Newby here - Pimp my ride

[RoosterWA]

Hi All,
First post so be nice.
Great forum you have here.
I have a 2004 KL Verada GTVi. Which i use for long country driving.
I was considering a supercharger or turbo upgrade but now think its not worth the money it would cost me.
I'd prefer to get the car repainted instead i think.

My question is, what engine upgrades should i do or could i do to get the most out of the car?

Maybe one day i'd consider a supercharger but for the moment i think i'd rather spend $5000 on just improving the stock motor rather than $10K plus on the big jobs.

Any links to previous threads about this or advice greatly appreciated.

What are people doing to tweak the KL motors!??
Headers?
Filters?
Cam's?
Exhausts?
Red paint?

[TL Wagon]

Do a search on a 380 engine conversion. This is probably the best bang for buck rather than add ons to the existing motor.

[Red Valdez]

My question is, what engine upgrades should i do or could i do to get the most out of the car?

Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should do same...

As TL Wagon said a 6G75 conversion is the best bang for buck upgrade if you want to get more killerwasps out of your 3rd gen.

GTVi will already have a free flowing rear muffler so there's bugger all gains to be had by adding a cat back exhaust. Extractors will make a bit of a difference but arguably aren't worth it (not for $1k+ on a car that's worth $5k...). Stock air intake isn't a restriction either.

If you do a lot of country driving I'd be inclined to lower it slightly, put a set of Koni shocks in, invest in some HID/projector headlights, and enjoy the drive.

[RoosterWA]

Thanks guys.
To ask the obvious question.
Why is the 380 engine conversion worth doing?
Is it really that much better that the GTVi engine?
Thanks again...much appreciated.

I like the idea of lowering it a bit...

I've been searching the forum for headlight threads but cant seem to find the right one. Where would i buy the HID/projector headlights you speak of?

Cheers

[Red Valdez]

Why is the 380 engine conversion worth doing?
Is it really that much better that the GTVi engine?

You'd be looking at about a 20-30kw atw increase in power by doing the conversion. Bit hard to say precisely given a lot of members don't get their cars dynoed afterwards.

The 6G75 in the 380 doesn't seem that impressive (i.e. only 12kw at the fly more than a late model 6G74) but it's severely restricted by the standard exhaust setup. For what it's worth Kif's 380 was dyno'd at 163kw atw back when it was N/A and that was essentially with extractors, exhaust and a tune.

The other benefit is that because you are inserting an unmodified motor into your car there's no concerns with reliability or servicing that you may otherwise have with forced induction.

I've been searching the forum for headlight threads but cant seem to find the right one. Where would i buy the HID/projector headlights you speak of?

www.theretrofitsource.com

There's a little bit of work involved in a retrofit but it's not too hard. If you do a lot of night highway driving though you won't be able to go back - I know I can't.

[RoosterWA]

Legend. Thanks!

I reckon i'll go for the 380 conversion.

Now to find someone in Perth to do it. I've had a couple of quotes ranging from $2000 to $7000!

Has anyone in Perth done a 380 conversion? What did it cost them?

[fordy_4]

Legend. Thanks!

I reckon i'll go for the 380 conversion.

Now to find someone in Perth to do it. I've had a couple of quotes ranging from $2000 to $7000!

Has anyone in Perth done a 380 conversion? What did it cost them?

Numerous members have.

Welcome, I'm the WA rep for AMC.

In regard to the supercharger, I've found something for you: https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/leede...dan/1076109688

Buy one with it already done...

Whilst I haven't had a 380 conversion done to my TW VRX, one of the members has had it done to their TW AWD LS and it out-paces mine. Even though mine is a manual and lighter (being FWD)

The engine, you'll be looking at $1,200 entry level for one with north of 150,000kms up to probably $3,000 with a low 100,00kms and less motor. Mits Fix is your go-to place for all things 380 into Magna

A member on here from WA has done it a couple of times to various Magna's but I'm not sure if he's still doing it now

[Red Valdez]

In regard to the supercharger, I've found something for you: https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/leede...dan/1076109688

Looks like tbb's old car

https://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/sh...215&highlight=

Would be one helluva car (supercharged AWD GTVi.. what's not to like) but it's suspiciously cheap...

[fordy_4]

And going off what Red Valdez was saying about the HID's, yes they're great but the TL/TW headlights are very large and retro fitting them will beg the question whether it's worth it or not.

I've got a set of Phillips Diamond Vision 5000k bulbs I got off eBay from Melbourne, they are fine for me and I drive at night most nights of the week. If your doing country driving at night, upgrade the high beams too and fog lights

[RoosterWA]

Thanks Fordy!

Plenty to think about there.

I want to keep my car as it was a hand me down from my dearly departed mum... :-)

The plan now is:

Have the car repainted (properly)
Front, rear and side skirts. (spoilershop .com)
New 380 conversion
Transmission cooler
Lower suspension (Koni?)
New rims
New Tyres
New 2din stereo
Upgraded headlights (?)
Upgrade tail lights (Spoiler shop)

Any suggestions as to who, how, where and how much on the above list or ideas to include are welcome.

Cheers again.

Roosta