Getting ready for the winter rebuild

[Andy H]

Hi all,
Yeh ,I know its only August, but I like to be prepared [] .
Over the winter (from October onwards)the car is getting a full strip and rebuild (bodywise anyway)and repainted .
What I would like to know from the wise ones on the forum is what mods /upgrades are worth considering during its makeover.
1, Would a decat "really" make much difference ,and would it make it a lot louder (dont want it to sound like an adrenaline fueled Corsa 1.2) a more subtle /deeper note would be ok though.
2, I will be getting the wheels refurbed and new tyres, (18" Carrera 4's), whats the best tyres to use, i was thinking of Toyo 888 or Yokohama's, but would like to hear whats been tried and tested and your recommendations,
i do tend to drive with a bit of 'spirit' occasionally so maybe a softer tyre but with good wet and dry performance (it rains occasionally here in Scotland!)
I guess , any suggestions for nice subtle mods without making the car a chav mobile and a bit more grunt!
looking forward to the suggestions and recommendations
Thanks in advance
Andy.

 

[944 man]

I wouldnt entertain 18" wheels (although they can look nice enough). Toyo 888s arent really ideal for everyday road use, and they wont last for five minutes. Id save the £600+ (+ quite a lot too judging by the way that 888s are rocketing in price now that theyre harder to buy) and put it towards new dampers. By not buying the unsuitable tyres youll have saved half the cost of KW V3 dampers. When you have it fitted Id replace all of the bushes with new OEM parts (inc. the top mounts), including 968 castor mounts. The only Delrin substitutes Id consider would be the ARB mounts. Having the rear torsion bars re-indexed can be costly, but I feel that most people pay way over the odds, because the 'specialists' that they use dont really want to take the job on. This results in excessive quotes, which some people end up taking them up on.

With regards to th catalytic converter: Id be tempted to remove it as you arent obliged to meet the newer emissions levels and it cant help but strangle the exhaust. Noise is subjective, but I doubt that itll be an issue if you still have the original rear.

Simon

 

[Diver944]

Hi Andy,

The R888's are road legal track tyres and whilst they have fantastic grip when warm and dry they are bordering on dangerous on a very wet road. There are always good words for Toyo T1r's, Falken F512 and Kumho Ecsta Supra on this forum.

A decat will make the car noisier but I didn't notice any increase in performance when I did mine

 

[mr brightside]

The head's coming off mine this winter hopefully, i'm planning to re-con the head to minimise oil loss and stop it rattling and stick it back on ported and flowed maybe with one of those cams from america, JW or something but all the details are on an earlier thread.

How about chipping yours? it worked for me.

 

[Andy H]

Thanks for the replies,
Dont need to do the suspension though, its already done, and fully rebushed 2 years (1200 miles) ago,
Also as its an SE its already got a chip upgrade,(seemingly)
I thought the de-cat would have been maybe a bit of a boost, minimal I suppose , but is it worth the bother?

Might just settle for a nice paint job/ wheels and maybe renew/replace some of the not so good interior trim.
I'll price up the tyres youve suggested though, as the ones fitted just now are shocking in the wet

 

[gavinm]

I'll echo what was said about the Toyo 888s.... I have them on my track car (skyline) awesome tyres in the dry, unbelievable grip. if it's wet and they are warm then you are ok, but if you hit any standing water at all then forget about it.....you'll be aquaplaning everywhere....

save them for the summer.... they are hedge finders in the winter.....