g0ldf1ng3r's VR6

[Chuggs1 10]

Congratulations mate

 

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[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Congratulations mate

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

thanks m8 - proper pleased & thankful for the change to cloth interior it has when we have hot days at the moment

 

though the adverse of that is my need to re-line the heater box felt in time for winter - which kinda means dash out again :(

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

some of you may have read that my oil pressure alarm is being temperamental on the valver but im hoping that it behaves after a proper clean of the connectors as ive only had a single little beep out of it yesterday (after a quick wipe of them with a tissue the day prior)

 

the VR decided she would have a moan at me this morning as ive not used her for a couple of weeks - been using the valver in the warmer weather

 

think i should have put the solar trickle charger on her but i neglected it & was put in my place by her earlier lol though i didnt get a battery light come on so possibly not related to charge

 

wasnt she rough indeed on 1st start!! ewwww & struggling to get to get its rev's up too :(

 

i dont like to give it any throttle when i first start it, as the manual states not to, but gave a small press & grumble it did

 

switched her off, then she just turned over on the next try - oh balls!

 

tried again but gave a blip of throttle & she fired up, rev'd her up to about 2K ish for a brief moment & then she behaved & all was back to normal

 

let her warm up on the drive for a few minutes & then had a nice drive to work with no issues

 

gave her a few pokey runs up through the gears to check all felt ok & reveled in the awesome sounds she makes with the BMC & SS - blimey ive missed hearing her growl turning into a roar!!! :D

 

ive said it before & will say it countless times again, they really do not like not being driven regularly these beasts

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

a boo yay update for the VR

 

briefly....

 

she decided to pop a coolant hose from the aux water pump on sunday & dump coolant outside the gf's

 

fortunately it was not far in distance from the coolant warning light coming on to stopping at the gf's & the car was cold still

 

replaced both jubilee's on the 2 hoses at the aux water pump - glad i invested in a clip tool last year as it made the job much easier

 

think i had a school boy error when topping the coolant back up though, at least that is what i am hoping. think i put way too much back in & resulted in it overflowing everywhere when engine was getting to temp

 

thanks to Jim Bowen, seanl82 & maff (i think) for the replys on my post about it yesterday & on the 2nd attempt to top up coolant last night i think all ended up well - will see tonight when i try to get it back home from the gf's

 

fingers crossed

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

in the valver for the journey to work today

 

spotted the guy at work who is into photography, gave him a wave & he managed to catch these 2 pics - which i rather like lol

 

forgive the supercharged badge on the rear as ive not removed it yet

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

successfully got the VR back home on sat - coolant seems all good & new clip holding the hose

 

she was not a happy girl though :(

 

noticed a small leak coming from around the oil cooler area & very slowly dripping down when the engine is running - only had a new oil cooler last year so a tad bemused as to what is causing that

 

also, i seem to have a brake issue but is very odd

 

it sounds & feels like the front right caliper is sticking a little as i can feel & hear the noise & vibration caused by the slots in the USR discs when i am not braking

 

but i also have the noise & feel as if a pad is completely worn down - however i can see at least 5-8mm of pad material left on the front pads before the backing part of the pad

 

unless there is an unknown body in the pad i have no clue as to what would get it to make the noises it is

 

fortunately the valver is being nice to me at the moment lol

[coullstar 0]

Id ip the caliper off. Could be sticking or issue with pad material.

[GlosterOx 0]

she was not a happy girl though :(

 

noticed a small leak coming from around the oil cooler area & very slowly dripping down when the engine is running - only had a new oil cooler last year so a tad bemused as to what is causing that

 

Were the 2 seals changed at the same time?

 

Ian.

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Id ip the caliper off. Could be sticking or issue with pad material.

 

my thoughts too fella

 

couldnt muster myself to go lie on a freezing cold drive yesterday though lol

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Were the 2 seals changed at the same time?

 

Ian.

 

i would hope so Ian as my mechanic did the work & he never normally misses anything or skimps

 

it is going to have to go & have the drivers sill sorted before winter sets in too much so may bite the bullet & just get him to check it all out

[Chuggs1 10]

Could be coolant leaked into calipers

 

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[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Could be coolant leaked into calipers

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

thanks m8

 

it feels physical though, not nice under foot at all

[Jim 1]

Wonder with the oil leak, assuming that was new, whether there is an oil 'over pressure' issue? Or as Ian says, could just be one of the seals gone.

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Wonder with the oil leak, assuming that was new, whether there is an oil 'over pressure' issue? Or as Ian says, could just be one of the seals gone.

 

good point Jim ,thanks

 

i hope it is not something along those lines as when it was at Stealth Vince identified that the oil system was over pressurising due to an ailing sump pump but that was replaced & i believe he would have rechecked the pressures to ensure it fixed the issue

 

also, i recall Vince saying that if you have an over pressure issue with oil - when the engine is cold if you give it much over 3.5k revs the engine will stall (think he said it was a classic sign or something but i never go over 3k revs until fully warmed up)

 

it needs the drivers sill looking at & likely patching so im going to ring the mechanic today & book her in

 

ive also replied to lilfuzzer's caliper post in case i need to buy them if i do have a sticky caliper

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

ok i called hi-spec today to check out their offering which can fit under (or should) a 15" speedline

 

I must say i was pleasantly surprised

 

billet 4 kit, comprising of calipers, discs, brackets & bolts etc for £5oo +vat ish (i say ish as they offer anodised or painted at different costs)

 

for those in the trade they do a 20% discount if ordered by the company

 

kit comes minus pads & hoses (as they need banjo's) but hoses are about £20 each side & then a range of pads on offer

 

i wonder what the offset against say a 288mm upgrade would be - as for that i would also need new discs, hoses etc etc

[coullstar 0]

Do they come with dust seals?

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Do they come with dust seals?

 

sorry m8 - missed your post

 

yes the hi-spec ones are fully dust sealed

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

ok - update time

 

not good news on the VR brakes :(

 

it seems it was as i suspected, a pad had worn completely down to metal

 

only, it was the inside pad & as such not visible without taking the wheel off. the caliper on drivers side, that side, has a siezed piston.

 

not the news i was hoping for but from my notes i think the EBC USR discs & green pads have done 30K +, which is well over 10K more than the OE ones on it prior

 

hmmm ive only just calculated that mileage & its made me feel a little better lol

 

so, for those interested i think ive now covered all the details with HiSpec - spoke to a very helpful guy called Alex who had lots of useful info other than just product related

 

Alex got his designer to do the template drawings so as to confirm if their Billet4 solution will fit under the 15" speedline - they have calculated they will if use a 10mm spacer

 

they also have more options on discs & pads which we discussed in some depth & tried to ball park the difference in actual braking performance.

 

their kit price can be brought down by using plain discs rather than grooved - a £50 saving - as such the ex-vat price for Billet 4 (anodised) kit would be £453.50

 

to this would need to be added hoses, pads & the spacers

 

spacers HiSpec can do for £5 each - winner!

hoses, again HiSpec can do their braded hoses with the necessary banjo connector for £20.37 a side

pads - choice of - EBC ultimax @ £18 - EBC Green @ £45.30 - EBC Blue @ £60 or he said 'we cant supply but i can recommend' Brembo pads from a motor factors (they use a volvo 240 pad)

 

thus if go with plain discs & Ultimax pads the cost is coming in at £523.04 ex vat

 

this would be in comparison to putting 'as new' refurb'd calipers on with EBC green pads & Brembo plain discs at £350 or £390 if EBC USR discs

 

i dont think my mechanic will like a 3-4 weeks lead time though, as hispec manufacture to order

 

hmmm decisions, decisions

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

decision made - only caveat being that my mechanic is ok to place the order for me but im pretty certain he will be

 

im going to make the jump & bin the OE front brake setup for these little beauties...

 

I have always liked the way porsche gave their GT2 cars yellow calipers & think it will look nice against the blackberry body with black speedlines.

 

i also thought despite it being an extra £30 im going to get the colour i want, sod it i am spending enough anyway so that bit extra isnt much difference lol

 

thought process is that i will go for plain discs & base type pads initially, see what the braking performance is like & then can always change to better disc/pad combo in future

 

i am hoping i will see & feel quite a big difference with these 4 pots compared to the OE 280mm setup

 

i am getting hispec to supply the necessary 10mm spacers & also the longer wheel bolts, whilst double checking that the fitment brackets are included - which they are

 

total coming in around £573 but no VAT thanks to the 20% discount for the mechanic placing an order

 

fingers crossed that the setup is worth the additional 180 odd notes

 

EDIT: Tidy!! mechanic ok to order for me - holy moly, not sure to jump with excitement or cry about the expenditure lol

Edited November 25, 2016 by g0ldf1ng3r

[coullstar 0]

What size are the discs that come with the package? Is there a given weight as well for discs + caliper? I would suspect the will be lighter than the std set up so they should feel a lot better.

One thing with the 288mm change is its a much larger pad area than the 280mm so it would be worthwhile measuring the pads when you get them.

 

I upgraded the brakes on my RS4 but the overall diameter was smaller than std, albeit 6mm. However the pads size was bigger and the overall weight saving was quite a bit so they felt much better.

 

Well done for trying out something different, I dare say with good results other would follow.

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

What size are the discs that come with the package? Is there a given weight as well for discs + caliper? I would suspect the will be lighter than the std set up so they should feel a lot better.

One thing with the 288mm change is its a much larger pad area than the 280mm so it would be worthwhile measuring the pads when you get them.

 

I upgraded the brakes on my RS4 but the overall diameter was smaller than std, albeit 6mm. However the pads size was bigger and the overall weight saving was quite a bit so they felt much better.

 

Well done for trying out something different, I dare say with good results other would follow.

 

hi coullstar

 

the discs i believe are 283mm & Alex at Hi-Spec said they use a Volvo 240 pad - Pad Swept Area: 95.7x50.7x10.8mm - not sure how that compares to 280 or 288's

 

the billet 4 are a fixed caliper, rather than floating like the standard, and so should produce a much more effective retardation

 

they are made from billet aluminium i would guess a decent weight saving, specs says 1600g - a bag & half of sugar does not sound very heavy at all. anyone know the 280 or 288 caliper weight?

 

the site does list the actual specifications but i had cut it out of the image i put on the previous post....

 

Specification:

HiSpec brake calipers are available with the following specifications:

Disc Width: 6mm up to 32mm

Piston Size: 4 x 34.6mm; 4 x 38.6mm; 4 x 41.2mm

Piston Material: Hard anodised billet aluminium

Colour: Black, Blue, Red, Yellow, Silver, anodised silver, anodised black

Body Material: 6082T6 billet aluminium

Pad Swept Area: 95.7x50.7x10.8mm

Weight: 1600g

Hydraulic Thread: M10 x 1.0

Radial Mounting: 152.40mm

 

however i am not sure which piston size it is based on but i will ask

 

as for trying something different, i was kind of loathed to spend nearly £400 on a standard setup which was refurbed 'as new' (in terms of cliper). 288 would also likely be as new or need to be refurb'd. i cant afford new wheels on top so needed a solution to fit under 15's. which kind of only left HiSpec

 

i am also very pleased with the 'different' choice of Longlife exhaust & dragon green on here has had HiSpec's on his rado for quite some time & is very pleased with them

 

fingers crossed & i will definitely update on here as it progresses

[coullstar 0]

Easiest way is to weigh everything before fitting then weigh the old stuff when you take it off.

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Easiest way is to weigh everything before fitting then weigh the old stuff when you take it off.

 

good point lol

 

not sure my mechanic would like it though lol

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

order placed - roll on 3 weeks ish!!

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

when it rains it pours

 

valver let me down on saturday but she did get me to where i was going rather than die on a country lane

 

she just refused to start, seemed to try but wouldnt go. thinking fuel or spark, checked under side & couldnt really hear fuel pump but then the valver's is not as loud as the VR

 

checked under bonnet, ignition lead wobbly in seated position - removed lead & feels like the core has broken in it & it flops around like a weeble

 

GSF saying £39.02 for a new set of electrospark leads - anyone heard of or used them?