Ive gone from a standard 220bhp coupe, to a modded 340bhp coupe, to a forged 380bhp coupe.

This is because I just get use to the power and want MORE!
Will I REALLY feel the difference if say I went for a GT2871R? (420ish bhp)
What im wondering though, is if I upgraded to the 400+ club am I gonna get there and STILL want more?

If so, ill have to stay where im at, and keep the money I havent got.

Flea, if your reading this, dont worry, its just an inquiry,

Technics, do you ever take your Coop on track days and such?

Sorry dont want to sound like a snob, but im looking for some useful feedback here and have a serious desicion to make by tommorow.
Can one of the modders clean this thread up please, on the second page now with no real input.

Sorry chaps no offence.

I've deleted all posts, except for one, so the thread is all yours again.

Moving it to the tuning section too, as it's more suitable.

Very simple outcome

Yes you will want more.

I was like you, at about 250hp, then got to 340, then a bit more, now at circa 440 ( prob more on the road )..

You will get used to the acceleration very quickly, that it becomes dangerous, I'd say temper your desire to go faster, it's all too easy to get into trouble

I suppose its like eating a can of Pringles.

Once you pop you can't stop.

And then when your engine goes Snap, Crackle and Pop, its toasted.

Wouldn't you rather have a bowl of Coco Pops?

Bit of a hard one really,

Do you use your coupe for track days or such,

Ben

I've written this several times, but it stands repeating here

IMHO, you should stick with your safe 380 bhp and concentrate on making the car handle better

I still maintain that a small-turbo'd Coupe is just as quick as mine in 95% of road conditions - the instances when I get to use my full 400+ bhp are very rare, especially for more than a few seconds

You could make an awful lot of difference to the way your car drives without increasing the power - if I had to do it all again, I'd take a Coupe to the safe limit of standard internals, and then I'd make it handle and stop properly

Its all very well having well over 400bhp, but the benefit for having spent that extra three or four grand over a 350bhp car is quite minuscule

The additional problem is that once you've spent another huge wedge of cash getting it to 400+ bhp, the same thing happens - you get used to it and you want more - its never ending. However, after about 350bhp, every bhp becomes more and more expensive to extract - its really not worth it

I have to agree with Nigel, I've spent hours calculating costs of going forged and for a bigger turbo and mods to suit, all for the 400bhp+ Mark.

And I continuously question myself 'is that extra 50bhp+ really worth all that money?'

I've decided to get my car to a safe state of 320bhp+ ish and then concentrate on getting it to handle and stop as best as I can. That way when I do choose to use the full power of the engine set up, I can do it properly and most importantly safely.

To get the most from modifying a car you need to concentrate on all of the aspects, the engine, gearbox, brakes, suspension, wheels, tyres and of course making it look the part .

There's no point having great pub bhp/torque figures if you can't put it all down is there.

As we know, there are plenty of 300bhp ish coupes that have been set up correctly and ashame cars that have a 'big power' status.

Technics- if your going to invest more monies into your coupe, spend it on suspension, tyres and of course stopping power!. Then go to a few track days where you can really see/feel where the money has been spent.

nos?

Nigel you are forgeting technics is already forged so the cost of him going for another 50-100bhp is not realy that much im guessing you already have a 3" exhaust if you do take your turbo off sell it and buy a new one. probably only a couple of hundred then the cost of mapping.

I went from 336bhp - 480bhp and the difference is night and day because it such a big jump. For an extra 40-50 bhp id say leave it because the difference in lag and bhp would mean the car is not that much different but another 100bhp you will definatly feel that.

I have to say you get use to it very easily and you will always want more! im use to mine already starting to feel slow but to others it feels stupidly quick.

I think that has made my mind up.
Im sticking where I am.
Already forged, spools up like a standard car, 18" azevs, billies and eibachs, DBA and Pagid Blues.

So not bad, I think next on the list is a whiteline 22mm rear ARB and when I need new tyres, I will get Toyo T1R's.

Any other suggestions?

what is wrong with 23mm ?
They are the ones I am thinking about getting.
Funny enough,just bought a pair of T1R's for the front.
Paul

people, including me, chose 22mm because its a direct fit with a bit of jiggling - the 23mm and 24mm needs brackets fabricating

I like a challenge....or at least JBT will

Technics, only you can answer this question mate - do you need/want more power and if you do, why?

It's funny, I think Maurizio has one of the best Coupes I have ever come across, it's a beautiful car and the power is so very accessible and broad. It's hard to know why you would want more, but then again I do because I did. Is it the right thing to do, well we can only answer that from the perspective that meets our desires.

I get asked a lot, surely 300bhp is way too much for a front wheel driver... is it? Is 360bhp too much for your car Maurizio? Don't answer that because it isn't, in fact it feels 100% beautiful from the turn of the key. Nick, does 480bhp feel too much for your car? Don't answer that either because it doesn't, in fact it feels 100% exhilarating from the turn of the key. When I took Ben (aka Watz) in his car for the first time after taking it from 220 to 400 in ten days, he simply cradled his head in his arms as we flew up the bypass... now that's my kinda guy.

mate i feel exactly the same i am about to throw 3.5k into my forged project..

the other day i was offered a lovely le at 3k.. i thought shall i sell the lot buy that.. put a stage 3 on with my pro alloy and the bits i already own..my arb,coilovers etc and make a real quick spooling (thus fast on road) 350bhp car?

..i am sure it would still hold its own on track days as long as i only did couple laps a time then let it cool..especially on twisties i would be away while the big bhp were waiting for it all to happen

it would certainly make a better and i think quicker road car...anyone think different?

but then my competetive nature comes to the fore..the racer in me and says ...
you had over 350 and it wasnt all that..you have all the stuff now so go for near 500 that should do it....

for a little while at least!

honestly now does anyone else think a stage 3 well set up and flea mapped would do the big boys on normal roads or tight tracks?

i had an rsr set up at 358 but when i look at the stage 3 results they are 1000 revs quicker spool and more torque than mine gave or so it seems on paper what its like on road i havent a clue..

lieghton?

hes the man to say

TBH i'm missing a bit of RSR PUNCH ,it was there most of the times when i needed it.

and your on a 2871r with .64 which really is the best spooler for your 400+ builds so how big a difference do you feel mate?

If you want 400+ bhp AND an acceptable spoolup, the 2871R with 0.64AR turbine housing is about as good as you'll get

However, on a twisty track, a well-driven Coupe with 100bhp less from an RSR will give me a very difficult time - in fact it may well even pull away if the corners are just wrong for my spoolup

However - cast your mind back to the Curborough bash last year - I took two cars out - Dave_t's and Leighton's although Leighton's was running double the power of Dave's, I said straight away that Dave's would be the fastest car of the day, which turned out to be the case. Remember the old Pirelli ads? - "Power is nothing without control" - get the handling, steering and stopping sorted and it will be worth 100+bhp on a track

There's a difference between a POWERFUL car and a FAST car.

Everyone gets hung up on big bhp figures because that's what impresses everyone down the pub and makes the best magazine/forum headlines. Must admit it catches me out too.

Thing is, Coupes handle like shiite as standard. They understeer, torque steer, and roll like a ship at sea, which makes them slow on track. And no amount of power will make up for that. It'll only make it worse. So if you go on track days or like back-road blasts, spend your money on suspension, anti-roll bars, brakes, etc, etc. Being able to go round corners will make up for 100bhp easily. That's what I intend to do eventally.

IF you like doing quarter miles than it's all about power-to-weight; strip the hell out of your car, then get as much bhp as you can afford.

A road car is different. You need a blend of horsepower and useable mid-range torque. I don't know when I a 500bhp 20VT starts making power, but if it starts at 5000rpm then it's gonna make a crappy road car. What makes a good road car is different for different people, Some people like setups that hit full boost at low revs as possible, which gives you great overtaking power but tends to limit the amount of bhp you can make. I personally like a setup that hits full boost at 3500-4000 rpm and hits peak bhp over 6500 rpm.

If on the other hand, you just want to go for headline grabbing bhp figures (nothing wrong with that!) then get as much power as you can afford!

Just bear in mind; There are many powerful Coupes out there but not many fast ones.

well said to both Nigel and Kj16v. At the moment this is the case with my car, i want it to handle alot better thats why i have just bought yokohama A048 semi slicks, i already have beilstein & eibache (spelling?) combo but car still does'nt feel right, my knowlege on handeling is not at all good so I have alot of questions to find out what the perfect setup is for a coupe. I'll start asking them questions as soon as i get the funds.