To Mod or not to Mod
 

I've got an 06 MS6 with low mileage (45k) that has been perfect for me; has shown none of the known issues thus far. It's a daily driver (although I work from home primarily, hence the low miles) and I already have other toys (Sky Redline, a couple sportbikes). I've started shopping around for a new sedan (looking at B8 S4) but that is a fiscally stupid move since the MS6 is still a great car.

So started thinking about tossing some mods on it to renew my interest (I started modding my 95 GSX around 40k miles and ended up keeping it past 100k miles as I upgraded damn near everything short of dropping in a 6-bolt).

But I'm concerned about potentially introducing issues or side effects that I read about all the time (turbo smoke, CELs, increased NVH, highway drone, etc). Has anyone else in the same boat regretted, or not regretted starting with a few mods (e.g. SRI, TIP, shifter bushing/weight/throw, RMM, cat-back, etc)?

I'm thinking of just getting an AccessPort, SURE SRI/TIP, and RMM to start with. would be nice to uncork the intake and hear the turbo as I miss the induction sound that I was so used to in my old 16G equipped 4G63. The exhaust is perplexing though as a down-pipe seems a better plan than just a Cat-back but all the systems available for our cars appear to have poor resonation-reduction and do not want to add any measurable highway drone.

The real motivation for this is the car has been paid off since I bought it and is only really worth about 15k on the market, but moving up to the S4 would be in the area of 45-55k. In an effort to save me from myself I'm thinking even a few grand in mods would rekindle my passion for this car, but not at the expense of long hours modding, mapping, and troubleshooting issues. I've already played that game and while it was fun I've outgrown that part of the hobby.

oh gawd. just mod and get it over with

go for upgraded motor mounts, intake and tune, internals (if needed), short shifter/plate, maybe suspension as needed... i am very happy i have done these things and they have not added any issues to my ownership of the car.. other than when i fuck up and don't install properly.

truly, these mods will do very little to decrease reliability (unless the tune sucks anus) and wil change the feel of the car drastically (well, the ones i've done have transformed my ms3, i imagine they'd do the same for your ms6)

do it. it will save you tons of anal raping..

Mod


/thread

Get the intake. It helps give the car some balls. next, get a high pressure fuel pump or internals. This because anything you do to it as far as performance goes, will put the cam driven high pressure fuel pump through the ringer. There are plenty of threads on this and do some searching to know what you are working against once you get to a certain point. Great car though and good luck. This forum has endless potential on trying to help you out with questions. If you plan on sticking around for awhile though, you might want to donate. I'm sure someone will say something to you soon about it.

what others have said i'm just going to give my .02 cents. do an intake first, hands down. i was at a dyno day when someone went stock to intake and it was 20ish HP, plus the new found turbo sounds put a smile on your face.

secondly the acessport and a custom tune will net you the most power for the buck, but in order to get the most out of your car your going to need to upgrade your HPFP (high pressure fuel pump).

Along with these mods i would suggest going a step colder in spark plugs and doing the rear motor mount will help shifts a tad and keep your motor in one place.

I say do it, corksport FMIC, hpfp, dp (only, no need cat back), twm stage 2 short throw shifter with bushing, and mod addiction heavy shift knob ($50–$80 there a great deal) , SU RMM , one step colder plugs, and a COBB AP...alway look around in the for sale section, you can get great deals on these items used...Mod and have fun :firedevil:

Thanks, I'm pretty set on doing at least the AP, intake, and RMM. What I can't seem to find across tens of thread here and on m6f is which RMM transmits the least amount of NVH into the chassis? There are posts about the new SURE RMM mentioning different bushing options but I don't see any choice on their ordering page. It also looks like the Cobb SRI (for the MS6) might require the RMM as it doesn't have bushing on the mounting bracket like the SURE SRI does.

Mainly I'm wondering what exhaust setup is ideal for a daily-driver. Technically a DP with the stock exhaust would net better performance on a small-displacement turbo platform then a stock DP with larger diameter cat-back. Also IL is testing 2006+ MY for emissions now so I need something that either passes emissions or I swap back in the factory exhaust prior to test-time (every 2 years). In IL you are allowed to have only 1 of the 4 monitors in a NOT READY state and still pass an OBD-ii check.

Don't get a downpipe then. If you have to take that thing off every once in awhile, you will be pissed. I don't think i've ever had a harder time getting a downpipe off/on.

Yeah, that's what I've been reading. The Hahn DP on my GSX was a bitch and a half, but I was still able to pass back then with a high-flow cat that I would swap in as my 95 wasn't eligible for the ODB-ii test (even though it was equipped with it) and I would just barely pass the sniff test.

Let me know OP we have several ms6 parts in stock. :)

I'd add a SSP and/or a short shifter plus diff mounts to your list.

shadrach I have a Injen CAI and a hypertech tune. I am in the same situation your in. This is my daily driver and i don't want a loud exhaust. So i was thinking of putting on custom 2.5" Dynomax VTs. Supposedly they are pretty quiet when your not stepping on the gas. i'm considering a downpipe too, but was going to have high flow cats installed just to make sure i pass emissions.

Btw..I live in Naperville area. If you want to check out my car let me know. The CAI and the hypertech tune really woke the car up.

Mod it responsibly, but I'm not gonna read all that shit in the 1st post.

i am a complete newb to the MS3 but i commute 40 miles a day with mine and my upgrades will be;

1. SRI/TIP
2. Cobb AP
3. Rear motor mount

and see where im at after that...

That's a completely satisfying start..believe me.

If you're tight on cash, I would replace getting a TIP with an eTune..if you can swing both then by all means. But a tune will really help you appreciate this car..it'll open it up more than any mod..short of a BT..which still requires tuning obviously.:nutkick:

Everything sounds good but if want to have fun and launch the car you should do the following
1.AP
2. Internals
3. Colder plugs
4. RMM
5.SRI/TIP
6. Front/rear diff mounts.

This is where I'm at and the car is a blast to drive

I was just going to ask at what point front/rear diff mounts should happen. It seems to be a fairly necessary precaution.

Seems to me that the rear diff upgrade would be more related to driver behavior. The more power, the harder the launches, and the frequency of these stressful events would make the most difference. I rarely launch the car and if I did I slip the clutch more.

For those with helpful responses, thanks. I'm planning on going with the first round of mods being the AP, Sure SR+TIP, Sure Torque R6, and maybe even the Sure shifter upgrades pieces.

My next emission test is next summer so I may just wait until then, then toss on the exhaust upgrades, drive the car for two more years and by then I'll be looking at upgrading to something else anyways (e.g. new S4, maybe even future RS4 or a used GTR, unless a baby comes in the next 3 years LOL)

I've got an MS6 for my daily as well, and it basically has the same mods you're talking about. I got it with 44k on it, and now it has 95k. I began down the modding path with the AP. This netted me a way to monitor the car for CELs (there have been a couple - EGR, etc...), and it has also increased my fuel economy and performance markedly, so good choice on that one.

The intake will improve the output of the car as well, and it *can* improve fuel economy as well. Personally I got an SRI instead of a full intake. I live in the midwest, so we get rain (at least we used to), and the idea of hydro-locking my engine because I ran through a puddle didn't appeal to me.

I don't believe that you need to worry too much about whether or not the intake has a rubber bushing here or there. The intake itself is a flexible silicone pipe, and even with my CPE-Nano I've seen no problems despite having it rigidly affixed to the battery tray bolts (via a home-made solid mounting bracket).

I have the Sure R6 and despite having a relatively soft (70duro) bushing, it still translates a fair amount of NVH into the cabin, particularly at idle and low revs. It just makes the car feel more "grumbly." It did significantly improve shift quality though.

I would actually suggest that you go for the JBR Short Shift Plate, weighted knob, counterweight and shifter base bushings as well (@Jbarone). They've been the most enjoyable mod that I've made to the car, as I use the shifter whether or not I'm driving hard, and it makes the car feel completely different with a bit more weight and a much more precise-feeling shift.

I should also say that the only unexpected expenses I've incurred have nothing to do with the mods that I've made. Rather, they've been replacements/repairs of bodywork and suspension thanks to unwanted encounters with tire carcasses and the like. So far *knocks wood* the car is still running like a top.

Just an FYI, Cobb reccdomends step colder plugs wih any ots map.

Unless you are launching your car, which I suspect you do not, diff mounts are a waste of money. A downpipe will not add drone to your car, but will put the biggest smile on your face out of any mod for the MS6. The downpipe requires upgraded fuel pump internals and the AP.
The AP/RMM/SRI are a great start, and should help give you the bug, good luck!

Just mod the damn thing.

First mod I did was the Sure RMM. It was an awesome upgrade and you can just tell how much better a RMM helps with shifting and keeping the engine sturdier through the powerband.

Then I installed a SSP and shifter weight. It makes the shifter feel a ton better. After that I installed my Cobb AP and I can feel a little difference even without a custom tune. The only thing holding me back from installing the rest of the parts in my sig is ordering Autotech internals :/ I blew all my mod moneys.

Going to order the AP first and gets some baseline logs and tune it before adding any bolt-ons. I spent months tuning DMSLink on my GSX and the AP software looks 10x more customizable than what I used a decade ago.

Don't do it. I'm broke and my car is a piece of shit now.

?

Sarcasm

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

How is this thread 27 posts long? I thought it was a joke. Mod. Always mod. Done, close the thread.

It was a valid question, LOL at all the people getting their panties in a bunch. I was modding and tuning 4G63s before some of you had a drivers license, but back then I could afford to have the car experience drive-ability issues and then resolve them properly. Considering I occasionally need to drive across the Midwest with little notice for work I want to make sure that I don't upset the current balance as I've had zero issues thus far (none of the TSB issues, never smoked, etc).

But after doing more research on the AP (like reading Abilor's guide) it's pretty clear to me what parts I can easily tune around and what route I'll take.

So thanks to the helpful replies.