Hey Guys,

I know I'll probably get s**t from a bunch of people for asking dumb questions but here I go.

End of the year I'm wanting to piss off my dying EF motor which has just under 300 000km on the clock and use that as an excuse to give the old EF better performance to go with her new looks... I'm hoping to end up with at least 130-140rwkw and a bit more low end torque for the old girl...

I was looking at these modified AU motors on eBay. Is it easy enough to modify the sump on an AU motor yourself? I've got a bit of mechanical knowledge and anything I can't do my Dad can...

Next comes the performance questions...

Cams... What profile would be best suited for an auto with good low end gains? I've read that the Wade 1636 and RPD R6 profiles work well. Any others people can recommend?

Headwork... I know you can buy modified heads off of places like JMM for abit over a grand. Would it cost just as much and be just as hard to take a standard EF/EL/AU head into a head place and get the same work done to it?

Compression... I've read that raising compression by shaving a touch off of the head is good for gains in NA motors and lowering compression is better for forced induction motors. Am I right?

Bottom end... Is it worth upgrading pistons, crankshafts, rods etc? What gains apart from increased life of the motor are able to be picked up by doing work here?

Finally, Drivetrain... What mods can be done here to get a bit more up and go? Installing a shift kit would be the obvious one. I'm still learning when it comes to diff/gear ratios but what can be gained by changing these?

After that long list, buying a modified AU motor seems mundane as the plan is to completely rebuild it anyway

Any help is appreciated. I got a bit of dosh and time to spend on it as I don't plan on doing the swap until November/December after my Yr12 exams.

I just want to learn a bit more and know what I should be looking for so I can keep an eye on the classifieds, eBay and these forums for any parts that might be usefull!

Cheers guys!

I would put a basic rebuild kit through your motor, take the head into a head specialist for extensive headwork, fit a Wade cam or billet if you got the dosh, fit short ratio diff gears (3.7 or 3.9), fit a T5 manual and you should have a relatively quick car with decent fuel economy at the same time.

Thanks man. I'd love to fit a T5 but that's next year's little expedition What profile cam would you recommend?

The Wade 1636 is doing well for my car, 138kw @ wheels and was still making power when the rev limiter kick in.

But i have to admit, the results on the dyno and the road were disapointing when it was driven through the auto.

I converted to manual, and it seems to extract more power from the cam

Tommorow ive got the car booked in for 3.7 gears, so should be fairly quick then, will post results

How much for the manual conversion? I've seen them around for about $1500ish drive in drive out...

s**t thats fairly cheap, i got a bloke in Sydney (Macxr8) to fit his old one with all new bearings for $2000, i thought that was fairly cheap considering the T5 guru, Mal Wood wanted $3200

A few people have done the conversion themselves, do u think you would be up to doing it yourself to save money?

hm well that $1500 was an old price off the top of my head... I figure they're more around the $2500-$3000 mark now...

I'd definitely be up to doing it myself but I have developed a strong hatred for interior work... i.e. installing the pedal box etc... Apart from that I'd be all good... Is it really way too hard to get an auto to perform well?

you can use a mal wood clutch pin kit...heaps easier than changing pedal box

i would do the auto to manual conversion first, then do engine, as having manual means you get more powerful cams (although they also kick in higher in the rev range

You could get a Hi-stall, which basically means it lets the motor freely rev to the sweet spot alot quicker than normal, but in turn you lose a little of driveability at low revs and city driving and you must fit an oil cooler as well because of the constant slippage.

I also agree with the other post about converting to a manual first, cause firstly you will automatically gain a few kw @ treads with a manual and i reckon you will feel more improvement with a T5, than headwork & cam behind an auto, well my opinion anyway..

The truth is that I need the engine rebuild now as my current motor is starting to show "the signs" of ageing But my gearbox was recon'd not long before I bought the car so that's still running sweet. The manual conversion can wait until next year...

Thanks for the help guys!

What about my Q. regarding the bottom end gear. Is that more $$$ and trouble than it's worth?

sorry to hijack thread
but does mal woods include a reconditioned box?

what signs,ring a engine reconditioner and ask the price for short motor,reco head and gaskets---start from there,then cam,etc.

Yep reco box. Not exactly sure what he does to them, maybe inspect parts and replace if necessary?

Also if you have a blown T5, it costs $1500 for a reco box on an exchange basis, again im not sure if labour or how much extra to fit.