What are some things you wouldn't of ordered from Ultima?

[alishawkat]

Hi guys, looking to hear from current owners. What are some things you wouldn't of ordered from Ultima and would've rather sourced them yourself?

Seats, gearbox, or interior pieces? Please let me know. I'm actually curious if they have updated their seats? I'm looking at all options and want my car to be the comfiest race car possible.


Thank you

[alishawkat]

Do you guys think TIllet B4's would be more comfortable then OEM?

[mt308]

alishawkat said:

Hi guys, looking to hear from current owners. What are some things you wouldn't of ordered from Ultima and would've rather sourced them yourself?

Seats, gearbox, or interior pieces? Please let me know. I'm actually curious if they have updated their seats? I'm looking at all options and want my car to be the comfiest race car possible.


Thank you

Seats are fine IMO but do go for the lumbar adjustment - I retro-fitted over Xmas and it was a bit of a messy job. I guess they might be more or less comfortable depending on individuals size/shape and the beauty of building a car is you make it to fit you. For me, they work well.

Mark

[Steve_D]

I don't have any evidence or data to back this up but 'believe' the Factory seats have more rake than most after-market seats. Also I think the Tillet seats are more upright than after-market so choose with care.

Steve

[deadscoob]

Agreed with Steve. I looked at alternatives but feel factory seats are best.

I think it's best for you to describe intended usage before commenting on what may be able to be left out?

[BogBeast]

I wouldn't have bothered with any of screen blower/heating system.

I would go for a heated screen (now an option) and if looking at the seats, heated seats.

Obviously not an option if you want aircon. But you did say racecar...

I might also have looked at different dampers springs.

[UltimaCH]

Some race cars do have A/C Some driver confort is important to remain focused and concentrated.

[F.C.]

alishawkat said:

Hi guys, looking to hear from current owners. What are some things you wouldn't of ordered from Ultima and would've rather sourced them yourself?

Seats, gearbox, or interior pieces? Please let me know. I'm actually curious if they have updated their seats? I'm looking at all options and want my car to be the comfiest race car possible.


Thank you

Try something else the Ultima is a road car.
If you are serious about racing one here is a minimal list:

Different wishbone arms for suspension, uprights, wheel bearings, wheels, gearbox, steering rack, power assisted steering / steering geometry.

You will need bucket loads of cash to get an Ultima even close to competitive.

[ROWDYRENAULT]

Brake lines: the factory does them in braided flex line so that they can be shipped and fitted. SS hardline stock bear claw closures particularly on the back. Aero latchs are much more positive and you can readily see if they are not latched
gauges: I would use a Motec dash and if I was using a Motec ECU I would use the Motec Power distribution system and key pad
wiring: If I used the Motec stuff above I would build a custom wiring harness rear clam hood struts Rules in england dictate that the clam only open so far, relocated with longer struts works way better radiator I think the factory offers a alloy radiator, if so I would use tha,t if not go after market radiator fans The factory fans in 2007 that I got are not up to what's available now, check and see if the factory fan has changed
I had the factory do my panel work the cost was reasonable it looks great and gave me a huge jump on the project. Getting picture perfect straight lines and bending the metal over the frame rails takes time and there is a learning curve, by the time your done you've got it right but now you may not be happy with your first efforts. If it involves more time effort and money to better insulate the car as you build it do it. In the end its worth it. The removable dash as shown on Jon Paynes car some months back that I was involved with makes more and more sense as the project goes forward. If you truly want to track the car I would investigate a single tank behind the seats and in front of the motor. Yes it would take effort and fore thought but I think the end result would be worth the effort. Pay attention to using the top scoop to feed cold air to the engine. Lee

[2001ultima]

Overall I feel the factory provides a great package that satisfies most people. The new Evo provides a nice update which modernizes the car a bit. Once you start to deviate you can slow the project and raise the cost unless you have the skill, experience and time to solve / fabricate. You can't go wrong sticking to the factory spec then once the project is complete and you can enjoy the car then consider tweaking the car to your liking.

The car is very easy to work on/modify when complete as everything is in the open. My only suggestion with the build is to modify the interior dashboard (face and top) to make it removable (removable section(s)) so that you can get to the wiring, switches, cables, pedals, heater blower/AC, wiper, other as it will be very difficult to make changes at a later time.

[2001ultima]

Agree with Lee on the following:

ROWDYRENAULT said:

Brake lines: the factory does them in braided flex line so that they can be shipped and fitted. SS hardline stock bear claw closures particularly on the back..... The removable dash as shown on Jon Paynes car some months back that I was involved with makes more and more sense as the project goes forward.................

[alishawkat]

F.C. said:

Try something else the Ultima is a road car.
If you are serious about racing one here is a minimal list:

Different wishbone arms for suspension, uprights, wheel bearings, wheels, gearbox, steering rack, power assisted steering / steering geometry.

You will need bucket loads of cash to get an Ultima even close to competitive.

Hey I meant racing as kind of a joke. I mean these are the closest things to legal race cars on the streets lol. And @ Steve these are the seats I'm talking about Tillet B4's https://www.tillett.co.uk/shop/images/gallery/Till... That's a picture of them in an Ultima. Do they look like they fit well?

Edited by alishawkat on Wednesday 13th January 05:26

[alishawkat]

BogBeast said:

I wouldn't have bothered with any of screen blower/heating system.

I would go for a heated screen (now an option) and if looking at the seats, heated seats.

Where would I find heated seats? If I could find one that could fit the Ultima that would be excellent. Thanks for the advice so far guys. Things that I'm going to be doing according to advice so far,

Motec ecu/display ( I prefer this anyways)
Brake lines
Removable dash
I've heard about the damper springs not being so good from Ultima from previous threads as well. What would you guys suggest?
I was watching a video on youtube where there would be a squeak sound every time the driver changed gears. Is this common?

I have to order the following things separately "fuel system, the brake system, and the suspension system' according to Canadian rules so if there are better sourced alternatives other then from Ultima for these parts please let me know.

Thank you

[deadscoob]

The Tillet seats fit ok, but as Steve said, be careful of the rake. You'll find they're more upright than the factory ones.

Squeaks are probably lack of lubrication on bushes.

Buy the longer wishbone set not standard.

Bad springs? I doubt you'd notice a difference between factory, nitron or eibach race. Shocks can be improved for sure, loads of options from factory standard to high end quantum. Nitron in my experience are excellent quality for the price.

Brakes you should be careful with, despite being small by current standards, the factory set up is proven and very effective - I remember seeing Jay Esterer change to a fancy set up with different rotors and calipers and the braking performance as tested was someway off the factory's. If you can't buy from the factory, speak to them about the spec then go from there.

If you need to buy the fuel system separately, seriously look into whether you can install pumps in the tanks with sufficient baffling, I'd do this if building again, simplest and most efficient system IMO.

Motec ecus are undeniably "better" than the GM ecu for the right application, but make sure you have access to a very good tuner who can sort the street manners, hot and cold start etc without multiple revisits. If you don't have access to this and it is road only, question why you'd need it. You have plenty of knowledge and availability of LS tuners over there, unlike us in the UK where we have more choice for Motec!

[BogBeast]

alishawkat said:

Where would I find heated seats? If I could find one that could fit the Ultima that would be excellent. Thanks for the advice so far guys. Things that I'm going to be doing according to advice so far,

You would need to retrofit I suspect http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Heated-Seat-re... or maybe look at http://corbeau.com/other/seat-heaters/seat-heater....

My Ultima fabric seats are getting tired, may get the out at some point and retrim them in leather and I will probllably install a kit like the above


I am also adding rose joints to my list (as I look at swapping out my second suspension bush)

Edited by BogBeast on Wednesday 13th January 10:08

[Steve_D]

alishawkat said:

.......That's a picture of them in an Ultima. Do they look like they fit well?......

Simple answer, No.
The angle of the seat back is not bad but the front lip is too high and IMHO will cut of the circulation to your legs.

Steve

[UltimaPanthera]

Steve_D said:

alishawkat said:

.......That's a picture of them in an Ultima. Do they look like they fit well?......

Simple answer, No.
The angle of the seat back is not bad but the front lip is too high and IMHO will cut of the circulation to your legs.

Steve

While we're at it - did anyone install these seats from JK Composites in an Ultima?
http://www.jkcomposites.com/7s-page.html
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... (search for "Carbon Seats")
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/cd/30/03...

If no: any obvious reasons why they wouldn't work?
If yes: can you recommend them? (some of you seemingly contemplated putting them in back in 2008:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=620... )

Edited by UltimaPanthera on Wednesday 13th January 19:57

[Mr Pid]

BogBeast said:

You would need to retrofit I suspect http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Heated-Seat-re... or maybe look at http://corbeau.com/other/seat-heaters/seat-heater....

My Ultima fabric seats are getting tired, may get the out at some point and retrim them in leather and I will probllably install a kit like the above


I am also adding rose joints to my list (as I look at swapping out my second suspension bush)

Edited by BogBeast on Wednesday 13th January 10:08

I cannot imagine ever needing heated seats... You have the worlds biggest heater 6 inches behind you. AC is essential in any traffic in hot weather......i wonder if you can get cooled seats?......

[BogBeast]

Mr Pid said:

I cannot imagine ever needing heated seats... You have the worlds biggest heater 6 inches behind you. AC is essential in any traffic in hot weather......i wonder if you can get cooled seats?......

I think your possibly right for a GTR, a Canam I would still think about it.

Thinking about other things I wouldn't bother with (ok, not supplied by Ultima as such) - Stereo+speakers. Pointless waste of time, at least for me.

[srreck]

alishawkat said:

Do you guys think TIllet B4's would be more comfortable then OEM?

I have B4's fitted. A good choice.