whats the best proformance parts to get for 180 engine ? what bhp could i be lookin at with example 500 pound? start with full exchaust system, a good enclosed air filter with cold air feed , what else is there

From there you are looking at cams.

how much are they ? you got link to site that sell and what gains if you know

how much are they ? you got link to site that sell

http://www.ptp-ltd.co.uk/shop/360_149/mg_rover/mg_zs/engine_components/piper_camshafts_for_mg_zs__r45_(kv6).htm

£425 for 16BHP - id do without it at that price

plus fitting, and often a remap needed too.
people on XPF rate them mind you, however they have been a little hit and miss i think...

anyway best gains for your 180 would be

induction system choice of 3 proven results, diffence is cost

ITG kit (300 quid plus)

BMC (200 quid)

open cone in wing with silicone hoses (150 quid)

thats the best mod to begin with,

Then your exhast, either a decat or sports cat, a lot of people use the janspeed ones.

thats probably about 500 quid depending on your induction kit.

from that you have cams, and manifolds, or nitrous. and are all expensive ish for gains given imo

The ZS180 is notoriously expensive to tune to above 200bhp, so most owners just do breathing mods - induction and exhaust system including sports cat / de cat and better exhaust manifolds from Janspeed or hayward and Scott (depending on how big your wallet is).

A good ZS180 with the above mods should put out 190-195bhp and you can then get a custom chip done to sort out any fueling issues etc.

Cams are £500 + fitting and rolling road time and even then you will only see 210bhp or so.

ZS_lad has his supercharged but this is a very expensive option to give 260bhp.

Any more than this and you are looking at complete engine re-build or an engine swap like DaveV6 on XPF who is currently having his ZS180 converted to VW 1.8T power!

Depends how much you like the torque and noise of a V6

get a sheddist clutch and a catch tank before any other mods...

"The Voice of Experience"...

A total waste of money. Try replacing the air intake if you wish and waste money on the exhaust. But leave it at that. If you want more power just buy another more powerful car. I have been there in the past swopping this and that for loads of cash and not very great power increases. There aren't many MG Rover tuning items out there and what there is aren't worth wasting the money on. Your cash would be better spent on petrol. If you haven't tried Shell V power give it a try from a full saturated tank and you will see a small power increase that will cost about 5p per ltr more and not affect your insurance either. Leave well alone.

A total waste of money. Try replacing the air intake if you wish and waste money on the exhaust. But leave it at that. If you want more power just buy another more powerful car. I have been there in the past swopping this and that for loads of cash and not very great power increases. There aren't many MG Rover tuning items out there and what there is aren't worth wasting the money on. Your cash would be better spent on petrol. If you haven't tried Shell V power give it a try from a full saturated tank and you will see a small power increase that will cost about 5p per ltr more and not affect your insurance either. Leave well alone.
Rubbish mate. The guys on XPF have proved that you CAN get some performance gains from better induction and complete full exhaust system, just don't expect huge gains like the turbo guys get from a re-map.

It becomes a mugs game as it gets more expensive the more power you chase, like tuning any other model of car. Maybe the OP likes their ZS180 and doesn't want / can't afford anything else.

started with 175bhp.

decat pipe, BMC filter, janspeed exhaust, janspeed manifolds.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b5/Roverdose/RollRd10.jpg

now have 197bhp.

Drew

Rubbish mate. The guys on XPF have proved that you CAN get some performance gains from better induction and complete full exhaust system, just don't expect huge gains like the turbo guys get from a re-map.

It becomes a mugs game as it gets more expensive the more power you chase, like tuning any other model of car. Maybe the OP likes their ZS180 and doesn't want / can't afford anything else.

But at what cost?

just fitting a decat and a MIL eliminator if you have issues with the MIL, and an open cone air filter in the inner wing will get you the better side of 190 bhp if everything is healthy to begine with.

But at what cost?

A damn site cheaper than the cost of trading in the ZS and buying a 'standard' 200bhp car of similar age and mileage.

I completely understand your comments about buying something that was made quicker or more powerful by the manufacturer in the factory. It all completely depends upon how you view the car you've already got and how often you change cars anyway.

If you're an individual who swaps cars frequently, I'd agree with you 100%, but for those of us who actually like the ZS as it is, but could possibly like it a little bir more if it went a bit quicker or sounded better (call me childish, but I like the sound and 'feel' of a V6, so a turbo'd 4 pot isn't for me - yet :) - my wife's Impreza turbo, for example, doesn't have anything like the flexibility of the KV6), then why not spend a £1000 on it to swap exhaust and sort induction out if a change of car is the other option - this mild modification is the least expensive option.

Each to his own - interesting to see the different opinions too. :D

But at what cost?

Depends how "hands on" you want to be with your mods.
Better induction can be either expensive - ITG Maxogen kit which was sold as an option by MG Rover themselves for about £350 ish (I got mine for my ZS180 at about £230 from PTP) or cheap if you buy a filter from a performance shop and make up your own ducting from Halfords or B&Q for about £50-£60.

Either way you will see up to 10bhp more. Exhaust doesn't make that much difference (about 5bhp possibly) but makes more noise, and the KV6 does sound good with better breathing and zorst - certainly mine used to!

Yes you could buy an Imprezza or something with 200bhp or so instead but not everyone has a money tree in their garden and some of us actually enjoy modding our cars to our own personal preference.:)

But at what cost?



what difference does that make??? what car would you compare a 180 with, or lets say a car with 190-200bhp. Because for the money they are now, 1k -5k especially the 1k cars what more could you want from a car, there reasonably quick, a great looking and handling car.

there aint a lot out there that offer the same value for money with such a small budget.

150-300 on induction, and somthing on a exhaust, both give the car a personal touch, and also make the car more fun to drive.

Obviously a touchy subject but for minimal gains of 10-15bhp why waste the money? You already have pretty fast cars. I have the Rover 45 V6 and that's good. I know that the extra 500 cc in the ZS will leave me, but I can show a clean pair of heels to most cars. Mods Green replacement air filter. The exhaust is a standard replacement that now sounds like the lavvy pipes on so called tuning exhausts. So I'll leave this discussion as obviuosly my comments aren't required.
I too have wasted loads in the past tuning cars to stage 3. Very costly.

Obviously a touchy subject but for minimal gains of 10-15bhp why waste the money? You already have pretty fast cars. I have the Rover 45 V6 and that's good. I know that the extra 500 cc in the ZS will leave me, but I can show a clean pair of heels to most cars. Mods Green replacement air filter. The exhaust is a standard replacement that now sounds like the lavvy pipes on so called tuning exhausts. So I'll leave this discussion as obviuosly my comments aren't required.
I too have wasted loads in the past tuning cars to stage 3. Very costly.
Well you must have thought it worth your while to mod your previous cars back then so why the attitude change and negative advice for others now?:confused:

Like I said some folk are not happy with a standard car whatever they buy -there has to be a reason why there are so many car tuning / modding magazines on the shelves in your local newsagents / WHSmiths.

spent a few mins on autotrader. there isnt much available!

lets say you have a 3k ZS180 on an 03 plate. and add 1k worth of bits to get you 200bhp.

try and find something of the same age with the same power for 4k!!!

the only thing that i found was an astra turbo. thats it.

so i dont see the obvious waste of money on tuning, nor do i see the mass of available cars with 200bhp?

Drew

So I'll leave this discussion as obviuosly my comments aren't required.

Don't do that - if we all agreed on every subject, it'd be pretty boring.

Keep it coming :D

Don't you know it gary, i'm going to put a vette V8 in my 214Si, **** buying a new car :gfight:

Don't you know it gary, i'm going to put a vette V8 in my 214Si, **** buying a new car :gfight:

I've got a bag of spanners - want a hand?

:)

Thats probably what it'll sound like!

Thats probably what it'll sound like!

WAAAAHEEEEY!!! :) :) :)

. . . and in the words of Basil Brush . . . ..

Boom! Boom!

How reliable are the internals on a V6 ZS? Can they take these mods?

Speaking from T series turbo, there a bit touchy and dont last all too long once you start fanning around with them.

Say you had manifold through to box and an inducation kit. Would this be a "reliable" power gain? I know obviously, onc you start whacking great bit supercharger kits on etc then this is going to put a strain on. But just from those small mods, you think the engine will be ok?

V6 internals are fine with these mods. Induction and complete exhaust (new mainfold thru to tail pipe) is where you will see most gains and it will transform the driving experience as well.

yes you do hit the law of diminishing returns with KV6 tuning, but then the same is true of most mods - unless you are going down the tasteless LaxPower bodykit mods and neons route