Best use of £500 on performance mods (Stage 1)

[ChrisGB]

:scared: snapped bolt fitting breast plate...is there any course of action other than drilling it out? if i were to tap it out with a screwdriver and hammer would I be any worse off? Where does it go once it's pushed in?

The bolts go into welded on set nuts on the floorpan. If you tap it out with a screwdriver, it will end up floating around under the carpet below the seats, but you still need a nut to secure the breasplate. Best bet if you can is a stud extractor. Alternatively, you could take out the seat on the side affected, lift the carpet and try and get it out from above, possibly even drill it out and helicoil.

They do not need a great deal of torque, 28lb/ft IIRC.

Chris

[Kool PT]

yup 28lb/ft is what i was aiming for, i did a couple of turns and it seemed to be creeping up from 10ish then it went clunk and the bolt head fell off! i really am an idiot when it comes to this sort of thing, but no better way to learn than to f*ck up a few times   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

sigh...might try and get my hands on a bolt extractor. in the meantime, any issues running with 5 bolts? all 4 corners are secured, it's just one of the middle ones that's gone. i presume it's perfectly safe, i just won't be feeling the benefits...

[ChrisGB]

Cant see it being a problem running with one bolt missing, but would get the last one in as soon as I could just in case.

Chris

[Kool PT]

took it to a garage i trust and they said to just leave it in as it'll be more trouble than its worth to try and extract it. i wonder if I could maybe have it welded to the chassis? what are those cables that run above it anyway? hopefully not the clutch & brake lines

in other news, my tein S techs are here. come payday I'll get my droplinks & get them fitted and so will end stage 1 of my mod list and hopefully a good representation of what mods should take presidence if one is on a budget or wanting to limit modding to a few basic improvements. it might not be exact to the pound, but the purchases I made should all have been at a fairly realistic price...some may pay more, some less for what I bought.

I also wanted to try and exclude stuff that I am replacing that will be worn after 8 years and 88k on the clock. so at some point i will probably get a hold of the entire 2srus bushings set and brass shift bushings too...things that a brand new 2 would barely benefit from, if at all. some would-be modders may have 2005 plate cars with 10k on the clock, some may have older and higher mileage 2s. so to keep focused on the stuff that will affect all 2s, i've not included them in my plan.

will get thread 2 started with stage two...i'm thinking something along the lines of che rear member brace (he's got a new one for sale shortly with a cross bar instead of the two seperate braces that comprised the old product), che rear strut brace, short shifter and maybe che manifold & a decent 2nd hand catback. as always, i will welcome all of your ideas & feedback.

[evileye_wrx]

Well done on completing stage 1, well once it's all fitted   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  You've covered the basics with lowering springs, breastplate and FTSB. If you have a gutted Manifold already on I don't think you really need a Che one to replace it. You won't feel any difference on Butt Dyno. Also the Rear Tower Strut Brace is found by most to make the very least difference. I have a C-One RTSB and didn't feel it changed things a great deal, very slightly but not much. I can imagine the Che version being a bit less substantial so making less, if any difference. It might be an idea to add the money you would spend on a Che Manifold and combine the two and buy a 'Big Name' RSTB if you think that is the way to go. Shortshifters are a good cheap mod combined with the speedsource bushes add that bit of pleasure to your drive. Catbacks come up on Ebay from time to time as well as on here. More of a noise and appearance mod than giving you extra performance but still very worthwhile doing. And altho I've said it before it would really be worth it to add a piggyback chip during stage 2.

Phil

[Kool PT]

shhh, save it for the next thread   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[evileye_wrx]

shhh, save it for the next thread   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

My lips are sealed!!    s:| :| s:|

[loadswine]

So the bolt on the brace, did you replace it? I'm assuming it is one of the main fixing bolts.
Its not terrible to sort by the way, just needs careful drilling out and retapping the thread for a new bolt.
I did one on mine last weekend where a really nasty ramp had ripped the head off one of the fixing bolts on my TTE mid brace.

[Kool PT]

nope see above it's just left unfastened. the four corners of the brace are fixed, but only one of the 'middle' ones is done. it may be something i try when i have my own means of lifting it properly onto ramps or a pit or suchlike.

[Kool PT]

front and rear droplinks ordered from 2sRus - should be getting them & tein springs fitted the week after next

[Kool PT]

dyno run booked for 27th oct...will see what the engine is putting out with the gutted manifold & CAI. i'll be happy as long as it's equal to or above stock figure...if not then nothng I can do about it!

[Kool PT]

dyno run cancelled, getting springs & droplinks fitted instead a week today

[Kool PT]

Stage 1 complete:

Thoughts on springs...not feeling amazingly positive about them, to be honest. Cost 300 quid to get them fitted and wheels aligned, bringing the cost of springs & links & fitting to over 500 quid. Looks wise I'm really pleased, definitely feel slightly less body roll on corners, but rattles have increased. The ride is strange...some bumps that used to feel like I was getting booted up the arse have improved, others feel much more bouncy which were fine before. I would definitely say that the overall ride quality has suffered...maybe just down to having old shocks (although the garage said nothing about shocks being worn, and the push down-bounce up test doesn't indicate any excessive play).

I'm going to continue with bracing in stage two, and hopefully the rear member and rear strut brace will help to calm down the rattles some more. Then I need to figure out at some point in the future whether to replace the shocks (best price £240 for a set of 4 from camskill) or go down the coilover route (400 odd quid minimum? not sure - could probably get a few quid for the s.techs with low use too). I presume that the fitting cost would be the same again for either option...or would it be cheaper with coilovers?

To sum up this thread, i'll hopefully be able to get a dyno run booked soon, just for fun and to see what gain or loss the gutted manifold & ppe intake have given to the car.

[markiii]

what spring did you go with?

is everything tightened properly?

[Kool PT]

tein s.tech on 89k stock shocks. what sort of things do you think might not be tightened properly? I wasn't present during the installation, a local garage that I trust did the work.

[markiii]

things to check

1) 2 massive bolts holding hub to strut bottom

2) 3 at the tope of each strut holding them to teh car (ones you see under teh bonnet/engine lid)

3) and teh centre nut holding teh strut to teh top mount

if it's crashy my money would be on 3) as tehy are a pain to torque, should only have teh nuts used once (they are nylocks) and I've seen this behaviout before

I'd also check if teh springs were mounted teh correct way up, and wether teh bump stops were put back on teh strut. Though these may need replacing on 89K struts anyway


lastly 89K struts are probably pretty stuffed anyway

[evileye_wrx]

Gimme £40 and I'll tell you what your dyno figure will be. Oh go on then I'll do it for free. It's virtually the same as stock, at the very most 141bhp.

Whenever you change your set up it's going to change the rattles you hear within the cabin. Some of those you know and love will be replaced by new and strange noises. Wait til you start with engine mounts or dampers!

£300 seems excessive for spring fitting. I know a local place was quoting around 100 quid all in on ebay. Saying that rumour is that they have gone out of business so maybe that's why hehe!

Phil

[Kool PT]

ok, so to replace the shocks am I right in thinking that I will have to pay for the same fitting process, as the shocks will need to be replaced and then the spring 'sheathed' back into it? if so, would complete coilovers not be a doddle to fit in comparison as the spring is already fitted on? the garage justified their time as an hour per spring, plus wheel balancing.

I will probably get the camber/balance checked at its 90k service as a matter of course so will check those fittings at the same time.

phil I am aware that I will have bugger all power increase but as a point of reference for n00bs (which is sort of the reason I made this thread) it can't hurt. I'm also going to be doing a before and after when fitting my catback & doing the emanage tune so it would be nice to see if there are any incremental changes whatsoever. Most importantly though, I have no idea if my car even had stock power/torque to begin with, so i'd like to know what it's putting out regardless of any minor airflow mods.

[markiii]

most people fit springs until their shocks give up and then sell teh springs to fund full coilovers when teh shocks do go

fitting coilovers is at most 30 mins per corner work and yes is easier than springs

as for wheel balancing, there is no reason that needs to be done, the only thing they have done is remove a wheel and refit it, big deal  s:flame: :flame: s:flame:

[Kool PT]

yeah I thought that was a bit extreme. slow workers then, and not the cheapest labour rates in town either. I have had work done there before at a good price but think I'll avoid em in future. prob is i'm really not savvy enough to argue about this stuff with a garage mechanic! I think i'll run these into the ground then and go to the coilover route next year - seems like a logical step anyway as I really want to hit the track once it gets sunny again. i'm thinking BCs.

[markiii]

tbh it's really easy diy job

[Kool PT]

well that would be even better. i'd never even changed a car's oil until i got this one though, so what is considered an easy diy job by some might put me a little out of my depth. you never know what i'm going to pick up between now and then though   s:D s:D

[Kool PT]

PT's roadster with stage 1 mods fitted. would like to get new headlamps & a new set of number plates, the old ones are rusty and dingy

[uktotty]

you are the first bloke I have ever seen with rusty number plates!

[Kool PT]

i know shameful aint it...i'll probably get a new set the morn