Sonnytron
Ready to race!
- Location
- Cupertino, CA
Here's my baby:
My purchase experience: She had 59,300 +/- 80 miles when I picked her up at Carmax for $13,995 at a very good interest rate with a low down. I picked up gap insurance and drove her home that day. She's had zero modifications and a picture perfect VW dealership only maintenance history which includes inspections at every oil change. She was a lease vehicle which explains the lack of mods. Zero packages and came with Sirius XM pre-installed. Took her to a tuning shop and she passed all inspections. Of course they recommend I get the valves clean but my cam follower looks good. He said it looks like it's only been driven 15,000 miles but he recommends I replace it before or at my next oil change.
That being said, I don't like the idea that a Focus ST (in stock trim) or a bolt-on SI would put a beating on me. I also don't like having "gaps" in the performance of this car. In a straight line and from a roll, she's quite tough. But braking could be better, so could grip and there's a little power missing.
So here's my build plans:
Final product:
Performance - Ebay Downpipe, Pipercross, Stage 2 Tune
Suspension - DG Springs plus bushings, rear sway bar
Brakes - RedStuff, RBF660
Grip - Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric
"For good measure" - Valve cleaning, Cam Follower, DV+, catch can
The goal is to get this entire build done for under $1500 or as close to $1000 as I can. I will be scouring for used springs/DP and waiting for a tune deal. Right now Revo is $200 off so I might go that route.
The performance goal is high 13's and the ability to beat cars like BRZ, FiST/FoST on a road course without brake fade issues.
The aesthetics: I'll either pick up the EONON unit or an RNS 315, window tinting and all weather mats. That's as far as aesthetics go. And I won't be doing anything to the exterior. I love the way this car looks, why change it?
I'll also be breaking this up into sections: Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, etc. The first phase will obviously include the valve cleaning and cam follower. But beyond that I have no idea which I should incorporate. Ideally they'd have a "cost step" so each step would ideally cost around $350-450 so I can be done in 3 paychecks. Any suggestions on modifying the build is welcome. Please note that I don't want to completely build any aspect of this car. I would be 100% happy with 230-235 wheel horsepower and better-than-stock braking and grip. Ideally I'd want the car to perform close to a stock MK7. But I do welcome suggestions for alternatives to the parts I chose or better ways to spend on a particular category.
My purchase experience: She had 59,300 +/- 80 miles when I picked her up at Carmax for $13,995 at a very good interest rate with a low down. I picked up gap insurance and drove her home that day. She's had zero modifications and a picture perfect VW dealership only maintenance history which includes inspections at every oil change. She was a lease vehicle which explains the lack of mods. Zero packages and came with Sirius XM pre-installed. Took her to a tuning shop and she passed all inspections. Of course they recommend I get the valves clean but my cam follower looks good. He said it looks like it's only been driven 15,000 miles but he recommends I replace it before or at my next oil change.
That being said, I don't like the idea that a Focus ST (in stock trim) or a bolt-on SI would put a beating on me. I also don't like having "gaps" in the performance of this car. In a straight line and from a roll, she's quite tough. But braking could be better, so could grip and there's a little power missing.
So here's my build plans:
Final product:
Performance - Ebay Downpipe, Pipercross, Stage 2 Tune
Suspension - DG Springs plus bushings, rear sway bar
Brakes - RedStuff, RBF660
Grip - Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric
"For good measure" - Valve cleaning, Cam Follower, DV+, catch can
The goal is to get this entire build done for under $1500 or as close to $1000 as I can. I will be scouring for used springs/DP and waiting for a tune deal. Right now Revo is $200 off so I might go that route.
The performance goal is high 13's and the ability to beat cars like BRZ, FiST/FoST on a road course without brake fade issues.
The aesthetics: I'll either pick up the EONON unit or an RNS 315, window tinting and all weather mats. That's as far as aesthetics go. And I won't be doing anything to the exterior. I love the way this car looks, why change it?
I'll also be breaking this up into sections: Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, etc. The first phase will obviously include the valve cleaning and cam follower. But beyond that I have no idea which I should incorporate. Ideally they'd have a "cost step" so each step would ideally cost around $350-450 so I can be done in 3 paychecks. Any suggestions on modifying the build is welcome. Please note that I don't want to completely build any aspect of this car. I would be 100% happy with 230-235 wheel horsepower and better-than-stock braking and grip. Ideally I'd want the car to perform close to a stock MK7. But I do welcome suggestions for alternatives to the parts I chose or better ways to spend on a particular category.