Geekboy78 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 hey there, i have an 04 plate zed, about 73k on the clock and loving it so far. i have started to venture into the world of fixing things myself (removed the boot counter weight, will be fixing the left speaker on the stereo tonight) and will be looking to fix some small paint chips etc as well... this is all new to me, i have never cared about my car before, but i am finding this new part of my hobby almost as much fun as driving the car. i say almost because having come from a ford focus, i don't think i will ever get past the initial sound on starting the car, and the smile i get when cornering or flooring it.... anyway.... i am also tempted, just tempted at this stage, to start to mess with the actual car a little... talking parts not just cosmetics... so, what would you suggest as the first steps into modding my car? what would you suggest and in what order? and what are the benefits/costs? i will need to do some saving, so always good to know in advance. kind of looking for a roadmap... do this, then this, then this and then you could do this or this.... also, you should take this as a special 'can i write for a normal person' test. i know nothing. nothing. at all. nothing. just to make that clear. i know nothing. so anything you write down, you need to assume no knowledge. for example, my boss in the office likes his cars and his first suggestion was 'chipping' it, but it seems from some other posts on here that this may make no difference...?? or that adding certain bits would be bad without a remap/uprev...?? or something else that i am not sure what it means.... all help very much appreciated. suggestions for other threads also appreciated - although i have done a bit of a search and couldnt find anything answering this.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 All depends on budget really and what you want the mods to achieve for you You will not turn the car into a super performer, even spending 1,000's on superchargers etc doesn't raise it to biblical levels... Some good plans would maybe include - Upgraded brake pads & rotors CAI for even more lovely noise Plenum spacer, exhaust & uprev for yet more noise and a little more usable & smooth power... That should set you back around £2k maybe more depending on what you go for but you will totally transform the driving experience You are right about chipping, it is not useless on its own but with the right mods it is much better, best to decide on what you want and get it all done prior to remap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geekboy78 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 All depends on budget really and what you want the mods to achieve for you You will not turn the car into a super performer, even spending 1,000's on superchargers etc doesn't raise it to biblical levels... Some good plans would maybe include - Upgraded brake pads & rotors CAI for even more lovely noise Plenum spacer, exhaust & uprev for yet more noise and a little more usable & smooth power... That should set you back around £2k maybe more depending on what you go for but you will totally transform the driving experience You are right about chipping, it is not useless on its own but with the right mods it is much better, best to decide on what you want and get it all done prior to remap thanks for replying... you may regret it! lol pads and rotors? pads i assume to make it stop quicker, but rotors? are they the calipers? what would be the benefit? like i said, i know nothing.... CAI? i know from the glossary this is a cold air induction kit.... but what does it do? the plenum spacer i understand changes the flow below the car, the exhaust again i understand little about how and why they work and the remap to change the ECU to take advantage of all these things... am i right? in terms of changing the feel of the drive, if i could get a bit more acceleration ( do not care about top speed at all... just like getting there quick) and an even more tingle-making noise, that would be great. not huge fan of changing things from looking stock, so things under the hood or stealthy would be great.... so assume the CAI and plenum/exhaust would need a remap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianphampton Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Cold Air Induction doesn't add anything IMO (But a high flow HKS filter in the stock airbox does help) Plenum spacer will give you a bit more torque which would be a good match as you say you want more acceleration. Improved exhaust will give you much better sound and some (modest) gains in rpm - and to gain maximum benefit it would be beneficial to UpRev (Remap) her once you've done these Performance wise you'll probably only see 15 maybe 20 horses and similar modest % torque inmprovement - but the feel of the car will be much better, and the Uprev also removes the constraints on the throttle in the lower gears (IIRC you only get 65% of response in 1st & 2nd and 75% in 3rd) and once you get full response in all gears your pulling away from roundabouts and overtaking is much (Much!) better As SMD says - don't expect miracles, but the feel is bigger than the numbers might suggest and you'll definitely get cramp in your smile muscles as the grin just keeps on growing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geekboy78 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 that's really helpful, thanks. so my next question is... would all these things need to be done at the same time? could i do the air filter, then wait until i could afford the plenum spacer, then wait to get the exhaust and then finally do the uprev remap? if i can only afford to done one bit at a time, would i be causing the engine damage? or is it better to wait and get it all done at the same time? could i do the plenum and the uprev... then remap the uprev when i add the filter and exhaust at a later date? seems from uprev.com that there is a possibility of re-mapping the ECU with my own pc? more and more questions... sorry... oh, and thanks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Still dont understand why people say to upgrade the brakes first, they are decent as standard Id say plenum spacer, induction, exhaust decats, throttle controller, suspension and uprev in that order. The uprev is only really worth doing once youve got the other stuff fitted, everything else is effectively a standalone mod A decent set of wheels really makes them look amazing though, Id keep half an eye out for a good set too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I believe you can do this in stages... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geekboy78 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 Still dont understand why people say to upgrade the brakes first, they are decent as standard Id say plenum spacer, induction, exhaust decats, throttle controller, suspension and uprev in that order. The uprev is only really worth doing once youve got the other stuff fitted, everything else is effectively a standalone mod A decent set of wheels really makes them look amazing though, Id keep half an eye out for a good set too. i have rays on it already, so am happy with those. may get them painted if/when i get them refurbished. exhaust decats? that taking off the cat converter? glossary says it makes the the car more noisy... is that a problem for MOT etc? throttle controller? what even is that? is that the same thing as the remap adjusting the amount of throttle you can get in the early gears? so far, seems i may be saving and doing everything at once... sound slike these things on their own make a little difference, so i may prefer to get them all done at the same time and feel a big difference in one go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudgedon Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Still dont understand why people say to upgrade the brakes first, they are decent as standard Id say plenum spacer, induction, exhaust decats, throttle controller, suspension and uprev in that order. The uprev is only really worth doing once youve got the other stuff fitted, everything else is effectively a standalone mod A decent set of wheels really makes them look amazing though, Id keep half an eye out for a good set too. i have rays on it already, so am happy with those. may get them painted if/when i get them refurbished. exhaust decats? that taking off the cat converter? glossary says it makes the the car more noisy... is that a problem for MOT etc? throttle controller? what even is that? is that the same thing as the remap adjusting the amount of throttle you can get in the early gears? so far, seems i may be saving and doing everything at once... sound slike these things on their own make a little difference, so i may prefer to get them all done at the same time and feel a big difference in one go! Decats will make the car very noisy and will fail MOT unless you have a friendly place to take it to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 No worries, personally the brakes should be the first thing to sort out, yes the brembo's are good but some decent pads and maybe braided lines make a massive difference. Discs less so unless you throw the car round a track really i guess. You don't need to do everything at once at all, only thing i would say is wait for the remap at least until breathing and exhaust mods are complete or you will have to go back for tweaks. A throttle controller is ok until you get a remap, it gives you a more instant reaction to the pedals, a remap does this along with a lot more but not as cheap.... Decats = MOT fail, HFC's are less harsh and MOT safe Feel free to PM me, always happy to help, I am no expert by a long way but I know what I like and others seem to like it too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geekboy78 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 thanks for all your help... i have enough to be thinking about for now! cheers GB78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 hey there, i have an 04 plate zed, about 73k on the clock and loving it so far. i have started to venture into the world of fixing things myself (removed the boot counter weight, will be fixing the left speaker on the stereo tonight) and will be looking to fix some small paint chips etc as well... this is all new to me, i have never cared about my car before, but i am finding this new part of my hobby almost as much fun as driving the car. i say almost because having come from a ford focus, i don't think i will ever get past the initial sound on starting the car, and the smile i get when cornering or flooring it.... anyway.... i am also tempted, just tempted at this stage, to start to mess with the actual car a little... talking parts not just cosmetics... so, what would you suggest as the first steps into modding my car? what would you suggest and in what order? and what are the benefits/costs? i will need to do some saving, so always good to know in advance. kind of looking for a roadmap... do this, then this, then this and then you could do this or this.... Hi and welcome I would personnaly talk to Abbey motors. There is no better in my eyes and the proof is in the pudding. Start small and work up. They are on here so just email or message Mark and he will get back to you. also, you should take this as a special 'can i write for a normal person' test. i know nothing. nothing. at all. nothing. just to make that clear. i know nothing. so anything you write down, you need to assume no knowledge. for example, my boss in the office likes his cars and his first suggestion was 'chipping' it, but it seems from some other posts on here that this may make no difference...?? or that adding certain bits would be bad without a remap/uprev...?? or something else that i am not sure what it means.... all help very much appreciated. suggestions for other threads also appreciated - although i have done a bit of a search and couldnt find anything answering this.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Still dont understand why people say to upgrade the brakes first, they are decent as standard Id say plenum spacer, induction, exhaust decats, throttle controller, suspension and uprev in that order. The uprev is only really worth doing once youve got the other stuff fitted, everything else is effectively a standalone mod A decent set of wheels really makes them look amazing though, Id keep half an eye out for a good set too. Upgraded my brakes almost at the very end - and hey I am still here to tell the tale. Upgraded brakes are much better, but standard ones are pretty good as well, better than most cars out there, given the brakes (discs and pads) are going to come in at around the £500 mark I would put it towards making it a smoother ride first with the plenum, intake, exhaust, uprev etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Coldel - bang on the money. Im not saying the brakes dont need doing, but theres better places to spend the money to start with IMO. Id also add that while Ive got the utmost respect for Abbey, things like the thorttle controller, plenum spacer and induction kit can be bought and fitted a lot cheaper elsewhere. As a guy on another forum said to me once, you can ask a garage/trader for advice but bear in mind why they are there in the first place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 First make it stop Then make it handle Then make it go It's an old mantra but still holds true and gives the best results for the smallest outlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 ...Throttle Controller, 5 minute install. Plenum Spacer around an hour, Induction Kit around 30 minutes - and I am a complete amatuer when it comes to doing stuff like this - found it was not so bad with the instructions provided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Agreed but beware of the Bedroom Cowboys. make sure the seller knows there stuff. And Abbey spend a great deal of time on here giving free no strings attached advice. As do others but seldom get thanks. What I have learnt about Abbey and AMD is a lot of peeps take the cheap option and then the cars end up at the pros to be put right. I certainly agree with the Brakes being on the list but not the 1st item. As the guy said in his post. Please l know nothing do not baffle me with science. So folks ignore what he put and start throwing foreign language at him. The guy said he has no Mechanical knowledge. Bit like Andrew "Clown" not even owning a screwdriver! I was like him last year and got bombarded to the point i wanted to jump of beachy head. I emailed both Ben from AMD and Mark from Abbey as I know people who have used both. I went with Mark as personal choice as he took the time and trouble to explain things in English at times after midnight. Also I wanted something that no one else had done at the time. Put the GTM supercharger on a RHD Zed. So dam obvious I am going to sing his praises especially as they make good coffee. You name one person that has ever had a problem with Abbey that has gone back and not had it put right free of charge, and more often when it was the owners fault not Abbey. As mature adults we can agree to disagree. Could be worse piston heads forum members have punch ups lol:) Not sure what part of the Country this guy lives in but lets help him eh:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Just to add it has been proven that if you replace the panel filter for a high flow one the results for £30 are better than an induction kit. At what ever price they are. Mind you an HR box would help. I have 2 lol sitting in the wardrobe with new filters in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 You dont add an induction kit for power though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Agreed but beware of the Bedroom Cowboys. make sure the seller knows there stuff. And Abbey spend a great deal of time on here giving free no strings attached advice. As do others but seldom get thanks. What I have learnt about abbey and AMD is a lot of peeps take the cheap option and then the cars end up at the pros to be put right. Abbey dont hold the fastest jap car record in europe for nothing I certainly agree with the Brakes being on the list but not the 1st item. As the guy said in his post. Please l know nothing do not baffle me with science. So folks ignore what he put and start throwing foreign language at him. The guy said he has no Mechanical knowledge. Bit like Andrew "Clown" not even owning a screwdriver! I was like him last year and got bombarded to the point i wanted to jump of beachy head. I emailed both Ben from AMD and Mark from Abbey as I know people who have used both. I went with Mark as personal choice as he took the time and trouble to explain things in English at times after midnight. Also I wanted something that no one else had done at the time. Put the GTM supercharger on a RHD Zed. So dam obvious I am going to sing his praises especially as they make good coffee. You name one person that has ever had a problem with Abbey that has gone back and not had it put right free of charge, and more often when it was the owners fault not Abbey. Not sure what part of the Country this guy lives in but lets help him eh:) I knew nothing about cars when I got my Zed, quite happily paid for pros to do stuff - but then tried a few things myself which I knew were reversible if I ballsed up and realised it wasn't that bad. Personally, I think if you want to mod a car, its all part of the enjoyment doing the simple things yourself...but agreed his original post said he doesnt want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 First make it stop Then make it handle Then make it go It's an old mantra but still holds true and gives the best results for the smallest outlay. I don't agree with you much of the time but on this i do 100% i found the 350 with standard brakes, pads and lines had very little feel.... For me upgrading the brakes gives you more confidence, lets you go into corners quicker and just improves the whole feeling of driving the Zed :drive: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 ...depends on what you are driving it for though, I dont hammer the car, or track it - like I say still here to tell the tale and have seen people with uprated brakes talk of near misses. I saw no mention of tyres, which are much more important than upgrading the brembos IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thats because there is a years supply of reading on tyre upgrades in its own section. And last time a thread got out of order we were politely reminded to the efforts and time that members had taken to write down there experience. I am pulling out of this thread and its no longer about the guy wanting help but penis size again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 There is a years supply of upgrading posts on just about everything though He asked for a roadmap, some people believe you have to spend a thousand quid on tyres and brakes, others, who havent done and survived, dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Well the OP has PMed me and seems genuinely appreciative of some help so I couldn't give a stuff what anyone else thinks Everything is subjective, someone else will turn up in a minute and insist that he gets his suspention sorted before anything else Best advice is meet up with some members have a look and a listen and maybe a drive Oh and Peter for the record 12" but I don't use it as a rule :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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