Hi everyone
I have owned my NC for a year now, and have been meaning to do a blog style post for a while. So here goes!
I bought my 2012 NC2 PHRT Venture sport in Oct 2023 from a nice young couple up in Blackpool. I’m 39, and they were defo younger than me… They had owned it for some time as it was the girls “dream car” and were having to sell to buy something more practical.
I was coming out of a 2020 Audi S4 and wanted something more fun, which I could modify and make my own.
I’ve owned lots of pretty cool cars, several 911’s (my fav being a 991.1 C2 Manual with the areo kit), a Focus RS Mountue MT385, Many fast BMW’s and Audi’s and a couple of other hot hatches. I have always lusted after an NC after driving on at the British Motor show back when they were launched.
Anyway, the car was pretty straight, the engine sounded sweet and other than a knocking shock absorber and some pretty ropey tyres I could see it had been cared for.
The modifying started literally right away.
I stopped on the drive back down to Kent at KwickFit to get a full set of Yokoharm tyres fitted. The difference was very noticeable right away. I got the BlueEarth GT’s as I wanted Yokoharma and I liked the balance of grip, wet grip and compliance they offered.
Tyres: 8/10
The first few things I had to sort were the headlights and suspension.
The headlight lenses were completely yellow and cloudy. A few hours with a buffing pad did the trick, and I also fitted LED bulbs. The difference was huge.
Next onto the suspension. After plenty of research I decided to get a set of Meister R Zeta CRD coilovers and spent a cold Saturday in my garage fitting them. After an alignment and some fine tuning, the car was transformed! The ride is controlled but not jarring. It feels excellent and a massive improvement over stock.
Coilovers: 9.5/10
Next big job was to replace the brakes. The callipers were pretty well knackered and the front right was sticky. I just went for some OEM callipers and basic pads and discs. Performance was not changed, but they look a lot cleaner and the sticking has gone. I’d like to upgrade the front pads and discs to something a bit spicier in the future, but they are fine for now. All painted black, they look pretty smart I think.
Then I did the gear box oil and diff oil with millers. Honestly I could not tell any difference, but it was good for piece of mind.
After this, came a mod I was not happy with. I changed the shifter for a cobalt short shifter. I have previously posted about this. I also installed a Likewise Daytona Pro shift knob.
The Cobalt short shifter is not a good piece of kit unfortunately, and I have reverted back to stock and also changed out the shift know to a more simple setup you can see in the pics below.
The Cobalt short shifter constancy buzzes and rattles and is tricky to get set up right. I did several mods to remove the buzz, but it never fully went away.
Cobalt short shifter: 3.5/10
I then did an open airbox mod, which I have previously posted about. Along with a K&N panel filter, this gave the induction note a harder edge and more sound. Best of all it was free!
Open Airbox Mod: 9.2/10
Shortly after this, I took the plunge and planned a day in Brackley with BBR GTi. I got booked in for the Super 200 Catted manifold setup.
It took a full day for the install and mapping to be done, and there was a dispute over the price which ended up costing me £100 more than I had been quoted, but overall the experience was positive.
My first impressions were “oh my god, I’ve just spent the best part of £3 grand and I can’t feel the difference!” I was really worried. But after a couple of hundred miles the car really started to fly. And now I am OBSESSED with the drama at 7,000rpm at WOT. I would highly recommend this kit. The sound is immense even with a standard exhaust.
BBR Super 200: 9/10
I have also now had the steering wheel retrimmed in Alcantara by Royal wheels and fitted a 2" spacer. Along with a new Alcantara shift boot and handbrake boot, and a new set of mats the interior about perfect to me. I’m really happy with it. All I would say is I am prepared to retrim the wheel every 2 years as the Alcantara will not last like leather.
Alcantara wheel and spacer: 7.5/10
Last big mod was the Whiteline Anti Roll Bar kit. The kit includes uprated anti roll bars, uprated end lines and poly bushes.
Fitting was a bast@rd! But my god the difference is incredible, I could not believe it. Even with my uprated coilivers the difference in handling is profound. It’s so flat and darty, but still nicely compliant.
Whiteline ARB Kit 9.9/10
Other things I have done include the RX8 intermittent wiper stalk, front splitters, alloy wheel DIY refurb (this was good fun!) painted brake callipers, replacement exhaust tail pipes and 25mm wheel spacers.
Now I would say this, as I am bias, but I truly think my NC2 must be one of the best in the UK. It is not garage queen, and could not compete with the 25th AE or Recaro boys and girls. But mechanically it is as sweet as a nut. It does scrub up well to. Have a look below.
Thanks for reading
Antony
