G'day everyone,

Today I took delivery of a 2007 Series 3 380 SX. After looking for a car in the category and driving similar aged Falcons, Commodores, Aurions, I decided the 380 was the best and that what you get for your bucks was far superior over the others.

I bought the car from a local dealer who deals mainly in ex fleet cars. I noticed while flicking through the service manual that the previous owner was the NSW police department. On closer inspection of the dash and door trim that it was some sort of patrol car as it looks like communication equipment etc has been removed and holes, etc have been filled and covered over. No evidence of removal or decals from the paint or anything like that, it is silver in color so I suspect it was an unmarked car. Not a biggie for me, considering the price I got the car.

Just wondering if anyone knows if there was a special police spec for the 380? I know with other police cars such as the falcon and commo there is a police spec that has extras to increase their performance. Wouldn't mind knowing if I have got a few extra goodies thrown in :hmm:

Welcome aboard too!! No special spec for NSW police 380's. Correct that it was unmarked, probably D's or admin jobby which means that it wouldn't have been flogged as hard too lol. Have a look at the threads about the 90mm intake modifications and lower resonator modifications. This will make your car heaps better. There is probably very few here that haven't done them.

Thanks mate, good to know it probably hasn't been flogged too hard....

I have had a look in the mod threads, some very good info in there. I have already bought a 90mm Galant intake and a K&N filter off Ebay lol....

Welcome to the Club.

You have purchased what many regard as the best quality constructed vehicle ever by an Australian car manufacturer.

But don't tell everyone, (Mitsubishi managed to keep it a secret from all the buyers out there)....lol

welcome to club. i am new with 380 my self but done some mods in the short time. snorkel, bottom resonator mod, kn filter, kings lows - very nice drive...

Welcome to the club

Welcome, mate.

QLD police used around 20 cars for a short period. One was written off when another police car hit it in the side...
Fairly sure there were no special mods for the ones here.

Thanks all for the welcome and the info. I have read through alot of the threads on technical improvements and will start with the snorkel / filter / bottom resonator mods and take it from there.

I'll let you know how I go!

welcome to the club! 380's were clearly superior, hence they did not need go fast mods to catch the baddies :happy:

NSW police spec cars had a more robust brake rotor and pad thats about it

NSW police spec cars had a more robust brake rotor and pad thats about it

Yeah I thought of the Brakes, Ages ago they just used to fit a really hard pad, that would destroy discs quite quickly, as the gov usually keeps their cars til 60k.

You might find it hard to identify the pad you have, but it might save you a few bucks if you investigate. They do their own maintenance, I'm sure they wouldn't mind your phone call.

Yeah I thought of the Brakes, Ages ago they just used to fit a really hard pad, that would destroy discs quite quickly, as the gov usually keeps their cars til 60k.

You might find it hard to identify the pad you have, but it might save you a few bucks if you investigate. They do their own maintenance, I'm sure they wouldn't mind your phone call.

They don't do their own maintenance in NSW, they outsource it to dealers. Now that Mecha mentions it I do have a faint memory of brake upgrade on them but it wasn't anything significant. Not like the new highway cars that are all fitted with Brembos!!

Welcome to the club from a fellow 2007 series 3 sx owner. Mine's molten red and coming up for two years ownership by me in January. Hasn't missed a beat and is the best finished and performing car I've had. it was also a better buy than anythings else around then.

Well I have completed the airbox / intake mods, I bought a Galant intake and a K&N filter off the bay, took about 3 days for the intake to arrive which was from an aussie seller, and 7 days for the filter to arrive from England (which was excellent I thought, cheep too). I can definitelly notice a diference in throttle response, the biggest diference I can feel is just after shifting into 2nd there is a large kick of power that continues through, where as before I noticed a slight flat spot when shifting from 1st into 2nd. Also fuel usage has gone from around 14l/100k down to around 11l/100k with mostly around town driving, giving it a bit of a boot every now and then :hmm:

So overall, I am very happy with the mods, and with the car overall. Might give the lower resinator mod a go next.

I think you'll find around 100kph the car will stay in fifth when pushed with a reasonable amount throttle instead of dropping straight back to fourth. That was my experience.

Can I have the Ebay link for the Galant intake and K&N filter please?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mitsubishi-380-high-flow-air-intake-snorkel-galant-/150535991657?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item230ca4f169

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mitsubishi-380-high-flow-air-intake-snorkel-galant-/150535991657?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item230ca4f169

Nice. The seller knows all about our simple mods (even the warranty fears). Someone from here?

Nice. The seller knows all about our simple mods (even the warranty fears). Someone from here?

Dont know that he is from here,but he drives a gold VR-X 380 and even personally delivered my intake to me when i ordered last year,nice guy.

Dont know that he is from here,but he drives a gold VR-X 380 and even personally delivered my intake to me when i ordered last year,nice guy.

That's good for new members/380 owners wanting to do this. It was much harder and took longer when I got mine (from that US Ray Reece website).

Thanks for the link, bought an intake and K&N filter, waiting for delivery

I think you'll find around 100kph the car will stay in fifth when pushed with a reasonable amount throttle instead of dropping straight back to fourth. That was my experience.

That is pretty much what I have noticed too, it seems to stay in a higher gear when cruising or accelerating from higher speeds. Would this indicate an increase in torque?

Definitely.

G'day everyone,

Today I took delivery of a 2007 Series 3 380 SX. After looking for a car in the category and driving similar aged Falcons, Commodores, Aurions, I decided the 380 was the best and that what you get for your bucks was far superior over the others.

I bought the car from a local dealer who deals mainly in ex fleet cars. I noticed while flicking through the service manual that the previous owner was the NSW police department. On closer inspection of the dash and door trim that it was some sort of patrol car as it looks like communication equipment etc has been removed and holes, etc have been filled and covered over. No evidence of removal or decals from the paint or anything like that, it is silver in color so I suspect it was an unmarked car. Not a biggie for me, considering the price I got the car.

Just wondering if anyone knows if there was a special police spec for the 380? I know with other police cars such as the falcon and commo there is a police spec that has extras to increase their performance. Wouldn't mind knowing if I have got a few extra goodies thrown in :hmm:
Hey mate and welcome....

My first 380 was a black VRX and was also an ex police car, i suspected an un marked highway patrol and let me tell you, that car was not a standard 380 i have no idea what they did but my god did it hammer when you put your foot down, the standrad 380 has a goverend speed limiter of about 205 which all standard 380's sold to the public and leasing companies got, this car kept gaining speed at 240 and still felt like it was pulling quiet strong (private road for those of you playing at home) suprisingly tho it was in TOP condition, under carridge was fairly clean of any worrying scraps apart from the front tow hooks which took a bit of a hiding..... Clear tail lights had drill holes drilled out right besides the reverse light where blue and red flashing lights were installed by the police and were just covered up by some black electrical tape which was a little dodgey but wasnt worried about. If your 380 as an unmarked D's car got the same mods as my black VRX then you have got one special 380, my only regret is selling that car and not swapping the ECU into my GT :(

Hey mate and welcome....

My first 380 was a black VRX and was also an ex police car, i suspected an un marked highway patrol and let me tell you, that car was not a standard 380 i have no idea what they did but my god did it hammer when you put your foot down, the standrad 380 has a goverend speed limiter of about 205 which all standard 380's sold to the public and leasing companies got, this car kept gaining speed at 240 and still felt like it was pulling quiet strong (private road for those of you playing at home) suprisingly tho it was in TOP condition, under carridge was fairly clean of any worrying scraps apart from the front tow hooks which took a bit of a hiding..... Clear tail lights had drill holes drilled out right besides the reverse light where blue and red flashing lights were installed by the police and were just covered up by some black electrical tape which was a little dodgey but wasnt worried about. If your 380 as an unmarked D's car got the same mods as my black VRX then you have got one special 380, my only regret is selling that car and not swapping the ECU into my GT :(

If you are talking about NSW then it wouldn't have been a highway patrol as they didn't use them as that or at least I never heard of or saw one. Also as for mods, the highway cars up until recently ran the standard brakes, which they cooked the rotors regularly. they now have brembos. You may have either got a really good motor in it or a dud in the GT. I cant see them throwing money at a FWD.

Hey mate and welcome....

My first 380 was a black VRX and was also an ex police car, i suspected an un marked highway patrol and let me tell you, that car was not a standard 380 i have no idea what they did but my god did it hammer when you put your foot down, the standrad 380 has a goverend speed limiter of about 205 which all standard 380's sold to the public and leasing companies got, this car kept gaining speed at 240 and still felt like it was pulling quiet strong (private road for those of you playing at home) suprisingly tho it was in TOP condition, under carridge was fairly clean of any worrying scraps apart from the front tow hooks which took a bit of a hiding..... Clear tail lights had drill holes drilled out right besides the reverse light where blue and red flashing lights were installed by the police and were just covered up by some black electrical tape which was a little dodgey but wasnt worried about. If your 380 as an unmarked D's car got the same mods as my black VRX then you have got one special 380, my only regret is selling that car and not swapping the ECU into my GT :(

Spoke to the brother about that.

They didn't build any special 6G75's for the police, they simply upped the rev limiter and a few oher tweaks here and there.

(easily had enough power to apprehend all but the most determined speed freak, in spite of being a crappy, useless FWD)

Pretty sure they didn't have a KN filter or LED's...maybe that's where they went wrong? lol

Spoke to the brother about that.

They didn't build any special 6G75's for the police, they simply upped the rev limiter and a few oher tweaks here and there.

(easily had enough power to apprehend all but the most determined speed freak, in spite of being a crappy, useless FWD)

Pretty sure they didn't have a KN filter or LED's...maybe that's where they went wrong? lol

The obviously didn't cut a big enough hole in their bottom resonator lol

Spoke to the brother about that.

They didn't build any special 6G75's for the police, they simply upped the rev limiter and a few oher tweaks here and there.

(easily had enough power to apprehend all but the most determined speed freak, in spite of being a crappy, useless FWD)

Pretty sure they didn't have a KN filter or LED's...maybe that's where they went wrong? lol

Yes the red leds would have def made it go a lot quicker. a few other tweaks eh. Must have been VICPOL