What modifications have you made to your 197/200? What do you really think of them?

Great thread. I'll do one later now mine's changed quite a bit!

 

100% oem, none. It is just for my taste.

 

Royal steering wheel?

 

Okay.. , if that is mod. I really like it.

 

Too many mods to list but by far the best thing i've done is megswap it!

 

Billy B14 7/10

These are awesome on the road but just not hard enough for me in the mountains just a bit too soft on the front I find the car dives too much on the downhill elements. I think of them as more of a way to lower you car with a minimal upgrade in handling. The rear however is much stiffer.

Ktec induction 10/10

I have no reason to fault this I dynod at 186 whp on a hub dyno that was pretty accurate on the day so it's not loosing me anything and the sound reminds me of my e46 m3 pure ear boner.

Akra evo 9/10

Amazing build quality and top sound would be 10 but I find it a bit quiet low down so purely personal preference.

RST live remap 1000/10

I can't bum Paul enough for what he has done with the map. My car always felt more pokey than my previous 200 but it was lumpy and a bit turd off cam. The map transformed it I wasn't expecting much but you can feel the extra pull and it's silky smooth through the rev range. I had some minor pops and bangs added for fun too which can be controlled with the throttle so it won't do it much unless I want it too.

Powerflex gearbox and engine mounts 6/10

I did all my mounts at once my car was only on 14,000 Kms so the existing mounts weren't bad to to start with. I have noticed a little improvement but the car still vibrates massively when crawling through traffic at 16,000 Kms. Not comfortable and embarassing as the whole car shudders I can see my headlights vibrating. If I did it again I'd just do the lower dogbone and maybe the gearbox side as shifts especially 1st to 2nd are improved.

 

@R32pete surely you mean B14 mate?

KTec induction, totally agree. For the money and the epic noise, everyone should have one. And yep, it reminds me of my E46 too. It has that grunty noise low down that just sounds so badass. Absolutely love it.

Good reviews Pete.

 

B16 I think. He has the damping adjustable variants I think?

 

Was just about going to put a thread up to see if it was possible to have 'minor' pops and bangs mapped in with Paul, is it something that's different to these 'crackle maps' that people have done.. Would love more info

Thanks

 

Very interesting. I thought we had the only set so far!

@R32pete car to shed some light on this please mate?

 

Scorpion exhaust (resonated) + sport cat 9/10
gives a nice tone to the car, quiet enough for me on the motorway and round town but makes a great noise when on full throttle

Bilstein b14 10/10
personal opinion for a daily car that occasionally touches track these are unrivaled. soft enough for road but good enough for track (the car can roll a bit on them). ive had cars with gaz in the past and unless its an out and out track car then these are unrivaled for the price imo. given the opportunity id give bc coilovers a go though

Ultra racing front strut brace 8/10
not sure on the difference without the coilovers but this tightened up the steering nicely and for the cost (second hand couldnt fault it)

ultra racing rear arb 6/10
not such a noticeable difference in this but its aesthetically pleasing

ad08r 7/10
ok tyre not the hardest sidewalls but for a sprint they're decent or a wet/damp trackday

nankang ar-1 10/10
Unrivaled tyre for the price, pretty much to temperature after a lap and seem to be holding up well so far

goodridge brake hoses 3/10
too long for the car bugger to fit and miss contact with wheels ect

ferodo ds1.11 (front) 10/10
nice pad for track work, they can leave some residue on the disks when on track causing vibration in the wheel over time but it goes again after they've cooled.

mtec disks 7/10
seem ok up to now, match the r26 megane rear disks nicely at a slash of the cost

motul rbf600 8/10
went nicely with the other braking mods and haven't managed to boil it over yet

powerflex engine mounts + gearbox 6/10
were good to begin with but seem to have softened a bit too much now

can't think of anything else for the moment bit sure ive missed a few bits

 

Totally my fault I had B16 on my focus rs for 3 years so typed it out of habbit. They are B14 standard. I wish I had known your set was comming or opted for clubsports.

Edited post and great spot people.

Interesting what you say, I agree about the roll but it's only on the front end, although I complain about it I do wonder if it's intentional the pitch allows the car to transfer the weight and load up the outside front wheel for grip? It's the only reason I haven't changed them yet since i use the car in the mountains if I go too hard the car will become numb and exceeding the grip of an ad08r in the mountains usually results in death by rolling down a cliff.

@matt9566 it's the same thing. The difference is how extreme you go. If your decat it will do it on hard driving anyway. but with the extra feature on the map you can lightly press the throttle over 4k on over run. And it will do it on demand. Some people think the extra bangs are artificial but it is on almost all modern cars and my cars for fun so why not? As long as your decat shouldn't see any issues.

 

Likely the same reason all aftermarket [And standard ?] springs have a softer spring rate on the fronts compared to the rears.

Makes no sense on paper until you think about the reasonings a little more......

 

The best mod I've done on mine is either the AST's or the Cams/ remap with the limiter lift, with it up to 7800 it works well with the 6 speed.

It's a full on track car build, so I have done racer geo, which I can't comment on yet as it makes no difference on the road!!

As good as it is on track, as a road car it is absolutely horrendous, the worst thing is that it's stripped out, the noise is just too much lol! Okay, maybe horrendous is strong! If you wear earplugs it's bearable for long journeys. The suspension is hard but very forgiving. The driving aspect of the car, it drives very similar. I just think the noise takes the fun out of it as a road car!

I have a standard 197 Cup with just KwV1s and its absolutely spot on as a road car for some b road blasts. The interior is also dynamatted.

I think an awesome build would be a full interior & dynomatted 197/200 with a Meg 250 engine. All the power, no mental noise! You can then run some awesome suspension and tyres and enjoy the overall car! Perfect for an enthusiast that does more road miles than track miles!

 

Cheers Pete. And yeah, I think what we have is a really good option. Super pleased with them.

 

Small update and thoughts:

Royal Steering Wheel Refurb Alcantara & Gaiter 10/10 - Fairly cheap upgrade to do, but worth every penny, Jacks work is very good.

Alarm Bracket 10/10 - A cheap upgrade supplied by sevenfourate on the forum had mine painted to match other bits, good to know it wont rust!.

Brembo HC Discs 10/10 - Upgraded with rears and new pads, so difficult to isolate on it's own, but yes brakes are superb and these are seriously cheap to buy.

K Tec Black Edition Rear Discs 10/10 - Again upgraded as part of the whole set, they look good for sure.

Ferodo DS1.11 Pads 9/10 - Wow, these really do have some stopping power my only negatives are the dust, slightly noisy, but thats not an issue for me - very happy happy with them, overkill for me, but what stopping power.

Ferodo DS 2500 Pads 10/10 - Car stops well, so yeh very happy

Mr Pinks Pins 10/10 - These are very expensive, but yes certainly worth every penny guy who fitted my brakes said these are really good quality which will hopefully make brake maintenance easier in the future.

Brembo Rebuild Kit 10/10 - All I know is after by caliper's rebuild my car stops well so thumbs up for that should have had it done ages ago!.

TPI Black Locking Wheel Bolts 10/10 - Cheap upgrade and visually what a difference on the black speedlines, bye bye rusty nuts!.

Exon Silicone Hose Air Feed 8/10 - Not sure this has any impact on anything except visually, which it does very well matches other hoses in my engine bay so very happy & not to expensive.

Think that's it for now...I now need to win the lottery.

 

Nice1

 

I changed my front brakes to HC discs, DS 2500 pads and some braided lines (plus 5.1 fluid), completely transformed the feel of the braking once all bedded in. I think the car is over braked anyway with brembo calipers but the feel is much better with this setup.

 

Love my new setup, agree its a great setup though.

 

I haven't done many 'big money' modifications but I think the ones I have done have been sensible and good for those on a budget.

Lightened crank pulley
This was one of my first modifcations, bought from Raptor on here. I wouldn't recommend it on its own but as I was changing the cambelt and other bits it was worth spending a little. The car revved better with it and seemed to make it easier to pull away. £145 - 6/10.

Rear wiper delete
Easy mod, makes the back look better and easier to fit. My wiper arm was cracked anyway so it was cheaper than replacing. £10 - 7/10

Silver dash vents
Very easy to swap, brightened up a drab interior. I have now seen the dark grey interior trim that comes in the 200's which I much prefer so may be swapping at some point, if I can find a complete set. £30 - 5/10

Mist washer jets
Again, a cheap mod but works far better than the original ones. Cheap to buy and easy to fit. I did worry that they would just spin in the bonnet, especially when being washed but they haven't moved. £6.60 - 7/10

LED numberplate lights
Great little mod to freshen up the back, almost too bright! £12.99 - 7/10

200 Cup alloys
Lighter than my original 197 alloys by approx 1kg. As this is rotating and unsprung weight I felt the difference. Not as much weight savings as a decent set of OZ's or Autec's but for the cost I'd do it again. Cheaper than refurbing my original alloys! £120 (after selling originals) - 10/10

There is other little things I have done but I'd have a list as long as my arm. LED interior bulbs, new grills to freshen up the outside, securing the saggy bumper spoiler, silvatec bulbs, removing the intake restriction plate and acoustic valve, etc.