Linden Monaro Upgrades

[Dan_The_Man]

Well guys I have been on about dropping my Monaro in to Lindens for the past few weeks and yesterday I finally picked it up after Mark worked his magic under the bonnet with a stage2 tune.

So far I don't think I have turned the radio back on as the "new" V8 soundtrack is the most desirable and addictive noise there is. Especially when you back off the throttle you get the overrun pops and bangs which never fail to bring a smile, but the idle burble and the acceleration noise is simply fantastic.

I was really worried that it was going to be too loud and would drone on the motorway (regularly travel from Woking to Newcastle) but it's only noisy when you press your right foot so makes for very pleasant high speed travel. I was also worried that it might be a bit too quiet, but luckily there is no danger of that, I'll try and get a soundfile asap although it won't be as loud as Jagsy's!!.

As for power and throttle response, well its certainly quicker off the mark with a lot more low down grunt and you really feel the t/c cutting in a lot more but once it's run in properly and loosened up a bit I'll stick a dyno chart on here to see where we are with it.

The headers look good, as does the cold air intake, and the tailpipes are very subtle which is quite deceptive really considering the noise that they make.

Can't make any mpg statements yet as I can't keep my foot off the gas now, but seriously it seems to be exactly the same if not fractionally better, but the bad thing is that it sounds so nice in low gears that you tend to forget to change up - which does not help.

Thanks Mark for taking the time to discuss all the options available - I suspect this is how Holden should have sold the Monaro, especially as it used to sound like a 1.1 fiesta and was quite embarrasing trying to convince your mates that there really was a 5.7 under the bonnet, now you turn the key and they just know

>>> Edited by Dan_The_Man on Friday 23 July 18:01

[dan_the_man]

I dropped it off last Weds and picked it up on Saturday so for me it was a four day affair but that was probably due to mark having to custom build the de-cat pipes and me having to fit it around work commitments. I'm sure it is no more than a two day job or maybe even a one day job if you get there early in the morning.

The stage 2 upgrade consists of:

Cold air intake system
2.55" CAPA exhaust
mass airflow meter
4-1 headers (which are the dogs gonads)
K&N filter

And on top of this Mark fitted an HSV airbox which had two large air holes and also made the decat pipes up. The bonnet rubbers are replaced with thicker ones to aid the airflow into the intake, however this is very nicely done and does not lift the bonnet above the wing panels.

I may have been pussyfooting but it was quite damp on the weekend and I'd look rather stupid with a tree planted in the bonnet of a week old car, it was spinning the wheels in a straight line in 1st 2nd and 3rd so t/c was very necessary. For the last five years I have had the luxury of 4wd Imprezas which never run out of grip so its a fun new learning curve

ps the prices are on the Linden website.

[Dan_The_Man]

Jagsy - sorry to delay your PAS cooler !!! My folks live near Bellingham which is 45 mins from Newcastle in the sticks - love to meet up and will mail when I'm up.

Kev - You won't be dissappointed with the upgrade, it's never going to be too loud trust me! I suspect that Mark may have used Stainless pipes as I don't think he had mild steel ones in stock. The mafless tune will make it even better and I was tempted but there is a limit as to how much I can afford at the moment, I think I'll be saving for cams though

There is no chance that the decat will pass a strict MOT emissions test, however there are three years to worry about that. Plus Mark will make up some cat pipes which simply bolt in with 4 bolts if you need them (for MOT's or warranty work). "Technically speaking" I don't think the decat pipes are warranty friendly as this probably falls outside the official Linden stage2 upgrade, but I'm sure an understanding dealer will realise that a decat wont actually do any damage to anything.....
I don't think the mafless tune is warranted either but again best talk to Mark about that


>> Edited by Dan_The_Man on Friday 23 July 18:09

[Dan_The_Man]

One other thing I noticed was that the OEM headers don't even match up properly with the exhaust ports on the engine block, they are substantially smaller than the ports and must strangle the airflow somewhat which is an even better reason to make sure you get them changed.