Hey, new to the forum here....

I've gota 2000 180 FWD, Forge DV, K&N Intake, Milltek Dual-Out Exhaust, 42DD Downpipe on order. I'm interested in getting my car chipped, but will have to ship the ECU out in order to do it. Has anyone done this and about how long does it take to receive back? Also, any preferences on companies? I was looking at APR, but just because i'm familiar w/ them. Also, at what point should you stop trying to add power and start adding suspension/control components? Finally, I've thought about a boost gauge, but again, not sure how needed it is. The post I read earlier said it was pretty important, but being a little new, what's it doing for me? Thank for the help

 

www.ecstuning.comhas a 3 day turnaround on apr chips. As for the gauge, it lets you see if your dv is ok, you have a vacuum/boost leak and monitor boost levels. All are very important in a turbo car.

 

oh, and the power is useless if you can't stop the car, so its probably never too soon to upgrade brakes/suspension

 

I'm a big suspension/handling fanatic. I'mabout to sacrificejust about ALL the comfort out of my TT's ride for the good of the suspension.

[ul][*]Rear Sway (done)[*]Front Sway (ordered)[*]DEFCON 1 kitwith Polyurethane front and rear control arm bushings (soon)[*]complete polyurethane bushing replacement (ordered)[*]KW variant 2 coilovers (hopefully in late June)[/ul]
Having said that... I think it's more cliche than anything else to consider suspension or braking as first mods. Ithink it'sjust a way to avoid being considered an irresponsibledriver/tuner. I think in the back of most people's mind, power upgrades are what they really want, but don't want to be considered immature, irresponsible, or irrational.
I don't really think it's necessary to upgrade the suspension first... or even second.With what you have on order, I'd say you could still get a chip, boost controller, boost gauge, and FMIC (if you want one) before you had enough power to really worry about suspension upgrades. Of course it's always good to stay ahead of the game though. So if you're looking for a well rounded set of upgrades... you could start with small brake and suspension stuff, but I wouldn't call it necessary yet. At least not until you're at 300+hp.
As starter suspension/brake mods... you could start small and work your way up.
[ul][*]19mm Rear sway bar ($179 - 1 hour install if you have access to lift; 2 hour install if you're using jack stands)[*]High Performance front brake pads and rotors ($75-$100 for pads; anywhere from $80-$150 each for rotors[not big brake kit rotors]- 2½ hour install)[/ul]

 

i have heard many stories that the front sway isnt a pain in the rear...

 

Im getting ready to do my front sway, DEFCON bushing setup, and wishbone bushings in the next few weeks. I cased out the setup under there when I had the car on the lift changing the oil and doing the front brakes. It really doesn't look like it'll be difficult, but there are a lot of things that have to come off to get to the sway bar. The control arms are the biggest thing covering the sway bar. I figure I'll knock it all out at one time since I'll have it all apart. Save me a few front end alignments. I'm probably going to order all new front control arms from TTstuff.com and do all the bushes and bushings the week prior while the arms are not installed to save me headache and time while it's up on the lift. also, my control arms (front and back) are pretty rusted and corroded. not to mention it'll give me a chance to paint them up all pretty and gay.