Being original and doin your own thing....

Is it ever actually possible? lol....

sometimes you wonder if its a strive to make your own identity or to distance yourself from the masses of standard cars.

And from my point of view,it kinda encompasses both of those aspects.But inevitably as soon as you come up with an idea or use a certain part,its gone.Vanished into common place modding and forgotten.

As far as i can see i have had the first set of 19" DOTZ roadsters fitted and ive seen one set of 18's since but apprently there now 'common'!!

Yeah that will be as common as Tomason's then? lol

It really doesnt matter what you go for,if its working and it strikes a chord,then you can pretty much tick it off as a consumed mod amongst the masses.
Its both a compliment and a small kick in the pants but hey,you did it to stand out and if it means you have found a like minded crowd,then thats not a bad thing is it?

The only way of making mods very unique to to price them out of the general market for the next guy to think 'ill tackle this on the weekend'.

But then its another can of worms spending beyond your overall project budget.
So then lastly its exposure.And this is one area im good at cos making a name for yourself for better or worse is still exposure for what you are doing.

Im a big believer in projects succeeding thru self publication and PR across the forums and shows,mags and assorted galleries online.

Proof in the pudding of which ive seen time and time again,is people spending 1000's upon 1000's and it striking a minor chord of 'wow' thats impressive but it doesnt have a home based feel of struggle,cost and achievement about it.

But if you spend a lot of time being excited about what you do,and let people in on it and share the base experience,then you can quickly drum up a lot of respect and admiration for a simple low cost project cos you believe in it.

So therefore everyone else will.

I dont think that cheque book cars suffer completely with it i just think largely so and again only cos the distance a car like this drives between creator and community because it lacks working class every day realism and feel.

I have sworn to myself that if i ever did win the lotto!! lol,id set up a range of wheels and parts from all the ideas i cant flesh out with my own cash.spooj branded aftermarket stuff thats all limited run specialised application.

you could even offer a designer package where i would enlist the help of a very good CAD designer and bring full start to finish packages together ala Chip Foose...

just removing the foose and bringing on the spooj pmsl....yea right

Bolt on bad boys:I do love a myth

As for air filters and cat backs,panel filters,cones,boost valves and an endless stream of so called solid mods its all basically a lot of tosh imo.

Not exclusively an opinion i tag to every solitary item or just think everyones wrong lol.Far from it.I hold the concepts in high regard and the science is solid for the best part.

What annoys me is the sheep aspect of modding a car or specifically an engine.
We know the limits of a n/a engine so why on earth waste money on very small bolt ons when the real restrictions are SCREAMING at you!!!

The amount of times ive read 'i just bought a full cat back system so i reckon thats another 5-10bhp'......ay???? since when??

Maybe the case on a turbo car cos any restriction at all is magnified 10 fold when you rectify it but on a n/a engine,pathetic panel filters DO NOTHING!!!
cat backs do reliatively sod all either so by all means by a system,dont full yourself into thinking its anything like 'full' and enjoy the 304 grade stainless,gurantee and a nicer exhaust note.

A panel filter is 90% of the time a pony idea.flawed by the box and flow restrictions already in place.The box usually large and plastic,is being heated up a fair amount and will stay this way with or wihtout a panel filter thrown in with k&n written on it somewhere.

the overall draw rate from this small enclosed environment means you havent actually changed anything that can be measured for purposeful gains.

This is exactly why compeition teams all around the world make custom carbon fibre sections to open up the breathing space to something twice if not 3 times the area and using a cone filter with cold air ports fed straight to it.

SO when you see this winning formula,the first thing you do??? keep it strangled and add a pony upgraded panel filter.
And people think im mental when i say i can feel the difference when using different fuel and the same bunch think a panel filter can be felt lol...sweet jesus.

Your expensive system is missing a vital part and thats a one off manifold where a majority of the restriction is taking place.Most modern cars now have the cats sitting quite close to this and somer are very intergrated like the 220 is.

You would need a good £700+ to get this manifold made spot on and decatted with the best lenghth primary and secondary sections worked thru for opimum torque/bhp balance depending on your exact spec and requirements.

But a bolt on cat back and you want this to make power? how exactly?
It will share the same bore as the OEM system and just uses slightly different boxes.
Ok so the wadding and baffle pipes have come a way since the older systems,but most OEM's arent actaully that bad anymore.

Unless you have a system that reworks a flawed shape and get it straighter,you have to ask yourself,where do 'you' think the improvements were made???

most OEM exhausts arent restrictive as you think past the cat.A minimal required amount of backpressure is usually well balanced and maintained.

So we have a panel filter and cat back....well like i said,IMO this = no power .
At best its a couple of bhp so dont sweat it.

If you do go for a cone,then bear in mind the rules of encloser and cold air feeding.
With this in mind,im after a K&N apollo filter which is indeed very large and fully enclosed with a direct fed front mounted cold air feed.Completely sealed no less.

Im using a bluefin re map which despite my overall doubts has proved useful.Is it anything like a full custom map? no and it was never going to be,but for what i expected for £230,it has given me what i asked for.

really expensive plugs and leads...now theres a hotbed.does a iridium plug and veryr well shielded set of leads for £100+ do anything? IMO no not a lot.
if you mismatch the heat rating of a plug you can do more harm then good.
massively overlooked and i think always will be.but again,OEM is nearly always the best option in this area too.


so what does work then?

cams,gas flowing poorly cast heads,port matching for the same reason,proper management,one of manifolds,correct fuel mananement and this doesnt mean a power boost valve or a fuel pump much more ferocious than you could ever need nor does it mean crazy over sized flow rate injectors.

im rambling so im off,but im sure i will word this better when im not massively tired but the basics i do stand by.
The man on the street is trying way to hard and expecting much more than he can ever attain.
buy the car,afford the budget and think big.you might end up divored and dissalusioned but at least you will have a basic concept of tuning and why it costs works teams hundreds and 1000's in development alone.

Modifying:Are there any rules?

Its another post spawned from the previous ramblings in this arena and an area im not good and done with just yet!!

Its a frustrating game but modifying a car is a complex business or at least it sounds like it is when you read all the feedback people offer to other car owners.

From the outset if you have never modified a car,it is complicated but can only be more so if you allow it to be!!

They say the wheels maketh the car and to a large degree im going to have to agree.
The wrong choice will turn the look right over on its head,so i would always suggest spending more time getting this right than just running with your wallet and what you 'think' is trendy regardless of the fact the wheels you chose are 15 years out of date not to mention they were so iconic for all the wrong reasons that they dated in the first place lol,and then the fact the car dictates its own lines and shape.

dont fight it.if the car has an overwhelming look about it then try and follow its own simple rules.

So yes,we have established there are rules as such.But this is down to eye candy modding and a little bit of motor-art i think.Its all physics when you choose extra parts like spoilers and bumpers.If it changes the car too much,you have lost before you even started.

I buy a car i really want and then spend a few weeks seeing every single car out there for basic ideas.Sometimes you invariably rob an idea but thats perfectly fine.

If it works and its popualr,a good chance is had to say its a good idea.Not always but a good chunk of faith can be invested in popular modding.

Then theres your take on an idea.If its possible to twist and shape it further and add a missing element then go for it.On occasion you will even see ideas that are so damn obvious and yet no one has jumped on it.
This is your rare chance to establish yourself and to say 'i love this,and i can turn my hand to it'.

Dont leap before you look.Ok so im already well into this as above but seriosuly,ask about and phone people,talk talk talk.Scoop up as many right click and save pics you can and think.

I have been accused of running a re occuring theme several times over but ill maintain its what i like most,and no two cars allow you to pull off the same thing over and over wihtout a twist.So i have run it for 3 cars now and if you look at them side by side,you will see a massive difference in impact and tweaks on the theme each time.

so i personally know what i want from the outset,but every project gives you a new way to make it happen.

Asking for opinions is fine to some degree,but as of an earlier blog,dont let others literally dictate if its fine or not.If you cant judge for yourself what you like,you are basically screwed lol

The skies the limit

So heres another food for thought and one i know most of us have entertained.
If money was no object and we're talking big lottery win here,or perhaps a cheeky £45m on the euro lotto!!


So you have bought the AM or maybe splashed on a Lambo,Ferrari,Porsche etc and now your keen on doing some big things to your everyday car that took so damn much to make happen.

All the overtime and saving,ball busting to get the bits done and now you can practically click your fingers and get it done...LARGE!!

Thinking so far outside the box you can now easily get a rear wheel or all wheel drive system made to your spec.You can actually have a hand in co-designing the requirements and spec of some tech gear for the car.
Have pieces made one off and get firms to tool up for one run!! And you never know,you could get into this with such a passion you could even stamp then with your own branding and sell them on for cheap as chips money to fellow car modders all across the UK who are paying way too much to get the job done.

Ok,so you might not take the Robin Hood ethos to the car modifying world but you can def get some parts on the car that no one else has done.Your imagination is now your only weakness so with all those Mil in hand,dont let yourself done.

Just think,it means having one off wheels designed by you,cut for you and then presented to you alone.You have seen brakes on something but want them converted for yours,...job done.

Any paint job of any colour and as many coats as it takes.

I know deep down i would leave this mondie in the wings for at least the first year while i thrashed the dream car out of my system.And when my feet came back down to earth i would really settle into a big project.

The overwhelming problem is not the result but the sheer possible rejection from everyone in the community who would resent a big million pound build more than they detest 'cheque book' cars already.So imagine that amplified 100 fold.

But heres your connection i think.When you do make parts as mentioned above,you can offer deals and help people out to bridge the gap when it comes to specialist needs.
Put as much back into the scene as you are taking out and i think you could strike a balance.....In the absense of balance you are going to look a giant schmuck and just another rich tosser.And we have enough of those in this country we dont need another one....

Id def consider a 4x4 conversion on the 220.As much as i love the wheels id get 20" one off rims make from a design id work over for as long as it takes.
Custom suspension and full adjustable allround.

Id take a long time to think over the paint.Either re done to a very high standard or a one off paint nicely mixed from a few other ideas.

It could take a couple of years to really get sunk into but imagine what you could achieve.I think getting so involved would result in a line of wheels not just one set lol and lots of one off part ideas for what people were crying out for.

ok so maybe there would be a little Robin Hood going on,but that kind of money is pretty sick if you dont feed it back into the world and share it.

Ding dong the wheels are on!!!!

Finally got the wheels of my choice bolted to the car.

Opted for Dotz roadsters in 19" x 8 fitment and by eck there hitting the spot for me.
I knew it would work but didnt know what they would look like in the flesh and thankfully,the pics didnt lie as they sometimes do when buying bits and pieces.

It does mean another chapter to complete next year but i feel this will be the final one.Id like to run it and show for as long as possible and providing petrol doesnt rise to £2 per litre,fingers crossed we will run it for a good while longer lol

anyhoo,heres some updated pics

Can i have chips with that?

The elusive world of 'chipping' now theres a hot bed of discussion that arises each and every day on car forums.

Mine is a car equipped with an OBD-II port much like a lot of cars from the early naughties onwards and it provides you with a means to diagnose and also interestingly,to tune.

Ive spent a lot of time (like i always do),researching facts and figures,opinions and then weighing up all the facts omitted,to conclude what option to take when it came to flashing a new map onto the 220.

Now despite the fact the dreamscience unit seems to be a very comprehensive blighter you cant ignore a couple of key facts.
It costs £500 delivered,its gone out of production from now onwards so future support is limited to non existent,its still generic.

Ive tuned a few cars now to various stages but always emphasised them to be fastroad cars rather than mind shaking track weapons.Mainly cos my budget has never allowed for the mega cash sums required for such toys,but i also appreciate the confine of what its supposed to achieve in every day terms of what the limits of said track car can be too.

I tuned a couple of escorts and on both occasions used a datek unichip to dish out more precise orders.This time round i have taken the plunge into the world of handheld ECU flashing and opted for a bluefin by superchips.

But why use a generic map over custom like a unichip?

Well what i found is you need substancial mods to make sense of a custom map and when you literally bolt on a couple of very low key mods like filters and exhausts,this rarely demands anything so specific.

The only complete worrying variable everyone seems to overlook is the engine build and possible losses thru the build and/or running losses elsewhere.

Hence the time honoured exclamation 'my car made XXX but my mates made XXX' and we are both running the same setup,how come?

So once you have factored in build losses which can be easily explained by the smallest variation in piston size for example,clutch and box condition,binding brakes etc,you can see why a generic map might not cater for all and for some its an actual power loss to s significant degree.

We started our quest many months back by having the cars power measured and compared it with cars on the day that had rolling road runs elsewhere and were making the same power on the day we ran.
Seemed a good 'control' to use and it seems to be as solid as you will get.
We used a hub dyno which obviously doesnt suffer from idiosynchrocies a traditional rolling road does,ie:tyre pressure and strapping pressure.

You can still manipulate a run with braking and a few other little tricks but for the sake of argument,it felt like it was going to be the most accurate figure i will get imo.
And we achieved 240bhp and 217lbs torque.Not a DTC in sight and fuelling was pretty good all the way thru with a minor dip up high and slight rise down below.

So after having this info i have installed the bluefin and tried to take it as objectively as i could.It cost me £234 versus £300 for a lot of flash installs and DS charge £500 for the unit as said above or £300 for a flash install at there HQ in Hull.

It feels lively low down and by god you feel the smoothness of this map across the range.midrange pickup is notable and it generally feels like its shaken off a cold you never knew it had in the first place.

So ok,it was favourable for me but i have heard numerous feedback comments suggesting it hasnt done a damn thing for some others and i still believe this game of chance is down to the above.build losses and anomalies related to mileage,fuel type and quality,mechanical failure etc.

i have yet to roll this car to see how the power has changed but im fully expecting the biggest gain to be the maps delivery of which as said,is stunning.
well worth the £234 but for someone else?? who knows.
It is a game of chance without doubt as generic mapping will always remain hit and miss.

Im not a firm believer that a panel filter and a off the shelf exhaust pulls a decent figure.i think fully enclosed breathing one way or another is the only way to go.
standard box restriction plays a key part as does exhaust systems that arent sufficiently tested for the car as a few milltek owners will tell you on rolling road day.
a decent set of new plugs and leads and no fault codes is a good starting point.
knowing your car completely is also a key way to understand whats happening when you change something too.

I think a custom map on the trusty unichip may well have found a more pinpoint figure but i now weigh up the overall costs and balance whats a sensible outlay and what i will actually get in return.More so than every before as i have spent a crazy amount over the years buying many different filters,exhausts,boost valves....you name it i tried it lol.

had over a dozen rolling road runs with various cars and attended a lot of rolling road club days with different cars and models.Enough to say i can see a pattern forming when it comes to power modifications on naturally aspirated cars.

ie:go get yourself a turbo if you want gains lol

We have seen before and after figures for decats,chips,systems and manifold mods,flowed heads,wild as you can cams,balanced bottom ends complete with lighter flywheels and uprated clutchs and ATB's and you would be very surprised at how dissappointing these figures have been for the large part.

So all i can say is whata i said earlier.know your own car and dont be too upset if it doesnt respond like one in a magazine or your mates car.1/1000 is the going belief to hit a blueprint build by sheer accident lol so no major shock if one engine runs so far under another

Big wheel,little wheel cardboard box!!

Im scratching my noggin trying to make up my mind about the right wheels to go for.
Im down to a couple of finalists for this but cant help wishing this god forsaken wheel size was slightly better catered for.Doesnt seem to be a massive amount of affordable options.

And by this i mean the continental and US import wheels are horrifically priced and er....styled on occasion lol.

So i need 5 x 108 with an ET ranging from 52 right down to 40 at the absolute max but ideally 45.Wheel width not exceeding 8.5" and in some cases with the wrong offset combo,this is still going to cause issues.

Zee germans really do make a mighty fine rim but there either the wrong side of 2 grand or impossible to get hold of.

I think im dead set on 19" wheels but possibly not the RS focus wheels anymore due to them becoming very popular,secondly there actually alot of money when you price up tyres and spacers that are required....and thirdly do they look just a bit too OEM considering the way 220 wheels look anyway?

Yup thats what i thought lol.