recently purchased an 07 speed 3 at 120k from an old man who treated it super well. it is bone stock and my question is to you what mods are worth it financially at this point in the cars life? and how high of miles have you seen gen 1's that've been modded? any guidance is appreciated
HPFP, Intake, DP, Tune, Corn Juice , BOV for choo choo sounds. Should handle those just find if it is in good running condition. Ebay DP is cheap and works. I would suggest 3" hard intake if sticking with ko4 , 3.5" if you ever think you might want a bigger turbo. HTP makes some really nice intakes. Rear motor mount is also nice to get some power down.
Any service history to see if vvt/timing chain has been replaced? I went big turbo at 124k and it was perfect even when I pulled the motor at 161.5k. That motor is still running in another speed at well over 200k miles. All about proper maintenance, a solid tune and respecting the stock blocks limitations
Welcome! Like Sho said, see if you can confirm whether or not the VVT has been serviced yet. If not, that's a big job to get out of the way before going down a mod path. Also the usual tune up things; spark plugs and proper gap, oil, maybe trans fluid and coolant, check compression/leakdown, valve cleaning. Then for mods, some of it depends on future plans and goals. But the big early ones are HPFP and a tuning solution, intake, downpipe. BOV if you like fun sounds. Check over things like the suspension to see if any components needs to be replaced as a prime opportunity to upgrade.
it hasnt been replaced or serviced to my knowledge. how/where can I go about inspecting the part to see if it needs work or if i can move forward with mod? better to get a full inspection at that point?
I had mine until 210k with original clutch, trans, engine and turbo. I did the vvt around 171k as preventive. Just keep up on regular maintenance.
