OZSAMURAI'S TOP PICKS

ALL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL OPINIONS, I HAVE NO ASSOCIATION WITH ANY OF THESE COMPANIES, NOR PROFIT FROM THE SALE OF THEIR GOODS.

GO Fast BEAT!!

The Achilles heel of the Beat is its power to weight ratio.  To get speed out of it you're going to have to lighten up the body weight, this can be achieved in a number of creative ways.  First a decision on what you want the car to look like when its finished is essential, and consideration of whether alterations etc. will pass your local road safety testing for registration, insurance and the like.

Stripped down racer ---  I have seen two or three of these, visually they look as you would expect, like a race track junker Beat in name only!

Standard bonnet  --> FRP (approx 10kg saving)

Standard boot --> FRP (approx 5-7kg saving)

Standard drivers seat and rails --> Recaro Racing Seat

Standard exhaust --> 3party (5-10kg saving)

Removal of the;

Air Conditioner unit

All carpet

Passenger seat

Glove box, Stereo, antenna

Spare tire holder, unnecessary stays, nuts

Rear fender

center console cassette holder, document box.

Basically anything that doesn't affect the car going or stopping is fair game!

Sporty but drivable ---

    Now lets get realistic!

STEP 1 (Lighten UP!)

     My picks for FRP panels are those made by a company calling themselves BACKYARD SPECIAL, if you take a look at the original concept drawings for the beat you will notice a cut-away bonnet, which I think looks great, BYSpec makes a  bonnet similar to that, their boot FRP panel also includes quite a handsome ducktail design which means you don't have to fork out for a separate spoiler unit.  They are reasonably priced compared to a lot of other makers.  See their homepage here and judge for yourself, they should also have the current prices there too, don't forget this is the unpainted price, as most are.  SOME of the above parts could be removed as you see fit.

STEP 2 (Engine Tuning)

     Although again, the sky is the limit when it comes to tuning, there are a few that I feel are an affordable option, with good results.

  Air intake pipes -- There are a few companies making them, you'll be able to gauge price from looking on the auction boards, essentially these pipes are attached to or over the air intake vents of the throttle body between the air filter. They funnel the air at a higher psi into the compression chamber depending on their diameter and length. Some screw on as a plate while others are just hammered in.  They come in three sizes, all with the various compression characteristics, I use the Mitsu Funnels mediums (55mm) in my car.  I have noticed three major improvements with them, 1 smoother acceleration, 2 a definite power boost in the 4-7000 rpm range and 3 an improved sound from the engine.  They were some of the best money I have spent to date.  As is the nature of the beast, they will take about 500km of running in for the engine ECU to adjust its learning curve, after that enjoy!

ECU chipping -- As you are all probably painfully aware the ECU has a fuel cut speed limiting device built into it which kicks in at 130kmph, that has to go! HKS in the UK makes a delimiter for about 95 pounds, which is approx 20000 yen, whereas for 28000 or there abouts you can by a completely reworked, racing spec ECU, high octane usage, no speed limiter, etc... for my money this is the better buy.  Be warned that you MUST exchange your own genuine ECU unit as part of the deal. Also see the page dedicated to cutting the limiter here

Turbo Charging --  Yes that's right you can turbo charge your Beat!  Since the EO7A engine is normally aspirated, there are some makers that have put together a turbo kit for the Beat. Details of prices & makers are sketchy at present, but it seems as if its around the 200000 yen mark. (stay tuned for updates).  A word of warning! The Beat engine was not built to handle a turbo, if you run one, your engine will suffer from higher fatigue, and some have bent pistons, rods and cranks by doing a backyard job, even the kits are not warranted against engine damage.

Engine boring -- Unless you want an engine shipped to you a very impractical option for Beat owners overseas.  There is a company that does a complete rebuild of the engine to race spec including a bore out to 710cc, the full make-over is 490000 yen.  Which at the moment you could buy a whole car for here in Japan...

STEP 3 (Chassis Modifications)

 Tower Bars --  I have seen a huge range of tower bars, 500 at least at the 2003 MTB,  which is why I fitted the one I have now. I wanted a front brace, master cylinder stopper and tower bar, Akitopapa has successfully combined all  these into one full stainless unit.  It was easy to fit, looks great and reasonably priced.  I don't recommend aluminum for tower bars, since I saw a heap of them on the flea market stalls where they had been bent, warped or just generally worn out over a short period of time. If you drive anything like me (and everyone does sometimes) you'll want to stick with the stronger stainless!  Akitopapa is not a company, the designer is a skilled Beat fan only.  He makes the units to order.  He offers the full range, rear tower bar, front brace and tower bar, front and rear torque bars  etc.  Have a look at the page here

Mufflers -- The original muffler is a bit of a clunker, heavy and ugly (I think it was a play by Honda to make everyone buy the genuine stainless pipe cover). See the page on muffler options here this page gives you an indication of my picks on price, sound and looks!  Its all personal anyway, but I Iike the FGK Legalis K quad pipe stainless, because I own a 'show pony' and it looks good.  There are also a few manifold pipe options out there, boasting increased air flow characteristics etc. Hmmmmm...

Wheels --- I'm going to go out on a limb here and be battered for it I'm sure, but I hate the genuine alloys....there I said it! I think they just look, well, retro.. but, they are a step up from the standard steel rims at least.  There are no makers left making sets of mags specifically for the Beat.  The odd sizes make them fairly difficult to produce a set, unless there is a demand outside the Beat community for the individual sizes themselves. So looking to a major company becomes the only option, where they make one style of mag in two different sizes, with compatible offset for both...headache time!  Mugen made a set, Watanabe made a set and Sparco have made a set, now all seem to be finished!  I went against the grain and put all round 15" recovering the forward slanted body line with thicker tires (185/55/15R) on the back and low profiles (175/45/15R) on the front, what I was going for there was the ChoroQ look, retrospectively I would have liked a more open mag, as I painted all the brake calipers and rotor and you can't see them unless you a foot away! Go see all the details on tires and rims I have here

ChoroQ                                                         My Beat

If I had the cash to flash... my dream Beat in no particular order

OUTSIDE:

1. Mugen side steps

2. Canvas Top (Robbins top) with Mugen Hard Top

3. Backyard Special FRP bonnet

4. Feel's side air intake panels

Notice: The information on this site is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a professional who is qualified to examine, diagnose and repair your vehicle.