Matts Budget 1.9 150 SRI

[matthewp1633]

yes it does now nice car mate! the 19 wheels do make it look loads better( i should get some but i refuse to pay the 19 inch tire price and no budget ones won't do)

I am one of those awkward people who wants good gear but can t afford it so I went online and got some 235/35/19 tyres from a company called openeo they supplied Firemax tyres for £53 each delivered and I fitted and balanced them myself. To be fair they are budget tyres but they stick to the road, drive really well and are not noisy at all. I also had our engineers do a couple of welds on 2 cracks and I did my own wheel refurb as I am ok at spraying.

[northpole]

see it is the budget tires that will put me off but i might change my mind... in the Netherlands, maxxis tires are regarded budget tyres they put them in the same class as Nexen... and here in the UK they aren't..... so i need to brush up on my tire knowledge again... i might just see what i can find for decent prices and get myself some 19 inch in need of a refurb wheels... i can do the refurb myself just really didn't like the prices of the tires... but with what you just pointed out i might just take the plunge... that is if i find them cheap enough but to be fair i bought my wheels 3 years ago for 60 pounds with good tires... and they needed a change this year, and i did that because i couldn't find a set in better condition than my current wheels.

but thanks for the tips i also run my cars on a tight budget and with this one i have 2 because i bought it for scrap money

[matthewp1633]

The next step is to fit my lowering springs and sports front shock that I purchased just before Christmas. I also have a ceramic coating to put on but I am aware from research how much prep work goes into that job!

[matthewp1633]

So I ve been busy this week as the sports front shocks and 45mm LO lowering springs have been fitted plus I have cut holes in the bonnet and fitted vents. Once this was complete I washed her twice, then used a product to remove Iron contamination on the paint. To be fair the amount of rubbish stuck in the paint was incredible but it is an 11 year old car and once that was done I used Tcut to remove swirl marks and scratches.

The next stage was a machine polish of the whole car and then I used an IPA spray to remove any oils and finally I applied the Ceramic Coating. I did this panel by panel and followed all the instructions I had learnt from watching Youtube. The results are excellent and the micro scratches around the door handles are gone as have several other minor to medium scratches.

The suspension also feels much better and the car looks loads better sitting closer to the floor. On the plus side the suspension isn t to harsh as its a daily drive that often has the kids and wife on board!

Here is a link to a picture as I still don t know how to upload them to the forum lol:
http://s50.photobucket.com/user/matt...tml?sort=3&o=1

[matthewp1633]

So back before Christmas I gutted my main Cat and removed all the silencers in my exhaust. However I was concerned that the car might become too noisy so using works mig welder I did all the work myself. My thinking was if the car was too noisy I would refit the silencers with no harm done to my wallet!

Well to be fair the increase in noise was fine with a nice burble at idle and nothing too offensive at cruising speeds and the bonus of the Turbo spooling earlier in the rev range so win, win. I decided to go for the twin exhaust look so a £59 Hoffman center section would help with that and was purchased and delivered. I plan to stick with the exhaust I made on the O/S/R and make another for the N/S/R as I had already obtained 2x3.5 inch externally rolled Chrome exhaust tips,

[matthewp1633]

At the moment my car is sitting on the Workshop ramp waiting for my ECU to arrive back from Mr Teapot. I had a few issues with a company sending me a rubbish lead and then corrupted software via fleabay so I decided to just remove and post my ECU. For those who are not good with computers and don t fancy a long drive its a good option to just remove the ECU and post it.

You need to remove the front bumper and unclip 2 x leads into the ECU and slide it out, put it in a well wrapped pocket and post. When it arrives back just plug it back in and refit the bumper, I had disconnected the cars battery just to be on the safe side. I have fitted the upgraded fuel rail sensor (needs MAPing in) and the swirl flaps were removed, EGR Blanked, Air box mod done with extra cold air feed. The exhaust main cat has been removed nicely so I can refit for next years MOT and the rest of the exhaust has no silencers but the precat is still in place to prevent over spool of the standard turbo.

A larger intercooler has been hidden behind the front bumper in prep for fitting a Hybrid Turbo at a latter point.

Hopefully a healthy power increase should result!

[matthewp1633]

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Teapot MAP all done including upgraded Fuel Rail sensor and ready for roadtest!

[matthewp1633]

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So I am very happy with the performance but the clutch doesn t like it much and sometimes slips. I believe the issue was caused by a faulty release bearing allowing oil to contaminate the friction plate for over a week until I noticed.

As I was busy I had a local garage sort it for me under a warranty claim but I am suspicious that they only replaced the bearing. I have spoken to several local parts suppliers to obtain a new clutch and do the job myself this time!

Once the clutch is done I plan the get tints for the rear windows and wind deflectors in time for the summer sun

[northpole]

lovely looking motor mate!

[matthewp1633]

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Thanks it is also so much easier to clean with the ceramic coating