How ya doin peeps? My name is Adrian, im 20 and live in the Hills of Western Australia. Been lurking around here for a few days and joined up a day or two ago and just been waiting to go through the moderation queue. Been lurking ever since i got my Magna on Xmas morning, yes im one spoilt SOB. I woke up on Xmas morning to a set of keys to an white 03 Magna ES. I dont exactly have to pay it off but i dont get any presents for birthdays and and xmas' but i want to pay my parents back once i start earning some decent money. My dad works for DVG in the service department and picked up the car from there. Its an ex Govt (Child Services Car) and is clean as a whistle although the k's are a little high but its never missed a service. Book price was $17990, but we picked it up for $12500 with the tinting and one year full comp insurance. Not bad imo.

Anyway its basically stock standard apart from the Midnight Express tinting my dad got done for me, but i got a few plans but i dont really wanna go overboard or lose any driveability or comfort in doing so. Plans are as follow:

-Stereo
-Rims
-Lowered
-Barry's Kits
-K&N Panel Filter
-Full Exhaust

The only thing thats for sure is the panel filter and the stereo, im not sure about the rest as im unsure how any of the rest will affect warranty and comfort. Ive been doing a bit of research and i think that if i was going to lower it i would go with Lovell Lows or SuperLows as from what ive read they are the most comfortable lowering springs. If i do get it lowered ill def get rims, probalby 17" or 18", dont want anything huge and $$$. The performance side is the one i need to do more reseach in, any extra ponies would be good but i dont wanna go full out and lose the luxury aspect of the car. If i was to get the exhaust done id probably go for a RPW system or Pacemaker's with redback zorst and high flow cat.

The worst thing is that its alll gotta be okayed by the old man, as he works in a service dept and has been involved with cars all his life he is skeptical on any kind of modding, apart from stereo and exhaust stuff.

Anyway just thought id say hi while im still recovering from New Years and Boxing Day haha, and just see what some of you thought of the plans and if anyone has any advice im all ears. Def interested in getting involved and going on some cruises and what not.

My previous car was a 1983 SY Honda Accord 3rd, i had a custom 2 1/4" exhaust put on her and a Pioneer HU, with Pioneer front plsits and panasonic 6x9's. Twas a good runabout for 3 years but now its time to let her go.

We,come to the club.....dont spose ya parents wanna adopt an ol fart???lol lol :D

welcome to the club mate :D
where abouts in WA are ya?
if you lower your car you void your warranty on suspesion components, well i think you do :confused:
as for the K&N filter just get a panel filter model no. 33-2151

I live in Parkerville, which is right next to Mundaring, i imagine if ur in WA u know where that is.

Thats what i thought in regards to lowering, but im not fully up to date with the whole 5/10 warranty thing. I was told that as im the second owner i only get the 5 year bumper to bumper warranty and not the 10yr drive train or whateva it is. I have to ask dad but i aint seen him much in the last few days, been at my girls house, house sitting for her family while they are away.

Its due for a service in about 1000k's so ill get dad to get me a K&N filter and slap that in. Mainly i just what something i can cruise along in, i go to Curtin uni and its a bit of a long travel from my house to bentley, so not looking to make it a rocket, just a nice cruise-mobile.

Im thinking of going with a touch screen HU, decent set of splits, some 6x9's for rear fill, a decent 12" sub with a monoblock and a 2 or 4channel amp for the splits and possibly the 6x9's. Ive been waiting for 3 years for a car that i can actually put a decent ICE system in :D:D:D

welcome noob LOL dont worry so am i you said it has high KM's how high u call high, and im sorry to tell u that unless you go through that place that un defects car what eva u cant get 18" rims unless u want to get defected magnas are plated for 15" and u can only go 2 inches over that soz mate but many ppl have go huge rims on there magnas as well, me i think 17" are big enough.

i thought magna's were plated for 16", oh well ill stick to a set of 17" if i ever do get rims. High k's is 70k, but from what ive seen its fairly average for an ex govt car. its had all services up and until now which has put my mind at ease.

Hi :D

Nice gift... i got scratchies lol . But i wouldnt knock it back either :D Welcome to the forums.

ONLY 70,000kms dam thats low my car is a ex fleet car from CBC and it had 135,000 when i got it, and yes sorry to say we are only plated for 15inch the verada might be different but doubt it.

ONLY 70,000kms.

Ey buddy Welcome to the Club :D... Arrgghhh 70G is only just being run in ;) After 8 years I have just clicked over 170000, and the car is still going strong, like I keep on saying, treat her well and you'll get heaps in return..

Treat them well ride em hard and they will be with u till the end :bowrofl:
I wish i only had 70,000 on the clock im up to 152,000

Haha cheers for the encouragement and the welcomes, i am looking to stay around for a long while.

I thought it was a little high, not extremely high, just a little, but it seems it isn't really. When we bought my first car (83 SY Accord 3dr) it only had 160k on it, now its done over 260k and thats with being at school/tafe/uni for the last 3 years.

Well i was talkin to dad today, and i completely forgot that seeing its an 03 magna i missed out on the 5/10 warranty so aint gotta worry bout that. The warranty it did have has gone and seeing as dad bought it wholesale we dont actually get any warranty from DVG but thats not a huge deal as i stated previously said he works for DVG and my uncle also works for DVG in the service department, a mitsu specific dealership to, so services and repairs wont be anywhere near what the average joe pays. Gotta love the persk of having lots of family in the auto trade :D.

Anyway while i was talkin to dad we got started talking about modifications and he really doesnt want me doing anything, well basically he said no, apart from ICE and rims so for the moment ill stick to that, mainly the stereo as im sick of the stock system already. It may change in the future but for now im happy to go with that, after all they did buy it for me.

hey mate welcome to the club:D
the wa amc guys(and every1 on the amc) are great for all your help and needs be sure to check out the wa forum if ya havnt already
hint:if ya wana see wat a magna looks like lowered,big mags,sick stereo and a kit check out my thread in the wa forum or do a search for hamish2(or just check out my profile) :D
be sure to let me know if ya cruise down south mate:)

Welcome to the club you got any pics of your car to show us

Well i can tell you this about your rims: You can still go up to a 19 legally in WA. This model of car came fitted with 17"s as a factory option. Although some may say that you can only go up by 2" as per the plate. But take it to the pits with 19's, and you'll be fine, as long as theyve got the correct tyres (and tread) on them. you WILL need to get it lowered before putting rims on though as it will look very odd.

Springs will set you back 200 odd bucks for lovells. Personnaly recommend going super low with rims, but its up to you, depending on curbs. I have Super Lows, n stock 17" Ralliart rims, and dont have too many probs at all, Just dont go bush basing, and you'll be fine :P

New headunit is def the way to go as the stock is a piece of Cr*p.

Congrats on the Prezzie, Just dont do be too hard on the auto, otherwise you'll be visiting your uncle at the service Dept pronto, Like i did with my previous TJ (2.5 Auto boxes)

DVG Midland isnt in my fan books, as they did bugger all to help me out, even though it was still in warranty... lets just leave it at that hey. i love my current car, thats all that matters.

Any pics for us to see? hopefully see you at our next event

Ill take some pics tomorrow as its a bit dark out.

Dad has basically said Stereo only for the moment. It will probably change in about a year which i can live with. Gotta respect the old mans wishes seen as my parents bought me the car.

My unlce works in the back so i doubt you would of dealt with him, however ppl at some DVG places, like all dealerships, are asses.

Bit of an update. My dads on holidays from work so been hanging around a lot together and hes been watching me surf AMC. Anyway been talking about the audio install. Hes gonna try and get me some tweeter pods from a rada so i can mount some tweeters very clean like. ALso looking like ill get myself some Jaycar 6" or 6.5" splits depending on what size i can fit in which we will know when i open up the door panels or see it in someone elses ES. Then for the rears im looking for some Megavox 6x9's, i saw these in a 6x9 shootout in a Autosalon magazine and they came in 2nd out of 23 and were said to be the best bang for buck, at that point retailing for $140. It was from Issue 37 for any of those interested. From then on its a new HU and a amp & sub.

Plus tonight i was flicking through some Autosalon mags showing him a very mad Spoon S2K (both have a sof spot for Hondas) and saw an add for a try shop advertizing rims and he says to me "You should slap some rims on your car, magnas look good with rims". Caught me a bit off guard, seems that he old man is eezing up slowly. Hehehe.

EDIT:

If i have time tomorrow me and the old man are gonna detail my car, if we do ill take some snaps of her and post them up.

Hiya, Oxford. Welcome to the forums.

Yeah, air filter easy thing to do. Just drop it in. Plus saves you money when you service it as you don't have to replace it. All you have to do is recharge it using the K&N Recharge kit.

That was the first mod (if you want to call it so) that I did, took less than 1 minute. Reckons it drives a bit better. This is by comparing with my wife's magna (same model and series), the engine revs were lower at 100km/h then hers. Not sure if this is accurate, but she also comment that more responsive.

Have you considering dropping in a strut brace? Help firm up the car while turning, doesn't void warranty or insurance (checked with my dealership/insurance agent)

Hope it helps.

Ive thought about it, but im not really fussed atm by the way the car handles, maybe in the future, but i dont wanna do anything thats gonna make her uncomfortable to drive, as i do a lot of driving. Insurance is the only thing i have to worry about atm, no warranty left on the car. ATM im foccusing on doing the interior and ICE. Got a system planned out, just waiting for the funds, chucking in a load of verada bits and pieces hopefully as well.