Considering a few mods

[Chris Davenport]

Hi,

I own a 1989 3.2 Speedster that I am considering modifying VERY slightly, thoughts so far centre on a strut brace and chip, or something like the AMD hot film system.

I don't want to get involved with supercharging or turbocharging or anything very extensive (or expensive) and importantly it has to be totally reversable.

What else would you reccommend and what strut braces and chips are considered the best on the market.

I Look forward to your comments.

Chris

 

[Andy Tims]

As far as engine performance is concerned, the Steve Wong chips are very good value - see previous thread in this forum.
It's also well worth checking that your throttle is opeing all the way when you push the pedal down. Slack in the linkage can cause problems.
K&N filters seem to make a slight improvement in sound, but marginal if any performance gain.

Lowering is supposed to offer one of the best handling improvements per pound spent. Just had mine done & am very pleased.
Turbo steering track rods sharpen up the steering. Likewise very pleased with my recent investment.

Bilstein shocks are also supposed to improve things a lot too, but I don't have the cash just yet.

Got a Weltmeister strut brace as well following numerous recommendations, but to date Pelican Parts, who were the cheapest, have yet to send a left hand fixing bracket, so can't as yet say how worthwhile it will be.

Best of luck.

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Chris Davenport

Hi,

I own a 1989 3.2 Speedster that I am considering modifying VERY slightly, thoughts so far centre on a strut brace and chip, or something like the AMD hot film system.

I don't want to get involved with supercharging or turbocharging or anything very extensive (or expensive) and importantly it has to be totally reversable.

What else would you reccommend and what strut braces and chips are considered the best on the market.

I Look forward to your comments.

Chris

I think everything you are thinking of has been covered in other threads if you are prepared to search.

IMHO, anything that is easily reversible will make little difference on its own in terms of the way the car feels or performs. A strut brace by itself might be noticeable (just) whereas a strut brace plus lowering, corner balance and a more aggressive wheel alignment will be quite different from standard OE setup. What is best depends on your budget. Carbon, aloy, steel? Triangulated Elephant Racing or simple Weltmeister. Almost any brace will capture 80-90% of what the "best" will capture.

Likewise a chip by itself is going to give you maybe 5-10 hp at best and this is probably less than most people can feel. A chip, cams and SSI exhaust though will be more dramatic. Popular opinion on the hot film conversion is that is more of an "icing on the cake" type of mod when you have done say chip, cams, exhaust (likewise the big bore throttle body) rather than the first mod you do. If you are thinking of this kind of mod you should do some homework searching Pelican for opinions. These things have all been done before. Try www.911chips.com.

I guess you need to think about what you want from your car. If you want something genuinely fast - so you never have to worry about those pesky R32 Golfs type of fast or even I want to scare superbikes type of fast - then you need to think big and not be afraid to drill a few holes. If you just want to be more "involved" with your car, then fire away do whatever you can bolt on. It won't however be a revelation. Maybe you are more concerned with your car's value (I guess its vaguely collectable?) in which case you want to think about mods that are perceived as acceptable by the market. I guess you are on the right track - think chip, strut brace, Zymol.

Richard
(not at all concerned about resale values
and one day wannabe superbike scarer [])

 

[Chris Davenport]

Thanks for your opinions guys, I did a quick search on the forum but came up with a blank - must try harder.

I'm not looking at doing trackdays or even going mad(der) on country roads, I just wanted to explore what was available and have a play with the car.

I'm not concerned with resale values as I don't plan on selling the car ever (don't quote me on that) but I do want to keep it as original looking as possible purely because I like it that way.

I like the sound of the larger throttle body and rechip by AMD, what did this cost Chris?

Oh, and I've already done the Zymol thing Richard []

Thanks again,

Chris

 

[Guest]

The threads are there, you just need to search harder [] Try a search using my user name. Over the last 12-18 months there have been pleanty of threads discussing mods.

IMHO what Chris is seeing from his mods is mainly the result of the chip. The std TB is good for at least 250-260hp so its not a restriction at the levels we are talking about. IIRC, even Amd on its website used to advise that the big TB would not be of much benefit until you had made other mods. This has been debated numerous times on the Pelican Parts BBS.

Depending on the dyno, the conditions on the day, the % used for drivetrain loss, whether the number is SAE etc, a result of 242hp at the flywheel is quite possible for a std 3.2 and probable for a chipped 3.2. Without a lot more info we cannot tell what the big TB is contributing. At the end of the day, however, its your money.

If anyone is nterested, while most of my car is non-standard (suspension, brakes, wheels interior etc) the engine is completely standard but for a chip. I don't believe the chip adds any meaningful hp, but it does raise the rev limit to CS level and it fixed a hesitation around 2400rpm that the standard mapping seemed to cause. It will stay standard until I have decided how to modify the whole thing as a system, meaning intake, exhaust, fuel and ignition control and valve timing. If you read Bruce Anderson's 911 Performance Handbook you have to conclude that if you change just one or two aspects you are still very limited by the remainder. Sorry, but Porsche did not leave many easy hp on the table.

Just my $0.02.

HTH
Richard

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Christopher Pottle

My conclusion from this was that a well looked after 3.2 with a few additional mods should feel pretty quick.

Should feel quick? They are quick. 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds and 155mph quick. Those are respectable numbers even 20 years after introduction. Least we forget, these are not slow cars []

RB