[kiltedbeetle]

I am looking to do some mods, first off will be the suspension. I am looking to replace the springs, struts& shocks, and wanted peoples impressions on the diffrent makes. I am planning on 18" rims, if that matters. I also wanted get some ideas for an ECM upgrade, DV, and misc engine and turbo parts. This is my first turbo, so feel free to talk to me like I am six! I have not had a car in years(every drive is a qualifing lap )because I drive to fast. I ended up with this car by default, but enjoy driving it, and have not the heart to part with it.

I just wanted to add, that this is the fith site of this kind I have joined,(1 for my suburban,3 for my Jeep), and you guys are a great bunch, keep up the good work.

 

[jcroft]

I am looking to do some mods, first off will be the suspension. I am looking to replace the springs, struts& shocks, and wanted peoples impressions on the diffrent makes. I am planning on 18" rims, if that matters. I also wanted get some ideas for an ECM upgrade, DV, and misc engine and turbo parts. This is my first turbo, so feel free to talk to me like I am six! I have not had a car in years(every drive is a qualifing lap )because I drive to fast. I ended up with this car by default, but enjoy driving it, and have not the heart to part with it.

I just wanted to add, that this is the fith site of this kind I have joined,(1 for my suburban,3 for my Jeep), and you guys are a great bunch, keep up the good work.

Hey there...

I'm not a big technical car guy, so I'm afraid I can't answer your questions (but someone here will in no time, I'm sure!), but I did want to say: if you get a chance, send me a private message with the address of your Jeep and Suburban forums. I'd like to see what other car forums are doing to see if there's any great ideas to steal.

Thanks, and welcome!

 

[noR]

given:
18's and you drive fast.

suspension:
Go for coilovers, that'll allow you an adjustable height, and an adjustable damper. So you can have it fast, tight, and rough... and when you take the lady friends out, you can smooth it out a bit.

Get new bearings and bushings when you do the suspension to replace the worn out ones. It'll quiet any funky bumping noises you have, and being 6 yrs old, they're pretty loose by now anyway.

ecu:
APR if you want refined.
Giac if you want brute speed.
Revo, check'm out, may trump giac due to it's adjustability/tuner friendliness.(not for the APH though)
I don't tend to think the others are worth mentioning as they're still small names in a big pond. Dahlback's pretty wild from what I hear, no personal experience though.

DV:
? Get a TT one, get a Forge 007, hyperboost, GFB Hybrid... it doesn't really matter, find something that makes you happy, any differences between them are pretty minimal.

engine/turbo parts:
New motor mounts if you want it more efficient; intake if you wanna be loud; turbo-back exhaust will help scavange power (3" if you wanna change turbo' later, 2.5" if not); fueling, check with your chip-tuner, a 4bar is probably going to be necessary, unless you change injectors.

... Er, '99... I'm ASSUMING you have a 1.8t? If so it's an APH with a sucky non-sport k03, and small injectors; welcome to the club. Keep an eye out for engine codes or years. Some things don't translate well.

 

[CrazyJames]

Nothing to read here, just posting cause the other 2 admins did and I felt strangely obligated.

Best of luck with your upgrades, and welcome to the site.

 

[Toad]

You might of heard of these guys already, but Yarrow Sport in Providence is an Awesome VW/Audi tuning shop.

Thier prices are reasonable, they are the coolest bunch of guys you'll ever meet, thier work is top-notch, and they're an official APR distributor too.

So, if your not as mechanically inclined as me, you can drop by ther after you've got you mod list, and see what they say.

And if you ever want an aftermarket stereo installed, don't hesitate to send a PM my way.

 

[chucksaysword]

You might of heard of these guys already, but Yarrow Sport in Providence is an Awesome VW/Audi tuning shop.

Thier prices are reasonable, they are the coolest bunch of guys you'll ever meet, thier work is top-notch, and they're an official APR distributor too.

So, if your not as mechanically inclined as me, you can drop by ther after you've got you mod list, and see what they say.

And if you ever want an aftermarket stereo installed, don't hesitate to send a PM my way.

Thanks for that link. I live in southeast Massachusetts, and Providence is only 35-40 minutes away. I will definitely have to check them out.

Good luck kiltedbeetle!

 

[Scarab_Beetle]

My advice is always look for deals on stuff. APR makes great products, but $800-1000 for an exhaust is ridiculous... get stuff secondhand from other NB.org members, or the classifieds in Vortex, and keep your eyes peeled on ebay for the little things like intakes and such to avoid wasting money on mods that don't amount to much.

For great bang-for-the-buck software, check out RacespecECU.com, thats what I've been running, and you can see that it competes with all the leading companies performance-wise, at half the cost. They're still setting up the site but you can IM Brian at "Haenszel 28r" on AIM and tell him what you need.

 

[kiltedbeetle]

Re

thanx to all! I will check out that shop in prov. It's great to see some folks from NE. Feel free to pull up and wave if you see a silver NB 1.8T w/ NH veterns plates, a military base sticker, and guy in a camo uniform driving way too fast
Are there any VW/NB events around?
Thanx again

 

[paultakeda]

Suspension recommendations for coilovers are if you plan to do a lot of adjusting. If you want an install and forget, you can spend less on a set of springs and adjustable dampers, or even less than that on springs and fixed rate dampers. The general pricing range would be $1000+ for coilovers, $600-800 for springs and adjustable dampers, and under $500 for spring and fixed rate dampers.

Stuff that can be had on the cheap: piping. This means you can have a local mechanic build you a 2.5" or 3"turboback for cheap. The only things you need to worry about would be the selection of catalytic converter and muffler. These define restriction, decibel level, and tone, and will be up to your preference. The rest is simply piping and I find the pricing for some of the brands egregious. That said, if you want pretty piping with TIG-welding, then yeah, I guess you can pay the extra money for the aesthetics. You can get a high-flow cat and a Borla or Magnaflow muffler mated to a custom made turboback for under $500, installed, instead of spending $1000 + install fees for something shiny.

ECU programming will depend on your plans for the engine, particularly the turbocharger. If you plan to stay stock, then the companies mentioned above (APR/GIAC/RevoTechnik) are readily available, but so are other companies like Neuspeed, RaceSpec, and UPsolute. Look at what they promise to output for what price, then find the one nearest you so you don't have to ship out the ECU. If you plan on a turbo upgrade, then your choices will shift. Unitronic becomes more relevant, as well as ATP turbo and even Neuspeed with their E-05 turbo. This will introduce ancillary parts such as the DV, the spark plugs, the fuel pressure regulator, etc. and may lead to even a new intercooler. A chip along will be $250-600, with ancillaries adding up to a couple hundred. A new turbo and the parts that go with it would obviously jack everything up past $1500.

I wouldn't worry about the intake for now. That's a debatable upgrade, and you can always shove an aftermarket one in there if you decide to.

 

[Toad]

thanx to all! I will check out that shop in prov. It's great to see some folks from NE. Feel free to pull up and wave if you see a silver NB 1.8T w/ NH veterns plates, a military base sticker, and guy in a camo uniform driving way too fast
Are there any VW/NB events around?
Thanx again

There is a BSD (Bay State Dubs) BBQ this weekend in Hanover, MA. Admission is a mealsy $3.

But If there is really enough interest, and I'm always up for it, the three of us south-eastern N.E.N.B.-ers can always just pick a date and hang out, maybe do some cruising, etc...

I'm gettin excited now. There's Local Org-ers!

 

[v-dubed]

psht looks like u dont need me

 

[hannaco]

If you are going to do all that, an injector upgrade is also in order.
Consider getting one of the turbo/injector/exhaust kits. With a kit all the parts are matched so it will work with a minimum of problems.