Help regarding a Galant sport

[cwgt93]

Hi everyone, not sure how posting about a Galant sport rather than a VR4 will wash with you guys but, here goes!

So basically I've always been an admirer of the Galant and picked myself up a 2000 Galant Sport 2.5V6 in Mauve. It only has 49K on the clock and full service history so I couldn't say no. I had always wanted a VR4 but had no luck finding what I wanted so settled for this.

I'm basically looking for a bit of guidance of how I can gain a few extra horses. I have looked into an ECU remap however, all the companies I have tried say they only remap the VR4's. Can anyone shed some light on that for me please? Are there any Galant specialists out there?

Thanks alot.

[Davezj]

i don't think that anyone on here does any N/A V6 2.5L mapping as it is so cheap to buy a VR4 i don't think it is economical to disassembly the ECU in the N/A car and make it possible to gain say 20HP when you can get a VR4 with 280hp out of the box then have it remapped. there is just no money in mapping N/A galants.

i think i am right in saying this, the N/A ecu can't be remapped due to the lack of disassembly of the ECU code.

[cwgt93]

Ok thanks for that. Guess I just have to wait for the right VR4 to come along. I like the look of the 1997 Mauve one for sale now on ebay but it's been there for a few weeks and the price has already been dropped a grand...anyone else got thoughts on it?

[Nick Mann]

This one?
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...BAY-GB&alt=web
If the condition is as good as the seller states and the car fits your requirements then I'd say it's worth a look.
A full cambelt service is the best part of a grand on a VR4 and no rust gives a premium too. The same car rusty and in need of a cambelt service at £1500 would be a worse buy IMO.

[cwgt93]

Yea that's the one...i like it alot but think I'll wait for a facelift model as I do prefer them. I did go and view the VR4 which is for sale on pistonheads in Wakefield but the guy said the cambelt hasn't been done and he wanted 4K at the time so I think I was right to walk away!

Also: is 93k miles considered a VR4 near the end of it's life or do these engines go on for a lot longer? Cheers

[adaxo]

Welcome to the club, lots of us started with n\a galant and move to vr4 after. Apparently v6 ECU can be flashed but AFAIK its very good tuned from factory, you can probably gain few ponies by good service like spark plugs decend oil k&n panel filter etc, my ex v6 show just shy of 170 HP after good service. You can make it go faster by fitting decent suspension and brakes, but as it was mentioned b4 easiest and cheapest way is to switch to vr4 and then tune it.

[cwgt93]

Thanks alot! Yes that does seem to be the most economical option, it's just finding one now!

[Nick Mann]

Many VR4s have engines with 150,000 miles or more on them. I know of several with more than 200,000. IN my opinion the mileage matters far less than the servicing at that point. A car with poor oil and 50,000 miles that has been driven hard is much more likely to have worn turbo bearings than a car with good oil and a more sympathetic driver.

When I bought my latest car my number one priority was lack of rust, mileage, service history, age and colour were secondary to that.

Is this the piston heads one?
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifie...-miles/3018040

I'm not convinced it is a ralliart from new by the photos. The typical rear fog light is not there and the seats are the second facelift recaros. (The best interior option IMO.) The second facelift was in mid 2000, but in the UK they were still registering first facelifts for 2001 Y. However an import would have to be registered on manufacture date. Personally, I think that often the UK from new cars are a worse buy anyway, as they have suffered from our salty roads for longer. Fresh imports are often less rusty. I would want to look at that one closely to see what the rust was like before I considered buying it - front strut tops, fuel filler pipe in the rear arch, the rear arches themselves (they are hidden by the plastic arches on that car so you'd need a good torch and some head craning!) the boot floor underneath and around the engine bay. If the condition is very good and it only needs a cambelt then I would consider that one too.

[cwgt93]

Thanks for the tips. I nearly went for that one but I had a feeling something wasn't right. The front bumper was also horrendously stone chipped and the guy at the garage was very reluctant to take me anywhere out of a 30mph zone which I found strange. I'll keep looking, hopefully one turns up this year!

[adaxo]

Same here, I seen vr4s with ~50k on the clock and run like bag of spanners and are down on power and seen vr4s with 120k+ running sweet as nut and have still factory or more ponies, not to mention one close to me trashed daily for few years and run 1.5BAR of boost for long time without a fault BUT its serviced properly.

Rust is a massive issue with this cars if not treated properly every few years, even then cars with 10+ years in UK are problematic, things like suspension parts are just solid, me personally will be looking for freshest imports or import one myself/ask company to do it for me, then you have rust free base to start with.

Like this one https://www.tradecarview.com/used_ca...lant/15736059/

[cwgt93]

Oh wow ok, it can be quite a dangerous game trying to find a decent one then. Are there alot more VR4's kicking about in other countries then?

[Nick Mann]

It's not a dangerous game, just like any car that is a minimum of 13 years old, you need to buy with your eyes open. Rust is an issue because the Japanese don't salt their roads like we do, so they have no need to corrosion protect their cars to the same extent that we do. All 8th gen VR4s left the factory as JDM so any rust proofing was not done at the factory. Mechanically these cars are pretty good if they are looked after. However they are powerful 4wd twin turbo'd cars so skimping on servicing is not necessarily a good idea.

There are some in Japan you could buy, which is why Adam linked to an example.

[adaxo]

Not get me wrong, there are few in uk in very good nick, they just not pop for sale very often, may one or two a year that are really nice but price usually is on high side, linked above was just to show an option and this example incl picture of under body which is spotless and rust free.

[cwgt93]

What do you make of the one for sale in hemel hempstead at the moment Adam? I'm put off now by the fact it's had 200+ views and still for sale...hmmm.

[Nick Mann]

This one?
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthr...emel-Hempstead
I wouldn't be put off by 200 views. This forum counts the number of times the thread has been looked at. I've looked at the thread a couple of times so that adds a couple of those counts. Moderators will have looked a few times to check the ad meets the sites rules. The seller will have looked at least a dozen times I'd guess! I'd bet a fair few of the views are by people who aren't even interested in buying - they are just hoping for a few tasty photos or to see if there are modifying ideas they can copy. It's also possible that people have shown interest but only via PM so we aren't aware of it.

[adaxo]

I thought you after facelift one? But its not a big task to facelifted pfl, all bits are p&p but you need bonnet, bumper,fogs and grille at the front plastic wheel arches and side skirts at the side and at the back rear lights and bumper , then whooe interior, steering wheel, ECU and fl hub carries if you consider brembo brakes upgrade, do your math and make your mind if you really want fl or pfl will do?

Car from ad its IMO prepared for sale as who do all that job and selling ? Ed china maybe :-)

Hope its done properly and I would not touch it without sticking on the ramp and see underside properly, bar in mind its say that been just rustproofing so it make really hard to judge actually state of metal under black gunk, ask seller when it was imported and may he can show some photos b4 underseal job, really doubt about.

[cwgt93]

When you put it like that I think I'll only be satisfied with a facelift VR4 in mauve...gotta be mauve! and just as a heads up for the future, will a VR4 be massively thirstier than the v6 sport I have now? I know you don't buy these for the mpg but just to prepare myself, as even the sport can be thirsty at
times! Cheers.

Also what does N/A stand for in terms of a Galant?

[cwgt93]

[Colin Wiltshire]

N/A means normally aspirated as in non turbo. Goes for any and every car.

[cwgt93]

Thanks mate.