easy real hp

[Jon325i]

OK.. I think I might find a nice air filter but I need to do the front rotors and pads. I have slotted on there now. Anyone know of where I can get crossed drilled or slotted replacement for a great price? I have found plan jane replacement rotors for $23 a piece and that is hard to beat. Also what kind of pads should I go with?

I will try to get my slotted rotors turned but I don't know if they have been turned before or not. If turning them is not possible I will of course replace them. Looking for reccomendations on that.

thanks.
Richard.

My two cents on rotors - stay away from drilled unless your goal is to acheive a racer look with absolutely no intensions of going to the track. Slotted rotors are a good compromise. I've run both Ate PowerDisc and PowerSlot rotors with good results. What I like about these is that a quick visiual inspection of the slots will tell you how much service life remains. When the slots are smoothed out, its time to replace.

Stock OEM equivilants are just as good too. I know E30 track guys who like using these because they are cheap to replace.....their logic being "thrash a few cheap rotors for the same price as one pricey pair of rotors." I can see why this makes economic sense.

Good brake fluid and pads are the key. Ate SuperBlue should be more than sufficient for your needs. There's Motul if you plan to make regular trips to the track. Pad choice is more of a personal preference thing. I've heard both good and bad opinions for a given brand so you'll just need to sample a few and see what best suits your driving style. I've run Axis Ultimates, PBR Metal Masters, CarboTech XP8s and Hawk brands. My favs are the CarboTechs. Expensive......but damn good consistancy at the track.

Jon

[nando]

I like ATE powedisks.. mine have lasted forever. I have about 55k on them and they're still in pretty good shape. did they start manufacturing them again? they were NLA a while back..

[FredK]

I believe they're called ATE PremiumOne now.

[rmousir]

Thanks guys.. If I can not turn my rotors I will just by the cheap replacments. At that price I don't see how I can do to bad. I will check out the pads as well.

Do you always replace pads when you swap rotors?

[nando]

I don't know why you would ever turn rotors - they're cheap, and turned rotors will never work as well.

[Ray McCooney]

May not be the response you were looking for, but the best money spent will be on ensuring you have a well sorted car initially, driver education, and then suspension tweaks.

The only "real" power investment in a stock, healthy M20 would be a chip and possibly a diff. swap, of which has already been commented upon.

Turning rotors is generally frowned upon with German cars. Stick with some stock blanks and a decent pad (Hawk, Axis, etc.) and you should be sufficiently pleased. Cheers.

[rmousir]

That was exactly what I was looking for. Just plane old honesty. I will continue to keep the car in good order and fix the odds and ends as they come. With luck next winter I will do the body and paint and this spring I will reupholster the seats (yes, I can do that). So as long as she continues to run strong she will always look good. I will also be picking up some stocker rotors this week. May have to wait another week for the pads though. Little at a time.

Not sure I want a chip. What will that do for me? What will that cost? Is it a good value regarding 'bank for the buck'?

Thanks
Richard.

[Slyder]

If you are looking at bang for the buck...a chip will net you more HP per dollar than any other mod out there. So far, the best examples out there are the JC chip which I have plenty of experience with) and the MarkD chip (which is right up there with the JC).

If you are looking for a decent gain without investing in a great deal of money, there are some additional mods you can look into. Some other good ones are the differential swap (as has already been mentioned), Ireland Engineering shorty headers (I have these as well) for a nice little torque increase and great sound, free-flow cat, and larger diameter tubing back to an after market muffler. An intake may help out some if it's properly shielded from heat, but I wouldn't expect much by itself.

A couple other fairly inexpensive mods are getting your intake manifold extrude/honed and a big bore throttle body.

The biggest thing to remember is that the m20, being a 12v motor, has a bit of a breathing problem. A lot of these mods don't do a lot by themselves, but they work very well when combined with other mods. Making the motor breathe better will improve power and throttle response.

Naturally, the age old saying holds true..."Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?" :D

[rmousir]

Can you tell me more about those two chips please?

Thanks.

[Ray McCooney]

Can you tell me more about those two chips please?

Thanks.

It's Turkey day, so I'm not going to push the uniform standard, but you normally will be encouraged to use the search function in the future.

Information on the Mark D chip can be found directly on his website:

http://www.dsylva-tech.ca/

Info. on the Jim Conforti chip (JC) can be found on turnermotorsport's website:

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=E30325

The overall sentiment or general consensus is that the Mark D chip is the superior chip, to what extent the margin of superiority exists is something to be/has been debated. Mark also happens to be a stand up guy and an active member of the forum. Jim conforti is a bigger operation whose products are distributed through intermediaries.

If "real" or "easy" horsepower adding is what you desire (I forget how you phrased it initially) you should look no further than a chip. A diff. swap will net a noticeable change in performance (in your case a swap to an S4.10), albeit it will come at a greater expenditure of effort. A diff. swap is not difficult by any stretch, however it can be tedious and possibly daunting for someone that is not familiar with wrenching.

It shouldn't take any longer than twenty minutes to remove and install a performance chip, this goes for the inexperienced wrencher as well.

With a little diligence you can find an incredible amount of knowledge on these cars on this website. You may also want to read this thread directly from the FAQ/DIY section:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=60498

Cheers.

[monty]

sawsall = weight reduction = hp in a way. Go to town.

[nando]

sawsall = weight reduction = hp in a way. Go to town.

yeah, just cut away until you turn it into a parts car, that way you can push it to the salvage yard.

[e30 gangsta]

Driving school then mods.

[wookiefarmer]

I really like the stock rotors that have been cryogenicly frozen with the porterfield r4 pads for track use. They last a long time and stop like hell. Yes i will replace pads with rotor changes or refinishing every time.

ps john325i love the Alonso and Hamilton movie hehe haha Alonso tied with a rookie!

[TwoJ's]

Also, you can eliminate the AFM to get the best possible intake system (besides a custom plenum and TB's. You can use megasquirt or any other MAP based ecu. But with the m20, the way to lower the breathing problem is to force air in to the intake via turbo.