I’d like to bring together a list of (maybe the 10 most) popular/typical tuning modifications for 20VTs. For each entry I’d like to establish
• the cost of the mod,
• the associated safety mods needed to prevent damage to other parts
• the length of time it would take a professional to fit the stuff (using a * to show where its possible for a DIYer to do the job relatively easily)

I imagine there will be a number of mods which link in with other changes. I know this applies more to more complex modding and that’s why I want to keep to popular upgrades. Therefore, I’ll try and edit this original post to include the suggestions of other forum members and hopefully keep things in a logical order / consistent format. Where the list says UNKNOWN, then I'm currently missing some info for the list.

Gtech 1

Required parts
A Gtech 1 chip £35

Associated Safety Mods
PRV £30
Boost Gauge £30
Chip £35

Fitting for the lot 1-2 hours

Exhaust
Required Parts
Stainless Steel full exhaust system 2.75 – 3” (£500-800)

Associated Safety Mods
NONE?

Fitting Time
UNKNOWN

Turbo
Required Parts
Upgraded turbo (between £400-1200)

Associated Safety Mods
FMIC
EBC

Fitting Time
UNKNOWN

Electronic Boost Controller
Required Parts
EBC (£300)

Associated Safety Mods
None

Fitting Time
UNKNOWN


Front Mounted InterCooler
Required parts
FMIC - £300 - £400

Associated Safety Mods
None, but made more effective by SIP

Fitting time
UNKNOWN

Straight Induction Pipe
Required parts
SIP £100 - £200

Associated Safety Mods
NONE

Fitting time
UNKNOWN

Dump Valve
Required Parts
Dump Valve (£90)

Associated Safety Mods
UNKNOWN

Fitting Time
UNKNOWN

Have a look at this and this.

The first of those is useful - perhaps it could be pinned to the top in the same way the 16VT tuning workship is?

That said, it is a bit long and complicated, and it does not seem to include much information on costs.

Personlly I'd still like people to contribute to this list of the 10 most popular mods as I think it would be useful to have something brief which sets out the info I'm looking for.

If the general consensus after a few days of this post being live is that people don't think this would be worth doing then perhaps one of the moderators could delete the thread?

Are you looking for power-based modifications, or handling type mods, or a combination of both?

Anyway, here's my list:

SS full exhaust system 2.75 – 3” (£500-800)
FMIC (£300-400)
SIP (£100-200)
Decent electronic boost controller (£300)
Chip of some kind (£25 - £450)
Upgraded turbo, take your pick (£400-1200)
Upgraded dump valve (£90)
Some sort of suspension spring/damper combo or coilovers (£400-1200)
Decent functioning brakes with good discs and pads (£300)
New wishbones (preferable poly bushed) (£80-£300)

Fit it all yourself and save a heap of money.

But before you do any of that make sure the car runs properly and the engine is healthy, suspension isn’t tired to death and things like the thermostat are working and your throttle cable isn’t stretched to buggery.

I'd agree with that list Matt.

Ross

What are
FMICs (£300-400) and
SIPs (£100-200)

Front Mounted InterCooler

Side impact protection system...

LOL!!!

SIP - Straight Induction Pipe. For use with a FMIC. Puts your air filter in the place where the stnd intercooler used to sit, and hence has a straight run to the turbo.

Ross

I think most people start off exactly as Matt has said above. Most start with a Gtec, PRV and boost guage, uprated Dump Valve and then it progresses to exhaust, Hybrid Turbo, FMIC, electronic Boost Controller with the suspension bits fitting in there too aswell as braking upgrades.

Nothing should be done with engine mods though until a compression test has been carried out and preferably a rolling road to get a power starting point, which should also be done again to check fuelling after certain things have been fitted which could effect fuelling, like the Gtec1 for example.

Also, everything listed in Matt's post are also DIY things to be carried out by a novice mechanic.

My list would be:

Gtec1 £35
PRV(and now Electronic boost controller) £7-£200
GTiR Hybrid Turbo £450+
De-cat pipe £80
Supersprint cat-back exhaust £250
PA FMIC £450
SIP £70
Apexi Filter £40
Bailey DV26, soon to be Forge DV0006 £70

All fitted myself too.

And then when most people finish their engine modding, they finish off with a live map to ensure you get the best out of the mods you have done.

Mark

Can anyone help me with the 'associated safety mods'? I'm sure some things such as an exhaust) dont need associated mods, but there must be some required for a bigger turbo etc?

Thanks for the help.

They all go hand in hand, its not as black and white as you want.

For eg. an FMIC is a saftey mod as it will enable your running temps to be lower at a higher boost, there is no point in running higher boost on a std turbo as it becomes inefficient, so you bolt on a hybrid. Once you have the hybrid you need to control the higher boosy you can now run safely so you put in an electronic boost controller. You then want to make sure everything is fuelling OK so you get a unichip or live map.

Thanks JimO. That's what I'm talking about. I've updated the Turbo section (perhaps not necessary mods - but has you say they must go hand in hand to some extent)