3b upgrade advice needed

[damomcgrath]

hi guys,i want to upgrade my 3b coupe after the christmas and im looking for advice as where is best to start.the car will be used mainly as a weekend car and it mite get out on the track once a year if im lucky.im thinking replace all the boost hoses as ive a boost leak somewhere,upgrade to elipsoids.upgrade the brakes and mabey do an aby coil conversion.i also want to replace the shocks but im not looking to go for anything too pricy.can any one point me in the right direction of what parts are best to get and where to get them,thanks

[K Simmonds]

I'd start by getting the chassis sorted, so wishbone/sub-frame bushes, gearbox/diff/engine mounts as well as the shocks/springs and ball joints/track-rod ends. You don't necessarily need to replace everything I've listed there but you do need to take a good look at it all and make a list of what the priority's are. Also it's good practice to replace components in pairs, so for instance if one front bottom ball joint has play I'd replace both of them unless I know the other one is nearly new.

Engine wise start by getting the car running as it should, plugs, leads, dissy cap and rotor arm all need to in top order, no real need to convert to coils unless your planning at least RS2 level upgrades. Replace all the small bore pipe work and any suspect hoses, I use good quality 4mm Diesel leak off pipe for the small bore stuff, the whole lot can be done for less than tenner. I use tiny jubilee clips instead of the single use OE crimp type fastenings, some of them are hard to get at with a crimping tool plus they can be reused. If the knock sensors are falling to pieces (quite common on old 3B's) then replace them as well as any other decaying sensors, clean the earth points and inspect everything electrical closely. Consider removing the sump and cleaning out any nasties, I found enough cr@p in mine to make me glad I went to the trouble of removing it. Get a basic version of VAG-COM and make sure you have no hidden faults.

The brakes should really have been at the start of this list, I've rebuilt the original set up and it's OK for standard power levels but really needs properly upgrading (4 pots/discs) for anything more.

[sidrick]

You don't ask for much

From my own 3B experience:

Ellipsoids - They appear 2nd hand a lot. Always easier to deal with people on here rather than eBay though.
Hoses - I got my boost hose kit from Roose. Pricey, but all hose kits are. Quality items, quality service and they did free postage when I asked for it
Brakes - 996 conversion. Loads of info in the stickies in the brakes section. Basically A8 discs, Bambridge (user on here) caliper carriers, Porsche 996 calipers and pads.
Coil conversion - This is something I looked into, and as with the above there's a lot of info if you use the search function, but I decided to keep the dizzy. I've experienced no issues with it, apparently it's good for decent power, and I hear a lot more people moaning about coils than I do dizzys

[quattrostyle]

I agree with above

When you get to the engine compartment I have a cheap hybrid KKK turbo for sale from a SMS Revo setup, able to deliver more than 300 bhp but less than what a RS2 turbo is capable of.

[Rusty]

Convert it to ABY ECU with coil packs and then chip it to 280-290bhp. As you suggest, make sure that it's not leaking boost etc. More than enough power to make decent progress with

Chassis, brakes, tyres, exhaust and seats are all going to make a massive different on track and for fast road, safe driving. No point having 500bhp and stock chassis & brakes!

[simon20vq]

I'm with SIDRICK.
Roose hoses and a homefry will see you good for 270BHP. My dizzy set up has been fine just make sure HT leads & cap are in good nick. Also make sure you have a 10mm rotor arm not 12mm to limit spark hop.

[damomcgrath]

thanks to everyone for the advice.im thinking first thing on order will be the hoses,does anyone know the cost of having the homefry chips installed and does anyone on the form do it aswel.think i mite forget about the coil pack conversion for now and stick to the dizzy set up but replace the gear on it to a stronger one.is there any good cheaper break set up for the front rather than the 996 conversion as i hear its pretty expensive.
@quattrostyle.what sort of price is on that turbo.

[sidrick]

If you search Bikerjim's posts then I think he details a brake set-up on his non-s2 coupe that would be cheaper than the Porsche option, however, everything on these cars (especially a good brake setup) is expensive if you want to do it right.

[AndyP]

Coil conversion - This is something I looked into, and as with the above there's a lot of info if you use the search function, but I decided to keep the dizzy. I've experienced no issues with it, apparently it's good for decent power, and I hear a lot more people moaning about coils than I do dizzys

I'm still running the dizzy at around 400hp and it's fine. I have all the parts to do the coilpack conversion in the garage but that's probabley where they are staying!

[damomcgrath]

I'm still running the dizzy at around 400hp and it's fine. I have all the parts to do the coilpack conversion in the garage but that's probabley where they are staying!

ill be sticking to the dizzy by the looks of it so.and concentrate on other areas
what do you guys think of these lights as an alternative to elipsoids
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/360800616328?...84.m1423.l2648.

[quattrostyle]

Tonks has them and agreed on a silver coupe they do look quite nice. However for a few extra quid you can buy an used set DE's in good nick.

[Tonks4x4]

I bought those lights 4 years ago when they were £140 delivered.

They give a much much better light than the original projector lamps. And contrary to what they say on the box I used HID's in them for 4 years and nothing melted as they are all plastic.

But have now reverted back to standard lamps just to have the OE look.


Tonks4x4 - The Land Rover Specialist

[Monkeymagic]

For me i went for kw1 coilovers poly bushed the lower arms with all new topmounts.
I did the 996 conversion with 323mm discs and a new bomb.
I also did the polysnub mount from rusty and gear stick short shift. (Mk1 golf bits)
I am running the dizzy with no problems
The car is so much more together with the above mods... love it.

[Monkeymagic]

Oh and ellipsoids which do give better lighting and brighten the front end.

[Ross]

Best fun I had was in my old 3B coupe... lots of fun to be had there, without the need to go for silly power in my opinion.

When I bought mine it had the 996 conversion fitted, not sure how much it's changed but you could do it for £500 back then. Half of that was calipers.

Already had boost hoses for reliability, I put another £500 into shocks & springs and replaced the anti roll bars. Suddenly it handled remarkably and I could throw it around with real confidence.

Then I fitted ellipsoids + HIDs which was a revelation - literally at night!

3" exhaust went on which opened up the power a little more, with a 7A exhaust cam it was pushing 1.5bar remapped and approx 300hp on the standard turbo.