Hi all,

I must say i'm so happy to have found this site; my mechanic of many a year boss suggested i buy a 380, which i had previously completely overlooked, but now i'm absolutely smitten with.
the big problem, as they say with the 380s, is that they made so little of them. hence, theres next to no parts nor a real 380 culture, as most were destined as fleet cars or to sit pretty in second hand dealerships.

i'm just gonna say, i'm a mechanical noob, though im steadily learning. right now im on an insatiable hunt for guidance and direction on what to do with my new car; aesthetic and performance mods. i'll try and throw this open to anyone who has the know how or a decent idea.

Performance wise, what would you suggest to start on first?

being a p plater and fulfilling some of the stereotype, i immediately thought of an exhaust system; but should i go straight away for a cat back system or start closer to the engine and get some extractors?

im liking the look of putting the gallant and k&n air filter in, thatll be my first stepping stone to mechanical greatness :)

is anyone aware of a decent visual parts store? i would love to put n a chrome grill as in the platinum editions, or score some first series vr-x/gt tail lights

has anyone chipped their car either?

and what are the suggestions for brakes?

so many q's, hopefully many answers

for those that are in a similar position to me, ive found this handy little guide

http://www.rpw.com.au/shop/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202&Itemid=51

happy motoring

is anyone aware of a decent visual parts store? i would love to put n a chrome grill as in the platinum editions, or score some first series vr-x/gt tail lights
Best bet would be to trawl through wreckers to try to find second-hand parts like those. You could buy them new from Mitsubishi spare parts, but they'll charge a fortune.


and what are the suggestions for brakes?
How serious do you want to go with your brakes? A set of QFM HP-X pads (sold by forum sponsor Mits-fix) would be a nice upgrade from the standard pads. Not sure how the stock rotors fare - someone else can probably tell you whether the stock rotors are OK with a machine, or if you're better with a new set of rotors to match.

If you want to get serious, there's a couple of users with K-sport upgrades, but they don't come cheap.


for those that are in a similar position to me, ive found this handy little guide

http://www.rpw.com.au/shop/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202&Itemid=51
RPW doesn't have the best reputation around AMC. I would take that guide with a grain of salt.

Also, grab yourself a nice coffee or your favourite drink, maybe a snack or two and trawl through the AMC Member's Rides (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=45).
There's a few 380's in there and they'll give you heaps of info and ideas.
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=45

oh, and welcome to the Club. :thumbsup:

Hi all,

I must say i'm so happy to have found this site; my mechanic of many a year boss suggested i buy a 380, which i had previously completely overlooked, but now i'm absolutely smitten with.
the big problem, as they say with the 380s, is that they made so little of them. hence, theres next to no parts nor a real 380 culture, as most were destined as fleet cars or to sit pretty in second hand dealerships.

i'm just gonna say, i'm a mechanical noob, though im steadily learning. right now im on an insatiable hunt for guidance and direction on what to do with my new car; aesthetic and performance mods. i'll try and throw this open to anyone who has the know how or a decent idea.

Performance wise, what would you suggest to start on first?

being a p plater and fulfilling some of the stereotype, i immediately thought of an exhaust system; but should i go straight away for a cat back system or start closer to the engine and get some extractors? For a cheap muffler upgrade to a true straight through muffler go the Berklee BS0655. Between $200 & $250 fitted. Cat back will be a little more expensive and not really worth the extra, as the stock 380 exhaust pipes are pretty good. The other blockage in the system besides the rear muffler is the stock exhaust manifolds with a 'pre-cat' in each. Fitting extractors gets rid of these pre-cats and should give around 10 killerwasps, but your options are very limited. You can order a set from RPW which will cost you around $800 delivered, and then you'll need to pay for fitting. Or, as you are in NSW, you might be able to get them supplied & fitted by the place that makes them for RPW, Liverpool Exhausts. Apparently they will only sell them as a 'supply & fit' deal due to their arrangement with RPW.

im liking the look of putting the gallant and k&n air filter in, thatll be my first stepping stone to mechanical greatness :) Yep, good cost effective move. The Galant 90mm snorkel will give you 3 or 4 more killerwasps and maybe a beefier induction noise (it seems to vary from car to car), but the K&N won't give you much if anything over the stock paper filter.

is anyone aware of a decent visual parts store? i would love to put n a chrome grill as in the platinum editions, or score some first series vr-x/gt tail lights

has anyone chipped their car either? Yep, a few of us have. I and Knotched have fitted a ChipTorque Xede piggyback, Foozrcool has fitted a Unichip Q (I think!) but his is supercharged so a different ballgame. The Xede works very well, but will cost you up to $1500 fitted & tuned. The 380 ECU cannot (yet) be flashed like a 3rd gen Magna ECU, no-one had cracked the algorithms yet, but there are rumours that someone is close.

and what are the suggestions for brakes? Agree with Red Valdez, best cost effective upgrade is a set of QFM HPX front pads from Mitsfix. I've had a set on mine for a few months now, great bite, feel, stopping power & fade resistance & no dust & they don't chew up the rotors. You may or may not need to have your rotors machined, depends on how many ks you have done and their condition. I put the HPX pads on around 50,000k, didn't touch the rotors, and no problems.

so many q's, hopefully many answers

for those that are in a similar position to me, ive found this handy little guide

http://www.rpw.com.au/shop/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202&Itemid=51 Again, agree with Red, take anything that RPW say or publish with a big grain of salt.

happy motoring

See red bits!

KJ.

Haha okay better let me in on why we don't like RPW before we continue, if you wouldn't mind

I believe the guide that you've linked to has been posted up and dissected pretty thoroughly before. If you were keen, you could have a search and try to find it.

Yup I would spend some time trawling through the threads in this section, visually not much to do on a 380, I am guessing you have a SX,

I would check out these rides as inspiration as they are my favourites

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66504

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80104

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76095

Also if are in Sydney, NSW has social nights every fortnight on thursday and KIF and I have 380's and you can look at what we have done to ours as well

Yup I would spend some time trawling through the threads in this section, visually not much to do on a 380, I am guessing you have a SX,

I would check out these rides as inspiration as they are my favourites

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66504

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80104

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76095

Also if are in Sydney, NSW has social nights every fortnight on thursday and KIF and I have 380's and you can look at what we have done to ours as well

Sorry for the immensely belated post! Just quickly i'm loving the forum and giving my (sometimes helpful) thoughts on a few things

Now, can you give me more info on these social nights? I'm 40 mins from Penrith

Cheers