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Old Jun 2, 2010 | 10:44 AM
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Sp3no
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Leicester
Default ST170 Back On The Road *Verdict*

I have not driven my ST170 since i did the following work
New 40 Groove Disks
Red Stuff Pads
Stainless Steel Hoses
Short Shifter
Tweeked Exhaust Cam Timing to 8degrees retard
Polybushes all round including rear blade bushes and anti roll bar end link bushes all exhaust hanger and rear engine mount.
Alloy Crank and water pump Underdrive Pulleys (water pump pulley larger to gear it back up)
New Track Rod Ends
New Wishbones with Bottom Ball Joints
Underside nut and bolt restoration, new handbrake cables, stone chipped, everything painted etc.
Full service including brake fluid, and powersteering fluid change.
Serviced my K&N Typhoon induction kit.
Cam belt change including all tensioners
Aux belt change.

The car was making 189bhp before the underdrive pulleys and the additional tweeking on the exhaust cam.
The pervious spec was
Eibach springs
Mongoose Cat Back System
Typhoon Induction Kit
Dreamscience Remap
Ported Throttle Body
Clutchmasters 12lb Aluminium Fly Wheel
Clutchmasters Stage 3 Kevlar Friction Plate and uprated Pressure plate
CFM Exhaust Cam Pulley 4 degrees retard

I dont know if there was something wrong before i made all the changes but my god does it feel quick now i was not expecting to notice any difference but there is a MASSIVE difference. Especially in acceleration, before i was getting rough 0-60 times of 6.8/6.9 but now it is more like 6.4/6.5 as soon as the manifold switches over at high RPM it goes like a rocket and there was never this surge of power at high RPM before. With the bushes there is a very noticable change in the stiffness of the car, no increase in road noise, it has reduced if anything. When taking a roundabout at high speed the car does not lean anymore, you can feather the throttle and skip and slide it in a controlled manner. The exhaust note has changed, it sounds and feels raw. The idle is a bit lumpy due to the overlap on the valves but i think it sounds as though it means business lol
The short shifter is a joy to use it has a very short throw but is so precise, its the first time i have used a shoft shifter and i think its brilliant
Im loving it apart from the fact it returned 19MPG yesterday £20 of fuel gave me 70 miles!! Think it was down to my excited driving
This is as far a i feel i can take the engine now without high RPM (not good without dry sumping) and bodies or Forced induction, power wise it must be in the mid 190's. Im a bit sad that there are very few power gains left avaliable without major work so im already planning next years turbo conversion

All in all its like a new car and so much fun to drive. Its not the fastest car on the road, far from it but its so much fun, i would describe it a very nippy lol this is how they should have come out the factory. I think it is going to continue to upset supposedly faster cars for a while now at least

The best bit for me though was after having the car in so many bits, apart from a ball joint slipping out on the driveway it has been perfect, not a bang, knock or rumble, nothing has fallen off, not ever a fault code for the VVT solenoid which is common after a cam belt change. A personal Triumph
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