Ok, so I've had some serious thought about old Shadow's future, and have decided it would be smarter to keep her, spend money on her and then I'll feel better about her.

This is all very subject to my loan being approved sometime in October.

Here is a breakdown of my thoughts. Remember, these are what I personally want, but I am open to suggestions:

Mechanical:
- 4 x new engine mounts (RHS, LHS Front & Rear)
- 380 Brake conversion kit
- Upgrade to slotted 380 brakes
- Oxygen sensor
- Pacemaker headers
- Lukey catback exhaust (to replace that damn DRONING HOLE!)
- 380 cams

Cosmetic:
- Roof lining
- Leather seats

Audio:
New head unit (found a unique one on eBay)
Rockford Fosgate 1000W AMP
Rockford Fosgate Power! component speakers
Rockford Fosgate Power! 6x9's

Total Shadow upgrade (which will include a new name upon revelation) is estimated at approximately $7,000, under half of what I was borrowing to buy a new car.

Thoughts?

KGO!

Engine Mounts - Check out megatrons post with the Poly mounts. $300+/-
380 Brake Conversion - Keep an eye on the FS section, they come up every now and then $...
Oxy Sensor - Thomas just replaced his with a generic one - Took a while because he did it underneath the car, but there's an access panel on the PS you can access it by. $150+/-
Pacies - If you keep an eye out, you may find a set for cheap shortly.. ;) $...
Catback Exhaust - You can look at the Redback bolt on system $300 +/-
380 Cams - Brett H had/has some for sale atm. $500 +/-

Roof Lining - A few guys here have had there's done for $180 +/- $200
Leather Seats - crackajnr had a set from a KH he didnt require.. $...

Audio
You can have ALOT of fun with this one..

JVC Double Din
Hertz Splits
Hertz 6x9s
JVC Amp
$2000 and you could be pretty set here.

Should cut at least a 1 or 2k off your projected total

SuFz :ninja:

mods sound good to me. but dont get a loan to do them. loans = the devil

Engine Mounts - Check out megatrons post with the Poly mounts. $300+/-
380 Brake Conversion - Keep an eye on the FS section, they come up every now and then $...
Oxy Sensor - Thomas just replaced his with a generic one - Took a while because he did it underneath the car, but there's an access panel on the PS you can access it by. $150+/-
Pacies - If you keep an eye out, you may find a set for cheap shortly.. ;) $...
Catback Exhaust - You can look at the Redback bolt on system $300 +/-
380 Cams - Brett H had/has some for sale atm. $500 +/-

Roof Lining - A few guys here have had there's done for $180 +/- $200
Leather Seats - crackajnr had a set from a KH he didnt require.. $...

Audio
You can have ALOT of fun with this one..

JVC Double Din
Hertz Splits
Hertz 6x9s
JVC Amp
$2000 and you could be pretty set here.

Should cut at least a 1 or 2k off your projected total

SuFz :ninja:

Thanks for the thoughts and help, man. I'm not planning on doing anything until around October (again, heavily stressing it is dependent upon my loan being approved). I'm pretty sold on the Rockford Fosgate though. Thomas (Tommy21) has suggested I keep an eye out for HM extractors, but to me it's just a much of a muchness with them. They all do the same thing, really. Then again, I'm no car expert :P

As for leather seats, I'm keeping my options open. There is a guy in Mackay who actually maintains the original shape of your seats and takes off the cloth, then double-stitches leather over it, making it look like the leather was the original but still maintaining the shape of the original seat. I'm kinda keen for that idea because it's comparatively cheaper than buying a set of leather seats.

mods sound good to me. but dont get a loan to do them. loans = the devil

Matt, going for a loan to consolidate my other 2 loans together into one, and was going to get a new car. But thinking about it financially, it's logical for me to just add a predetermined amount on top to upgrade the VR-X. By adding $7k on top of the consolidation, my repayments are still lower than the current repayments for having the loan separated so I thought, "Why the hell not" and yeah... Gonna splurge for real on a car like I've never done before lol. It's nothing compared to some people, but it's not a competition to me :)

just telling from experience. i put myself 20k under from mistakes, i only recently paid off my debts , owning a car outright and paying with cash after its earned is the only smart way.
having a loan in the first place is where you go wrong!! (of course you have to start somewhere with a car)
just pay off the loans. fix the car so its drivable and slowly start modding it,

you don't have to take my advice but trust me you will be thanking me latter ;)

We'll see... I'm not the sort of person who would spend that much CASH on a car upgrade. If it were via a loan, I would be inclined to do it. I can't justify doing it with cash, but a loan is like... a purposeful reason to buy upgrades. Cash to me is used for everyday expenses. But this isn't about the cash or the loan at all. It's about what I want to do to the car irrespective of the means in which it materialises :)

It's about what I want to do to the car irrespective of the means in which it materialises :)
That's very true! Given that this thread is in the Tech section, and that the OP has only asked us HOW to spend his money, any posts debating the purpose of taking out a loan for mods will be removed. Of course, you are more than welcome to PM the OP with any advice you may have regarding the loan....

That's very true! Given that this thread is in the Tech section, and that the OP has only asked us HOW to spend his money, any posts debating the purpose of taking out a loan for mods will be removed. Of course, you are more than welcome to PM the OP with any advice you may have regarding the loan....

Cheers mate - I'm not slamming him for offering his opinion, just to make it clear. I was just pointing out my intentions lol :)

Thanks for the advice though. Been on here 2 years but I'm still green.

Tommy21 got me back into the forums lol.

Brakes, 380 are fine with non slotted rotors, I have slotted on my 380 and non slotted on my wagon, both are as good as each other and I would not waste my money with slotted

Headers, HM are in my opinon better, are bolt on, heat sheilds get retained and do not crack, aside from this Pace Maker need to have the engine pipe welded AND they often crack and scrape

Mounts, poly are ok if you dont mind the feeling the motor is welded to the chassis, a good set of rubber mounts will suffice a fairly std car

Oxy sensor, new OEM is only $135, I would not waste time soldering and mucking around then a genuine bolt in item is not expensive anyway

IF you decide to play with the car feel free to shoot me an email and I can price everything for you in so far as mechanical items go, with the Audio I agree the JVC is a great unit, I ahve several of them across my cars and have never been let down by them

Brakes, 380 are fine with non slotted rotors, I have slotted on my 380 and non slotted on my wagon, both are as good as each other and I would not waste my money with slotted

Headers, HM are in my opinon better, are bolt on, heat sheilds get retained and do not crack, aside from this Pace Maker need to have the engine pipe welded AND they often crack and scrape

Mounts, poly are ok if you dont mind the feeling the motor is welded to the chassis, a good set of rubber mounts will suffice a fairly std car

Oxy sensor, new OEM is only $135, I would not waste time soldering and mucking around then a genuine bolt in item is not expensive anyway

IF you decide to play with the car feel free to shoot me an email and I can price everything for you in so far as mechanical items go, with the Audio I agree the JVC is a great unit, I ahve several of them across my cars and have never been let down by them

Thanks, Mal - you've been very highly recommended to me for when/if I decide to proceed with this, so you're tops on my list of contacts now lol.

PS RE: slotted rotors - I kinda want the slotted mainly for show more than anything else. They are more attractive, plus I guess they'd come in a bit handy more than vented in Mackay's forever-wet weather and horrid roads.

do the HM headers have a different shape? the pace makers i had on my TE hung down to the ground. was by far the lowest part of the car!

+1 for the look of slotted rotors. gives it that expensive look, are they much more expensive?

What's your suspension like? If you're still on standard suspension, or if it's a bit dodgy, I'd go for new springs and shocks. My King springs + KYB shocks are still one of my favourite mods to my VR-X - although if I was to upgrade these days, I'd be looking at Dobinson springs and Boge shocks. Personally I'd go for good suspension over the 380 cams and even the extractors.

Also if you're going to the trouble of installing extractors and a catback exhaust, I'd probably add a high-flow cat converter to the mix - they're <$200 + fitting. The performance gains are debatable, but if you're upgrading the rest of your exhaust, I'd change it over - they do deteriorate over time.

I wouldn't get too worked up over the slotted rotors. They do look cool, but they look a bit weird since the front brakes (even on the 380s) aren't that big. I reckon it's only worth drawing attention to your brakes if you've got something serious to show off (e.g. Brembos or K-Sports). Don't forget good pads too. I've got the 380 upgrade with non-slotted RDA rotors and QFM HPX pads (through Mits-fix) and am quite happy with them. The pads make it though - they're not too dusty for a performance pad, but you can give them a good flogging without fade.

If you are not a mechanic get a 380 engine rather then 380 cams. Much better value

O2 Sensor cost me $50 posted, and an hour under the car lol

Wise move

I was thinking of selling my VRX for a new car, but realised by the time i do stamp duty, and sell mine for no where near whats its worth i will only put myself into debt again, considering ive just paid off all my debts i can now get the car serviced and fix a few things on it

Which will be

Respray the rear spoiler (clear is peeling)

Full 200k service

Get the windows re-tinted as the old tint is just crap and rear screen is blurry

Give the car a full polish and detail

Being 10 years old they are still a good looking car and go well, not many around on the VRX range in good nick.

The stereo is all done, I changed the headunit to a....Yes double din JVC which works a treat, i have pioneer speakers all round (splits up front) and 6 x 9's in the rear, Alpine amps and 2 x Eclipse 12" subs in the boot!!