Decat is on

[KirkJames]

Well folks, had the decat put on today but I forgot the camera so will take some pics at home in next couple of days and get some posted. They have modified the old cat so that can bolt back in just after the flexi for the mot.

But............

I haven't notice any difference in performance and a minimal change in sound. I am a little disappointed to be honest.
Will the ecu take time to learn?
Inner wing induction kit is now a must!

[Levi]

When I first fitted my sports cat and piper cat back, it sounded lovely but performance felt a bit worse if anything, not responsive. I too felt disappointed. But after a good few miles it started to feel good again.

[Supercharged_Z]

whats the point of a fantasticly free flowing exhaust if the engine is being starved of nice air ;)

[tcb 180]

Mine felt more unrestricted from the word go tbh. Need to sort inlet air out really.

[KirkJames]

whats the point of a fantasticly free flowing exhaust if the engine is being starved of nice air ;)
The cat/flexi was falling apart mate that's the only reason for doing decat first ;)
Induction is next on list, well after brakes and tyres as safety is more important :)

[Enright]

Agree with tyres, but brakes - cat amongst pigeons time here: unconvinced unless you're regularly getting brake fade.
Bigger brakes will dissipate more heat and so you can do more stops before they begin to go away, but the limit of how quickly you can stop is how you get ALL FOUR wheels to brake as hard as possible without locking.
Adding bigger brakes may feel better but they do nothing to increase your level of grip - they just help you to reach the locking point sooner. And adding them at 1 end and unbalancing the system is actually likely to INCREASE stopping distances as the rear wheels may not have reached maximum retardation while the fronts are drawing parallel black lines.

[Dan1971]

When my decat went on my old Mk1 180, it sounded better and felt stronger lower down the rev range - just breathed better - (but was fitted after a pipercross induction kit which in itself gave 6bhp improvement - dyno'd).

Standard induction on the 180 simply does not appear to be good enough and should be one of the first things to improve IMHO if you're looking for more power.

[KirkJames]

Agree with tyres, but brakes - cat amongst pigeons time here: unconvinced unless you're regularly getting brake fade.
Bigger brakes will dissipate more heat and so you can do more stops before they begin to go away, but the limit of how quickly you can stop is how you get ALL FOUR wheels to brake as hard as possible without locking.
Adding bigger brakes may feel better but they do nothing to increase your level of grip - they just help you to reach the locking point sooner. And adding them at 1 end and unbalancing the system is actually likely to INCREASE stopping distances as the rear wheels may not have reached maximum retardation while the fronts are drawing parallel black lines.

Good job I am only replacing with standard brakes then. It's not a performance issue it's purely maintenance and that my current standard brakes need replacing. Standard brakes do the job just fine for my liking.

When my decat went on my old Mk1 180, it sounded better and felt stronger lower down the rev range - just breathed better - (but was fitted after a pipercross induction kit which in itself gave 6bhp improvement - dyno'd).

Standard induction on the 180 simply does not appear to be good enough and should be one of the first things to improve IMHO if you're looking for more power.
Yeah like I say, next step after the essentials are out of the way will be cone in the inner wing :)

[Phate]

Mate the standard brakes are overated on the ZS180, will be fine putting an induction kit on there first.

[KirkJames]

Mate the standard brakes are overated on the ZS180, will be fine putting an induction kit on there first.

Need to do the brakes mate, they are getting seriously spongy. They have been on for a long time I think. They really are that bad at the mo lol. Plus haven't got the cash at the mo for any expensive ones. Was going to put Mintex ones on anyway.

[Enright]

Good job I am only replacing with standard brakes then. It's not a performance issue it's purely maintenance and that my current standard brakes need replacing. Standard brakes do the job just fine for my liking.
Oh, sorry about that - I assumed that you were talking about a performance upgrade, not that the system simply wasn't working properly to start with! Agreed, having brakes that will actually stop you is a pretty good place to start. ;)

[talkingcars]

Standard induction on the 180 simply does not appear to be good enough and should be one of the first things to improve IMHO if you're looking for more power.

The induction was lifted from the 2.0 KV6 on the Rover 45 so is 25% below already. And the location is pants, a long filter resting against the radiator is a perfect heat soak.

Need to do the brakes mate, they are getting seriously spongy. They have been on for a long time I think. They really are that bad at the mo lol. Plus haven't got the cash at the mo for any expensive ones. Was going to put Mintex ones on anyway.

Spongy brakes implies fluid, when was it last changed? Most manufactures recomend every 2 years.

[KirkJames]

Spongy brakes implies fluid, when was it last changed? Most manufactures recomend every 2 years.

Can't find it in the service history anywhere. But the fronts don't actually look too bad but the rears are 100% on the way out.

How can I check to see if it's the fluid mate? And how do I bleed it? I have a haynes but that's not always that straight forward to me!
I could always just do a change of fluid anyway to be on the safe side.

[carmadbaker]

Have a little look of the brake fluid colour, should be nearly see through and very light in colour, anything else says old/overheated fluid. Can highly recommend EBC yellow stuff by the way!

[Phate]

Need to do the brakes mate, they are getting seriously spongy. They have been on for a long time I think. They really are that bad at the mo lol. Plus haven't got the cash at the mo for any expensive ones. Was going to put Mintex ones on anyway.

Ahhhh my bad dude! I assumed they were working fine :p

[big_wasa]

If it's just the rear then I would check the slider pins.
They seize solid. Only one side of the pads is doing any work then and the disc will flex a little making out feel worse still.