Which Upgrades are best bang for bucks on a 4.5

[mclark]

I'm in the process of getting myself a 4.5 and just wondering which upgrades you guys would recommend I do to the car.

These can be handling, power or cosmetic.

Any pointers appreciated so I can work out how much I need over the next 6 months.....

Cheers

Michael
Ultima GTR for sale
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/50650.htm

[Hedgehog]

Austec Racing, in Crawley, West Sussex can handle all areas you're interested in. www.austec.co.uk

Also check out www.actproducts.co.uk for their range of specialist Cerbera products.

Both companies have impeccable reputations and many happy customers.

[Captain Beaky]

The order I did it:

1) Nitron suspension
2) Headlight conversion, respray, spyders
3) Emerald ECU & decat

I probably would have done 2) and 3) in the reverse order but the Emerald hadn't been launched at the time.

Plus miscellaneous bits: handbrake, amp and sub, new head unit, new exhaust, electric power steering etc etc

[kojak]

Without a doubt, you need to speak to the cerbera guru himself...Joolz. Hes the guy that will steer you in the right direction. Ring him.

www.track-car-solutions.co.uk

.....added to say, whatever cerbera you buy, he may well have worked on it. I would guess, apart from the factory, he has worked on more cerbs than most.

>> Edited by kojak on Wednesday 26th October 09:03

[RichardD]

[redacted]

[Julian64]

Don't want to seem like a wet blanket, but do we 'as a forum' know anyone whos actually been running a supercharged or turbocharged Cerb before we recommend people to this chap?

Saying and doin' two very different things and although somones always gotta be first its a bit misleading to give the impression that its any sort of trodden path. Also Cerbs are pretty unreliable cars and it is one thing to bolt on a super or turbo charger, its another thing to engineer it well enough to preserve the car.

A short search of the forum should tell you which indies to talk to but my cerbs pretty stock but for jools new bypass decat pipes and a set of nitrons from nitron. I now regard both upgrades as essential for a cerb and recommend them to everyone who asks.

Although a nice idea, I very much doubt an engine upgrade would do you much good on the road, as I very much doubt any hyped up cerb would get past a stock cerb unless you met a drag strip. However you will get hassled by hot hatches round the twisties unless you go for a suspension upgrade from stock.

[satman]

Ive had pretty much all the main upgrades done to mine, which I have listed below. These are not the order I had them done, but I have listed them in an order, of what I would consider the best way/order....

1. Suspension - Nitrons transformed ride & handling
2. Brakes - AP upgrade. If you think the car stopped before...try these!
3. ECU/remap. - Unleash those extra ponies! Quite a choice now in this department.
4.Headlights.- Not everyones idea of an upgrade. I think my car looks more aggresive/21st centuary with the upgrade.

...and finally if the car hasnt already got it....Sports pipes & decat, although this could/should/some-would-say, be done prior to the remap, but dont be fooled, this upgrade is a sound-thing, not a BHP increase option!

[RichardD]

Julian64 said:

Don't want to seem like a wet blanket....

All good points. My post was intended as an extension into what is possible with the Cerbera world, rather than any suggestion of what should be top of the list! Apologies if this is how it came accross.

I'd also assume that it is generally obvious that a Cerb isn't up to handling high power levels compared to an Ultima for reasons such as narrower rear tyres, being, front engined etc

While no-one has done the AJP8 supercharged option (although there is now a 4.0 SP6 owner who has taken the plunge), a small company such as Autocraft's most valuable asset is reputation so it would seem unlikely that anything but a good job would take place (plus being in a partnership regarding the SP6 with the designer of the AJP8 anyway!).

[BCA]

1. DRIVER (though coming from an Ultima im guessing you may already be pretty handy behind the wheel-even so, always good to continue further learning in driving - need to book another course sharpish myself!)
2. SUSPENSION - we run AVO's which although not as good as Nitrons according to most, are far cheaper and still make one hell of a difference to Cerbera handling... It's really progressive and alot less yaught(sp? its early lol) like.
3. SPORTS EXHAUST - The standard back box will eventually fall to pieces - and the improvement in sound/volume is worth every penny. We run a JP "quiet" system.
4. ECU - Either a re-chip or an Emerald unit will see 390ish bhp proven on a good'un and similarly torque is hiked up a fair bit too

I wouldnt bother with a decat personally, but thats just me.

www.track-car-solutions.co.uk will be able to deal with all of the above, except perhaps driver tuition - though hes a bloody quick driver in his pesky little underpowered V8's!! God knows what hes like in a well set up Cerb!!!

Having seen Trackcar's work over the past 4years +(blimey?!) there is no one else I would trust to upgrade our Cerbera. Infact, its up there right now for a little tweaking will report back the results soonish no doubt.

He's a genuine enthusiast, immense help to all and a real hero in the Cerbera community. Thats without mentioning that hes one of the most honest, interesting and friendly people you could ever hope to meet. Top bloke, well worth the 180mile round trip just for a chat, let alone the magic he does to our car!!

[Captain Beaky]

BCA said:

1. DRIVER (though coming from an Ultima im guessing you may already be pretty handy behind the wheel-even so, always good to continue further learning in driving - need to book another course sharpish myself!) ....

I agree, I've done a RideDrive day (interesting) and two days with Don Palmer (a real hoot) so far. I'll be doing more.

BCA said:

www.track-car-solutions.co.uk will be able to deal with all of the above...

Yep, Joolz has done pretty well all the mods to my car. He knows the answers and gives the best advice around.

[mclark]

Cheers guys, this is excellent stuff. I'm now going to put a shopping list/costs together and maybe if I do manage to get the car in the next 4 weeks, book it in over Winter to get it all done.

Fingers crossed the base car will be a 4.5lw.

[cerealsurfer]

If your still interested.. save yourself the 10k all these upgrades cost and go for the swap option...

If you've looked my profile you'll see my Dec 2001 Cerb 4.5 LW has all the goodies already.

You can save youself all the hastle....

[BCA]

10k??????

Tuition is on going and I dont see any real cost as its transferable to all cars

A set of Avo's is under £800 fitted and set up

Trackcar does MBE chips for around £400 or full Emerald conversions for somewhere around £1k (slightly more IIRC)

Even an AP big brake (6 pot) conversion is under £2k

It only gets to £10 with major work such as supercharging£6k + susp£1k + cosmetic rubbish £3k


These Cerberas can be made far more mighty for relatively little in real terms - £2ks worth of tuning gets you a near 400bhp car with decent handling.

Which when you consider a big service with a few odds and sods is £1k at a dealer - is a bit of a no brainer surely??

[oli_quick]

A quick aside - what is the insurance notification required for non-performance enhancing upgrades - I thinking specifically of Nitrons here.

And does it generally result in an increase in premium??

[BCA]

oli_quick said:

A quick aside - what is the insurance notification required for non-performance enhancing upgrades - I thinking specifically of Nitrons here. And does it generally result in an increase in premium??

Not sure how much it effected dads premium, but knowing insurance companies... they'll hear nitrons and think nitrous.

Have spoken to an insurance company about getting my smart "re-mapped" - I got the response that they'd cover items up to £100 inside the car and have never heard of maps being stolen anyway... though its best to keep things in the glove box

dont use that company personally, but idiots still quoted me £1k+... I dont like giving money to idiots.

[Steve_T]

oli_quick said:

A quick aside - what is the insurance notification required for non-performance enhancing upgrades - I thinking specifically of Nitrons here. And does it generally result in an increase in premium??

It didn't for me - I'm with Sunninghill, definitely a good insurer to use if your Tiv is modified.

[Steve_T]

cerealsurfer said:

If your still interested.. save yourself the 10k all these upgrades cost and go for the swap option... If you've looked my profile you'll see my Dec 2001 Cerb 4.5 LW has all the goodies already. You can save youself all the hastle....

The man has a point, you very seldom get back much of the money spent on upgrades. If you like the car the swap option sounds an eminently sensible choice.

Steve.

[Julian64]

RichardD said:

Julian64 said: Don't want to seem like a wet blanket.... All good points. My post was intended as an extension into what is possible with the Cerbera world, rather than any suggestion of what should be top of the list! Apologies if this is how it came accross. I'd also assume that it is generally obvious that a Cerb isn't up to handling high power levels compared to an Ultima for reasons such as narrower rear tyres, being, front engined etc While no-one has done the AJP8 supercharged option (although there is now a 4.0 SP6 owner who has taken the plunge), a small company such as Autocraft's most valuable asset is reputation so it would seem unlikely that anything but a good job would take place (plus being in a partnership regarding the SP6 with the designer of the AJP8 anyway!).

Sorry, no offence intended, and didn't mean to look directly aimed at your post.

But I'm a pretty cautious type, and don't trust anyone who hasn't already come up with the goods. When I see someone at a meet with a turbo charged or supercharged Cerb telling me how reliable its been I'll ask who did it for them. Till then a reputation lasts as long as the last disaster.

[RichardD]

Julian64 said:

Sorry, no offence intended, and didn't mean to look directly aimed at your post. But I'm a pretty cautious type, and don't trust anyone who hasn't already come up with the goods. When I see someone at a meet with a turbo charged or supercharged Cerb telling me how reliable its been I'll ask who did it for them. Till then a reputation lasts as long as the last disaster.

No worries .

Is a bit of a chicken and egg situation for specialist work. Does a small company throw time / money at a conversion in the hope someone wants the finished product or just say that they can do it and hope that that is enough.

Hopefully, next year we'll have Ash (SXS on PH) mentioning how good his 6.0 Cerb is behaving, complete with (as was in a previous thread) 28psi of boost Not a sensible or low cost upgrade,

[oli_quick]

Do people know what main dealer's views are on upgrades - London TVR are my closest mechanical source...would they be open to installing third party products like Nitrons and ECUs?