Buying more stuff won't really help you. How is your training? If you have money to burn, I'd suggest a good coach.

Disc cover and helmet; can do both for about a total of $250

My quick thoughts, in probable order of bang & buck...

1. Aero helmet
2. Aero front brake
   
3. Wheel cover
4. Clean up P2 cable routing
5. Cockpit (if you are still running the original P6 cockpit)
   

Like Nick said, get a coach. I dropped almost 30 minutes in my 70.3 time after getting a coach.

new aero helmet will save you 1.5-3 min depending upon which one you get.
Disc cover will save you about 1.5 min or so.

The wetsuit well that could be a time loss or a pretty decent time savings. It's all dependent upon fit.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Aerojacket for sure than a coach. If you can't afford one for the full year maybe some swim instruction if that's a weakness.

i typically agree with most stuff you post, but these seem like pretty juicy numbers for a 40km bike ride. Specifically the 90 sec advantage for the disc over a Jet6? Or did you mean over the longer bike courses? Its just that the OP was talking about focusing on Oly's next year so I applied your times savings to that distance, this could be where the disconnect is.

if you stand by those numbers, you and I need to get to the wind tunnel if I get serious about racing again. on a side note, I'm running again! up to 30MPW without issues so far.

What is your training volume ?
What race did you already race ?

How much did you coach cost? And what place was your fitness before (I ask partly out of curiosity and partly to determine to gather whether you can truly attribute the 30' improvement to your coach)?

Others have suggested a coach - good idea - if you still have bucks to burn then get a good bike fit and invest in some aero testing. Extra hardware will give you only minor incremental gains - the watts saved per dollar spent will be highest with clothing, bike fit and aero testing.

Last season I completed two 70.3s and an Olympic. I peaked around 12-14 hours/week and averaged around 10 hours/ week. It was typically 3 rides, 3-4 runs, and 2-3 swims. I'd like to do more, but life gets in the way. I missed breaking five hours on the 70.3 by less than 30 seconds, which is why I'm (obsessively) looking for any gain I can get.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Several suggested a coach. My problem is that I haven't found one that I can afford. Around here (Chicago), they seem to run in the range of $200-300/ month. Maybe there are cheaper ones out that I'm missing- I'll keep looking. My swimming technique sucks and I should focus on that. Unfortunately, the Chicago Masters program just doesn't work for me in terms of time and location and I haven't found other affordable options, but again I'll keep looking.

There's always a thread....

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...upgrades_P6536794-2/

Ditto on the coach....if you don't already use one. You'll make huge gains with a good coach and training program. First year I had a coach, I PR'ed the 70.3 distance by 15min. Second year I had a coach..........another PR by another 15min. Racing again this weekend........hoping to PR again (maybe not by 15min but........ : )....maybe so!) Coaches are invaluable.

My coach is $125 per month. My fastest 70.3 was 4:27 last year. I had a 1:08 half marathon PR but couldn’t break 1:24 in the HIM run. After getting a coach last November, I went 4:02, 4:05 and 4:00 this year. I’m not doing any bigger workouts or working out more per week. I am, however, working harder on the bike than I ever did and all swim, bike, and run workouts have targets and meaning.

I had all the puzzle pieces fitness-wise but my coach put them together for me. I feel that’s what a lot of people’s problem is.

Take this as a very friendly suggestion: your asking the wrong questions.

For your first Ironman (assuming that is the case), you should be focused on finishing goals rather than marginal gains. If I were you, my IM goals for my first would be:
1. Have fun (in both the training and race)
2. Finish
3. Run the run (major time savings here)

You can make massive time gains by training for an appropriately paced bike ride then having a great run (assuming you have trained for a great run).

I also disagree that you need a triathlon coach. Do the following:
- Find a master's swim group and hit the pool 2-3 times per week. If you are a poor swimmer, this is where I would spend some coaching money.
- Signup for trainer road. Do at least the mid-volume plans for the bike. You already have a power-meter for the bike so you are good to go.
- Do BarryP for your run. Get your run up to 30 to 50 miles per week.
- Start researching what your long course nutrition/hydration strategy will be and start practicing that as soon as possible.

You can spend a lot of money on marginal gains but if you end up walking the last 6-10 miles of the race (for whatever reason: injury, nutrition/hydration, pacing, fitness), that 3 minutes you saved on a new helmet won't matter much.

It does depend on the helmet but yes, I did gear those times more towards half IM racing. Poor reading comprehension on my part!

IIRC the biggest delta we've seen between worst & best helmet with the same head position is ~ 15w.

Nice work on getting back into running!

Always room for 1 more in the tunnel.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Assuminbg that PM is reliable (never heard of it) then definitely get a coach to take advantage of it.

Aero testing. That's the big one.
Yes, disc cover. Tell them you want to tape it on.
Try different helmets (test!).
No idea if the suit is a good one.
Omega front brake.
Better base bar.
GPTT/Attack or Corsa Speed tires.

Nobody said he NEEDS a coach. He asked for suggestions to "upgrade" and a coach is definitely a valid response - i.e. don't buy more shit, focus on your training and preparation. Your suggestions definitely point in that direction as well but require much more personal initiative and dedication to learning. Of course you can cobble together a bunch of pieces and if done well that can have good results. It comes down to how much reading and learning the OP wants to do in order to become an effective self-coach. There is no shortage of info, plans, and tools available but you can toss them all in your bag and still have mediocre results if you don't know WTF you're doing.

I realize that helmets are specific to each individual but is there an aero helmet with good ventilation that typically tests well in the tunnel?