emax

How much louder are these BMC kits than the standard airbox (with K&N panel)? When I got my VR, it had an ITG cone on it which got promptly removed as I didn't like the attention it drew. Is the BMC more of a muted growl or is it still pretty in-your-face?

there is, of course, a much cheaper solution! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 7986994847 who buys that stuff?? :cuckoo:

With regards to him getting special treatment, I'm not so sure. The courts have made similar decisions before: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/303005.stm

I'm getting around 5-6 bar when the engine is cold. About 1.5-2 bar with a warm engine at idle and just over 4 bar at 3,000rpm with a warm engine.

This does look like a nightmare to fit, hence the reason I booked it in in the first place :( Probably best to remove the driver's side headlight to gain access?? As I don't have the part that broke off, I'll need to try to source the part number, damn! Thanks for your help guys.

Hi there, I have just had my VDO Oil pressure gauges wired up by a garage and since I got the car back, I've had no oil temperature reading on the MFA. Looking at the attached picture, it's no wonder!!! I was just wondering if someone can tell me where the green/black wire should plug in as this is far from clear from the picture? Should there be another sensor on the bolt to the right of the wire that has been removed?? Any help much appreciated. Euan.

Got these fitted yesterday with the dual-pole sender. What are "normal" oil pressure readings for the VR6. On the drive home (15 mins) I noticed that from cold, it idles at about 5 bar. Once warmed up, it idles at about 1-1.5 bar and when floored at high revs, it goes up to 4-5 bar. Do these look like normal oil pressure readings?

Hi Dave, The part numbers that I originally had down when I tried to order the gauges about a year ago are as follows: 536 919 527 :: Gauge Pod 535 919 561b :: Oil Pressure Sender 035 103 715 :: Extension 030 103 717 :: T Piece N013 808 5 :: Sealing Washer N013 969 4 :: Screw x 2 902 767 01 :: Nut x 2 I hope that this helps, Euan.

I am almost certain that it is the speedo itself as a slap to the top of the dashboard often sees the needle jump to the correct speed. I have never removed the clocks from the car before, is this a simple job? How would you recommend I fix this, I was just going to check the connections and look for dust/dirt and maybe lightly oil the needle mechanism. Any tips would be much appreciated.

Regarding the special offer on the halfords 150 piece set, seems that has finished. I just called my local store and they've put it back up to £149.99 :(

Mine's been pinking for a while and, most tellingly, during the winter months too. It doesn't last long (1 to 2 secs) and only between 3,000 and 3,500rpm (when the Schrick kicks in). Last fill up, I put some Octane Booster in with the usual Optimax and the pinking cleared up alltogether. Is there any long-term issues with using Octane Booster on every fill up?

I have a similar problem whereby sometimes the needle doesn't respond to changes in speed. Eg. you drive into a village from an open A road and slow from say 70-80mph to ~30. The speedo stays up at 70-80 for quite a while before dropping down to the new speed. Same also happens when accelerating. It's only happened on about four journeys over the last year and otherwise behaves perfectly. However, once it starts to do it, it stays like that for the rest of the journey! I'll check my wiring and speed sensor. Thanks Supercharged!

Thanks Matt, Looks to me like the latter. Thanks for the links to the site, I'll need to brush up on my Russian in future ;-)

I'm about to (temporarily) revert my manifold back to standard to carry out some accurate leak down and compression tests on a warm engine (a little trickier with a Schrick in situ). I took a look at the star bolts that hold the plastic guide for the HT leads in place and both have been rounded, one badly. Does anyone know the part numbers for these as I don't fancy putting these back in when I'm finished?

Thanks Kev, I'll give that a try, certainly can't do any harm.

Thanks Matt, The reason I asked was I ran the battery flat by leaving the interior light on for about 2 days without noticing and hand to jump start the car this morning. Just wondered if a very low battery would keep the ECU values or whether a reset was the answer. The other thing is that the pinking has returned (after a long absence) between 3 and 4,000rpm. I suspect a bad tank of BP Ultimate as it came back quite suddenly - just to play mind games with me :roll: I wouldn't say that M$'s constant need to reboot was a "clever" feature of the OS! Haven't touched windows for a long time anyway, thankfully.

Is all this stuff about mid-throttle accel in 4th from 25mph and full throttle in 3rd from 3,500 rpm really necessary? I was thinking of doing a reset on my car but am scratching my head to think of a suitable road for the 3rd gear acceleration procedure which won't put my license under threat!

Had 36MPG with 3 passengers going from Fife to Traquair (in the Scottish Borders) and back via Edin town centre. That was with normal (VR) driving with a quite a few 3rd gear overtakes. I'm sure 40mpg has to be possible if you're really careful.

I get driveline shunt in my car too. I've got a VT mount on the front and had the rear mount replaced too. The clutch has done 10,000 miles. I guess the only thing left is the gearbox? :(

My bet would be the Lotus Sunbeam too. Awful looking little car but 155bhp, 0-60 in 6.6 secs. Apparently they can be tuned to produce over 200bhp without huge effort either. Got to be the ultimate Q car, I bet he takes huge satisfaction of beating some decent machinery in something that looks so unlikely (if that was a Sunbeam)! http://www.sunbeam.org.au/models/lotus.jpg

Hi oxfordpaul, I also had similar running symptoms to you and had a compression test done on my car. All cylinders were high except #2 but I'm in doubt as to whether they performed this test on the engine while warm (very important apparently). I have the Schrick manifold which needs to be removed to gain access to three of the spark plugs. I got the injectors refurbished andthat solved my starting problems although I still intend on carrying out my own compression/leak down tests when I get around to refitting my standard manifold. Maybe a second opinion wouldn't be a bad idea? Could it be the head gasket?? Any signs of cross-contamination between the oil/water? Good luck!

I ordered some earlier this year and they sent this special request off to Germany but the manufacturer turned around and said that they wouldn't make them so I gave up. Let me know how you get on please Dave and good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll take it for a hammering at the weekend and if that fails, follow dinkus's suggestions ;-) She's not getting much use at the moment as I'm trying to cycle into work which is only 2 miles away from home. I don't like running the car over such a short distance as it will eventually kill her.

Car still starting well as above but the hesitation at low revs seems to have returned, only occasionally though. It has only happened a couple of times but it is quite annoying/embarrasing when it does. When I pull out of a junction in first with about 1,000 - 1,200 rpm dialled in and then push gently on the accelerator, the car doesn't respond initially. I add more and more throttle without effect and then suddenly, the engine starts to behave and catapults me up the road like a hooligan!! So the hesitation seems to be back at low revs, again, only occasional. I was wondering what I should be looking for here? Does this sound like the MAF sensor??

You could maybe try swapping coil packs/leads with someone in your area with a VR in order to diagnose the problem? Another one I've heard of is checking the coil pack in the dark with the engine running. Apparently, you can see the occasional electrical spark on a failing unit. When my coil pack went, the car 'suddenly' started to run on 4 cylinders. I drove it the remaining quarter of a mile to work and parked it up. When I went out to start it a few hours later, it fired on all six. I think when a failing coil pack cools down, it will work again for a short while until some heat gets into it. At least that was my experience. Interesting that you're getting these symptoms from stone cold and it gets better when the car warms up.