Fast, Fun Car - Tuning? Where?

[PatrickKamala]

Hi guys,

i am new to the car scene in Thailand and already quite desperate of the limited choice of fun cars to have...

Here it goes (apologies for lengthy topic and please don't burn me on my non-existing technical/mechanical know how):

My target is a fast and fun car which is still reliable for daily driving and should not cost more than 1.2 m Baht. As I am scared of 2nd hand purchases here, I would rather go new and than do something... Definition of fast & fun for me is: at least 200 hp, with 0-100 km/h times of (if possible) less than 7secs. So, let's make it easy Golf GTI or the whereabouts.

My thoughts:

1) Ford Focus 2.0 TDCI : good oomph from the diesel, a bit head heavy, decent road handling, not the most stylish. To get it up to the figures I would assume:

- ECU tuning should get it easily up to 160hp without spending huge, but as this is not yet up to what i want, now it gets more difficult?

- would a turbo upgrade do the trick? Would it work, meaning, is the rest capable of handling it? Injectors, valves, etc? What more would have to be done? What cost I would be looking at, and would it still be reliable?

2) Ford Focus 2.0 Sport+ : Great price right now, so can spend a bit more on upgrades. Handling is nice, not the most stylish. Again, what would it take to get it where I want it?

- Turbo kit? Available here in Thailand? and is it reliable? Not just some stuff thrown in together without much deep knowledge and the customer after a short while regrets what he has put in...?

3) ....a bit of a long shot, but for what it is worth, a Ford New Ranger 3.2 I5, which should already have about 200hp, and maybe with a bit of ECU tuning could get (guesstimate, as the car is not even out yet) to 240 or so hp? Again, maybe if more is needed a bigger turbo and a bit here and there? Sure, it won't be a GTI, but could be decent fun as well.

Well guys, anybody with some 'real' knowledge or even done those kind of things with those kind of cars, please feel free to comment. I understand there are quite a few pick up conversion out there, but those are surely different engines than the Focus TDCI and I don't think i have seen to many standard 2.0 engine conversions to turbo added engines.

Last but not least, I guess only choice would be Bangkok to do these things, but if somebody has knowledge of a tuning shop in Phuket, would be fantastic.

Cheers,

Patrick

[wandrinstar]

I would look towards Mitsu,there are some good Mitsu Thai Tweakers here. MRO is your Man for Tweak Advice with practical common sence.

[katabeachbum]

Focus diesel, nice engine and dsg auto, 200 hp at approx 80.000 baht

Focus 2,0 petrol, nice engine but sluggish 4 speed auto not capable of 200 hp

Ranger 3,2/6 speed auto. 260hp at 12k baht for racechip and dump pipe only. 600Nm

Pajero Sport 2,5 GT. 178 hp stock, racechip and dump pipe at 12k baht approx 230hp and 450Nm.

Fiesta 1,6 Sport/6 speed dsg. Kompressorkit from Swedish Ford should be like 160hp in a light car with extremely efficient dsg auto

all below 1,2 million baht

[culicine]

The pajero / ranger might be doable, but I wouldn't classify them as "fun". They couldn't be tossed around like a seda. If you are open to second hand cars there would be a lot more choice - big mods on a car under warranty might void it.

The best but would be a diesel sedan, and give some tweaks to that. Might be worth waiting for the new ford focus diesel. Petrol engines would need decent sized turbos to get them moving fast.

You might wan't to check out www.rcweb.net - plenty of second hand cars there for sale. I saw k20 6 speed eg civic there for about 400K. That would be seriously quick! Then there's wrx's in your price range too - probably they've been thrashed though..

[Shocktreatment]

Focus diesel, nice engine and dsg auto, 200 hp at approx 80.000 baht

Focus 2,0 petrol, nice engine but sluggish 4 speed auto not capable of 200 hp

Ranger 3,2/6 speed auto. 260hp at 12k baht for racechip and dump pipe only. 600Nm

Pajero Sport 2,5 GT. 178 hp stock, racechip and dump pipe at 12k baht approx 230hp and 450Nm.

Fiesta 1,6 Sport/6 speed dsg. Kompressorkit from Swedish Ford should be like 160hp in a light car with extremely efficient dsg auto

all below 1,2 million baht

The Ranger at 260 hp and 600 nm sounds a little optimistic with just a basic chip, Do you have a dyno video on this or is it just guessing.

[PatrickKamala]

Thanks guys.

Katabeachbum: could you specify what one would get for 80,000 Baht exactly and how 200hp are reached?

cheers,

[Topcroc]

One2car, Subaru Impreza WRX vehicle 43 in the list. Seems to have all the fruit, 300hp. Set up looks good with top equipment inc brakes. Sure you could negotiate to your orig budget and end up with more than you wanted. 20,000klm. It would be enough to scare the pants of most.

Not V8 TA but not a bad substitute.

[katabeachbum]

Focus diesel, nice engine and dsg auto, 200 hp at approx 80.000 baht

Focus 2,0 petrol, nice engine but sluggish 4 speed auto not capable of 200 hp

Ranger 3,2/6 speed auto. 260hp at 12k baht for racechip and dump pipe only. 600Nm

Pajero Sport 2,5 GT. 178 hp stock, racechip and dump pipe at 12k baht approx 230hp and 450Nm.

Fiesta 1,6 Sport/6 speed dsg. Kompressorkit from Swedish Ford should be like 160hp in a light car with extremely efficient dsg auto

all below 1,2 million baht

The Ranger at 260 hp and 600 nm sounds a little optimistic with just a basic chip, Do you have a dyno video on this or is it just guessing.

racechips.de

search Ford Transit, same engine, designed by Italian VM Motori, been used for a couple of years, now manufactored by Ford only I believe

ad dump pipe to replace cat, and you see 260hp and 600Nm

there is much more power to release, but then you increase tuning costs, and complicate warranty

[katabeachbum]

Thanks guys.

Katabeachbum: could you specify what one would get for 80,000 Baht exactly and how 200hp are reached?

cheers,

you need from Germany the 200hp kit including new injectors, and of course electronics to increase pressure and alter injection timing. 210 hp if you drop the pilotinjections, but then it gets rather noisy. same turbo, so same low end response and lack of turbo lag, just more tourque.

edit/update. All you need since 2011 is injectors from 2,0/163hp and racechips.de, lets say 40k baht, and you have 213hp /428Nm with maintained pilotinjections. engine tuning developes rapidly

and at 12k baht for racechips.de only, you are at 178hp/405Nm

[Tarric]

I would go for a Focus from around 2005 with a good condition interior preferably with a motor and gearbox that have died. Then get a Focus ST or Focus RS engine, gearbox and diff from the U.K, get a good reliable mechanic to transplant them in. For not that much money you would have a rocket ship of a car for its size that would leave a Golf GTi in the dust especially with a sports exhaust, intake system and ECU tune.

Thats my plan anyway, that or a Supra/RX-7

[MoonRiverOasis]

OK, here's my input

First of all, buying near-new could save you some real money - you're going to blow your warranty anyway..

OK, now for the goal: 200HP for < 1.2M Baht.

Suggestion 1:

Toyota Yaris J MT 500K. Take it to TRD in Bangkok and get the engine swapped for the 2ZZ-GE, and the MT swapped for the Corolla GT 6-speed - which will cost ~200-300K changeover (depending on condition/K's of the Jap import donor engine + MT). This will net you 180-190 HP depending on engine year. If that's not enough, supercharge it (as per Lotus Exige S) and you'll be looking at 225-300HP. 700K+

Suggestion 2:

Hunt through the used cars sites and weekly magazines looking for an MR2 TRD2000GT (Identifiable by a factory widebody). There were only ever 35 made, but at least 3 made it to TH. There was one for sale in BKK a few months back for 1M Baht. All of the examples imported to TH were optioned with all the TRD extras, so make the full 490HP. ~1M.

Suggestion 3:

Any low-end 1.5L MT Honda (City/Jazz) with a K20A 2.0L engine swap. Easiest swap in the world (practically direct bolt-up and plug-in), and worth 220-240 HP out of the box, depending on engine year. If you're lucky enough to find an F20C engine (from the S2000) you'll have 240HP standard, but with more tuning range than the K20A. 800K-1.2M depending on base car.

Suggestion 4:

Nissan Silvia/180SX/200SX - hard to find a good example of these now, but the FJ20 2.0L can be tuned for insane levels of HP with off-the-shelf bolt-ons. Price will vary.

Suggestion 5:

An old mid-90's Mazda MX-5/Miata (also hard to find a good one now) with the B6 1.6L engine. Easily make 200 WHP with a turbo bolted on and some head work. Forget the 1.8L and 2.0L engines as you'd need to spend a small fortune to make the bottom end strong enough for big boost. < 800K all done.

[Shocktreatment]

Focus diesel, nice engine and dsg auto, 200 hp at approx 80.000 baht

Focus 2,0 petrol, nice engine but sluggish 4 speed auto not capable of 200 hp

Ranger 3,2/6 speed auto. 260hp at 12k baht for racechip and dump pipe only. 600Nm

Pajero Sport 2,5 GT. 178 hp stock, racechip and dump pipe at 12k baht approx 230hp and 450Nm.

Fiesta 1,6 Sport/6 speed dsg. Kompressorkit from Swedish Ford should be like 160hp in a light car with extremely efficient dsg auto

all below 1,2 million baht

The Ranger at 260 hp and 600 nm sounds a little optimistic with just a basic chip, Do you have a dyno video on this or is it just guessing.

racechips.de

search Ford Transit, same engine, designed by Italian VM Motori, been used for a couple of years, now manufactored by Ford only I believe

ad dump pipe to replace cat, and you see 260hp and 600Nm

there is much more power to release, but then you increase tuning costs, and complicate warranty

I see its not a normal fuel pressure control chip, does the fuel map and MAF and increases the boost so its a plug and play piggy back system.

[VocalNeal]

Thinking outside the box here.

Skoda Octavia from DAD Auto who are also the MTM guys in Thailand 215 HP factory warranty et al. The 215 Hp conversion is 1000 Euro over the base 1.8 TSI car.

Std 1.8 TSI 0-60 in 7.8 has a 7 speed DSG box. So with conversion?

[Jerry555]

Just spotted a Subaru impreza STI (300hp) for sale on Sukhumvit opposite Nong nooch Pattaya , 2002 , 65.000 km , 950.000 baht .

[Shocktreatment]

Just spotted a Subaru impreza STI (300hp) for sale on Sukhumvit opposite Nong nooch Pattaya , 2002 , 65.000 km , 950.000 baht .

if 2.5 truck will smoke yuah

[Murf]

Loads of second hand cars out there 300k + with the spec you are asking for... Look on the Thai websites.

[Haiaphai]

listen, I know you are worried about second hand cars, but the truth is that if you look around for a good tuner and have some ideas in mind, you could have help finding a decent ride for FAR less than 1.2mb

Toyota Starlet turbo, the stock 4E-FTE is turboed and hitting 200-250whp wouldn't be that much of a problem.

any of the AE86 styled Corollas with a 4AGE will make great HP and they will be RWD.

BMW e30's can be had for 80-150k THB, then you can swap in an SR20DET and easily make 300-400hp, or a 1jz for similar power or go crazy with a 2jz again RWD Also a 1UZFE is a cheap V8 swap

My friend has a old 70's Merc with a 1jz swap. looks nice all blacked out with a huge FMIC on the front. There are TONS of old cars that Thais are more than apt at shoe horning 1jz/2jz or sr20dets into, like Datsun 510, or 210s.

Personally? When I permanently move back to thailand, I will be looking at a Mid 70's celica liftback with a 1uzfe swap.

note the plates, my idea is VERY possible.

Also check his other videos for lots of old American Iron in Thailand, lots to be had for under 1mb

Edited September 4, 2011 by Haiaphai

[eTiMaGo]

plenty of choices for second hand cars... Like the poster above mentioned, hard to beat an old sedan like a BMW E34 5 series or Volvo 940 or Mercedes E class with a 1JZ/2JZ engine swap Nissan A31 Cefiros are also a popular base, as are old Imprezas.

If you want a new car, though.... there's no such thing as an affordable sports car here, sadly, as they'd be imported and thus subject to those heavy heavy taxes. Closest you can get are "sporty" cars, the Focus TDCi has been mentioned many times as it is pretty much the best bang for the buck, IMO. Otherwise you'd be looking at large (relatively speaking) engined cars like the Civic, Mazda 3 2.0, etc, but for some reason those "sport" models all come with plain old 4-speed autos... A 3.5L Honda Accord is probably the most powerful sub-2mil car you can get. My friend had the previous model with the 3.0L engine, was 1.6mil back then, and it had a pretty good kick!. But, hardly a fun car otherwise.

Edited September 5, 2011 by eTiMaGo

[PatrickKamala]

thanks for all your suggestion...

Although of course the suggestion of taking an old car and sticking in a high hp engine makes sense, it does not do it for me.

Firstly, I am in Phuket and believe garages taking care of this are not really that available...., than those cars are rarely stylish (i guess i should have added this in my criterias...)

So, right now i guess the Focus TDCI is kind of still the front runner..

Although I just posted another subject with another candidate....a Citroen DS3 with 150 hp and the engine of the Mini Cooper S, but at "only" 1.649m new! 150 hp doesn't sound like much I know, but test seem pretty favourable. 0-100 in 7.2 isn't shabby and it seems to be fun to drive and easy to live with.

Never thought of even thinking of driving a Citroen........!

[Haiaphai]

Sounds like you like "hot hatches" and fwd tuner cars, which is no problem.

Why not get an EG3 civic and drop a booset b16 or b18 in there. EG3s can be had on the cheap and you could probably walk away with a boosted b16 swap, interior update, a decently modified suspension and a repaint for far less than 1.2

I did a search for Phuket tuner shops and found a few names listed, but no links. The main trouble you wil find is that English probably won't be spoken much at these shops.

I just never saw the point of buying a newer car with a warranty and then immediately voiding it with an ecu programmer, header swap, etc.

Good luck and keep us updated on whatever you get!

[julesdick]

Loving this thread. Thanks to all.

[julesdick]

But what is 'Swedish Ford '? Google isn't helping me.

[julesdick]

But what is 'Swedish Ford '? Google isn't helping me.

[transam]

But what is 'Swedish Ford '? Google isn't helping me.

Snow on the roof.

[wandrinstar]

But what is 'Swedish Ford '? Google isn't helping me.

Snow on the roof.

When you crank it up , it goes Ugul Googal , Ugul Googal.

[julesdick]

But what is 'Swedish Ford '? Google isn't helping me.

Snow on the roof.

When you crank it up , it goes Ugul Googal , Ugul Googal.

so it just means Ford in Sweden?

[eTiMaGo]

When you crank it up , it goes Ugul Googal , Ugul Googal.

Is that the majestic moose's mating call?

[dencio]

If i have that amount of budget for a car to get pimped, Il get a good second hand car(i.e altis or civic) then spend the rest of the money for engine swap, exhaust, air intake system, suspension, turbo kit etc. Heres a good site to shop around on line for 2nd hand cars thaicar.com

I wont go for brand new if i were you.... but then again it's your own money. good luck

Edited September 16, 2011 by dencio

[wandrinstar]

Why are Ride Pimpers allways parked on the side of Expressways ,Hood Up, stareing into engine..

[Haiaphai]

Why are Ride Pimpers allways parked on the side of Expressways ,Hood Up, stareing into engine..

Fast, Cheap, Reliable. You can only have 2, and these guys usually only pick the first 2, that's why.