Lowering on a budget

[Daaan21]

Hello guys. Very new to this, took me around ten minutes to work out how to post!! I'm sure it's been answered already, but I want to "do up" my puma on a budget. Excuse the chavvy 'do up' term.
My plans are as follows:
Tint the windows
Hid conversion
Wind deflectors
Aero wipers
New gear knob/shifter
Loud(er) exhaust
Lowered
Different wheels
Possibly a little spoiler..
Tint the lights
Possible frp body kit/ front spoiler
Maybe some new dials
Remap
Frp injectors/camshafts


Now, I've done the light tinting, made the exhaust slightly louder, put some aero wipers on.


I have found a place to do my tinting

Not sure what hid kit to get

Still torn on what performance bits to do which will be cheap ish but reliable.

The MAIN thing I need to know, is the lowering. I want to get some 16" wheels, not sure what ones to get though, any suggestions? And I want to drop her so that there's around a 1cm gap between the arch and the tyre. I'm guessing I'm looking at around 60mm drop? I've read that doing this will wear out my shocks so I looked at coilovers.. The cheapest I could find was £400?! Even springs I could only find for £200! Any suggestions on a cheap way to achieve the height I am looking for? It's a 2001 y reg black 1.7 vct puma. Not sure what kind of springs/coils to get either - fork or eye ones? Unsure which type mine takes.



Thanks in advance guys! Looking forward to being part of a great forum

 

[CherryVimto]

It's up to you to decide if you want to fit HIDs or not, given the legalities of fitting them to a Puma.
The bulbs, both main and dipped beam, are HB3. So any HB3 set will work but don't get any canbus sets as the Puma doesn't have that system.
I paid just over £7 for my set and never had any problems over the 2+ years they were fitted.

If you lower 60mm it will change the angle of the front wheels and WILL result in the inner parts of the tyres wearing. Expect to change the front tyres often. Mine were took 2,000 miles to wear on the inner edges to the extent that there was almost no tread.
Looking at your rear shocks will tell you what fitting they are. If yours is a 2001, then I'm pretty sure the fitting is eye.
You've noticed that coilovers for the Puma are expensive... I got mine second hand for just over £300 and that's still not overly cheap.

FRP body kit isn't as easy as just bolting it on. You will need to widen the track which isn't as easy and certainly not as cheap as it sounds!

For a louder exhaust, you can gat a Hoffman race tube for just over £30. It's basically a center section of the exhaust without the silencer in it. That with a standard rear box apparently gives a nice sound.

FRP injectors I believe are the same as normal 1.7 ones. The cams are specific but won't really do much without other supporting mods.
If you want genuine/proper FRP ones, you will be paying for them! A company called Lightning Motor Sport (LMS) do cams with a similar/same profile as FRP cams.

 

[crystalpuma]

I wouldn't lower that much on a budget, it'll just be a world of pain! My lowering springs were on the cheaper end of the scale and I really regret not buying coilovers as they ruined the ride!

 

[Daaan21]

Hey guys thanks for the responses!

The engine modifications aren't a major priority at the minute as the 1.7 goes pretty damn well! My next intention is wind deflectors and lowering. Indeed I would prefer coilovers but I just cannot see many ways to do it for less than £400. I haven't even seen any second hand ones for sale:/ will fiesta ones fit/are they cheaper?


£7 for HID's?! Where?! Haha. My lights aren't the greatest, feels like I have just got a couple of glow worms on the front.. The FRP kit may be a no go then! Haha. I saw a nice puma I have a picture of it on my iphone, but I don't know how to upload it to the thread! It is the height I want with the wheels I want. How about a frp front splitter/spoiler?


Thanks again guys!!

 

[Daaan21]

Also, how much is modifications with the LMS company?

 

[Dwighet]

Also, how much is modifications with the LMS company?

http://www.lightningmotorsport.co.uk/tuningkits.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Daaan21]

Thanks Dwighet

 

[#22]

FRP kit isnt just a body kit so much as actual body panels - id imagine youd be looking at upwards of £2k to do this properly

Regarding coilovers - id definitely look into these but i wouldnt lower it as much as 60mm, id take it to perhaps 30mm and see where you are at.

Spoiler - most people put the F2 spoiler on

FRP never had any different injectors, the main power modifications were revised camshafts, intake and exhaust system with a revised map. With yours id focus on intake and exhaust which will definitely free up a few horses and make it feel a lot better.