Your fleet running reports

[Marv]

\£2k p.a. running cost to be expected

Same as anything really. Anything worth having anyway.

£10k slush fund for the engine is the scary bit!!

[speedingfine]

£22k in 5 years

At the other end of the scale, this continues to pass Mots without fault and just be rather lovely:



Caterham service news - it needs a radiator, and several minor things, comes to about a grand. First big spend on it for about 5 years Should collect some time next week.

[NotoriousREV]

\£2k p.a. running cost to be expected

Same as anything really. Anything worth having anyway.

£10k slush fund for the engine is the scary bit!!

Yeah. I’d just throw an LS7 in it at that point.

[Sundayjumper]

I always fancied seeing how they looked with the base section up to the join done satin black with the mirror bit colour coded.

Hmm, I might give that a try !

[Coaster1]

\£2k p.a. running cost to be expected

Same as anything really. Anything worth having anyway.

You’re of course correct.

I think I have been spoiled by the Honda. The Corrado had one or two big bills, worst being replacing / renewing the often troubled heater matrix (perhaps prematurely ). However it wasn’t until the 996 Carrera where I first experienced eye watering bills.

[Coaster1]

...... £22k spent in the last 5 years.

£12k Hartech engine rebuild
All Radiators
Exhaust system plus general servicing.

I since replaced all the dampers with updated billies, top mounts, a few arms and various other suspension components.

Plus a wheel Refurb, new Michelin’s and new discs and pads all round and calliper refurb.

It’s currently in for a misfire and it’s had the maf, coils and plugs plus a service and mot inc gearbox oil change.

I am not using it and may sell so if you are seriously in the hunt drop me a line 2002 black/black, nav, sports seats, litronics, no sunroof so alcantara roof, manuel obviously, with only 66k.
........

I must have missed it, but I didn’t realise yours has a Hartech engine

Great specs too and seems all ‘big-ticket’ items have all been attended to in recent years. I know you said ‘another race car lure’ but yours sounds like a keeper.

[Matty]

\£2k p.a. running cost to be expected

Same as anything really. Anything worth having anyway.

You’re of course correct.

I think I have been spoiled by the Honda. The Corrado had one or two big bills, worst being replacing / renewing the often troubled heater matrix (perhaps prematurely ). However it wasn’t until the 996 Carrera where I first experienced eye watering bills.

Big bills aren't unique to exotica these days though - fancy gearboxes, adjustable suspension, electronic everything - seeing 1-2k bills on "regular" cars isn't unusual, especially people who stick to dealers.

[Coaster1]

Back in February my GT3 had its geometry done (plus major service, front trailing arms, a few other consumables, Cup2s etc).

My car came with adjustable suspensions; and was left at the ‘middle’ setting (out of 7) for both bump and rebound by the chaps who did the geometry (9E at Surrey).

I thought the car drove really well at Oulton/Anglesey/Wales. However, I had a ride at pal’s Carrera 2 fitted with Ohlins and set up by the ‘expert’ at Centre Gravity, and had to concede that his car rode better in town and at below 30mph. (although his brief was to set the car up as a road car, whereas mine an occasional track car).

Today, I had a play with the damper settings; tried ‘full soft’ first which was nice but perhaps a bit floaty and bouncy in places. In the car’s history file, there are three ‘recommended’ settings from Moton (manufacturer) and Tech9 (chaps who installed the kit - at the time they looked after the late Sean Edwards’ Porsche Cup car, running Moton suspension). In the end I settled with a setting from Tech9.

The car drives really sweetly on my local A/B roads and not bad at ‘town speed’ either. I’m very happy

[Coaster1]

Big bills aren't unique to exotica these days though - fancy gearboxes, adjustable suspension, electronic everything - seeing 1-2k bills on "regular" cars isn't unusual, especially people who stick to dealers.

Yeah, another reason I stick with the trusty and relatively simple Honda.

[mik]

Old school (ie still in one piece) suspension turrets too.

[Beany]

Slow leak on the (new) tyre on the passenger rear isn't getting any slower, so I'll have to drop it into the tyre fitters and see if they can do something about it, given that the slow leak seems to have been there since day one.

Admittedly Day One was three months ago so I don't expect it to be fixed for free, but not having to reinflate the tyre every few days would worth the £20 or whatever to find the problem and plug it/fix it/do something about it.

[John]

The Vito had a couple of small dings on the curved area of the tailgate, virtually impossible to get behind and just about the strongest area of metalwork too due to the curve.

Earlier today I was visiting the local shopping emporium and spotted a PDR bloke so stopped to have a chat and see what, if anything, he could do. He got to work and pulled the first one out with a glue gun and finished it off with very limited access to the rear of it. The second one he was able to work completely from inside and I'm extremely impressed with the results. If anyone in the Sheffield/Chesterfield needs any PDR work doing I'd highly recommend him.

No before and after pics but work in progress.

[mik]

PDR is awesume witchcraft.

Watched the bloke push this dent in the vxr8 out (caused - I think - by a wind propelled trolley at EDI airport) in just over an hour.

He was only 90% happy with the end result. My untrained eye thought it was amazing.

Before



After

[Coaster1]

PDR is awesume witchcraft.

Indeed.

Had a small, 20p size dent fixed on my 996, after an ‘off’ at Bedford and hitting a cone. Took the chap fewer than 30 minutes and it’s as good as new.

Black magic.

[Alex_]

Another plus for PDR. Had a dent on the bonnet from the kids next door playing basketball, got a mobile guy out to fix it. He was more OCD than I am, he kept saying there's still a very slight crease but I couldn't see anything after he finished .

[Nic]

I was never 100% happy with how the golf handled with the new turbo engine, not surprising really when it’s a 45 year old design with over twice the power it initially came with, so back to Big Perm it went at the start of March and they did a couple of very simple tweaks that now mean I can put down all the power in 2nd gear. What they did was fit camber adjustable top mounts rotated at 90 degrees with a bit of machining to make it fit and then use eibach camber adjustable bolts on the struts to get 2 degrees of negative camber.

I think I’m now at that point where I’m considering more power

[speedingfine]

She sits so nicely m8

[integrale_evo]

2000 318ti compaq prezario, 86,156 miles, MOT pass no advisories

I did spend a while over the weekend freeing off a lightly sticking caliper and had a good poke about underneath it first, but still pleased.

I had cleaned up the ends of the piston a few weeks ago but the wheel was still getting warmer than the rest, never red hot or enough to fade the brakes or cause any judder, but enough to know it wasn't releasing cleanly.

Struggled to get the piston out as it kept jacking sideways and wedging, turns out it was the lip the dust guard sits over had corroded on one side, with that filed away and the seal removed the piston dropped nice and smoothly into the bore.

Reassemble, bleed, roadtest, all good

[integrale_evo]

She sits so nicely m8

Correct

[V8Granite]

When it was being built the parts of the MK1 all looked pretty ugly in my eyes but as a package, that is incredibly cool

Dave!