george_seamons

Doesn't Hammond own something he calls Oliver? Paul, are you sure it's a 1.9 Sri 120? I thought all the 1.9 Sri's were 150's. They did a 1.7 which was 120...but didn't think you could get an Sri. It's been a while since I owned my astra though (thankfully!) The 1.9 150's are riddled with problems (EGR, swirl flaps, shit gearboxes, shit DMF's etc etc), but to be fair, for £600 you cant grumble. For £1k outlay, you should easily make that back and then some. Have you got a picture of the engine? It's fairly easy to tell the differences

A speed awareness course is an alternative to prosecution, so once the course is (successfully) completed, that is the end of that. Points that would have been accrued instead of the course cannot therefore then be added afterwards. The guidelines state the threshold to start prosecution is 10% +2mph (35 in a 30, 46 in a 40 etc)...although technically 0.5mph over the limit is still speeding, and you can still be prosecuted. The 10% +9mph is the limit to when an awareness course is offered, any higher and it is straight to prosecution.

Confused as to what you are using the socket extension for? You literally just smack it off from behind

Hit it harder! Hold the driveshaft vertically in one hand (with the CV joint you want off at the bottom), and smack the back of the CV joint with a hammer. It shouldn't be that difficult to get off, a couple of blows and it should just fall off.

This pretty much sums up my trackday. 3 cars in the space of 3 corners. I love this car so much!

Soo...trackday done and duted. Holy f**k...what a car. Not just the power, but the whole package...brakes and handling etc. Only thing that even remotely gave me any bother was an Aston Martin DB9 Volante, which according to Parker's is 510bhp, so very happy with that! Has SO many compliments on the car from people watching, really massaged the ego! Days like today make all the hard work and headaches worth it!

Fair play to you dude...nothing quite like jumping in at the deep end! Shame we didn't know the torque tube was shagged when we first started, you would probably be finished by now haha!

I've used those shafts before on a friends R-Tech'd Cupra (which he drives like an absolute loon), and they have ben fine for over a year. Go for it! Why was I not made aware it was blowjob worthy?! I love working on cars. I refuse to be beaten...but you called it a night so I had no choice I think the fact you were just about ready to resort to cutting the prop off with a plasma cutter shows you don't have quite as much perseverance though! Always up for doing the clutch-spline wiggle!

I'be just ordered 2 litres of ATE superblue, which is going in on Sunday, so will be able to tell you!

First trackday of the year booked. Whoop whoop!

You get pretty much everything you need in the kit. Depends how far you want to go with it though. I ordered new piston rings for mine (£60 ish for a set of 4), but that mainly because I was putting new pistons in a complete strip down build. You could in theory use the old ones...but while they are out, you may as well change them. The only other things to 100% change which don't come in the kit are the oil pick up pipe (about £12 with the seal), and the oil pump itself (about £30). Other than that, its fairly straight-forward, just picking up bits from the kit. Even if you don't whack a huge turbo on, its nice to know you've had the engine apart and refreshed it, and also that you can boot it whenever you want and not worry about breaking anything!

Shouldn't need any mapping, no. The ECU will adapt the fuel trims to allow for the extra flow. You may need a lambda sensor spacer for the sensor after the cat if the car isn't mapped (mapping normally de-sensitises this sensor). Without a spacer you will get an engine check light, but it will be fine to run. They are about £15 from memory. You honestly won't beat in value for money wise. How they can make it, AND ship it from America for £170 is beyond me!

Eeek!!!! :D

Get the DM package deal from Issam on Facebook. Its hard to beat the value!

Nah, won't make enough difference to need mapping. Any difference the ecu should be able to adapt to

Its not standard, and its not a TDI exhaust...but they are all the same shape...albeit this one is 3" not 2.25"

Its not on the car, but hopefully this shows the shape clear enough: Hope that helps

Car only made 324bhp and 315ftlbs. Not happy The mapper isn't impressed with the exhaust manifold at all. Slightly annoying seeing as it's cost me the best part of £500 to get it on and fitted!

No, diesels are shit You could do what I did though and sell the downpipe and decat section and use that to fund the downpipe cost. I got £60 for my downpipe and decat section...could have got more, but I just wanted it gone. Literally went in 10 minutes. Once you are past the downpipe, the systems are basically all the same. You could probably even get an adaptor to reduce the 3" system to the 2.25" your standard system is for not many pennies, and remove the need to change the downpipe. Not actually sure if they are even a restriction on the tdi's.

If you're going your spend money on the exhaust anywhere, get a 3" downpipe. That's where the money is worth spending (the stock downpipe is SO restrictive its untrue). Infact, while you're looking, buy this complete system: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Golf-GTi-Jetta-MK4-99-04-1-8L-3-Turbo-Back-Exhaust-Catback-1-8T-w-Downpipe-/331161432742?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d1ac272a6&vxp=mtr Myself, Prawn (running nearly 400bhp) and a few other high powered 1.8t's are all running it. For the money it costs, the quality is insane. I had to buy a new downpipe because I have a different turbo, but it will fit from the turbo all the way to the tailpipe on yours. Works out to about £170 posted, and mine came in 3 days. Literally couldn't ask for better! Dooooooooo it!

They did actually do a 1.8t FR on the really late models (that must have been one of the last in that shape, mk2's were 06+). 100k is a fairly average mileage, bit on the high side for the year though. Price is pretty steep, you could just about get an R for that money (would be a bit ropey though). I'd aim for £2,500 with the intention to meet in the middle. Depends on its condition though, and what you are after in a car. You can get a facelift cupra (which is exactly the same apart from the wheels...which are 17" versions of the cupra R wheels), with change from £2000 nowadays, so you are essentially paying a further £1000 for an FR badge, and a few years newer. Again, depends what you want from the car...does ages bother you?

Gotta love car friends!

Weird...the J does look wonky in the picture, but its not! I most certainly will not be getting pressed plates. They have been done to death, and they don't suit it in my opinion. I blame the battery being nearly flat. It has also somehow made the car look really tall and skinny. It looks far wider and fatter in the flesh! Thought I'd better take a picture, this is the first time I've washed it in about 6 months. There was an actual layer of dust on the roof, not good.

Had a good weekend. Did some bits to my brother in law's Vectra...and fitted some bits to my car: Old discs: Comparison (323mm 1 piece and 330mm 2 piece): New discs on: And finished: Finally, got a 3" exhaust system off ebay, but it was designed for a mk4 golf. The exhaust cutout is further to the left on a golf, so with a couple of 45 degree bends, I managed to get the tailpipe in exactly the right place. Pretty happy with the outcome, it looks exactly the same as the 2.5" system I had on before, but should flow considerably better!

Hook a brother up