Alfa Romeo Forum - View Single Post

Darren156 · 05-03-2008

Guys,

My 156 is pretty stock at the moment with the only mod being the GTA intake.

Over the next year or so I plan to up the performance of the car a little bit and was hoping for some advice.

Firstly I was hoping to replace the pads and discs all round with some upgraded parts. Now, some say that the rear pads and discs are fine standard and it's only the front pads that require upgrading? What's the truth behind this? Am I better off upgrading the whole lot or just the front pads? And in either case where's the best place to buy them?

I don't plan on doing the hoses / pipes, just the discs and pads themselves.

Also, I'm looking at getting a decat exhaust for the girl. Does anyone know a place that sells these 'off the shelf' as it were, and then I fit it? Or would I be better off going to a place like Longlife and having them custom build me an entire system? I know for a fact they have to fit the cat before you leave with it, but apparently they can make it easy to remove / reattach. Also, with a de-cat, what sort of BHP gain would I be glancing at, if any?

After the brakes and exhaust I'd be looking at getting the car remapped by Red Dot as they seem pretty good. That costs around £200 I believe and supposedly gives about an extra 17BHP. Optimistic perhaps,

The SP set up is decent enough at handling for me so I'll be leaving the suspension alone.

I've also heard that replacing the air filter for an oiled induction kit (K&N etc) can wreck the MAF, and doesn't do all that much to performance anyway, so I shan't be bothering with that either.

I think that's all I'd be looking at to be honest; Brakes, Exhaust and a Re-Map.

Ideally I want to get her upto V6 performance but know that's pretty hard to achieve in the speed department though.

Any advice and help will be appreciated.

Cheers!

Darren

05-03-2008	#1 (Post Link)
Darren156 AO Gold Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bristol, United Kingdom Posts: 7,438 Member car: '98 156 2.5 V6	Tuning a 156 2.0i TS SP Guys, My 156 is pretty stock at the moment with the only mod being the GTA intake. Over the next year or so I plan to up the performance of the car a little bit and was hoping for some advice. Firstly I was hoping to replace the pads and discs all round with some upgraded parts. Now, some say that the rear pads and discs are fine standard and it's only the front pads that require upgrading? What's the truth behind this? Am I better off upgrading the whole lot or just the front pads? And in either case where's the best place to buy them? I don't plan on doing the hoses / pipes, just the discs and pads themselves. Also, I'm looking at getting a decat exhaust for the girl. Does anyone know a place that sells these 'off the shelf' as it were, and then I fit it? Or would I be better off going to a place like Longlife and having them custom build me an entire system? I know for a fact they have to fit the cat before you leave with it, but apparently they can make it easy to remove / reattach. Also, with a de-cat, what sort of BHP gain would I be glancing at, if any? After the brakes and exhaust I'd be looking at getting the car remapped by Red Dot as they seem pretty good. That costs around £200 I believe and supposedly gives about an extra 17BHP. Optimistic perhaps, The SP set up is decent enough at handling for me so I'll be leaving the suspension alone. I've also heard that replacing the air filter for an oiled induction kit (K&N etc) can wreck the MAF, and doesn't do all that much to performance anyway, so I shan't be bothering with that either. I think that's all I'd be looking at to be honest; Brakes, Exhaust and a Re-Map. Ideally I want to get her upto V6 performance but know that's pretty hard to achieve in the speed department though. Any advice and help will be appreciated. Cheers! Darren The above post was brought to you by Darren156. Irritating members of Alfa Owner since June 2007!