Enginebolt-ons
As the lineage has been around for decades, the options on how to bump power levels of the humble SR are almost endless. With so much information out there, and every backyard expert having their own opinion, it can get pretty hectic trying to pin down the right combination for your car. Depending on how you intend to use it, your ideal combination may be completely different to how your mate has done theirs. To get a better idea on where to start with bolt-on upgrades, we turned to General Manager of ST Hitec, Stewart Mearns. “Before we undertake any modifications with clients’ vehicles, we work through a thorough plan. This consists of what they have already done to their car, what their goals are, what driving experience they have, and what the intended use is. The reason for doing this is setting up the most suitable package for not only this initial stage, but for future modifications and being able to carry the parts forward where possible.
“It’s about setting a realistic goal. For what we’d call a stage one power increase (160–170kW at the wheels) you would be looking to do a few key upgrades. Firstly, air flow in. We recommend an A’PEXi Power Intake kit, as it’s tried and proven to be one of the best systems on the market. Next is flow out. Careful selection of the exhaust not only nets you a good sound and improved performance, but can future-proof your car for the next stage of modifications — something like a combination of Tomei or HPI turbo outlet, with front pipe and cat-back exhaust from proven manufacturers like HKS, A’PEXi, Tomei, or new player X-Force. The final piece of the puzzle for stage one is proper boost control. We recommend the HKS EVC-S. It’s an effective unit that is easy to use.
“When you eventually want to make more power, you can look to stage two (200–220kW at the wheels), where components such as front-mount intercoolers, fuel pump upgrades, and ECU options that will allow you to run upgraded injectors, larger air-flow meters, and different fuel types in future. It’s imperative that after each stage, the car is checked over and tuned on the dyno to ensure air-fuel ratios, ignition timing, boost control, etc. are all calibrated to give the client a vehicle that will drive perfectly and remain reliable.” ST Hitec // 09 573 5575 // sthitec.nz