How's it going guys? First and foremost, it's great to be here. I picked up my motor last week.. and I love it! It's the first car in my life I've spent over 1k on.. and what a car to do so on.

Was initially in the hunt for a standard VRS.. but the SE colour was my favorite, and so after a couple years of saving every penny - I'm the proud owner of one!

I'm not initially in a rush to do anything to the car.. but there are a few things I'm keen to do eventually.

The stance of the car is the only bug bear I'm having. It just seems to sit too high? And this feels slightly evident in the corners..

This is most definitely my first port of call..

I've never modified a car before.. done services myself, break changes etc. Never touched a suspension kit in my life! So the likelihood is that my local indys gonna get the work. What's best? I'm after lowering it a bit, not so it's arches on rims etc, but lower than its present stance. A bit stiffer and less body roll would be advantageous at the same time.

Browsing the forums, I noticed an ARB is a common install.

Overtime - having driven a remapped one a few years back.. I know the bug will hit me; and I'll fancy a moderate tune-up.

I'm not going to be going all out on tuning up the engine.. but have noticed that a standard remap overtime may affect the clutch and turbo life.

The cars covered 53k. And it's more than likely gonna be heading towards 65k before a remap is introduced.. is it a case of getting the remap and seeing how things play out.. I.e - waiting for clutch slip? Or is it best to cater for a new clutch kit at the same time as the remap?

The breaks conversion is appealing.. that looks like something I'm capable of :-)

Overall - I'm not after doing much. Just want to look after her with regular maintenance and servicing..

Any of your guys experience is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Jim

My two pence.

 

Rarb and a remap are about the two best bang for buck mods that you will do. The rarb transforms the handling and makes the car much more stable through corners. The remap will give you a healthy dose of power and torque turning the car into a much more capable and fun car to drive, You can get a map that will be sympathetic to the clutch and turbo.

 

If you remap the car you will need better brakes which will look better behind your wheels and help the car stop better. Win, win.

 

Suspension is well worth doing which kit you choose is down to you although nearly everyone will agree with avoiding cheap coilover kits you may well be better off with a decent set of shocks and springs.

 

One other mod that is beneficial is replacing the dogbone mount for a poly version.

 

Other than that enjoy as they a pretty good cars.

get a good service done, remap to a nice 160'ish and enjoy it.

let the bug bite properly and youll be wanting to do much more i bet!

Cheers for the replies guys!

Just talking about the upgrades has given me a bit of an itch.

What RARB would you guys recommend?

Also - would you recommend the 312 breaks conversion - or a decent set of discs and pads?

I think I'm gonna aim to get these done in the next month or so.

She's just had a service so will probably wait till the next one and then smash a remap on at the same time..

I'm in Mid-Wales, close to Shrewsbury/Wrexham area. Is there any specific mappers I should be on the lookout for?

I would go for...

 

RARB, console bushes (cupra, psb, powerflex - plenty to choose from) and Eibach 25mm springs for handling, the standard shocks should be healthy with only 53k covered so I wouldn't worry too much about those at this point. 

Remap to give it a bit of a kick up the backside 

312mm brake conversion or you could just go for a set of decent standard discs and some better pads for now. 

 

Plus a good set of 4 tyres tyres, this is just as important as any of the above. Don't want to sound like I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs but the number of people who spend money on handling mods to then run mediocre tyres is quite funny! Also don't forget to have the alignment done if you change the bushes and/or springs.

Edited 8 October, 201510 yr by mattbvRS

I'd definitely get the 312mm discs as they make a big difference IMO, obviously depending on how you drive, but I like the added stopping power that they give even on normal speeds. RARB that is either Whiteline or Jabbasport are the two most recommended, all depends on what your budget is.

Again - cheers for the advice!

I've got myself a Jabba Sport ARB on the way; should be with me Monday.

I think I'm gonna go with the 312 upgrade. It looks simple enough to do, and the bigger discs will look so much better in my opinion!

Next month is likely to be the eibach springs. There seems to be general consensus that these are better than coil overs - and I've no experience of the latter. The 25 mm reduction in height is also attractive..

Being quoted about £450 for a full set?

There's a good variety of roads round here.. I do like responsive breaks. I don't thrash it often (honestly). I do like a nice enthusiastic'ish drive every now and again though.. :-)

I had the AP Shocks and Spring kit and it was brilliant. Lowers by 25mm. Think it is about £250.

Just been looking through the paperwork. Made sure the cambelt had been done before buying.. didn't think to check the date!

It was done at 39k/October 2011.. currently ticked over to 53.2k.

Should I be thinking about changing it? In the past year it's only done 1k miles.

Also.. I've never owned a diesel car before. So this might me normal? When the turbo kicks in, it seems to 'woosh' in initially and then get quieter as you climb the revs. But it's an audible difference. There's no smoke being kicked out of the car.. and there doesn't seem to be any power loss. Is it normal or am I just being paranoid lol?

Didn't seem to be as loud as driving it home. . Only seems to of got louder whilst driving today!

Be very careful with that RARB until you get the feel for it. And always ensure your best wet weather tyres are on the back!

Pretty sure there's a 4/5 year recommend life on the timing belt. Personally I would see to that for piece of mind before you start dropping money on the car for performance. Get the water pump done too.

She's due a service at 58k.. will it be okay to get a change of Belt and pump then do you think? Likely to be January?

I'll take a video of the sound I'm referring to tomorrow! It's a bit like a whooshing.. no whistling. And it's not smoking.

Maybe a boost pipe loose or leaking?

If its not down on power etc is prob as you say,your not used to the TD sound

Yeah I'd say it's normal mine does it and it's even more noticeable if your driving down a narrow track with an embankment or wall either side of you.

Haha. Cheers guys. . It still goes like stink!

Never spent more than 1.2k on a car, and saved two years for this - so I think it's just paranoia :-)

Great to have a decent community to belong too!