The Gimp MY2002 STi

[The Gimp]

I'll be adding bits and bobs over the next few days or so.

Well where do I start? My previous MY2001 WRX was my pride and joy. Sadly through no fault of my own she was written off by some numpty.



During all the two-ing and throwing I wasn't sure what I would get as a replacement. I was looking at all sorts of cars cars, Skylines,Supras,Impreza,Legacys even a BMW came to mind.

After thinking about it I decided to go with another Impreza. On the shortlist was P1,Type R's,modded UK2000's,MY2002 WRX and STi's and MY2003 WRX or STi's.

P1 & Type R was chalked off by the misses due to be 2 doors. So looked at Modded UK2000's but came to mind was the car was older than what I had. So then moved onto MY2003 WRX's and STi's. At the time second hand they were still holding value and what with being a father for the first time 1 month previous and two weeks after my WRX got trashed I looked at MY2002 STi's.

After trawling through many sites I thought I'd never find what I was looking for. The following day all of a sudden I came across a car I was sure I came across on Scoobynet. Sure enough it was. Had a few mods already AST's,Rear ARB,Forge DV,strut brace and ECUTEK software. So pretty good ground to start on.

Sent the guy an email and got a reply pretty rapid. He advised me of his user name and sure enough it was the same car I adored on SN.
Now at the time the guy was in Thailand so had to speak with his Dad. Gave the Dad a call on the Thursday and arranged to meet on the Saturday in Great Yarmouth.

This is one of the add pictures.



So over in Great Yarmouth and after inspection fell in love with the car. Whilst we sat down to talk about a price etc two people called about it. I knew at this point I had to say YES or NO. So with the hand shake I agreed a price with the Dad and paid a deposit. Agreed to pick up the car the following Saturday.

After looking at the name on some receipts I noticed an address not far from here. In fact it was the car Bitto (forgot his user name now) had owned when he first purchased it to the UK from Malta. After sending him a message he advised me what he had done which was a lot in a short space of time.

The day of picking it up I thought my bad luck had struck again. No side lights working. After changing the fuses all was good. On the drive home it was for sure a joy. On the paper work it stated the car was running 332bhp and 330lbft. Because I was used to my previous Impreza I thought "Bloody hell this thing shifts".

After driving the car for a week and driving against other cars in similar power my car was falling back a little? Thought sod it. On the to do list.

Then on a Friday whilst off week 12 days after getting it I thought I give it a good clean with some of the Swissvax goodies. Spent almost 9 hours doing it. Decided I'd take it for a drive by the river and maybe get some photo's.

Whilst I was sat stationary this happened by a little cock faced twat coming the otherway doing 70mph in a 30mph zone!!









I was a ruined soul. On closer inspection the B pillar was pretty damage so feared the worst.

This happened in the June and due to the third parties insurance messing me around the car didn't go in for repair until July.

So after getting the car back late August or so the car felt different. Had a few noises that for sure wasn't there before. Car went back and spent a few further days being looked at. This was now September. I felt as though Subaru ownership and me were not meant to be. During it's second stint at Cheam for repairs the MOT had also been done. One note was "Leak rear section".

Also purchased a few bits for the car as a treat. New mats, Prodrive gear knob, battery clamp and oil cap.

Don't ask me why but this was the start of modding on the car here!! (at last I here you say).

September 2007 - I loved the sound of the Milltek exhaust on it but wanted something a little louder. So gave James at GRD a call and got a mid section and back box off of him.

October 2007 - Changed the Panel Filter to a Grp N TSL version.

November 2007 - I wanted another Exhaust. After hearing the sound of a WRC car I wanted something that sounded just like it. At the time Christian (WhiteNoise) just purchased a new exhaust and it was the exhaust tone I wanted all this time.
So placed my order with Roger Clark Motorsport to get the Full 3" Team Ice system with sports cat.
With the help of Scogsy and Moomin this was done in pretty good timing as I was off to see Rally GB in the following couple of weeks. (Geek or what) The rest is history.lol

November 2007 - Brought a set of HID lights. To this very day they still have not been fitted and are in my garage. lol

November 2007 - Fitted new side light bulbs (Phillips blue vision) & new driving lights from Halfrauds (50% brighter)

November 2007 - Brought some chrome style rear bulbs for indicators etc from RCM (and a cheeky bottle of NF)

December 2007 - Brakes needed a little more bite. Called James at GRD and popped over to see him for Yellow Stuff pads all round. Massive difference the pads made.
December 2007 - Whilst at Rally GB and using the roads normally for Army trucks etc to park up a lud noise came from the front of the car? On hitting the main roads it felt as though I had a puncture. On inspection this wasn't the case. Got the car home from Wales and took it over to Cheam on the Monday.
Was advised the noise was coming from the o/s/f coilover.

January 2008 - Due to the car not feeling right and getting further knocking I took the car over to Curtis at Powerstation to check the AST coilovers. Was not good so needed a replacement shock and geo settings.
Whilst I was there I asked if it could be put on the rollers. I was shocked with the results to say the least.
310bhp - 290lbft!!!! Some way off of what I thought it was and should have been.



January 2008 - Wanted to get the TEIN bonnet lifters for ages but missed out on a group buy each time. Mart off of here was selling a set as well as a Turbosmart DV so fitted them the following day.

February 2008 - After a few months I felt the car needed a major service so booked car in with Cheam Motors to carry major service with belts etc done. Not cheap but worth every penny. (Discs worn) Purchased some Aero Blades at the time too.
February 2008 - After looking around at replacement options I went for the Brembo Sport package with discs in drilled format.
Scogsy again was a gentleman and popped over to give us a hand (or should I say watched him) .

February 2008 - Seem as I was doing bits and bobs I thought I'd also change the brand of polish and wax. So made a massive order of Blackfire's range and again to this day this stuff is still the best stuff I have ever used.


June 2008 - As I had no fitting kit with the Turbosmart DV I got fed up with the vappour rails looking stupid on the IC so removed it and put the Forge VTA back on.

June 2008 - Hadn't spend anything on the car for a few months so treated myself to a Prodrive Diff guard and had it fitted whilst I waited at Cheam Motors.

June 2008 - After not knowing what I'd get out of the car but feeling it needed spicing up a little i decided to book the car in with Simon (JGM). Not knowing who had the rights etc to the Software I called Ecutek to ask them. When I told them a bit about the car and from previous invoices giving to me when Bitto first owned the car. I was suprised the guy remembered.
He advised me that the very car I owned was one of if not the first ever Newage STi to have the ECUTEK map loaded in the UK!! I was a little shocked to be honest etc.

So after tapping Simon up and rubbing his legs like little a rampant rabbit on speed Si transformed the car completely.

After the first run the car was even less powerful than I thought.......290bhp - 260lbft on SRR!!! Following Simon using his skills I left there with 312bhp - 296 lbft. Well happy.



July 2008 - Oil change at my sisters other halfs work. Castrol Magnatec 10W/40.
July 2008 - Purchased a Walbro 255 pump off of Teaforvicar. Also purchased a new fuel filter etc. Our very own Penfold (aka Chris) knew how to fit these from the past so over to his I went to enjoy a laugh and cup of tea.



July 2008 - Booked the car in with Simon (JGM) again following the changes. Including adding , 100mls of NF octane booster.
Left with the following 329.7bhp - 315lbft.

..............................

[The Gimp]

..............

August 2008 - A very important month ahead with the Colin Mcrae Gathering at the end of the month. So wanted to get a few things done to the car.

August 2008 - After changing the discs earlier in the year I felt the biting point wasn't at it's best. So gave James a call at GRD for a full brake fluid change to AP Racing DOT 5.1.

August 2008 - Due to the current mods already on the car I felt it needed to be stepped up in the handling department still.

Went tp Powerstation and Curtis carried out the rest of the handling pack which would see me leave with the full Stage 3 handling pack.

Front 22mm ARB

Rear 24mm ARB

Rear Solid Drop links

Anti Lift Kit

HD rack bush kit

a GEO settings to match. Also had the coilovers set and adjusted correctly after I titted around with them. D'oh.



August 2008 - Noticed a strong smell of fuel on my way to work one morning. Thought nothing of it until about three days after when the smell after filling up was so bad I almost threw up my chinese meal from lunch. Turned out to be the fuel pump seal gasket. Quick call to Gary over at cheam and car booked in the following day for new gasket to be fitted. Result and not feeling sick everytime I drove.



August 2008 - The car looked good but not mustard. I enjoy cleaning my cars myself but felt that it needed a treat. So had Matt Neame from 2clearbuckets give the car a detail a day before the Mcrae Gathering.



August 2008 - Mcrae Gathering. Well, have to admit was a very good day. The passing on the M40 and having them people cheer you on from the sides of the roads and motorways and most of all those brave souls on the top of the bridges. What a day.

I then managed to find myself being the front page fronting the Mcrae Gathering on the TOP GEAR US and Australian website so even after the and filth off the road got on my tits after Matt's hard work a part of me thought it made up for it.

(The link doesn't work anymore but I am hoping Bandit still had the picture on his laptop he can send me to add to this thread?)



September 2008 - Was driving down to the land of the mighty football club with the boy when coming off motorway noticed a very odd vibration and knocking noise. Carried on but the slower I went the worse the car felt? Had a look under the car and nothing visable. Asked my sister who was with me to drive the car slowly in first to see if a stone or something had wedged in the groove of the tyre but not knowing my car she hit the loud pedal to hard and made me half death.

Knowing I had a long-ish trip back with my little man in the car gave Fat Boy (Dave Beck) a bell to see if he had the details of Triton in Christchurch. Popped over to Trtion and even though they heard the noise couldn't work it out. Wasn't charged by them for an hours worth of there time too. Result but gave them beer tokens.



October 2008 - From the result of the problems I needed this looked at as it was becoming more frequant. Booked it in with Curtis who replaced the n/s/r strut and new geo. Also added rear risers for the rear coilovers.



November 2008 - The noise of the Forge VTA was starting to drive me a little mad so made a choice to go back to Recirc but with a Forge Recirc DV.

November 2008 - Purchased some new NGK grade 7 plugs and some Silkolene Pro S 5W/40 oil.



December 2008 - Booked the car in with Cheam to carry out Oil change and plug change. Sorted.

December 2008 - Booked the car in again with Simon (JGM) to remap the old girl with the new plugs,oil,100mls NF,Oil but still on pretty much the same set up as before.

Results were 332.5bhp & 312 lbft. The car also felt a lot better to drive too maybe going to recirc was the key?



January 2009 - Not a great deal. At the time things were rocky at work and with my second child on the way didn't want to do anything until I was sure..........

January 2009 - Hitting a fox at 60mph isn't good news for your front bumper. bugger.



Febuary 2009 - ********, carried on with the mods.

Febuary 2009 - Managed to get hold of a Bugeye Prodrive front bumper with fog lamps. Just needed preping and painting but was on the to do list.

Febuary 2009 - Purchased a BAR boost gauge. After thinking about where I was going to put it Knobby (WRXMike) fitted my gauge for me in my drivers vent as he had done to his. Difference in being mine worked. lol

Febuary 2009 - After attending the Sunseeker Rally on my way home having some fun with Lee's (Mass) EVO III his car seemed to be pulling a lot better than mine even though his car wasn't putting out the power mine was. Hmmmmmmmm I thought.



March 2009 - Got fed up of the power I had and fancied a change. After thinking of what I wanted to do and was right to do I thought about it and with some great input from Simon (JGM) Dill , Mark (Lateral Performance) ,Scogsy, James/Aaron (GRD) & Bod

I went for the following mod.

MD321T (58mm inlet) and ceramic coated housing

3 Bolt GT Spec Headers with heat wrap)

Fuelab FPR 2 port

Also purchased via GRD was a Hyperflow CAIK.

And fresh bedding to sleep on the sofa.



March 2009 - Scogsy did me a very good price with fitting all the mods whilst I was at work on nights. When I couldn't help Scogs , Mike spent his time with Scogsy eating and doing what they were doing?



April 2009 - Booked in with Simon (JGM) again for a back rub and map. Was very pleased with the results but felt as though I was letting the Turbo's power capability down.

402.5bhp & 359lbft.



550's were pretty much maxed out at 96% . So something I was going to get was new injectors.



May 2009 - Was about time I changed the Oil so after speaking with Guy at Opie Oils went for Silkolene Pro S 10w/50. Carried out the oil changed a couple of days prior to JAPFEST 09.

May 2009 - JAPFEST 2009 trade stands brought some light weight wheel nuts and cold air feed to try and put this Prodrive bumper on with CAIK intake via the fog lamp.

June 2009? Purchased a second hand set of fog lamp covers to carry out the cold air intake.



June 2009 - With the birth of my second child I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the car? After speaking with my misses she told me it was silly to get shot of it at the stage it had come to and due to her being off work I could use her car more often saving a few pennys on running costs etc.

So with this I booked the car in for it's treat. So got in contact with Paul at Race Valeting and had a full correction detail done.

Wonderful service and a pleasure to deal with. Write up below.

http://www.surreyscoobies.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=31477



Spetember 2009 - Whilst on my way back from Rallyday I was giving it some beans with an Tommi Evo. Noticed some more movement from the engine back and gearbox than I had done normally. So after reading up on SN and speaking with Moley I went ahead a got myself some

Hardrace

Engine

Gearbox

& Pitcher

Got in contact with TFS and Stew fitted them one evening before I went to work.

Straight away the mounts could be noticed. Stiffer and more vibration fromt he rigidness.



Novemeber 2009 - Noticed a couple of times the car felt sluggish and not 100% .With the help of Mike checking a few bits and bobs thought it would be worth changing the MAF. So by chance CJ had one spare so purchased his old one off him. Car straight away felt alot smoother and mostly not drinking fuel like Olly Reid did.



December 2009 - Noticed mostly in the winter mornings the smell of fuel coming from the drivers side by the dash. Checked a few bits and bobs and couldn't see anything.

After reading up on SN and NASIOC about the problem I needed to replace the fuel hoses on the rails as they had expanded in the winter due to worn rubber hoses.

January - 2010 - PRESENT TBC

[Lucky]

Its a cracking car mate. I remember seeing it parkerd up at Silverstone a couple of years ago.

[WRX_Paul]

Nice read mate

[DukeBoy]

Nice write up and lovely looking Bug

[Hongkongfooi]

very nice car fella...thought that when i saw it at srr a few weeks back when you changing the inj's.

[666subaru]

Nice car and remember it from The Mcrae run as you were parked by the side of us, top car this and an impressive spec list

[Steve_PPP]

very nice, and good write up

[The Gimp]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Steve

[Matt23]

WOW what a good read Mr gimp. 1 of the best looking bugs i have seen mate.

[HVDetailing]

Nice write up there Steve and some serious £££ you've spent on her too.

Hope to see her again this summer for another spruce up.

Paul

[The Gimp]

January - 2010 So with the winter in full swing and knowing my misses was due to go back to work in the new year I had a choice of if to go for OEM fuel hoses from a Blobeye or go Parallel rails.
As I knew the turbo intake pipe would be easy to get to once the manifold came off I thought also about changing that too.
I then thought about changing the air filter on my CAIK to a Green cone version. Whilst on that I toyed with a few other ideas.

After a week of calculating the sums up I went for the following mods.

Lateral Performance turbo intake pipe.
Lateral Performance thermal spacers
RCM manifold bolts as they spacers would increase the height on the heads by 11mm.
Braided fuel lines
Parallel rail mod
Throttle body coolant delete
DV Delete
Catch Can

With the help of Mike during me working nights and his days off we managed to do the car over a few days. Wasn't easy as the rain and cold took it's toll on us but a few trips to the local garage for Monster energy drinks and couple of trips to the local pub sorted that out.
Scogsy came over to help with the Catch Can pipe work and fitting.

Job complete. Just needed another remap.........

I also decided to get my Prodrive bumper and fog lights sprayed. So spoke with Norm and took the bumper over to him. Turn around was 4 days so very good. The finish was bloody good.

SO fitted that one Saturday afternoon. Looked great. (Photos are somewhere).

February 2010 - Booked the car in with JGM once more. I wanted to do something different as I was finding it pricey using NF Octane booster.
So placed an order for some methanol.

Did a couple of runs on neat V power off boost. Then took the car over to JGM for a remap.

Car made 411.5bhp & 375lbft so pretty good even on a TMIC. But sadly was told my clutch was slipping on the rollers so needed a new clutch. Bugger!!

Car was fine for a week until one day on the M3 motorway not giving it any beans the engine light came up. Took it easy until I got home to check the fault code. And thought delete it but take it easy. This deleted the code but the following day the car kept cutting out and hunting on idle.

After some helpful advice on here and SN I took the car over to Simon -JGM. No problems showing on AFR etc so was a little baffled.
Car ran like this for the whole of Feb so was not happy.


March 2010 - With the latter still being an issue I had to do something as it was drinking fuel like George Best and Olly Reed at your local. So purchased a New Lambda sensor pre turbo and new MAF. Not cheap!!! Also changed the gaskets to heads to manifold as myself and Mike did bend them a little by wearing them as glasses after a few pints of Stella during the manifold off stage.

Took the car over to Simon and again everything was fine on the readings but the car kept cutting out still. Simon advised that it was likely to be the ECU not being able to ready the air intake and then being forced out but the DV delete via the cone filter quick enough confusing the ECU making the car run funnng by compensating etc. So that was food for thought.

April 2010 - With above still causing me bother I went for the another ECU. But what?

Simtek
Solaris/Syvecs

With this I had to think about if this was the case a new clutch was a must and would I stick with the TMIC?

A few things went through my mind. A) Costs B) Costs C) How much and where? lol

Made a few inquiries and managed to get hold of a Helix Clutch with updated clamp on the Organic set up for everyday use. Mike and a good friend of his managed to pop the clutch in whilst I was on nights and Mike managed to knock himself out in the process. Tit.

I decided to ditch the TMIC in favour for a Hybrid FMIC. This proved to be a mission upon a mission.
Good bit of kit but what **** instructions. Mike came over to give me a hand with the bumper (one of the hardest things I've had to do is cut it up for the FMIC) I was being me and being a girl so I couldn't watch.

After looking at the instructions we couldn't work it out. Spoke to Bandit who kindly offered to be a gent and give me a hand fitting the pipe work. Again following the instructions we couldn't work it out.
I was getting to the stage of where it was looking like I wasn't going to have enough time to bed the clutch in ready for a new ECU remap with JGM.

I tried contacting Harvey who I purchased the kit from but sadly he was ill at the time so couldn't assist.
I post up on SN and some bloke kindly sent me a email off his own back with pictures of the pipes and where THEY SHOULD go. Mike popped over after work and we managed to fit it in around 2 hrs!!! Unreal.

So bumper on.......clutch needing to be bedded in and jobs a good'n!!

May 2010 - Knowing the car was due a map I had a few things to resolve in a short space of time with work and family.

So off boost managed to bed the clutch in with almost 156miles of A road driving off boost with the FMIC .

Then when to see JGM for a remap on a SIMTEC ECU. The reason was not hard. Price was a factor but also I think the Syvecs would have been an over kill for my use of the car.

Like anyone who has done work to there car. Spent a lot of money you go to the Rollers with a result in your head.
I asked Simon if I could have the following fitted
Anti Lag
Launch Control
Switchable MAP settings 95ron/97ron.

After a few moments of me looking at the screen at SRR thinking GREAT results!! The car kept going for more runs and the results were going up and up and up!!!

I managed to leave SRR with 453.0bhp & 386lbft!!!! Was shocked!

On the test drive with JGM I was suprised how much better the car felt on the Simtek ECU over a EcuTek ECU. Whilst doing a few spirited runs Simon said to me leave it in 3rd and come off the pedal........he then lent over to switch my Anti Lag on.........HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. We both sounded like little kids for a few moments.

I'd like to thank all those that have helped me get to the stage of where I am. Without these people I wouldn't be where I am now with the car. Also thanks to these people that I have managed to spent time with my kids too rather than spending all my time in the garage under a car etc.

So Thanks again guys.


BIG BIG thanks to Mike (WRX Mike) . He has been a tit and fringe over the last couple of years. So thanks again mate.

So is this the final chapter? Hmmmmmmm hard to say? I want to do a few other things to the car but at the moment I have exhausted my passions for the time being and with getting Married next year I need to think ahead.

Thanks for reading.

Me,The Gimp aka Steve

TBC......................

[The Gimp]

Originally Posted by HVDetailing

Nice write up there Steve and some serious £££ you've spent on her too.

Hope to see her again this summer for another spruce up.

Paul

Paul,
I'd dread to think mate on the money.

For sure 110% she'll be going to you over the next couple of months. Noticed a few scratches that need some tlc with your loving touch.

Steve

[Hongkongfooi]

Great result on the power! Interesting your comments on Simtek vs ecutek...i have the ecutek at present.

[The Gimp]

Hello mate,

Yeah Simtek is so much smoother. It was straight away fell that I noticed too. Syvecs is one step ahead so to speak according to a source who has gone from one to the other.

Your results will be even better on the blobeye STi engine.

Steve

[C. J.]

Good results there steve

[DukeBoy]

Sounding good

Cracking read matey

[The Gimp]

Thanks guys for the kinds words.

Steve

[The Gimp]

June 2010 - Noticed the engine temps and fans getting a little hot and fans kicking in a little bit more often. Also with the power being a little bit more and using meth on the car recently thought I'd change the oil.

So purchased the following.
Zero Sport Thermostat (From Mark at Lateral Performance)
Silkolene Pro S 10w / 50 oil (From Opie Oils)
Subaru Oil Filter

Due to work couldn't find time to do it so called Stew at TFS Racing and he said pop it over. Top man and great service at short notice.
With this done noticed the engine running a little bit cooler and fans not kicking so much.

Also noticed on the Simtek the cold start idle was being a nightmare and had problems at 1,700 / 1,900 & 2,900 rpm's with the car stuttering. So called the old bean Simon (JGM) to smooth it out for me. TO which he has. Top man.

Late last year some tit at work broke my drivers wing mirror. No one admitted to it but hey. So after getting a pair of Blobeye wing mirrors off of WRXMike and my old bean Norm (SurreyScoobies) to get them painted at work I (well Mike really I jsut watched whilst I sang songs to him) fitted a set of Blobeye wing mirrors.
I wasn't too aware that the glass is a few mm bigger on the Blobeye but so glad I have put them on as I can see more out of them. Weird.

Have just purchased the following to fit on the car for July.
Oil Temp gauge
Booked car in for a full paint correction with Hampshire Vehicle Detailing (formally Race Valeting).
Single Din pocket.

Hope to keep an eye on temps as I am playing the guessing game at present with warm up etc. Not a good idea in this weather but want to be sure.

Paint work and panels have been punished with the work on the car over the course of the winter and early this year. My fault for not washing the car since Novemeber too so hope Paul at Hampshire Vehicle Detailing can make them look a little better.

Hope to fit a new set of speakers and head unit. ICE isn't my thing but feel it's time to change the head unit (who since 1999 would put a tape deck on a car still? lol). Also need to add my Parrot car kit that has been sat in my garage for 2 years. D'oh.

Need to also sort out my exhaust system. Noticed my exhaust was blowing (not easy when you have the RCM Team Ice full system). Resolved it and was fine for a few days until I was out enjoying a Sunday drive and switched the Anti Lag on. Got home and noticed it was blowing again. D'oh!!!

Maybe it's time for a change in exhaust and have something slip jointed and Track Day friendly?

July 2010 - Mike Fitted my oil temp gauge as I was enjoying him burning his arm on the manifold. One thing that I noticed which was odd. When I didn't have the oil temp gauge fitted I was playing the guessing game of when the oil was up to full temps and when I could drive the car on boost etc.

I was suprised to see that the oil temp didn't come up to approx 70 around 1.5miles later into my trip from when I was guessing. Geeky maybe but just thought I'd add that.

Been to a few meets of late and seeing all the different styles people have I now think I want another set of alloys. Been looking at Maggys (MSOC) new wheels on his car and really like them and in that colour. So now need to work out what I want to spend and what alloys to get.

Looking into getting a new head unit,speakers and get my Parrot car kit added. Not really a fan of massive ICE so just something more updated and speakers that can take the odd bit abuse.

The car was also given a nice clean and light polish by Hampshire Valeting. Much needed and even though the weather has changed slightly with a bit of rain on it's first clean since getting it back has made the paintwork easier to clean.

Noticed the MPG on the Tesco fuel is alot worse than using the V-Power and V-Power and Meth mix. Made the car idle funny on Tesco too? Maybe they have changed something in the addatives

MOT completed and PASSED. Goes to show that a Sports Cat does work and with my current power a de-cat is not required.

August 2010 - Thought the centre was blowing AGAIN so rang Stew at TFS and took the car over to find that it wasn't blowing at all??? So took the time to annoying and wind up Stew and Dan whilst I was there.

Looking into Brake pads etc. Just missed out on doing a test with the new EBC range of pads. So turned my attention to PFP pads after speaking with a few others they seem to be the next step. Maybe speak with Dave P about his current discs and pads for sale. TBA.

Also been looking at crash hats for track days not to mention exhausts. Spoken with Stew who kindly said he's fabricate an exhaust for me once I purchased the sections I wants to "QUIET" the beast down.

On the list for this month given time and when I can annoy the tits off of Mike will need to get the rear bench back out. Also need to sort my stereo,speakers out for something more modern.
And lastly need my GEO re-doing. Haven't had it done for almost two years!!!! Shocking.

I did my maths the other day when working out fuel etc. I currently have an MPG of...............15.2 over the last two fill ups or 17 mpg. If I use the motorway (M3 & M25) for work I can see as much as 21 mpg!! not bad I think.

September 2010...................to be continued.

Great update mate, as always a good and funny read.

Looking forward to Septembers installment

[The Gimp]

Cheers matey.

Can't wait for next month. It's been a while since I last played and prank,burnt,gave a wedgy,pulled his butt hair my good ol' bean Mike. LOL

Steve

[The Gimp]

September 2010 - Noticed the fog light on drivers side rattling a little. And on the way to work heard a weird noise to see in my rear view mirror the cold air feed pipe bouncing along the road. D'oh.

So trimmed the fog lamp mount assembly back and re mounted another could feed pipe.

As the car is used pretty much everyday for work etc I noticed when I pulled up the drivers headlight had a lot of excess water/condensation. I thought it was outside so put the car away and went indoors. The following day it was clear there was condensation in the cluster unit itself.

So, head light out. Wiped the excess water still on the inside of the lense and place a heater against it.

Due to the fact I could see no cracks etc to the light I assumed it was the cold air coming in via the CAIK as there is a gap between the bumper and support beam leading direct to the head light. So, found some old plastic from the bumper I cut up and used that.

Once I dried the light inside I picked it up only to find water pissing out of the dipped bulb location area!! So placed the light in side for a few days to air out.

With the light (then the other light)out I changed the bulbs ready for the winter. I previously had the Halfrauds GE made 90% brighter lights and the Blue Vision side lights.

I changed them for a set of OSRAM NIGHT BREAKERS PLUS (H1) and some Phillips Bright White side lights (W5W).

Put them in ready for the the Monthly Surrey meet and away I went.

Which leads me to more money. On starting the car up it sounded a little different on tick over. Thought nothing of it and drove off. However my car was sticking at 3,300 rpm. After a few miles I had to pull over as the car was undriveable with even changing gear early for a higher gear proving to be a nightmare.

Both oil and water temps were getting high. Switched the bugger off and carried on until I got to the meet.

Anyone who was there will vouch for how bad it was hence "The Lawn Mower" comment.

Couldn't drive the car the following day to work as it was still doing it. So popped over to the biggest tit in town Mike's to check a few bits and bobs and swapped out sensors etc.Still no joy.

So got in touch with my little bitch Simon (JGM) to check it wasn't the ECU having a hissy. As ever Simon was a gent and popped over checking my current ECU and another ECU to rule out a faulty soilder on the ECU itself. Sadly Simon diagnosed a faulty Idle Control Valve. Cheers again Simon dear boy.


So, looked on line and the prices of a new ICV shocked me to say the least. I was never going to get a USED one as I didn't want to pay around a oner for the same thing to happen down the line soon. So managed to get one on the cheap for a grand ol price of £280!!

So it arrived the following day. And I keen to get the car up and running again. So went about trying to get the old screws out. What a bitch. The heads on the screw had become very weak due to the hot/cold cycle over the years . Following on from what Simon told me a few days previous I went about tapping the end of the screw driver whilst turning. This didn't work and the heads on the screw started breaking.

So in the end went for a 8mm flat head on the end of the ratchet & The rubber mallet . As last the buggers came out.


I placed a new gasket inside the throttle body and put the new ICV in. Only to come to think that the screws were shagged. I didn't have anthing the sit in there with the same size so cutting a long story short after not being able to get the size screws anywhere popped over to Screfix in West Drayton.

If you ever need to replace the ICV here are the size of the screws/type and so on.

Unplugg the ICV.
8mm flat head
Rubber Mallet
Ratchet

Remember the screw will go from passenger side to drivers side (anti clock wise) in rotation. Gently un screw the old screws (they are almost welded in)

Make sure you buy and use a new gasket. Simple as that to put the new one in.

Place the new ICV in place and use the follwing screws M5 x 20mm Hex Screw head.

I used a washer too to be safe. I did it up by about 1.5 lb/2.0 lb of pressure as it is counter sunk to the throttle body.

Plug the ICV back in and hey presto.

On start up the car was happy straight away. But still a little high on revs once warm. 1,500rpm.

Gave Simon another call and asked him to rub my leg and drop the Revs.

Then I noticed the following day the head light full of condensation again!!! So light back out and this time thought about getting a replacement unit until I got a price for just one £396.00 + VAT!!!!!

So aired the light out again and used the misses hair dryer to warm up the rubber seal and stuck it down again. Also used my old friend Duck Tape. I simply heated the area and cut thin strips the put them in place to the back of the head light unit and re heated and pushed down filling the gaps by using a tea spoon. Yes, a tea spoon.
Lights back in and had no problems since. Yay!!


Had to see Simon again this week to up the idle again. The ICV has eased up and made the idle drop a little lower than it should causing stalling on cold and eratic idle on warm.

Thanks to Simon all sorted now including idle with ac on etc. Sweet.

Will be getting GEO done ASAP as I have noticed the car feeling a little sloppy with the colder temps on the road etc.


Did I go on a little above? lol


October ...................to be contined.


Steve