I bought a v6 base coupe several months because I found the color I wanted with low miles [8K] in near-showroom condition inside and out. My challenge has been figuring out how to upgrade from base status without breaking the bank [and I would be interested in what other v6 base folks have done to this end].

So far, I have performed two upgrades, one reasonable, the other totally free and totally awesome. The first was to get VAPs tune which seems like a no brainer. For about USD1K, hp increases from 335 to 416. The difference is significant and VAP makes the entire process seamless. If I could do it, anybody can.

The other I just got around to yesterday. After reading the active/passive exhaust explanation posts, I simply removed the two vacuum hoses from the exhaust value regulators and I can not tell you how much better the driving experience is. Amazing sound. I now understand what everybody else is talking about! [I also put a couple of rubber caps on the value inlets to keep out unwanted road junk. These are available at Amazon for 10 bucks and you get a ten-lifetime supply].

Now I have a 2018 so it has active exhaust [not all previous years base cars do] but the original owner did not pony over the USD200. to make it switchable. I can't imagine ever wanting it any other way [valves open] but like I mentioned, I only did this yesterday. If it's a problem, I can always reconnect the hoses [I read of others that rigged-up an electrical control to make it switchable from the cabin].

I am also considering having the car lowered with VAP lowering springs and trying to find somebody who will do this reasonably. I didn't like my 18" wheels initially but I am fine with them now. I bought a set of Yokohama ADVAN apex v601 summer tires a few weeks ago which have been very nice. The car seems to handle exceptionally well [and much better than the OE Continentals]. Additionally, I just had the Xpel paint protection film applied to the front bumper cover, headlamp covers and side mirrors. I didn't do the hood because I thought the angle was such that it would not be subject to rock chips [wishful thinking?]. Time will tell.

Have many of you done suspension/wheel size upgrades? Do you feel it was worth it?

Any other feedback/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

I have the exact same car you do (well, mine's a vert so not quite) and did the same upgrades. However, it's MUCH easier to leave the vacuum hoses connected and simply pull fuse 15 under the hood. It disables the vacuum from the valves and leaves them open all the time. That way, if you ever want to "undo" it (dealer visit, long highway trip planned, etc.) you don't have to crawl under the car to undo it. You can just put the fuse back in. There is no downside and no error codes thrown and you don't have to worry about getting road debris or water into the valves/vacuum lines.

 

The dynamic mode switch is as effective as the exhaust switch, unless you must have dynamic quietly, or non-dynamic loud. Depending on model year, of course, later models are much quieter stock.

 

Thank you so much. That's exactly what I'll do!

 

I definitely noticed that the max effect is in dynamic mode with the values open. I can now understand why so many drive this way exclusively. The sound [not to mention the performance] is incredibly addictive and makes regular trips around town SO MUCH more enjoyable. I literally feel like I am driving a different car!

 

For about $150USD I replaced the plain black mesh hood inserts with a pair of chrome/ black that are similar in styling to the side vents/trim pieces. Cosmetic, but I'll wait for warranty to expire before doing mechanical upgrades.

 

Hey Valerie. I hear what your saying about waiting until the warranty expires until making any mechanical modifications and considered that as well, but I've always followed a path that I discovered after volunteering at a couple of nursing homes after finishing school. Although I was not able to help a great many of the over one hundred patients I saw over a couple of years, I did learn perhaps the most important lesson of my life.

After I became comfortable chatting with these extraordinary older men and women, and as a fair number would open up about interesting facets of their lives, I began to ask each of them the age-old question, "If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently in your life?" An incredibly high percentage of these wise folks answered that they would have 'gone for it,' that is, asked the girl out on the date, quit the job they hated, gone back to school, and of course, they would have all taken better care of their health [especially their teeth].

This made an enormous impression on me at 25 years of age, and in part because of this experience, I believe I have gone for it the vast majority of the times in my life [and I am glad I did]. It is now 41 years later and upon contemplating whether I should wait until my warranty expires in 2023, I decided that the time to enjoy my F Type was now. After all, who knows what tomorrow brings.

And thanks for your suggestion about the hood inserts. That might go really well with silver. I'll check'em out.

 

One point of info. My xpel prevented a scar to my hood. All depends on your level of risk and OCD. Happy trails with the car.

 

and yes, I agree with you, as well. After my dad developed cancer at age 65 and passed 3 years later, it did shake loose some of the reserve in me. I didn't do dumb stuff, but if after careful reflection & research, whatever it was still looked OK, I did go for it. I got my F (MY2017, Premium, manual trans) in Oct of 2020 with about 18 months left on warranty. i researched Fs thoroughly and noted and continue to note the upgrades and issues other owners have. For me, the 18 months have been a 'getting to know you' with my F. I do plan on keeping him and so, have a casual list of upgrades that I might want to do. I put an Apexi cat-back system on the 98 Honda civic I had, as well as the Apexi cold air intake, so am not adverse to changing things up. I've been watching the V/AP threads and I may do that ($$$!!) My nephew and his cousin own EP3 Motorsports in McHenry, IL, and I just may see what he suggests, as well. For now, I'm sorting out the minor BS with the car.. the "tink/tink' noise that I think is coming from the lower passenger door assembly, and the tether on my gas cap that broke yesterday.

 

I have a base V6 with the manual gearbox, and I've done some modifications to make it more enjoyable on the race track. Not sure the same modifications would benefit you, depending on your use case.

I have KW V3 coilover suspension, carbon fibre roof, the limited slip differential from the V6S, track-focused wheels (ProTrack One), slotted brake rotors (StopTech), EBC Yellowstuff brake pads (also tried the Porterfield R4, but they were just too noisy), Motul RBF700 brake fluid. I also just ordered a Quicksilver exhaust.

If you're not going to track your F-Type I think from the above list only the LSD and the KW V3 coilover suspension would have any noticable impact on the drivability of the car.

 

Thanks. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a resource that would calculate the odds of getting rock chips on various surfaces? I think if I owned Xpel, I would do the research and provide it to the public. Although perhaps they have and realized that people over-protect their vehicles the same way many people over-insure?

Btw, where was the impact on your hood? I might want to reconsider.

 

Might as well get the crank pulley

 

Hard to disagree with your rationale. Kind of a dumb question, but which car do you enjoy driving more? One of my regrets was passing on the opportunity to buy a gorgeous powder blue e-type [I believe it was a '73] as a friend of friend was shipping off to Vietnam just as that war was ending. I could have had it for cheap as the effects of the oil crisis was still being felt [maybe USD6K?]. Oh well...

 

Not much for the track. What would LSD do for me on the street? I drive relatively sanely. I assume the coilover suspension is adjustable in terms of lowering the car? Is lowering the center of mass much of what leads to better handling? Please excuse my lack of basic knowledge.

 

If you punch the throttle on an on-ramp, you could spin... (BOTH wheels would spin rather than one, as with an open diff)

 

Yeah...I suppose. It's funny how the changing the software seems less invasive than a crank pulley [obviously not]. I am still trying to find a reasonable shop to do my VAP lowering springs. Everything [everywhere] is getting incredibly expensive [especially in the LA area where folks seem to be able to download dollars from the FED at will].

 

On the KW V3 suspension ride height, compression and rebound is individually adjustable. If you increase the required compression force you will make the car lean and sway less while cornering which I believe is the biggest benefit after the lowered center of gravity.

Regarding the LSD - if you never lose traction it won't make a difference. If you do lose traction in the rear however (eg at an on ramp as mentioned above), you will definitely notice a tangible difference.

But you have a point - if I weren't tracking mine I probably would have left it stock and only done cosmetic changes.

 

Synthesis,
I have a V6 Premium Coupe with 6-speed manual RWD in BRG on Saddle/Tan.

You asked about 18" wheel upgrades.. There are two options.. the "heavy" OEM wheels, or "lighter" after market wheels.
I run on 20" OEM wheels today, but purchased some 19" OEM rims from eBay so I can get some "street tires" that have some more side wall.
The 20" wheels with 30/35 series tires have very little side wall and can be a bit harsh on rough roads, hence I will put on track rubber on my 20"
The 19" wheels have taller side walls and less width.. leading to more economical tire costs and less "crisp" handling at the limit which makes them more street-able.
There are a few videos on YouTube that show the diminishing performance benefits to larger wheels and the increasing costs of larger wheels. So choose wisely.

An other mod that I have done is the short shifter from Unhingd which is a nice touch.

The most practical mod I made was installing a back-up camera and over-the-mirror head unit with forward camera / recording / blind spot detection / GPS tracking..etc.

I am considering going from the "Silver" brakes to the "Black" or "Red" which will give me a bit more track time before I start to feel brake fade.
The larger brakes are available on eBay and bolt on to the base and Premium cars (from the S, R, SVR cars).... but you may need 19" or 20" wheels to clear the larger brake calipers.
And also be careful, as the "ceramic" "Yellow" brakes may not fit on your base model.. lots of changes were made to integrate those on the SVR and "big" cats.

Note:
I like my glass roof, and would never give up seeing the stop lights, rather than crane my neck to see them ..
I also like my open diff as it gives me just one wheel spin during high torque corners... leading to fairly benign behaviors... while a limited slip diff can lead to both wheels spinning and simultaneous loss of traction at the rear.

In the mean time.. drive the cat... let it be seen in it's natural habitat (rather than the garage/cage).

 

Today was the day for my VAP tune. Went into Hammer Performance, who is their dealer in El Paso, and first we did two stock runs which were almost identical. We then installed the program and did two VAP runs and they were also near identical.

Left the shop with no issues (no lights) and then went on a 220 mile run around the Rio Grande.

Let me just simply say the VAP tune has transformed my car. The balance is now just perfect with the added torque needed in the lower mids and then goes to about 6,500. You can feel it…..although I was hoping for a few more horses than what I ended up with. A graph of just one tune before and after is below which you experts can dissect and perhaps tell me what you think.

All in all I am just delighted with the results. I am a bit puzzled about my trans as it may be just me, but the upshits feel smoother, down shifts a bit quicker and now there is a huge difference between drive and sport.

Now, for those of you on the fence with this tune, read all you can on this forum and believe that it is a beautiful seat in your pants transformation of a base F-Type the likes of which I have never experienced in a ECU mod. I have had dozens in all my cars including Corvettes, BMW’s, and Porsche’s. They all bump things up a bit, some better than others but this VAP tune is huge, no doubt because we are talking about a Base V6 start point.

 

Thanks for all the information. I do have a tendency to want to keep my car clean and find myself taking my wife's Cayenne for errands instead of unplugging it from the battery maintainer, etc., and then cleaning after I drive it [yeah, I am one of those]. Of course, I have the luxury of doing such because I am most retired [although I will be working a couple of days a week after the holidays]. Point well taken. No car likes to sit, that's for sure.