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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1532580
02/04/2015 18:50
02/04/2015 18:50
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 836 Hereford
HiraethHuw
Enjoying the ride
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Enjoying the ride
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 836
Hereford
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I want that car sooooo much. I lurve Energy green. No, wait. It's an Inky. No ta. (I jest). It's lush.
Last edited by HiraethHuw; 02/04/2015 18:52.
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1532581
02/04/2015 18:51
02/04/2015 18:51
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Jonscoupe
Unregistered
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Jonscoupe
Unregistered
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What an excellent write-up. Spot on
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1532583
02/04/2015 19:05
02/04/2015 19:05
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,410 Lightwater, Surrey
DaveG
Club Treasurer Member 311
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Club Treasurer Member 311
Je suis un Coupé
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,410
Lightwater, Surrey
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Yeah, apart from the cambelt change interval being wrong for 20v/20vt, and is it really that bad for clutches? I don't think so. As for fragile rear springs and crumbling rear pads being the cause of seized calipers, I think they have made that stuff up! And it's not energy green either
1996 Portofino 20vt & 2000 Pearl White Plus 1985½ & 2016 2017 Fiat 124 Spider + XF Sportbrake
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: DaveG]
#1532604
02/04/2015 22:44
02/04/2015 22:44
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 836 Hereford
HiraethHuw
Enjoying the ride
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Enjoying the ride
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 836
Hereford
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And it's not Energy green either [/quote] Dream over ( Sorry. In. Spoons after a sh!t day at work , half way down a barrel of Doombar )
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1532646
03/04/2015 12:57
03/04/2015 12:57
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Jonscoupe
Unregistered
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Jonscoupe
Unregistered
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Apart from the above, good write up, Ha
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1533139
07/04/2015 17:58
07/04/2015 17:58
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poprock
Unregistered
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poprock
Unregistered
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In my experience the amount of control you have ‘nailing it’ through corners is entirely down to the car’s mechanical grip. The chassis, the suspension geometry – the engineering, pure and simple.
My last ‘fun’ car was a Porsche 944 Turbo, with near-as-dammit the same bhp as my 20VT has … but it could put that power down safely and controllably in a way the Coupé just can’t. Part of that was the mechanical grip of the chassis. Part of it was the inherent advantage of RWD.
(Frankly, my Coupé torque steers off to the right if I plant my right foot in a straight line, let alone on a bend. And it rolls too much in corners to give me confidence in what grip level it actually has. It’s still lots of fun though …)
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: ]
#1533212
08/04/2015 09:26
08/04/2015 09:26
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,466 Kent
Submariner
My job on the forum
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My job on the forum
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,466
Kent
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In my experience the amount of control you have ‘nailing it’ through corners is entirely down to the car’s mechanical grip. The chassis, the suspension geometry – the engineering, pure and simple.
My last ‘fun’ car was a Porsche 944 Turbo, with near-as-dammit the same bhp as my 20VT has … but it could put that power down safely and controllably in a way the Coupé just can’t. Part of that was the mechanical grip of the chassis. Part of it was the inherent advantage of RWD.
(Frankly, my Coupé torque steers off to the right if I plant my right foot in a straight line, let alone on a bend. And it rolls too much in corners to give me confidence in what grip level it actually has. It’s still lots of fun though …) Have you got a strut brace fitted?
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1533219
08/04/2015 10:13
08/04/2015 10:13
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poprock
Unregistered
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poprock
Unregistered
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Not yet. That’s on the list … (although I don’t want to go too far with mods on what is meant to be a relatively cheap runaround).
Honestly though, I do realise that comparing the two cars isn’t fair. Different leagues. The Coupé’s a great wee thing in its own right.
In an ideal world, it’d have more stability, less understeer, a tighter turning circle, and a bigger turbo. But for the price, it’s a hell of a lot better than it should be!
Last edited by poprock; 08/04/2015 10:42.
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: Nigel]
#1533226
08/04/2015 11:23
08/04/2015 11:23
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poprock
Unregistered
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poprock
Unregistered
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Having driven a few bog-standard cars recently, I sometimes wonder if I should have left it alone.... That’s exactly what Graham said when out in my car … (I doubt he really entertained the notion for more than a minute though!) I have no doubt that your modded Coupé is faster than any of my old 944s. I appreciate that a lot can be done to tighten up and improve a Coupé, but I think there’s a limit to what you can do with any car – unless you’re prepared to build a new chassis from scratch and just put the shell on top of that. There’s no way you’re going to get the 944’s weight balance and steering feel out of what is fundamentally a different layout. A FWD car has a different character from RWD. A 944 corners differently from a 911. 4WD can pull you from a standing start quicker than 2WD. And so on. Can’t defeat physics.
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: ]
#1533227
08/04/2015 11:44
08/04/2015 11:44
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GrahamL
Unregistered
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GrahamL
Unregistered
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Having driven a few bog-standard cars recently, I sometimes wonder if I should have left it alone.... That’s exactly what Graham said when out in my car … (I doubt he really entertained the notion for more than a minute though!) I was particularly impressed with the lack of droning from the exhaust and the ride quality on the original 16" wheels, compared to mine on 17's and with a straight through stainless exhaust. Having said that, your exhaust was too quiet, you really could hardly hear it at all, so as far as performance upgrades go I'd fit a bigger exhaust from cat back (although still retaining a middle expansion box in some form) and a strut brace and then leave it at that. Any further funds can be directed at cosmetics and suspension refresh when necessary. My coupe is back in one piece now so you can give it a try to compare the handling on 17's, with a strut brace + new wishbones. How's your coolant level doing now BTW?
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1533231
08/04/2015 12:03
08/04/2015 12:03
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poprock
Unregistered
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poprock
Unregistered
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I put a bottle of Radweld through the system ‘just in case’ and it hasn’t lost a drop. Weirdly, the engine hasn’t used any oil either – over 1.5k miles so far! The clutch/brake fluid is all staying where it should be. The strange squeak from the brake pedal has disappeared.
Basically, the engine is running like a dream. If I find any spare money this year it will go on handling first. I’m finding myself braking a lot more on corner entry than I’d like.
The squeaking front brakes are a bit of a pain, and I’m having ‘issues’ with the car’s Toad alarm system, but otherwise things are good.
I’m off work for a while from tomorrow, if you fancy a day of messing about with the cars soon.
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: ]
#1533240
08/04/2015 13:36
08/04/2015 13:36
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,367 Staffordshire
Nigel
Forum veteran
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Forum veteran
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,367
Staffordshire
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the engine hasn’t used any oil either – over 1.5k miles so far! The clutch/brake fluid is all staying where it should be. The strange squeak from the brake pedal has disappeared.
Basically, the engine is running like a dream. Always good to hear this, especially when this car was originally bought in for breaking - we instantly knew it was too good to pull apart, even though we would probably have made more money on it. Great to hear you're enjoying it, along with its little foibles....
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1533261
08/04/2015 15:33
08/04/2015 15:33
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poprock
Unregistered
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poprock
Unregistered
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Yep, it was definitely worth the trip down to buy it from you. I reckon the extra cost of travelling to collect has more than repaid itself in reliability of the car.
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: ]
#1533269
08/04/2015 16:17
08/04/2015 16:17
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 869 Germany
neil_r
Enjoying the ride
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Enjoying the ride
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 869
Germany
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I'm one for leaving a car intrinsically standard but the strut brace really stiffens up the body at the front and makes the car feel like it is much better built than how it left the factory. Well worth the cost! Should have been a standard fit.
1997 20V 2000 V6 manual S-Type and 2011 5.0 XKR 2016 Tucson 1.6T AWD 2018 Mazda2 GT
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Re: Here we go again.
[Re: bilbo]
#1539532
28/05/2015 16:49
28/05/2015 16:49
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poprock
Unregistered
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poprock
Unregistered
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I’ve had a strut brace on for a month or so now, and it does feel a lot better. I think I would need stiff ARBs on the front and back of the car before I start to really feel some cornering confidence though.
The strut brace definitely makes a big difference for a small cost. Well worth doing.
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