Calgary (and Alberta) LX fans

**pawzitiv** · 09-18-2006, 09:42 PM

Folks .. things are looking up in Calgary if you're hoping to find a dealer that supports performance modifications on your 300/Charger/Magnum.

I've been talking to Brandon Lahey at Big 4 Motors here in Calgary; he's one of the service advisors for the dealership. He and one of his Tech's have already modded some LX cars (the Service Manager drives a warmed-up Charger R/T) and they're keen to do all my performance mods.

My Magnum R/T will be going in on Monday, September 25 for the "transformation":

KW Variant 2 adjustable coil-over suspension
Hotchkis sway bars (F&R)
Brembo Gran Turismo 4-piston calipers and 14" drilled rotors
JBA shorty headers
JBA hi-flow cats and mid-pipes
JBA cat-back exhaust system
Superchips Flashpaq tuner

Before anyone asks, Big 4 Motors didn't source all this hardware. I ordered all of it thru Joshua Swartz at High Horse Performance. Having said that, I believe Brandon at Big 4 Motors can probably source anything for our cars that's available through Mopar Performance.

I may be speaking prematurely but I think that I may have found a dealership service department where a few individuals think the way we do. I'm also optimistic that those of us in Calgary (and Alberta) may get some dealer support for a local LX club.

I'll post again once this work is done and let everyone know how the whole experience went.

Cheers

**rufwon** · 09-19-2006, 10:34 AM

Awsome, I am up in Edmonton. Nice short drive to Calgary if the prices are right.

**dewm1** · 09-19-2006, 06:47 PM

Great!
Finally a dealer who's on the same page.
Let us know.
Thanks.
David.

**silver7sam** · 09-27-2006, 09:59 PM

nice work Paw - I really need to know how all this goes! And, I need to see your dang car after all this. Your car is going through a major makeover. Good luck!

**smiley b** · 10-10-2006, 07:05 PM

the guys at BridgeCity in leth.have been great to work with aswell.they've down all my work for me.mopar lower springs,mopar c.a.i.,mopar/borla cat back exhaust.i had them change the front clip to srt8 stlye and have been talking to them on cam/heads,no problem! smiley b

**AB Charger** · 10-17-2006, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by smiley b

the guys at BridgeCity in leth.have been great to work with aswell.they've down all my work for me.mopar lower springs,mopar c.a.i.,mopar/borla cat back exhaust.i had them change the front clip to srt8 stlye and have been talking to them on cam/heads,no problem! smiley b

BC is where my SRT8 came from..

**pawzitiv** · 11-08-2006, 04:39 PM

Here's my report on how things went with having Big 4 Motors (Calgary) install all my performance parts.

Installation of the KW coil-over suspension, Hotchkis swaybars, Brembo Gran Turismo brake kit, JBA shorty headers/hi-flo cats and cat-back exhaust system took 3 full days and, all in all, I'm very happy. There were problems along the way however. Two of the stock O2 sensors were seized and couldn't be re-used. Also, JBA'a quality control could have been better since one of the O2 sensor bungs on the headers was mounted too close to the tube collector. This made it impossible to install the O2 sensor on the passenger-side header. The boys at Big 4 Motors plugged the bung and installed the O2 sensor just downstream from the tube collector.

The KW coil-overs were fairly easy to install but a whole morning was spent getting the ride height set to my satisfaction. Again, Danny Whitford, the tech doing this work, perservered and I'm more than impressed with his attention to detail. The Brembo brakes were straightforward to install but I now know that the stock RT wheels will not clear the larger 4-piston calipers (expensive mistake .. see below).

The total bill for all of this work was a little over $2000 .. not cheap but unless you don't place much value on your own time and have a good selection of tools, I think this was money well spent.

My Magnum's handling is now incredible for such a large heavy car and those Brembo brakes are beautiful! Much shorter stopping distances, no noticeable fade and threshold braking is very easy to modulate. I love the complete JBA exhaust system .. better throttle response, nice burble at idle and just plain nasty once you bury the skinny pedal! Admittedly, there is a bit of drone/resonance at both 1400 rpm and at 2600 rpm but I can live with that.

Since having this work done at Big 4 Motors, the service advisor that I dealt with has since moved on to a Mitsubishi service department. Danny Whitford, the tech that did this work, is still with Big 4 and Jim Warnick, the service manager, is well acquianted with my Magnum. Incidentally, Jim drives a Charger R/T that has some performance upgrades as well. He understands that some of us just aren't happy with a stock LX platform car. I wouldn't hestitate to recommend Big 4 Motors to install performance parts for those of you that don't want to undertake this yourselves.

About my stock R/T wheels- I mounted brand new 255/55R18 Blizzak LM-22's on them when I got my 20" Foose wheels. This was all before my Brembo brake upgrade. Those stock wheels will not clear the Brembo calipers, so ....

FOR SALE

4- OEM Magnum R/T (RWD) Aluminum wheels c/w 4-Bridgestone Blizzak 255/55R18 winter radials, mounted & balanced. Includes OEM tire pressure sensors and OEM lug nuts.

$1500 OBO

**silver7sam** · 11-08-2006, 05:02 PM

Dang...I have been waiting for this update for a while. Nice to hear everything worked out!
Pawz - what are you going to do for winter? You aren't going to use those beautiful Foose's are you?

And...where did you get the KW coilovers?

**badbw** · 11-08-2006, 05:17 PM

VERY NICE!!! I'm programming Big 4's phone # into my phone as we speak.

and... where did you get your JBA stuff from? I think that's going to be my next purchase.

**Chmie** · 11-09-2006, 02:35 PM

Thanks for the update, Pawz.

**pawzitiv** · 11-10-2006, 04:40 PM

Both my KW Variant 2 coilover suspension kit and my complete JBA exhaust system came from High Horse Performance. Initially, I had some issues with HHP and getting my parts shipped but this was due to me placing my order right when they were in the midst of moving their shop.

Joshua at High Horse Performance is a true LX platform fan and wouldn't hesitate in dealing with him again.

silver7sam- now that I'm no longer able to use my factory wheels due to my Brembo calipers, I'm leaving my 20" Foose wheels on the Magnum year 'round. I'll just have to pick and choose which winter days I drive the Magnum .. I'm glad I had enough foresight to mount Yokohama Parada Spec-X performance all-season tires on those Foose wheels. So far, they seem to work fine in the bit of snow we've had here in Calgary so far.

**magram** · 11-11-2006, 07:34 PM

pawzitiv longtime no talk!! see your mod list is growing, SWEET!! Haven't added anything to my mag lately but your is sounding great. Hey I thought you were talking superchips after the lethbridge M&G you got it yet?

http://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/magram/

**magram** · 11-11-2006, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by smiley b

the guys at BridgeCity in leth.have been great to work with aswell.they've down all my work for me.mopar lower springs,mopar c.a.i.,mopar/borla cat back exhaust.i had them change the front clip to srt8 stlye and have been talking to them on cam/heads,no problem! smiley b

How long have you had your mag? I'm from lethbridge too didn't see you at the M&G this summer. Maybe I'll see you around town.

http://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/magram/

**MagnumMark** · 11-28-2006, 05:38 PM

Hey Pawzitiv, just wondering if you had sold your stock 18" rims & winter tires yet. (I emailed you as well).

I'm interested.

Thanks

Mark

**dragginwaggin** · 06-14-2008, 11:28 AM

Hey, I'm new here. I'm looking for a set of R/T wheels, or even better a set of SRT's. either would be better than the se wheels that are on my car. I'm local Calgary so in alberta would be great