TI Update...

Yus, lucky bugger. I paid nearly twice that for mine from Bigus - altho they're top notch and suit the car pretty well (I've always favoured a multi spoke design).

Not sure he was impressed with my water leak deciding to reappear outside his house tho, with a spray of water hitting my cooling fan and resulting in a Rover fountain - not quite your conventional design garden ornament :)

In article , snipped-for-privacy@Somewhere.Somewhere spouted forth into uk.rec.cars.modifications...

It can't make it go faster, but it can make a serious difference.

A lot of Saabs run like a dream on NGK copper plugs, but are death warmed up on Bosch platinums. Because they use plug resistance as part of their running/diagnostics sensing.

In article , snipped-for-privacy@recycle.bin spouted forth into uk.rec.cars.modifications...

And it wouldn't be because it is the same pattern rather than original?

Hehe, k.

Because new pads and slightly 'upgraded' discs hardly counts as a 'modification' - and will make very little difference to the braking performance. Bolting on a nice set of billet 6-pots with larger rotors etc. is what I'd call a 'modification'.

Again, bolting on a new exhaust doesn't really qualify (IMHO) - it's just another bit of bolt-on tat that only ever seems to have the effect of making the car noisier.

Get a man in.

So they're 130/55 bulbs then? - tried them myself and the net effect was the bulbs running hotter and blowing more regularly. Not really worth it for the marginal extra light they throw out.

The standard geometry is set up for standard wheels. I've never really found big wheels do much for a car other than making it more nervous at it's limits and wearing out the drivetrain components / tyres more quicky. (unless you get the suspension sorted at the same time).

IMHO, a waste of time. I've never tried performance pads and rotors, but I've never felt the need to as I just move my braking points / brake less / use more engine braking if I detect any overheating of braking components.

No - NGK or Champion at £10 a set work fine for me.

So why post about the '400w stereo', then. It only makes you sound like a sad 'Max Wanker' reader.

Stick on tat, then. It's done nothing for the car, other than make it louder.

No, it's 'modifications'.

I'd like to see more real 'modifications' (like in Retro Cars magazine) rather than the stuff that usually gets posted.

True, but this 'iridium' bollocks is just a way to sell expensive plugs to boy-racers.

(I know some Alfa Flat-4s refuse to run on anything other than Golden Lodge plugs, but that tends to be the tuned ones - I ran standard NGKs quite happily in mine).

Drive my car, I have 18" wheels, and if you can make it slide out your a good man, the handling has improved loads since I went from 16" standard alloys, to 18"

As for cheap tyres aquaplaning, maybe cheap 185 60 15 tyrres would, but when you start putting 17/18 " wheels on a car, the cheap tyres are normally excellent quality.

Same again, I have fitted Drilled discs all round with pagid fast road pads, there is 0 fade now, and when you press the pedal you almost shoot through the windscreen. one of the best mods I've fitted.

Nom, fwiw I wouldn't reccomend running 130 watt bulbs as the light switch will burn out in no time, have you looked into fitting Xenons like me? I run HID balasts and 7000k bulbs, they only pull 30 watts and the output is amazing

Ron

Into the gearbox? Going to have to be bloody small to get in through the oil level hole :P.

Isn't aquaplaning mainly about the width of the tyre compared to the weight of the car?

Doesn't HID involve new headlamps etc? I'd really like to do something about the s**te lights on my Ka, but at the moment Vision plus bulbs look like the most I can do to sort things out.

Get a pair of Cibie Oscars bolted on the front.

More seriously, there's bugger-all you can do about s**te lamps without changing the reflectors. Brighter bulbs just mean you get brighter light with the same s**te beam pattern as standard.

I have thought about that, but they are a bit obvious. Are there any regs on where I can bolt them (sticking up in front of the bonnet etc.)? They'd have to be attached to something like the slam panel or bottom of the bonnet. Bumper centre sections are only £25 each though, so I could always get a holesaw and nearly flush mount them, if you see what I mean. Would have to see what the insurance would say about it first mind.

Not much chance of that with the Ka's lamps, unless I get one of those "Morrette" kits or whatever they're called, and they're very very kevish.

Ta Muchly ;-) Did you spot the modified Lotus Esprit chargecooler bolted between the rad and head? One of my favorite mods TBH, brakes come a very close second LOL.

Matt

Well it does in my book. I've got some vented discs and calipers sat next to me at the mo waiting to go on (£21 BTW :D). With the standard set up i've got the brakes to fade a couple of times, so it may seem insignificant to you, but i dont reckon i'll have any more problems once i've put them on (also got dot 5.1 fluid in already). I think a set of 6 pots would be a bit overkill on a 800kg 205 :)

But a (decent) stainless one with last longer than an OEM one. And sounder better is good IMHO (although a long way down my list of priorities).

Like i could afford that!

Seen them melt the wiring too because of the extra current they pull.

how can you tell if the plugs are running too hot\cold ?

Of course. But there comes a point where the time and complexity involved is too great for some of us.

Erm, the ability to blow bulbs isn't actually related to the individual brand of car.....

A 130w bulb will, by definition, run hotter and blow more regularly. Also likely to melt either the wiring and / or the lens / reflector.

As an audiophile (spent more money on hi-fi kit than I care to remember) I have to say that spending big money on car audio kit is a complete waste of time. The car is probably the worst place in the world to appreciate music - the shape of the space is all wrong, you sit in the wrong place, get interference from other electrical kit and lots of wind / road / engine noise.

Although if all you listen to is 'thud, thud, thud', then I don't suppose it matters.

I drive a 1980's renault and i bet it can blow more bulbs/fuses than even an alfa!

-- Chet