Blue_Joe

I don't think restriction is overly an issue - from the 4 branch which all 4 pipes don't meet until under the car and go into 1 with a diameter of 2" into the centre box and opens on the outlet of that box to 2.5". Can't see what else could really be causing the heat to be that high other than the extremes of the engine. Everything is running spot on.

Ok The situation I have is this....... With all the Mods I have now done to the car it seems that custom made exhausts just can't cope with the heat!!!!!!! My last centre baffle box was replaced due to it cracking. When we took it off not only had it burn't out all the baffles inside but the actual 1.5mm steel "mesh" that holds it in place had MELTED!!!! That was 2 weeks ago. I went back at the weekend to do my engine mounts and guess what. In 2 weeks the centre box is burn't out AGAIN!!!! Bearing on mind if I floor it, it will flame out the exhaust on EVERY gear change! And it's not through overfuelling as such the car is set up to perfection! But it just can't cope with the extreme heat. If you look under my car when on a ramp the entire system has turned bright blue with it. And the tail pipe that was originally stainless steel silver went gold in about 2 days. The company that do the exhaust have been great but they have now changed the centre box about 6 times but there is going to come a point where although they will change it the manufacturer is just going to say no more to them when they take ANOTHER box back! And to be honest they are friends that run the company and I don't want to keep putting them in that situation!! And lets face it if they wanted to argue it - my car is FAR from standard and is far from the spec it was when they fitted it!! So my thoughts are as to how well the likes of Milltek, Magnex etc be at coping with the heat! Will they fair better than the Longlife that I have at the moment. I can't fault the Longlife - it's lasted FAR FAR better than the powerflow - that just completely disintegrated in a few months. The longlife's only failing is on the centre baffle box so far (although I don;t think the other 2 will last too much longer!) But I'm not going to just remove the centre box and just have 2 silencers as my car (for those who haven't heard it!) is definatly loud enough and with only 2 boxes would be FAR to loud. The exhaust company have said if I do want to have a different exhaust then they will fit it for nothing so no worries there! But are they up to the job?????

Since when did a Corrado have rear doors???????????:roll:

Please don't buy a SOLID front engine mount, I've just removed mine. Speak to G-Werks about their uprated front mounts instead!!!!!

Bearing in mind I am currently in the process of opting out of the scheme! The basic rule of thumb is that if you do more than 18,000 miles a year (business miles) then you are basically best off taking a company car. If it is less than that you are more likely to be better off opting out. But that all depends on the alloawnce given if you opt out. If you have a company car the tax you pay depends on the Retail Value of the car and also its emissions. If you do a search online there are plenty of Car Tax Calculators out there. But as an example a Vauxhall Vectra Diesel type car will cost you around £3500 a year in tax. However as Andy665 stated be aware that if your boss tells you he will give you X amount allowance you will get taxed at your normal rate on that. You really need to look at it in quite a bit of detail to figure out which would be the best option for you as there are other factors involved with having a company car, such as who pays for the fuel, if the company gives you a fuel card, who pays your personal mileage and do you pay a contirbution. These all effect the amount of Tax you pay. For example, I had a company car. Take my commission out of the equasion. I earn about £10K a year more than my missus. After Tax (me with a car and her withoutt) I would only earn £200-300 more than her a month! Thats how much it can effect your back pocket.

The styling of all Bristols has always been fairly "unique" But the company is still going strong and has been since 1946 I believe so fair play to them!!!

If you buy Tomtom it is a one off charge You can have the option of additional charges some one off and some yearly if you want extras such as traffic updates or Speed Camera locations but thats it. Tomtom is about the best one available that isnt built into a car!

This is how it looks inside and out!

Well Decision is made. I'm going with the Saab Final Spec: Saab 9-3 Vector Sport 150 Hirsch Performance Upgrade to 175bhp Aero Body kit and Wheels Titan Metallic Grey Full Tan Leather interior 6.5" Touch Screen Sat Nav System 7 Speaker Infotainment Upgrade and Bluetooth Phone System built into Sat Nav screen Parking Sensors Electronic Stability Program It's a Stunning car. Should be here mid to end Jan if all goes well Just a few final checks with my company and wiht insurance as it's proving a bit of a bugger to insure as it's classed as modified even though it is Saab doing it! It's my missus that is making it expensive as she is only 24. But not a mojar issue! Thanks for all your input guys!

I'm using - well have installed bu not running get the Aquamist 1d self mapping system. Costs about £500 plus I bought the display system aswell. But the kit although not the easiest to install is of the absolute highest quality!

I think in all honesty from the months of planning with my engine that we took it as far as is absolutely possible. However I wanted to keep as much of the stock G60 main components ie the 8V head, PG Block and G-Lader Charger to keep it a "G60". Using the original PG block we used different Crank and Rods to extend the throw as far as we could, then overbored the cylinders to 83.5mm - Thats the absolute limit to boring! In order to make it all work the pistons had to be custom made by JE and took 6 months as we had major issues to make such an extreme piston balance. Finally extra cc's had to be taken out of the valve pots (if thats what they are called!) in the head in order to get the compression right. All in all we made 2031cc And as far as I'm aware and Jim at Racepower could manage - Thats the absolute limit to a G60 block! To get anymore I would image a whole engine rethink would have to go on!

I've got an Infinity Kappa Perfect 12" in mine and sounds phenominal!

You can't just pay someone to drop the kerb as it is council land. However if you contact the council they will often drop the kerb for you to permit access to your driveway. Don't think there is actually a cost involved!!!!

In fairness Kev, having driven both the Saab is far from a dreary old Vauxhall, the handling is fairly good, but this is a company car not a fun weekend car. With the Hirsch upgrade though the performance is FAR from dreary! Looks wise I do think th eSaab with the Aero kit looks excellent. Ok the Alfa does have the edge on looks and charisma, but I think the Saab is far from boring, and although becoming more common they are not exactly a BMW 320D, or a Vectra in terms of every person in a company car has one of them. I don't think you can fault it and it does win in terms of practicality of the use it is intended for. I think thats why the vote is swinging to the Saab. If it was going to be my only car then I think this would be a whole different conversation and also a completely different choice in car. And along the lines of "dreary old Saabs" - I don't think you can call THIS dreary

Errrrrr.... As I said I'm starting to lean towards the Saab as of after the post! Thanks for that Wendy. I need a Saloon not an instant ban! Actually beige wasn't the right colour to describe it, they call it parchment but it's more like a light tan!

Errrrr - So is the Alfa pretty much!!!!!!! Same engine. And in all honesty tehy don't have the image but they are pretty good cars nowadays!!!

At the end of the day warranty or no warranty thats not an issue - I'm not buying a car here - I'm hiring it for 3 years. I pay a small deposit (3 payments up front!) then a fixed cost every month for 3 years. I have a maximum mileage I can do over that time of 45,000 miles (15K per year!) In that fixed fee I get the car and it FULLY maintained no matter what goes wrong! It also includes tyres etc etc everything that the car needs (bar fuel!) It even includes Road Tax. It's basically like having a company car but I'm hiring it over the period not the company. At the end of the 3 years I hand it back. No bubble payment and I don't get the option to keep it. However that sounds ideal as no matter what goes wrong it gets fixed. But that is not quite the case. If the car is in the garage all the time I have to rely on having a courtesy car or I will have to hire one at my own cost as I can't afford to not get to my clients as at the end of the day they are the ones ultimately paying for it!!!! The only goos thing is that all my clients are in the City Centre of Birmingham and currently I also live in the Centre, but not forever. So reliability does play a key part! I must say that I am starting to lean more heavily each day to the Saab. It's a cracking car and it really does look the part. I've had one before (actually another 9-3 Vector 1.9TiD!) and I couldnt fault it. Was very comfortable and a great drive. But with Andy's help I may well look at an Audi also!

Really appreciate that - thanks Andy! I'd be interested if you could do the same with Audi, but to be honest the Passat, as nice as it is just doesn't measure up to the Saab which after taking another look at the 2 is taking the favourite position!

I am deserting VW - I need a Saloon really the Golf is far too small! I looked at the Passat and that was the most expensive to put on contract hire. A 1.9 TDI Sport Passat with Satnav and CLOTH interior worked out about £530!!!!! :shock: Which is also the reason I abandoned Audi also as I was quite interested in the A4 S-Line!

Reliability wise there really isn't going to be alot of difference as they both have exactly the same engine that was developed by GM and Fiat. It's also the same engine as in the Vectra. However I have had a Saab 9-3 Vector before with this engine (although without the Hirsch upgrade!) and it is a brilliant engine. And the Saab was a very nice car! But that Alfa is STUNNING!!!!! But it is more expensive by about £40 a month so not really alot in it! I'm still sooooo undecided!

Well I have pretty much decided to opt out of the company car system and take the allowance. It's a fairly healthy allowance but I don't want to blow every penny of it on a car. But I've pretty much narrowed it down to one of two. But that seems as far as I can take it!!!!!!! So the choices are: Saab 9-3 Vector Sport 1.9TiD in Titan Silver with Beige half leather interior and Voice controlled sat nav and phone. But with the Hirsh Performance Aero Kit and Tuning so is 175bhp and 320Nm of Torque and has the same bodykit and wheels as the 9-3 Aero. So will look exactly as pictured Or Alfa Romeo 159 1.9JTDm (exaclty the same engine as the Saab but without the Hirsch Performance upgrade so only 150bhp) But with 18" Hole Wheel upgrade as in pic. Metallic Black with RED LEATHER interior and Voice controlled Sat Nav and phone!!! Oh and mods if you want to add a poll would be good!

Don't know where he had it fitted but it was a Golf G60 Intercooler setup that you can get from Darren!!! It was Jim the Mod's but he was hitting 200bhp with IIRC no other mods bar a mildly ported charger and good torque!

FMIC is always teh best mod! You'll find that G60's with a decent FMIC and not much else often give better performance than ones with lots of mods and a standard intercooler Jim's old G60 was testiment to that!!!

Depends on what age your G60 is - There is the Single pump and a twin pump iirc depending on year!

fill the tyre up with foam! Ditto - Or call the AA!!