oneohtwo

Hi Jim, that's good of you and certainly would be interested in that. Ta. I have been pondering this and don't believe it is the extra area of the pad that makes the difference, although I imagine it brings other benefits of wear, heat production etc..., because friction is not area dependent. I think it is simply the greater radius of the disk and so bigger lever-arm that produces the greater stopping power. I don't know if the 288 calipers can exert a greater force - larger pistons perhaps - as well which would increase the friction force. So a larger force + a larger lever-arm results in bigger resisting moment, and as they are multiplied it would only take a small increase in both to result in a substantial increase in moment overall. Would be interesting to know how exactly they differ!

Ah damn just a day too late! Just started looking for some to do a conversion from standard so would have been perfect. Anyway, just to confirm if Jim doesn't take them for some reason I absolutely would and can collect whenever no probs.

If Jim declines, I would be interested in these. I'm often in Somerset so pick up would be easy.

Ta. Had a supicioun it might be the case that it'd need to be a full on diet to really notice the difference. Would be a cool thing but might put that on the back burner until I can afford a full package of body panels (!) and get the B12s. Probably more pressing matters that need attention... as always.

Got a bit of loose change to spend on the rado and was wondering what people's experiences with carbon bonnets were like? I am most likely going to spend the money on some Bilstein B12s but the carbon bonnet has always piqued my interest. Would like to get the most out of the ageing VR6 lump and figured saving weight was probably the best way forward and the bonnet seems a good start. Is there a noticeable difference in terms of performance and handling? I suspect for the price it's more of a luxury item that isn't going to make much difference unless you start losing weight all over, and perhaps money is better spent elsewhere but would be good to know. Does seem a fairly popular item but can't find characteristics, if someone who owns one could comment?

Was this plinth taken in the end? I'm trying to fix a crack in mine and it's doing my nut in. Crack repaired fine but now I'm trying to repaint it and every time a new defect appears that wasn't there previously. It's taken a good 3 months so far and I'm on the verge of giving up, so would be good to know if any are available.

Cheers. Aye, I went through each of the leads when doing my initial checks. It turns out it was the coilpack, and I've had it replaced. Ran smoothly for about a day and then the heater matrix went! What I should have done is switched a couple of leads initially, which would have ruled them out. I was a bit thrown by various reports saying that if the coilpack is bust then two cylinders will stop firing, which is what put me onto the leads, but this clearly isn't the case. Thinking about it, each coil has two terminals so if something goes wrong with one then only one cylinder will stop firing. Certainly worth bearing in mind for the future. Anyway, replacement leads had a lower resistance than the BBT ones so no bad thing to replace.

Tried swapping the leads out but still no joy, so must be the coilpack right? I don't understand why it is only one cylinder that is not getting a spark. Cylinders 1 and 6 fire at the same time so if cylinder 1 is firing why isn't 6?! If the coilpack was cracked or had ecu issues they'd both go wouldn't they?

Evening chaps, Quick question: I'm not getting a spark to cylinder 6. Ruled out the plugs, which leaves coilpack or leads as far as I can see. I know from research on here that the coilpack has only 3 coils that serve two cylinders each. So as far as I understand if a coil is out, you lose two cylinders. As I am getting a spark to cylinder 1 still (6 and 1 share as far as I know) that should rule out the coilpack right? Or is there anything else that would mean it failed to send a charge to one cylinder only? Couldn't see any cracks or arcing. Which leaves the leads. They are BBT which I understand are a bit ropey, and the contact looked blackened which I couldn't remove. I checked the resistance through the lead which matched the others, but I could just be making a contact where the coilpack is unable to. Ta.

Hi mate, I've been trying to source a section of the passenger sill, just in front of the rear arch. Is this something you'd be able to remove from yours if it's in a decent condition? Cheers

Hi mate, Does this mean you are in a position to look at cutting bodywork parts at all? We discussed part of the sill a few weeks back. Cheers

New wheels ahoy! They are MAM W3 16", with Rainsport 3s. Bit of an unusual choice, but I fancied something a bit different to the usual wheel choices and spent many months photoshopping all the wheels I could find before settling on these. Really pleased with how they look, and personally think they suit the car very well. Also gave them a little weigh in before fitting them; the wheels were less than 8.5kg and the tyres 7kg. So that gives a pretty good overall package weight I think, and improbable as it sounds the steering does feel a bit lighter than the Speedline/Kumho combination I had previously. Ride doesn't seem to have been affected particularly either - if anything it seems less crashy, which may well be the Rainsports. Very impressed with them so far! So all in all couldn't be happier with how that has turned out! (Yes the centre caps are missing... for some reason they didn't come attached with the wheel, and are currently out of stock. Should be able to get some in a couple of weeks)

Excellent news! Glad to hear the sill is in good nick and I can wait as long as it takes! In no rush with this. I can send you a picture with the amount I need; not sure how best it comes off, but I could do with a bit of the wheel arch as well if possible. I'm not sure how far up the repair on mine goes so better to get more than I need for the bodyshop to trim down. What sort of price would you be looking at for it?

Hi mate, Are you able to cut bits of bodywork off at all? If so that would be brilliant as I'm after a rear part of the passenger sill and it's not an easy bit to find! Thanks.

Probably about time I updated this a bit. Mostly not a lot has happened for a couple of years apart from general maintenence. Nothing very exciting but all essential stuff like brake lines and the torsion bar links after one of them sheared off and made a mess of the CV boot, I also replaced both water pumps. That is until this happened on valentine's day: Courtesy of a nice (!) man in a Range Rover who wasn't paying attention at the lights. Not sure if the photo does justice to the damage, but the seams were torn, the boot wouldn't close and that whole rear was pushed in. So I was expecting the worst, and the initial assessmment from the bodyshop did nothing to help matters as they reckoned a new backend was needed and that I'd need to source one. I was thinking this could be game over, but I quickly managed to source one from an old G60, plus bumper. Unfortunately it was in pretty ropey condition and not really useable. Fortunately Range Rover man's insurance assessor decided he liked the car, that it was fixable and went and had a word with the bodyshop who were able to fix it. Some 3 months after the initial prang I got the car back and the body shop have done a great job on it. They managed to repair it, so it is still original, it is absolutely straight and the boot closes with a nice satisfying clunk. They've also matched the paint in perfectly. I am more than happy to recommend Bodytek in Taunton if anyone is around there. Only downside is I've lost my paintcode sticker inside the boot! The car then promptly failed it's MOT, to add to an already poor year. Exhaust and wishbone bushes needed doing. Both jobs I knew about really, the exhaust was in an awful state and was just rotting away, so much so that the top of the box kept banging on the underside of the car which was very unpleasent and it just sounded bad. The worn bushes were also the cause of the steering issue that had just cropped up, so at least I had found the cause of that. What should have been a fairly straightforward repair suddenly turned into another disaster when one of the captive bolts inside the sub-frame sheared off and the garage couldn't find a replacement. Again thought I was staring down the barrel but had a massive slice of luck as Vag-Hag from here saved the day and so the underside of my rado now looks very orange! I have never met the man, but I think I will be eternally grateful to Vag-Hag, and his idiosyncratic dedication to painting all his bits orange! Many thanks again, I really was in trouble then and I'm not sure what I would have done without your help. On to the exhaust. I decided I'd bite the bullet and go stainless as I'd always wanted to do that, and now seemed the opportune moment. No point getting another steel effort and never getting around to the stainless I wanted. Due to the MOT time pressure and plenty of internet recommendations I dropped it off at Infinity Exhausts in Bristol. Again, really pleased with the results. The tailpipe is exactly what I had always had in mind and they got the angle and position absolutely spot on. Really looks proper, very smart not too flashy or ridiculously big and keeps that OEM+ look. Had a shifty under the car and the work looks pretty good as far as I can see, and the engine immediately felt a bit freer. Noise is pretty good as well, setled down now so it's not particularly boomy and there's a few naughty burbles and pops on the overrun. It is interesting how the exhaust note changes... It gets louder until about 3000rpm when it really quietens off, briefly is almost whisper quiet and then the VR6 roar takes over. Anyway pics: Very happy with the car now, managed to iradicate most of the horrible bits in one fell swoop, including fixing a long running oil leak eventually traced to the sensors on top of the filter. Good timing really as I think I was starting to get a bit down about the car as each new problem appeared and I didn't seem to have the wherewithall to deal with them. But the MOT rather forced the issue, so I am going to put some effort into correcting the remaining bits. First up new wheels on the way!

Ah shame! No worries, cheers.

Hi mate, Have you got any of this one left? I'm looking for the rear portion of the passenger-side sill; is this something you'd be able to get off and if so how much would you want for it? Say from the mid-point between the back of the door and the wheel arch. Thanks.

I was thinking it would just be my luck, having been looking out for a pair for ages only for the wrong ones to come up! Chaz: £40 posted for the pair?

Ah brilliant, back on then! No worries, you're only trying to look out for people!

Ah cheers. That's a shame, mine are cracked all over the shope. Are there obvious things to look for to tell the difference between late and early? I know the early ones are a lot more recessed in the bumper, but doesn't help when they're not in the bumper!

I'll take the indicators if they are definitely late ones?

Ta lads, that's helpful! Just needed to hear someone say it's ok. I'll be keeping the speedies for winter tyres anyway, and hopefully eventually get them refurbed.

Do people generally stick with 205s when going from 6.5j to 7j? Looking to upsize to 16" and 205/45s seem like the best choice but just want to confirm. Also, with going up to 16s I'd be adding about 1kg to each wheel. I'm trying to figure out if this will be very noticeable, in terms of unsprung weight? Don't want to absolutely ruin it, but a lot of people run 16s so I'm thinking it can't be that bad. I've got a stock suspension set-up for the moment, eventually hoping to upgrade that.

Another initial recommendation for Infinity from me. They appear to have done a very nice job with the welds, it all looks very neat and tidy. Also did a nice job positioning the tail pipe so it comes through the bumper at a nice angle. Looks very smart and subtle. Good noise as well, although it's still got a hundred miles or so before it fully settles down, and it does feel liek the engine is a bit more responsive. I'll try and get a picture up at some point. I also looked at Neil at Longlife in Taunton and my impression is that he would also do a very good job. Was knowledgable, and clearly takes pride and care in his work. Would have been more than happy to go there as well, but they were very booked up, and as it was an urgent MOT requirement my choice was made for me. Infinity cost £280 for a cat-back system, which was £50 less than they quoted, and £50 less than Longlife as well so that was a bonus.

Is anyone still updating this? If so got a couple of wheel weightsto add to the list, although I expect few people will be after them! MOMO Europe 10 16x7j ET35 9kg - From MOMO OZ Lounge 10 16x7j ET35 10.9kg - from TUV certificate. Surprisingly hefty one there! Also: Diewe Trina 16x7j ET38 ~8kg - An estimate from supplier, so I don't know how accurate that one is. Photoshop suggests the MOMOs actually rather suit the Corrado, so I was thinking of going for some as the Speedies are looking a bit shabby at the moment. Then plan to keep the Speedies for winter tyres, and possibly get them refurbed. By my reckoning, including a tyre, that's between 16.5-17kg per wheel. Is that likely to have much of an adverse effect on things? According to the list on the front page it doesn't look like the MOMOs are that far off other popular 16s so it looks reasonable to me.