Thanks, yeah I agree, plus I can go all james bond style when I need to open a window hahaha.

The only issue with door relocation is creating extra loom and routing the wires IMO, especially if you use the same fittings. It was a little more awkward for me with having to use different switches if I did go that route.

Fitting them in should be easy enough, bit of drilling and filing and pop them in the door cards I assume

Righto, given her a good scrub and vac inside so she's all smellin nice and stuff

we have a smaller pram for the little one now, so I put the sub back in today, literally just now while its turning dark so all the wiring has been thrown in at best....

call it a proof of concept till the weekend when I'll hopefully get a bit of time to make it nice and neat

It's been hell driving around without bass, the shoddy 6n speakers are really that good at making any noise :( and as a big drum and bass fan it was torture :(

Edited 19 February, 201412 yr by R10tz0r

So went to a friends today to help him with his dash conversion, got most of it done, was going to start putting the heater matrix in and got stuck removing the 6n2 steering wheel :(

a bit of a shock for me was the difference in looms on an older model (this was a 96) got most of the wires right, all the essentials are in, just need to have a quick lookie at what others do and how they wire up, my diagrams didnt help me too much anyway haha. its definately a cleaner and easier job getting all the wires done when theres no dash in the way and using solder. will also have to look at the airbag light and figure that out, I want to get this as perfect as I can for him :)

So I've been a very lucky guy and got a surprise delivered today, can't wait to show you guys, it will be a very illuminating experience :spiteful:

looks wicked man, congratulations on the flush fitting door handles, i had big fails and give up. the dash looks the bollocks though dude.

Thanks mate, they were a littl confusinhg at first for me, but managed to figure it out haha

So then.....this surprise delivery?

Updates?

I haven't had a real chance to test them yet, the wife-to-be is in hospital, so childcare duties prevent me going out at night :( I'll get it up as soon as I can though, promise!

Philips ColorVision Bulb Review H4 Green

So I was very Lucky and managed to get a pair of the Philips ColorVison bulbs sent to me for a bit of a review and to see what they were like, my opinions and such.

Now before I start I would like to thank EuroCarParts for providing the oppurtunity, quite a rare occurence and I would guess I'm quite lucky!

Now I'll show some pictures of the packaging and the bulbs themselves:

Packaging is nice and simple, with a card basically stating that they are legal for use on UK roads, I've been driving them for nearly two weeks now and not had any problems.

As far as the tint is concerned, they are noticeable when you look at them closely, but maybe not at just a glance, they aren't as coloured as I initially thought they might be, but I do suppose that these are road legal bulbs afterall :)

as far as seeing colour from behind the wheel, there is a slight tint at the top of the beam, but not across the full length, which is pretty cool.

I would suggest that light output and K colour arent quite as advertised, especially when compared to the bulbs I had in the car, which were General Electric jobbies IIRC, I would say they have a warmer glow, closer to 3000K, Standard beam output is comparable to the old bulbs and not an improvement, I will say that High beam output is better than the old bulbs by a noticeable amount, but not a huge amount.

Spread - Old first

High Beam - Old first

Standard Beam - Old first

So to conclude,

Philips have given this a very valiant effort, but while trying to do two things at once, have only kinda half managed to do both, the bulbs arent super bright nor are they super coloured, but they are fine for normal use and do give a hint of personality, especially in a sea of blue HID bulbs everywhere.

I think they are limited by the 60/55W power output, but thats what they have to adhere to to stay legal.

I don't think they are worth the suggested 34.99, and probably better at 24.99.

I would also like to mention that I did'nt measure the voltage at the light socket, which could account for some of the yellowness but I did compare them to the old bulbs, that were of a definite higher K colour on the same voltage.

a full album of all the pictures can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/aoXox

So its been a little bit quiet for me lately, not a lot to talk about, but put it through MOT this afternoon

knew it was gonna fail, just wasnt sure how badly it would:

Offside Balljoint Bolt missing

Offside lower arm front bush has excessive play (knew about this)

Offside rear bush deteriorated (pretty much not there, didnt know about this one, thought my swaying problems were linked to the front bush)

Headlamps incorrect colour (forgot to tell tester about the certificate)

Emissions failed (exhaust does have a blow STILL but hopefully seal that up and some fresh plugs will fix that)

my biggest concern is the emmisions, they can be a pain in the arse to chase out. luckily the test station is 10 seconds from a bypass so I told them they can warm the car right up on the re-test

I've also come across something I'm not all too familiar with recently, since changing the thermostat, there is a whining noise coming from the engine, but only when it's fully warmed up.

and when the car is idling I can hear a relay click on and off every minute or so that causes the rev's to dip slightly but again, no idea what that is.

aaaaand a cambelt change is definately due because its whining through the revs (i have no idea when it was last changed)

so yeah thats where the car is at mechanically at the moment.

oh wait no I tell a lie, had to get some replacement front tyres because the wear on the inside shoulder was actually laughable. I bought 4 new tyres in october and had them fitted, since then I've covered around 3-4000 miles, the outside edge was fine and had worn normally, the inside edge was completely bald, like I had been running silly camber, which I haven't, I had the tracking checked and the mechanic said it was fine, so theres a gremlin somewhere...

oh dear

just bought some solitudes 8>T 8>T 8>T

got some coilies today quite cheap, but look to be half decent, no leaks etc, just missing spanners! £60 yipeee

Edited 29 March, 201412 yr by R10tz0r

so got the solitudes today, they are half decent, no cracks, still round, would benefit from a refurb, especially one of them which has some quite bad curbing of the rim. all the centre caps are knackered so will replace them, wanting to powder coat them white after a fixup

How I want the car to sit on them, probably a little higher than this tbh, maybe 20-25mm up

just given them a clean lol

Edited 31 March, 201412 yr by R10tz0r

so here they are on the car, didn't put the coils on because didn't have the right tools

shes got 195/50 on the front and 205/50 on the rear, until I can get some 195/45s all round.

It's amazing how much difference you can feel from the rotten steels with balloons on!

hoping to get some spacers 15-20 all round too, but all in due course!

Looking good! Will look nice in white.

few more pics to keep the thread alive, not much exterior wise, still haven't got the coilies sat how I want them, laziness and a busy schedule is preventing that, a few bits and bobs have been done mechanically, but nothing exotic, just run of the mill general car care.

bloody thing

just doesnt want to be happy.

tappet noise has transformed from going quiet when warm, to getting noiser under load no matter how warm, but is quiet when idle.

I was thinking it could be piston slap/worn rings and I had a word with a mechanic and he said that if theres no mis-fires/bad running/smoke then they should be ok

but this leads to my next point, oil usage has gone up, especially at higher revs like motorway driving it seems to eat it, but as I say that, there is no smoke, no mayo, the oil is clean. that oil is going somewhere.

When I smell the oil it smells very petroly which tells me that fuel is getting in there and that again leads me to believe the rings are worn.

The gearbox is also whining, just a little bit in 4th and 5th, and it does leak oil, I've got some oil from VW and a selctor shaft seal to go in that this weekend, but if that doesnt stop the whine, I really dont know where to put myself with this car.

among other more common gremlins like wheel bearings and brake light switches its sucking money from me in a way I dont enjoy but as I stand financially I cant just go out and buy another car and ditch this, so it is a rock and a hard place.

I suppose having the right tools time and space to deal with these problems would ease the burden. but life gets in the way of all that.

well just a moan I suppose, aslong as she lasts till next march and gets me to disneyland and back I'll be happy but I really want to make something of her, that I would be happy to pass on to a new owner knowing she is well and able.

Sounds to me like a fuelling problem, what you've been experiencing will be pinking.

If you're not getting an efficient burn and there is excess fuel, it will run down the bores and into the sump (doesn't mean your rings are fucked)

This in turn waters down the oil, meaning that it'll get places that usually it shouldn't... I.E. into the combustion chamber at high revs... which is where your oil will be going.

Edited 27 June, 201412 yr by panda

I've never heard of this before and it fits in perfectly with a noise that comes from the car when I give it a lot of load....fuck

its got a belt change due on monday so I will ask them to check the timing, hopefully the damage isnt too bad

Thanks for that Panda!

So changed the gearbox oil today, the selector shaft seal was a bastard to get out, but we managed it, love the smell of fresh oil.

filled her up, cleaned the lower casing and took her for a drive, still whining in 4th and 5th, I think the damage has already been done.

:angry: :angry: :angry:

well the belts been changed, fuel filter changed and timing checked, seems to run a bit better, but not really had chance to form an opinion as of yet...

so had a few drives out in it, its alot quieter, engine feels tighter, and more responsive, even the tappet noise seems to have dimmed very pleased!

I'm half tempted to sell, if I could get £600 for it I'd let her go on the steels, would like to keep the solitudes for a valver I have my eye on

so if anyone is reading this, you've probably read most of the thread but a quick breakdown:

few spots of manageable rust

paintwork could do with a good cut and polish but no deep scratches

valver bumpers

6n2 interior (with double cupholder may I add)

6n2 rears

101k on the clock (car has done 95)

coilies (still have stock items if needed)

near new tyres on steels

solid car now has had plenty of work done over the year or so

I'd keep her but I'm getting thirsty for a bit more power

So, a good few runs in her as of late, was at blyton park marshaling this past weekend, which is mostly motorway there and back and she was great, very little oil usage (if any) as compared to before, she's definately running at or near full power, plenty of torque from around 2.5k upwards as compared to before the few bits of work. not that there is any performance modifications, but as any underpowered car owner will tell you, you need every horse you can muster.

oh and fuel economy was excellent relatively speaking, 180 miles to about £25 of fuel when at its worst I was getting 45 miles to £10, a definate improvement haha

She's actually making me smile again, which is a good sign.

That said though, its very hard to deny my urges to take her onto a track for a good run, purely for the enjoyment and to get it out of my system, I know we can all drive spirited on an empty A road, but its nothing like having no worries, a clear view and your right foot glued to the floor.

Next on the list repair wise is wheel bearings, and while its not affecting anything too much, I want to get the tappet seen too, it sounds terrible when cold.

and I still need to pull my finger out and get the solitudes refurbed.

On a somewhat funnier note, at blyton this weekend, we were parked and camped in the paddock amongst all the runners for the weekend, the likes of westfields, lotuses, single seaters etc. and with no doubt my car was the slowest there.

I got up Saturday morning and some of the chaps around were warming their cars up, and I needed to put a bit of charge in the battery after running some stuff off of it overnight. I got some of the most "are you fucking serious" looks from the guys when I started the car up and gave it some rev's hahaha.

That said, there was a guy hooning a Mazda 3 td in totally stock form, and someone else in a 1.3 "All Tappets" Ford Ka, so I may not have been too far out of place if I was running.

Oh well, theres plenty of time for those shenanigans :P

Mechanically things have been very quiet, low funds means no work is being done :(

I did have enough money to get some t-cut and some cheap wax, so thought I'd give her a bit of a treat.

doing a couple of panels a night, when time allows, its something I've never done before and I'm actually quite pleased with the results and definately see why guys get right into this area of car care, but it is quite tiresome with an arm and a few cloths.

Also, I've had her over a year now, which is the longest I've ever owned a car haha.

theres a link to all the images here - http://imgur.com/a/yWDBL

Still rocking dirty steels coz I haven't refurbed the solitudes yet :(

Polishing your car is satisfying but does kill your arms, even with a machine polisher. Also, becomes very addictive. It's come up nice!

I feel your pain with the low funds role on September student finance