As for air filters and cat backs,panel filters,cones,boost valves and an endless stream of so called solid mods its all basically a lot of tosh imo.
Not exclusively an opinion i tag to every solitary item or just think everyones wrong lol.Far from it.I hold the concepts in high regard and the science is solid for the best part.
What annoys me is the sheep aspect of modding a car or specifically an engine.
We know the limits of a n/a engine so why on earth waste money on very small bolt ons when the real restrictions are SCREAMING at you!!!
The amount of times ive read 'i just bought a full cat back system so i reckon thats another 5-10bhp'......ay???? since when??
Maybe the case on a turbo car cos any restriction at all is magnified 10 fold when you rectify it but on a n/a engine,pathetic panel filters DO NOTHING!!!
cat backs do reliatively sod all either so by all means by a system,dont full yourself into thinking its anything like 'full' and enjoy the 304 grade stainless,gurantee and a nicer exhaust note.
A panel filter is 90% of the time a pony idea.flawed by the box and flow restrictions already in place.The box usually large and plastic,is being heated up a fair amount and will stay this way with or wihtout a panel filter thrown in with k&n written on it somewhere.
the overall draw rate from this small enclosed environment means you havent actually changed anything that can be measured for purposeful gains.
This is exactly why compeition teams all around the world make custom carbon fibre sections to open up the breathing space to something twice if not 3 times the area and using a cone filter with cold air ports fed straight to it.
SO when you see this winning formula,the first thing you do??? keep it strangled and add a pony upgraded panel filter.
And people think im mental when i say i can feel the difference when using different fuel and the same bunch think a panel filter can be felt lol...sweet jesus.
Your expensive system is missing a vital part and thats a one off manifold where a majority of the restriction is taking place.Most modern cars now have the cats sitting quite close to this and somer are very intergrated like the 220 is.
You would need a good £700+ to get this manifold made spot on and decatted with the best lenghth primary and secondary sections worked thru for opimum torque/bhp balance depending on your exact spec and requirements.
But a bolt on cat back and you want this to make power? how exactly?
It will share the same bore as the OEM system and just uses slightly different boxes.
Ok so the wadding and baffle pipes have come a way since the older systems,but most OEM's arent actaully that bad anymore.
Unless you have a system that reworks a flawed shape and get it straighter,you have to ask yourself,where do 'you' think the improvements were made???
most OEM exhausts arent restrictive as you think past the cat.A minimal required amount of backpressure is usually well balanced and maintained.
So we have a panel filter and cat back....well like i said,IMO this = no power .
At best its a couple of bhp so dont sweat it.
If you do go for a cone,then bear in mind the rules of encloser and cold air feeding.
With this in mind,im after a K&N apollo filter which is indeed very large and fully enclosed with a direct fed front mounted cold air feed.Completely sealed no less.
Im using a bluefin re map which despite my overall doubts has proved useful.Is it anything like a full custom map? no and it was never going to be,but for what i expected for £230,it has given me what i asked for.
really expensive plugs and leads...now theres a hotbed.does a iridium plug and veryr well shielded set of leads for £100+ do anything? IMO no not a lot.
if you mismatch the heat rating of a plug you can do more harm then good.
massively overlooked and i think always will be.but again,OEM is nearly always the best option in this area too.
so what does work then?
cams,gas flowing poorly cast heads,port matching for the same reason,proper management,one of manifolds,correct fuel mananement and this doesnt mean a power boost valve or a fuel pump much more ferocious than you could ever need nor does it mean crazy over sized flow rate injectors.
im rambling so im off,but im sure i will word this better when im not massively tired but the basics i do stand by.
The man on the street is trying way to hard and expecting much more than he can ever attain.
buy the car,afford the budget and think big.you might end up divored and dissalusioned but at least you will have a basic concept of tuning and why it costs works teams hundreds and 1000's in development alone.
Sunday 22 November 2009
Modifying:Are there any rules?
Its another post spawned from the previous ramblings in this arena and an area im not good and done with just yet!!
Its a frustrating game but modifying a car is a complex business or at least it sounds like it is when you read all the feedback people offer to other car owners.
From the outset if you have never modified a car,it is complicated but can only be more so if you allow it to be!!
They say the wheels maketh the car and to a large degree im going to have to agree.
The wrong choice will turn the look right over on its head,so i would always suggest spending more time getting this right than just running with your wallet and what you 'think' is trendy regardless of the fact the wheels you chose are 15 years out of date not to mention they were so iconic for all the wrong reasons that they dated in the first place lol,and then the fact the car dictates its own lines and shape.
dont fight it.if the car has an overwhelming look about it then try and follow its own simple rules.
So yes,we have established there are rules as such.But this is down to eye candy modding and a little bit of motor-art i think.Its all physics when you choose extra parts like spoilers and bumpers.If it changes the car too much,you have lost before you even started.
I buy a car i really want and then spend a few weeks seeing every single car out there for basic ideas.Sometimes you invariably rob an idea but thats perfectly fine.
If it works and its popualr,a good chance is had to say its a good idea.Not always but a good chunk of faith can be invested in popular modding.
Then theres your take on an idea.If its possible to twist and shape it further and add a missing element then go for it.On occasion you will even see ideas that are so damn obvious and yet no one has jumped on it.
This is your rare chance to establish yourself and to say 'i love this,and i can turn my hand to it'.
Dont leap before you look.Ok so im already well into this as above but seriosuly,ask about and phone people,talk talk talk.Scoop up as many right click and save pics you can and think.
I have been accused of running a re occuring theme several times over but ill maintain its what i like most,and no two cars allow you to pull off the same thing over and over wihtout a twist.So i have run it for 3 cars now and if you look at them side by side,you will see a massive difference in impact and tweaks on the theme each time.
so i personally know what i want from the outset,but every project gives you a new way to make it happen.
Asking for opinions is fine to some degree,but as of an earlier blog,dont let others literally dictate if its fine or not.If you cant judge for yourself what you like,you are basically screwed lol
Its a frustrating game but modifying a car is a complex business or at least it sounds like it is when you read all the feedback people offer to other car owners.
From the outset if you have never modified a car,it is complicated but can only be more so if you allow it to be!!
They say the wheels maketh the car and to a large degree im going to have to agree.
The wrong choice will turn the look right over on its head,so i would always suggest spending more time getting this right than just running with your wallet and what you 'think' is trendy regardless of the fact the wheels you chose are 15 years out of date not to mention they were so iconic for all the wrong reasons that they dated in the first place lol,and then the fact the car dictates its own lines and shape.
dont fight it.if the car has an overwhelming look about it then try and follow its own simple rules.
So yes,we have established there are rules as such.But this is down to eye candy modding and a little bit of motor-art i think.Its all physics when you choose extra parts like spoilers and bumpers.If it changes the car too much,you have lost before you even started.
I buy a car i really want and then spend a few weeks seeing every single car out there for basic ideas.Sometimes you invariably rob an idea but thats perfectly fine.
If it works and its popualr,a good chance is had to say its a good idea.Not always but a good chunk of faith can be invested in popular modding.
Then theres your take on an idea.If its possible to twist and shape it further and add a missing element then go for it.On occasion you will even see ideas that are so damn obvious and yet no one has jumped on it.
This is your rare chance to establish yourself and to say 'i love this,and i can turn my hand to it'.
Dont leap before you look.Ok so im already well into this as above but seriosuly,ask about and phone people,talk talk talk.Scoop up as many right click and save pics you can and think.
I have been accused of running a re occuring theme several times over but ill maintain its what i like most,and no two cars allow you to pull off the same thing over and over wihtout a twist.So i have run it for 3 cars now and if you look at them side by side,you will see a massive difference in impact and tweaks on the theme each time.
so i personally know what i want from the outset,but every project gives you a new way to make it happen.
Asking for opinions is fine to some degree,but as of an earlier blog,dont let others literally dictate if its fine or not.If you cant judge for yourself what you like,you are basically screwed lol
Sunday 15 November 2009
The skies the limit
So heres another food for thought and one i know most of us have entertained.
If money was no object and we're talking big lottery win here,or perhaps a cheeky £45m on the euro lotto!!
So you have bought the AM or maybe splashed on a Lambo,Ferrari,Porsche etc and now your keen on doing some big things to your everyday car that took so damn much to make happen.
All the overtime and saving,ball busting to get the bits done and now you can practically click your fingers and get it done...LARGE!!
Thinking so far outside the box you can now easily get a rear wheel or all wheel drive system made to your spec.You can actually have a hand in co-designing the requirements and spec of some tech gear for the car.
Have pieces made one off and get firms to tool up for one run!! And you never know,you could get into this with such a passion you could even stamp then with your own branding and sell them on for cheap as chips money to fellow car modders all across the UK who are paying way too much to get the job done.
Ok,so you might not take the Robin Hood ethos to the car modifying world but you can def get some parts on the car that no one else has done.Your imagination is now your only weakness so with all those Mil in hand,dont let yourself done.
Just think,it means having one off wheels designed by you,cut for you and then presented to you alone.You have seen brakes on something but want them converted for yours,...job done.
Any paint job of any colour and as many coats as it takes.
I know deep down i would leave this mondie in the wings for at least the first year while i thrashed the dream car out of my system.And when my feet came back down to earth i would really settle into a big project.
The overwhelming problem is not the result but the sheer possible rejection from everyone in the community who would resent a big million pound build more than they detest 'cheque book' cars already.So imagine that amplified 100 fold.
But heres your connection i think.When you do make parts as mentioned above,you can offer deals and help people out to bridge the gap when it comes to specialist needs.
Put as much back into the scene as you are taking out and i think you could strike a balance.....In the absense of balance you are going to look a giant schmuck and just another rich tosser.And we have enough of those in this country we dont need another one....
Id def consider a 4x4 conversion on the 220.As much as i love the wheels id get 20" one off rims make from a design id work over for as long as it takes.
Custom suspension and full adjustable allround.
Id take a long time to think over the paint.Either re done to a very high standard or a one off paint nicely mixed from a few other ideas.
It could take a couple of years to really get sunk into but imagine what you could achieve.I think getting so involved would result in a line of wheels not just one set lol and lots of one off part ideas for what people were crying out for.
ok so maybe there would be a little Robin Hood going on,but that kind of money is pretty sick if you dont feed it back into the world and share it.
If money was no object and we're talking big lottery win here,or perhaps a cheeky £45m on the euro lotto!!
So you have bought the AM or maybe splashed on a Lambo,Ferrari,Porsche etc and now your keen on doing some big things to your everyday car that took so damn much to make happen.
All the overtime and saving,ball busting to get the bits done and now you can practically click your fingers and get it done...LARGE!!
Thinking so far outside the box you can now easily get a rear wheel or all wheel drive system made to your spec.You can actually have a hand in co-designing the requirements and spec of some tech gear for the car.
Have pieces made one off and get firms to tool up for one run!! And you never know,you could get into this with such a passion you could even stamp then with your own branding and sell them on for cheap as chips money to fellow car modders all across the UK who are paying way too much to get the job done.
Ok,so you might not take the Robin Hood ethos to the car modifying world but you can def get some parts on the car that no one else has done.Your imagination is now your only weakness so with all those Mil in hand,dont let yourself done.
Just think,it means having one off wheels designed by you,cut for you and then presented to you alone.You have seen brakes on something but want them converted for yours,...job done.
Any paint job of any colour and as many coats as it takes.
I know deep down i would leave this mondie in the wings for at least the first year while i thrashed the dream car out of my system.And when my feet came back down to earth i would really settle into a big project.
The overwhelming problem is not the result but the sheer possible rejection from everyone in the community who would resent a big million pound build more than they detest 'cheque book' cars already.So imagine that amplified 100 fold.
But heres your connection i think.When you do make parts as mentioned above,you can offer deals and help people out to bridge the gap when it comes to specialist needs.
Put as much back into the scene as you are taking out and i think you could strike a balance.....In the absense of balance you are going to look a giant schmuck and just another rich tosser.And we have enough of those in this country we dont need another one....
Id def consider a 4x4 conversion on the 220.As much as i love the wheels id get 20" one off rims make from a design id work over for as long as it takes.
Custom suspension and full adjustable allround.
Id take a long time to think over the paint.Either re done to a very high standard or a one off paint nicely mixed from a few other ideas.
It could take a couple of years to really get sunk into but imagine what you could achieve.I think getting so involved would result in a line of wheels not just one set lol and lots of one off part ideas for what people were crying out for.
ok so maybe there would be a little Robin Hood going on,but that kind of money is pretty sick if you dont feed it back into the world and share it.
Ding dong the wheels are on!!!!
Finally got the wheels of my choice bolted to the car.
Opted for Dotz roadsters in 19" x 8 fitment and by eck there hitting the spot for me.
I knew it would work but didnt know what they would look like in the flesh and thankfully,the pics didnt lie as they sometimes do when buying bits and pieces.
It does mean another chapter to complete next year but i feel this will be the final one.Id like to run it and show for as long as possible and providing petrol doesnt rise to £2 per litre,fingers crossed we will run it for a good while longer lol
anyhoo,heres some updated pics
Opted for Dotz roadsters in 19" x 8 fitment and by eck there hitting the spot for me.
I knew it would work but didnt know what they would look like in the flesh and thankfully,the pics didnt lie as they sometimes do when buying bits and pieces.
It does mean another chapter to complete next year but i feel this will be the final one.Id like to run it and show for as long as possible and providing petrol doesnt rise to £2 per litre,fingers crossed we will run it for a good while longer lol
anyhoo,heres some updated pics
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