Old school performance.

[Czar]

Some of you will be aware, that I have been a forum member for quite a few years now, over the years I have noticed that apart from going down the remap route, fitting aftermarket FMIC (front mount Intercooler) aftermarket performance air filters, silicon or hard boost tubes, aftermarket BOV or dump valves, the odd forged piston kit, turbo talk.

I've yet to see any discussion on cylinder head work, aftermarket camshafts, valve train assemblies, quad turbos, crankshaft work, strengthening of the engine block, oil pump modifications, etc etc etc.

Are you all happy with under 200 HP ?

It seems to me that the need or want for real hardcore performance just isn't wanted anymore, maybe old school petrolheads like me, are a dying breed.

[WTF]

I think it's a lot about what is branded and what is about on social media too.

I love my cars, I love learning about what makes them tick and what makes them better. But from my point of view, I see and absorb a LOT of information from what is socially shared. I don't read magazines, unless it has a feature I want to read and save- my Dad's Porsche has been in two features now.

I see a lot of #forge #bov #smaco and buzz word hashtags on Instagram. As well as being branded, its quick easy and convenient for people, and you can colour code it to your car a lot of the time.

The companies who sell the items are on the game re marketing, and get their name in all the right places. Liam Doran has Forge all over his 600bhp DS3, so surely I can start adding Forge parts to my DS3 to start to get some of the gains he has right?

Documentaries about car modifying such as the Fast and Furious also highlight the need for speed entwined with the car culture and what is fashionable.

In the 5 years or so I have been involved in a car culture for 2000 on-wards French cars, the desire is what can be seen and heard. From Tow Straps that serve no purpose OTR to harnesses and cages on a car that doesn't go on a track.

I'm fascinated to learn more, and I think a lot of people lack to passion of the heritage of of we got to where we are today. And go for all that glitters, which isn't always gold.

I really think there is a lack of imagination out there, combined with no knowledge and how easy it easy to buy bits online that make your car sound louder than OEM. Popping flames means modifying king right?

[Czar]

I think it's a lot about what is branded and what is about on social media too.

I love my cars, I love learning about what makes them tick and what makes them better. But from my point of view, I see and absorb a LOT of information from what is socially shared. I don't read magazines, unless it has a feature I want to read and save- my Dad's Porsche has been in two features now.

I see a lot of #forge #bov #smaco and buzz word hashtags on Instagram. As well as being branded, its quick easy and convenient for people, and you can colour code it to your car a lot of the time.

The companies who sell the items are on the game re marketing, and get their name in all the right places. Liam Doran has Forge all over his 600bhp DS3, so surely I can start adding Forge parts to my DS3 to start to get some of the gains he has right?

Documentaries about car modifying such as the Fast and Furious also highlight the need for speed entwined with the car culture and what is fashionable.

In the 5 years or so I have been involved in a car culture for 2000 on-wards French cars, the desire is what can be seen and heard. From Tow Straps that serve no purpose OTR to harnesses and cages on a car that doesn't go on a track.

I'm fascinated to learn more, and I think a lot of people lack to passion of the heritage of of we got to where we are today. And go for all that glitters, which isn't always gold.

I really think there is a lack of imagination out there, combined with no knowledge and how easy it easy to buy bits online that make your car sound louder than OEM. Popping flames means modifying king right?

I fully understand what you have said, point well made, sadly, companies like Afore mentioned, are responsible for misleading the modern petrolhead, then along come real hardcore old school petrolheads, like me, who work at the top flight level in Motorsport, and have a hard time explaining that 600HP does NOT come from adding a few shiny aftermarket components, nor does the 600HP engine have anything in common with the THP in their DS3, yet advertising would as you rightly say, suggests it's possible.

Congratulations to your father, for having his Porsche, magazine featured twice.

[Jabber]

If I wanted 600bhp I personally would not use a ds3 to get it and engine internal mods are usually very expensive so as I Said I would start with a different car.and one that had a starting point in the high 200 bhp
Range The cheapest and easiest route to increasing the power of a turbo engine is generally Going to be a
Remap

[Czar]

If I wanted 600bhp I personally would not use a ds3 to get it and engine internal mods are usually very expensive so as I Said I would start with a different car.and one that had a starting point in the high 200 bhp
Range The cheapest and easiest route to increasing the power of a turbo engine is generally Going to be a
Remap

When you consider that a remap is approximately £350 and pushes up the turbo target boost figure, this puts extra strain on the turbo, pushing the turbo working parameter to and sometimes beyond the turbo working efficiency, resulting in issues further down the line, issues which you very rarely read about on public forums, due to the embarrassment factor.

Then along come old school thinking, take one cylinder head, rework the already excellent intake and exhaust tracts, rework the quench chamber, fit oversized valves to match the new aftermarket camshafts and valve train components, and this work alone will set you back a couple of grand, and will net you a worry free easy 60HP.

Then you can work on remapping the turbo boost target figure, to match the now free breathing reworked cylinder head.

[Chris_Blue]

Thought about this sort of thing a bit over the last couple years, and if I were younger would be much more keen to enact the suggestions that OP Czar raises.
However, my youth was enjoyed by earning money to hit the bars and clubs, chasing a fun scenario inevitably involving females, football and fast (Cheap) road cars.
Then I settled down. (Ford Focus 9 yrs lol)

My aim now is to get a vehicle that the OP outlines, but pay for it and no modification required (Well- not much)
Modded cars always break, and cost loadsa money and expertise to do it properly
Too old now, to play like that

Good OP tho.

The RS3 later this month is 370BHP ish I believe (Too pricey for me thinking sensibly)

[Czar]

Thought about this sort of thing a bit over the last couple years, and if I were younger would be much more keen to enact the suggestions that OP Czar raises.
However, my youth was enjoyed by earning money to hit the bars and clubs, chasing a fun scenario inevitably involving females, football and fast (Cheap) road cars.
Then I settled down. (Ford Focus 9 yrs lol)

My aim now is to get a vehicle that the OP outlines, but pay for it and no modification required (Well- not much)
Modded cars always break, and cost loadsa money and expertise to do it properly
Too old now, to play like that

Good OP tho.

The RS3 later this month is 370BHP ish I believe (Too pricey for me thinking sensibly)

You can never ever be too old Chris, and no matter what vehicle is purchased, it will always be begging to be modified, personally speaking.

[Chris_Blue]

You can never ever be too old Chris, and no matter what vehicle is purchased, it will always be begging to be modified, personally speaking.

Maybe "Too old to start" is more appropriate
You're probably right about modifying, but anything round 300 BHP (+ a bit more maybe) and decent torque figures should keep me happy :-)

I always look at these fast cars in the street, and wonder if they ever get used to the max- even70% of what they can do

Lets be honest- if you had 600 Brake, how often would it get used...

[TomTom]

I think you will need to wait until the cars are a bit older for the type of performance you are talking about in all honesty

[Shiro]

But as an example you get for 900 Bucks a Intercooler + Remap. That's enough for 200HP. And for 1000 more you get I think 220 - 240 HP out of a THP155 Engine. That's way cheaper than old-school perfomance tuning. I really like the old way to modify a car, but I think that's not popular in times of easy chip tuning :/

[TomTom]

Maybe "Too old to start" is more appropriate
You're probably right about modifying, but anything round 300 BHP (+ a bit more maybe) and decent torque figures should keep me happy :-)

I always look at these fast cars in the street, and wonder if they ever get used to the max- even70% of what they can do

Lets be honest- if you had 600 Brake, how often would it get used...

I thought that last week when I was walking around London and saw all the supercars. They rarely go above 30mph!

[Jabber]

When you consider that a remap is approximately £350 and pushes up the turbo target boost figure, this puts extra strain on the turbo, pushing the turbo working parameter to and sometimes beyond the turbo working efficiency, resulting in issues further down the line, issues which you very rarely read about on public forums, due to the embarrassment factor.

Then along come old school thinking, take one cylinder head, rework the already excellent intake and exhaust tracts, rework the quench chamber, fit oversized valves to match the new aftermarket camshafts and valve train components, and this work alone will set you back a couple of grand, and will net you a worry free easy 60HP.

Then you can work on remapping the turbo boost target figure, to match the now free breathing reworked cylinder head.

that was my point £2k plus on engine work is still a large amount of money compared to a remap I am not too bothered with engine wear further down the line plus I will have
the £2k I saved., But seriously engine wear will always be a problem with any performance mods it depends on the strength of the base engine which is why I would not choose
the thp engine as a starting point if max power output was my requirement

[Superfly Guy]

I've yet to see any discussion on cylinder head work, aftermarket camshafts, valve train assemblies, quad turbos, crankshaft work, strengthening of the engine block, oil pump modifications, etc etc etc.

I think the clue is in the website name.

Are you all happy with under 200 HP ?

When I was a kid and we drooled over a Lotus Cortina, getting under a bonnet was something that was easy to do. Tinkering got you performance back then, now its just component engineering, replace part A with part A1 and there you go.

No different to performance computing, years ago I would spend an inordinate amount of time squeezing the last Mhz out of a CPU, soldering under a microscope or modifying a bios, now the same can be achieved by buying the right hardware and 10 seconds on a windows program.
There will always be hard-core enthusiasts in any 'hobby' and to be fair id prefer it to be a black art. There is a sense of achievement when taking something and making it faster, lighter, quieter or even just different, putting our own spin on something.

Watercooling a PC is now incredibly simple, no more modifying fishing tank pumps or using car radiators, its easy to buy a pre WCed system or even fit your own all-in-one system but I still take chunks out of my spare time to fabricate cases and fittings so I can stand back and feel proud of my unique creations.

With me its purely time, I would love to spend more time working on the car but only having 4 weeks at home every 15 I need to manage my time efficiently, family, dogs, winding down etc make it an easy choice to drop the car off with the likes of Jamie when something needs doing, yes ive planned various mods while im away but once im home I simply put them on the backburner as priorities change.

Im looking at replacing my DS3 as a family car in the summer, it will then become my run around when im home, that's when il look at doing things like exhaust and the engine internals, unless something else comes up

[FLP]

The problem with modding the engine (or anything performance-wise) here in Belgium is that it is all illegal or nearly impossible to get homologated. As a matter of fact almost every sort of modding is illegal over here. Even something simple as lowering your car and getting that homologated is something that costs a lot of time, paperwork and money.. I'm always jealous of Americans, over there you can do pretty much anything you want to your car. Nobody cares.

[StevenRB45]

Isn't 90% of modifying for the look these days? I assume it must be given the inexplicable popularity of hellaflush, lowering and stancing your car to the extent it's practically unusable. Not a surprise given how hard the police have stamped on "anti-social" behaviour I suppose. But no one can see your fancy headwork or uprated pistons, if you put a set of shiny hoses and a new bov on it looks like you've done something. Also how fast can a car with the sump scraping the road actually go? Finally you have to compare start points, the basic 1.6 petrol has the same power as a 205 gti, the THP has a power output you could only dream of in the 80s and potential with mild mods for 200bhp, unless you are tracking it how much faster do you need to go? Speed limits are still the same but traffic police are a lot more trigger happy.