Where to start on doing up car?!

Hi,

On the Micra I've got, everything is stock, but battered. I'm wanting to "do it up", make it nippier, lighter, and nicer looking etc, and above all, be able to top 100mph, it struggles past 80 at the moment, steering wheel shakes and the engine drones. 80 isn't bad for a 1 litre, but you gotta want more haven't you?!

Anyway, I know what I'm doing around the car, I just can't decide where to start... so far I've bought some alloys, which need tyres putting on em, and whacked a new stock backbox on there, the old one was very rusted/corroded and very loose with a few holes in it.

So now it sounds a lot healthier, no rasps or whatever, but no performance gains.

Once the alloys are on, this will be a good few pounds shaved off the weight, making acceleration a bit easier. Plus, I'll then give it the one over service, cambelt, oil change, filters, etc.

But after that, where to begin, the list of tasks is endless...

Should I first uprate the brakes, or concentrate more on the aesthetics, it needs new bumpers as the old ones are scratched to ####, and it needs new bootlid, and rear passenger door (plus flat wipers and a nice 3d registration plate would look mint)? Or should I whack on an induction kit for sound? Or should I uprate to 1.3 cams? Or get a remap for a few hp gains to begin with?

I'm thinking of starting with aesthetics then brakes (rear disc conversion of course), then exhaust, ecu remap, followed by induction kit, followed by engine internals (cams etc) followed by forced induction, followed by ecu remap...

Oh, and when I say aesthetics, I don't mean bodykit, I want the car to be a sleeper. Biggest change to aesthetics from stock may be a sunstrip or leather seats! Oh, and most importantly, I want the jobs (except for the turbo addition, as I know it'll be off the road for a few weeks when this happens) to be weekend tasks, so I can have the car on the road as much as possible for practicality reasons

What order do you guys do yours in?!

As much detail as possible please!!!
 
OP
OP
D
Haha nah for insurance reasons, at least until my renewal in june, I want to keep the 1.0 in, they hit me hard enough when they were told I was thinking of whacking alloys on. And I'm 22. Rip-off merchants.

Not that I condone lying to insurance companies, but uprated cams are easier to hide than a whole new engine hehehe
 

C0llis0n

Ex. Club Member
Club Member
Haha nah for insurance reasons, at least until my renewal in june, I want to keep the 1.0 in, they hit me hard enough when they were told I was thinking of whacking alloys on. And I'm 22. Rip-off merchants.

Not that I condone lying to insurance companies, but uprated cams are easier to hide than a whole new engine hehehe

Ooof that could set some people going :doh:

Personally Id go for a 4-1 Janspeed to start with and go from there, but many will say that its hardly worth spending the dosh on the 1.0L as you'll get so much more from the 1.3 + im fairly sure the insurance companies will have more of a field day over a turbo then an extra 275cc
 

RedRocket1

Club Member (Trial)
Best thing ive done so far was got the 4-2-1 janspeed on my 1.0, but thats so far...im shortly on my way to 1.3 Epicness. Insurance will #### you over either way...might as well have some fun. You stay classy San Diego;)
 
OP
OP
D
Wallet is not exactly bottomless, hence wanting to do the jobs one by one over time.

This does not mean I will skimp with cheap components, everything I buy will be the best of the best, it'll just take time to get them all...

And as for going for 1.3 over a 1.0, I see getting a 40 hp increase on the 1.0 more of a challenge and an enjoyable task to undertake over the next few months or years...
 

frank

Club Member
Wallet is not exactly bottomless, hence wanting to do the jobs one by one over time.

This does not mean I will skimp with cheap components, everything I buy will be the best of the best, it'll just take time to get them all...

And as for going for 1.3 over a 1.0, I see getting a 40 hp increase on the 1.0 more of a challenge and an enjoyable task to undertake over the next few months or years...

have you read baguete,s blog ? 1.0,s are very underated by most members fwn
 
OP
OP
D
I've read his blog, very helpful.

I think that supercharger should be whacked on the 1.0 to see what hp the 1.0 can really pull under optimal conditions....
 

ollyc98

Ex. Club Member
A standard 1.3 is cheaper to insure than a modded 1.0.

Before you start anything give it a good service, that'll get you back up to your factory BHP (although a few horses will have jumped the fence and been lost forever).

After that I like to start with a noisy exhaust, so I feel like it's faster, even though it isn't. Take the back seats out to clean them, it may take you a few years to get them clean.... ;)

Look at franks blog, he always has some creative ideas for budget power.
 

Stani1029

Club Member
the 1.3 is easy hidden, its exactly the same as the 1.0 from the outside. whist the 1.3 is out grind the code of the block and everyones happy!! you can even stamp the old code back on there if it bothers you
 
Top