$7k upgrade to TJII VR-X

[krisisagemini]

Brakes, 380 are fine with non slotted rotors, I have slotted on my 380 and non slotted on my wagon, both are as good as each other and I would not waste my money with slotted

Headers, HM are in my opinon better, are bolt on, heat sheilds get retained and do not crack, aside from this Pace Maker need to have the engine pipe welded AND they often crack and scrape

Mounts, poly are ok if you dont mind the feeling the motor is welded to the chassis, a good set of rubber mounts will suffice a fairly std car

Oxy sensor, new OEM is only $135, I would not waste time soldering and mucking around then a genuine bolt in item is not expensive anyway

IF you decide to play with the car feel free to shoot me an email and I can price everything for you in so far as mechanical items go, with the Audio I agree the JVC is a great unit, I ahve several of them across my cars and have never been let down by them

Thanks, Mal - you've been very highly recommended to me for when/if I decide to proceed with this, so you're tops on my list of contacts now .

PS RE: slotted rotors - I kinda want the slotted mainly for show more than anything else. They are more attractive, plus I guess they'd come in a bit handy more than vented in Mackay's forever-wet weather and horrid roads.

[mattgreen]

do the HM headers have a different shape? the pace makers i had on my TE hung down to the ground. was by far the lowest part of the car!

+1 for the look of slotted rotors. gives it that expensive look, are they much more expensive?

[Red Valdez]

What's your suspension like? If you're still on standard suspension, or if it's a bit dodgy, I'd go for new springs and shocks. My King springs + KYB shocks are still one of my favourite mods to my VR-X - although if I was to upgrade these days, I'd be looking at Dobinson springs and Boge shocks. Personally I'd go for good suspension over the 380 cams and even the extractors.

Also if you're going to the trouble of installing extractors and a catback exhaust, I'd probably add a high-flow cat converter to the mix - they're <$200 + fitting. The performance gains are debatable, but if you're upgrading the rest of your exhaust, I'd change it over - they do deteriorate over time.

I wouldn't get too worked up over the slotted rotors. They do look cool, but they look a bit weird since the front brakes (even on the 380s) aren't that big. I reckon it's only worth drawing attention to your brakes if you've got something serious to show off (e.g. Brembos or K-Sports). Don't forget good pads too. I've got the 380 upgrade with non-slotted RDA rotors and QFM HPX pads (through Mits-fix) and am quite happy with them. The pads make it though - they're not too dusty for a performance pad, but you can give them a good flogging without fade.

[HaydenVRX]

If you are not a mechanic get a 380 engine rather then 380 cams. Much better value

[UN1STRUT aka Thomas]

O2 Sensor cost me $50 posted, and an hour under the car

[Saffire VRX]

Wise move

I was thinking of selling my VRX for a new car, but realised by the time i do stamp duty, and sell mine for no where near whats its worth i will only put myself into debt again, considering ive just paid off all my debts i can now get the car serviced and fix a few things on it

Which will be

Respray the rear spoiler (clear is peeling)

Full 200k service

Get the windows re-tinted as the old tint is just crap and rear screen is blurry

Give the car a full polish and detail

Being 10 years old they are still a good looking car and go well, not many around on the VRX range in good nick.

The stereo is all done, I changed the headunit to a....Yes double din JVC which works a treat, i have pioneer speakers all round (splits up front) and 6 x 9's in the rear, Alpine amps and 2 x Eclipse 12" subs in the boot!!