new my08 gt owner

[Rome_BRZ]

Was looking at the Ultrex one for $599...

Dunno about the quality of them though, i havent read too many reviews...

to give you an idea, this is the total cost of exhausts on my past cars:

Toyota T18- 4age- $70... straight thru 2.5", no cat, 1 muffler.. found in my bro's backyard

Ma70 supra- $140.. plus $30 for a bottle for the welder.... 3" from turbo back, no cat, 1 muffler.. muffler cost $20 from an exhaust shop, cost of 3" mild steel.. SFA

GZ10 Soarer- $160.. 3" straight thru from turbo back.. no cat, 1 muffler... same story as above

Audi 80- $250.. aftermarket headers, straight thru 2.5", 1 cat, 1 muffler...

Lexus ls400 (celsior)... $300.. straight thru 2.5" x2.. from stock headers, no cats, cheap mufflers...

Current z20 soarer- $400.. custom dump, straight thru 3", to 2.5" around diff, straight thru to 2x4" pipes out the back... (rear section bought off forum)

I've never had 1 single "brand name" exhaust part on my car... every single exhaust i've had has sounded awesome... some a bit loud though...

The only reason im looking for a bolt in kit for this car is coz there are plenty available and i dont want something too loud..

i do most of the work on all my cars myself.. i know how easy it is to fit, make exhausts.. im not going to pay some muppet over $1000 for something i know is worth a quarter of the price..

each to their own though.. but for me its function over form... performance over style... i dont like blingy shit for the sake of it.. especially when it's under the car and you never see it..

Exhaust systems for our cars do tend to be on the more expensive side though because of the layout, sensors and cats but I don't know much about them so can't comment.

And you can see my tips all the time But my exhaust isn't just bling it's given me a dramatic increase in performance as well as sounding amazing. Similar levels to stock on idle and crusing around but when I punch it it really growls!

Each to their own!

[Stomps]

yeah, a full system definitely lifts performance.. especially in turbo cars...

a cat back on the other hand.. only mild performance gains.. if any...

Later down the line i would go for a full system.. but not yet..

Also looking at some whiteline swaybars...as IMO a sway bar upgrade is a must for any car.. if you want it to handle properly.. (that is the track work side of me talking)

[Rome_BRZ]

yeah, a full system definitely lifts performance.. especially in turbo cars...

a cat back on the other hand.. only mild performance gains.. if any...

Later down the line i would go for a full system.. but not yet..

Also looking at some whiteline swaybars...as IMO a sway bar upgrade is a must for any car.. if you want it to handle properly.. (that is the track work side of me talking)

Well I have already had the 3 inch done previously and I noticed a massive difference in response. When I did the rest of the catback 6 months after I noticed just a big a difference in response! So now it's aftermarket from the turbo back

[Stomps]

yeah, if you already had the 3" dump done you would have noticed a huge difference..

its much like fluid, it will slow down a the point of most restriction... you would have had far better flow from the turbo, but them lose the full potential gains when it met the rest of the stock exhaust.. then when you replaced the rest, it freed up the flow completely giving you the full gains.. you probably would also have found that your boost went up slightly.. (unless you had a controller already) many stock turbo cars will gain 2-3 psi just by freeing up the exhaust... can cause huge pains in the arse if your ECU is set up to fuel cut..

Down the line i will go for a Haltech for this thing anyway. (if i do bother upgrading performance bits)

[Stomps]

so... after driving this car around every day for some time now i've made a few observations..

1. The factory tune seems gay with aids... seems extremely inefficient...

2. these cars NEED aftermarket swaybars.. the grip is fantastic, especially with decent tires... but its boaty as... i just fitted a pair of whiteline adjustable swaybars to my mates gen4 and now i NEED some..
i have a rear one on the way, front one will be purchased after i get back from holidays...

3. even with the above suspension fails, they slide very predictably when poked with the angry stick... when it pissed down with rain the other day, had a nice play with mine on the Karawara special stage (private roads of course), with traction control off (or as close to off as the button will let me go).. the grip was awesome, but when it finally let go, it was very predictable and quite a lot of fun.. never had a 4wd car before, its interesting feeling the front wheels try to save you when the arse end is swung wide... would have been a shitload better with manual, but was good fun anyway..

4. fuck me the factory wheels are ugly as sin..

That is all

[bigBADbenny]

Agreed, thus going RSB upgrade, not convinced by the need for a FSB (based on forum opinion), will you be able to test the difference back to back?

[Stomps]

Not sure mate, I'm going to fit the rear one as soon as I get it.. However if that is after I get back from holidays I may fit both at once..

To be honest I'm not sure if the front one would be necessary, but going on previous experience with other cars I've owned, just about every GT car could do with a swaybar upgrade.. But that is just personal preference, I like a particular "feel" to my cars.. I don't like wollowy front ends..

Having said that some stiffer suspension (in particular a firmer bound/rebound feel) might also solve the problem..

Gotta say though, going on back to back drives in my mates, you could definitely feel the benefits of both.. The rear on full stiffness made the rear end feel more settled at fast cornering while making the rear just that little bit more slidey.. The front gave much better turn in, felt like the inner wheel had far more grip than previousy.. Setting it to stiffest did promote a bit of understeer though, so we backed it off to the mid setting..

I was happy with how his car felt, I'd be happy with that for mine

S

[bigBADbenny]

Yeah!

[Stomps]

So, been driving the car as a daily for a while now.. gotta say I now really understand why truly guys love them so much .. I've had a good chance to drive mine both as a daily and for some hard drives... it's performed beautifully.. I'm driving it around mainly in sport mode and in full manual all the time ..I'm amazed how much better the fuel economy is driving it manually..

I'm still waiting on my swaybars and struts.. but I've been on holidays for a so I'm not really fused.. I've also recently fitted a full exhaust to my friends one... I think it was a 2nd hand ultrex one.. easy as to fit and I'm happy with the sound ... decent performance gain too..

Can't wait for mine now

[SH30RB]

just a thought with the adjustable sway bars, how would the car handle with the front on the softer setting and the rear on the harder setting?

[bigBADbenny]

Opinions here favor firmer settings to the RSB (or simply a RSB upgrade) to inhibit understeer inducing roll at the front of the car.
Same opinion suggests FSB upgrades are not even needed or desirable for street duty. From memory, I'm quoting kiks

[SH30RB]

Opinions here favor firmer settings to the RSB (or simply a RSB upgrade) to inhibit understeer inducing roll at the front of the car.
Same opinion suggests FSB upgrades are not even needed or desirable for street duty. From memory, I'm quoting kiks

this is very true BBB, cheers for that. im also thinking about, when finished the suspension/braking build, going to start doing some* track days and i do enjoy the spirited drive

*just a few but i would love to do them

and from memory it is cruisn that you are quoting

[Stomps]

Yeah, generally you always set the front sway softer than the rear.. otherwise it promotes understeer.. I know that done people say not to bother with the front one .. but I don't really believe that.. even softest setting on a shoreline adjustable is quite a bit stiffer than stock and I think the front does need SOME stiffening up. Certainly not the hardest setting, but a bit more than stock.. like I said though, I like a certain feel to my cars.. so it's personal preference..

Wwith the adjustable front on my mates, I noticed it increased undrrsteer on stiffness, but on the lower setting, it actually helped yg e front wheels bite better and get better turn in... also maintained better grip @ WOT on wide sweeping corners...

We run a similar setup on a evo 8MR we do a lot of track work in... except with cusco says.. (which are a bit softer)

[jslayz]

If you are in Perth, I've done coilovers first and it corners flat as with the 7f/9R spring rates.
May be too hard for some but I like it controllable.

You can have a spin in my setup, just pm me.

J

[bigBADbenny]

@ jslayz: coilovers with upgrade sways on yours?