stage 3/4 packs. Did you need this as well and how much extra did it cost?

"Some automatic transmission models may require a cooler kit at additional cost."
 
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