My insurance is coming up for renewal and I'm thinking about doing some tinkering - at least exhaust and filter, then if finances permit go on to a cam and maybe a chip or even a megasquirt.
Which insurance companies are good about mods in the first place and
*changing* mods through the year without making you pay through the nose?It's only a 2.0 Mondeo, nothing special. And I'm old enough that insurance is not silly money any more.
I use HIC (Herts) who've done me a good deal on all my cars (all modified in some way). With the 360 they said they would be happy to change the policy mid term to take account of an engine change.
Also I've used Elephant previously who were good if your mod was on their list of tick boxes. For example I think it was the BX I had insured with them and I put a stainless steel back box on it, logged onto the website, ticked the 'Exhaust System Changes' box, they charged me about a fiver and job done. However if the mod isn't on the list they get very anal - for example they wouldn't insure my XR4x4 if it had a sump guard on it.
Also there's competition car places like Adrian Flux that have special modified car policies but in the past I've always found them more expensive for the 'medicore' mods you're suggesting.
Accompanied by the sound of a chisel on slate PC Paul, managed to produce the following words of wisdom
I've got a motor trade policy, so they don't even ask me :-)
I dread to think what a turbo Range Rover would cost on a normal one.
I'm with Performance Direct and they're okay with mods. But you've got a Mondeo, don't waste your money trying to make it quicker. It will never be a desirable or performance car whatever you do to it. If you want a fast car, sell it and buy something more suitable..
Utter utter bollucks.
Not everybody modifies to make it "fast" eh?
This seems to change regularly for new customers and does depend on the age of the driver and the car (who will underwrite it). Liverpool Victoria do alright for me.
I had mods on the Estelle and the Favorit and the first C900, but when I tried to mod the Celica they were a bit funny (as our underwriters have made changes to the policies).
But since then, when I insured the Range Rover, they had a full mods list (engine/suspension/wheels/cosmetics) that was quite comprehensive. And on the rangie, the quote I got was valid for a Rangie with the engine size 3.00 to 9.00 litres. I already specified it was raised and had LPG. Quote was 1/3rd what anyone else wanted even without the LPG.
Some people don't find them any cheaper, I always find them loads.
I'm with Brentacre. I think they specialise in insuring Golfs, but they're fantastic about modification. My policy lets me do *anything* as long as I don't exceed 120 horsepower, and as long as I tell them. If I want more horses, the price goes up.
As you say. I really don't care whether my car is 'desirable' as long as it does what I want it to.
And I've had high performance cars in the past (200bhp-ish), some good some bad. All I want from the Mondeo is a bit more torque and a nicer (deeper, but not too loud) noise when I put my foot down. And when it comes to the MegaSquirt that's just my techie side coming out. If it ain't broke, you haven't tinkered with it enough.
Again, it's fast enough. If I could leave a nice 85mph@2500rpm Motorway cruising top gear and drop the ratios for the rest of the box to give me a better response in the 0-60mph range, that would be fine with me. Can't remember the last time I *needed* to go quicker than 85. And I'm unlikely to take this one continent cruising.
A 'fast car' would blow the budget just on fuel consumption. I just wanna tinker without spending too much.
Additional horsepower?
Fast wasn't the right word, I meant quicker. I still don't see the point of doing all that to a Mondeo. You're looking at spending £1200 ish on it, it will be worth less than if you left it standard and it will cost you more every year in increased insurance premiums.
I don't think the OP is looking to spend 100k on his.
The Mondeo engines are fairly tuneable IIRC. However, what you really want to do is either swap the engine or have an engine that's got a lot of potential for tuning via an ECU. Some of the Mondeo engines do, I think. However, you're very unlikely to make much difference - IMO you need an extra 10 - 15 horses for it to be noticeable, and that's not something you'll get by swapping the exhaust and a cam, IMO.
Accompanied by the sound of a chisel on slate Homer, managed to produce the following words of wisdom
Please note, this is a modifications group :-p
Yeah, what he said.
It shouldn't matter why I want to mod it, just wanting to is enough.
There shouldn't have to be a point.
detailing
And there isn't, because no matter how quick you make something, there will always be a "quicker" car.
Correct.
I modified my Ka because I wanted to, not for other people. It didn't matter why, either, meh.
In some of my circles, people modify their cars to improve performance in a different respect, such as for towing.
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