Progress thread: Balou#14

[tucpal]

they look very smart the SRI ones are totally better.

[sheppy1]

Agreed they look great mate! Coming along nicely is your car. I wanted those black lights too but couldn't afford them so sprayed them myself... They look awesome but are matte rather than glossy ha. Love it though

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[Balou#14]

I wanted these lights for a long time, but also found them a bit expensive as the cheapest set I saw was about 200 €..
But I was lucky enough to find a second hand set online for 90€. At that moment I didn't think twice

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[sheppy1]

Yeah that seems about right tbh, think they're roughly £20 per light on ebay UK so full set around £80

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[Balou#14]

Saw a few sets on ebay UK but they were no good for me as the fog and reverse light are on opposite sides

Also have to take in account exchange rates (£ to €) and the shipping costs as I live in Belgium. I paid 90€ shipped, which is about 65£...



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[Balou#14]

Been a while but since I don't have to work with the holidays, I now have time to do some mods that have been waiting for some time

I just finished switching the gear knob. I had to modify it a little bit as the gaitor surround didn't fit the astra (I believe it was for an insignia). So I switched the chrome trim for the gaitor over from the old one. The gear knob is a little thicker and leather, which matches the steering wheel. It's the same as an OPC one but without the OPC badge on it.

Before


After


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[Rusty2009]

Looks like the VXR one mate very comfy on the hand and seems better to hold.

[tucpal]

i want one nice

[Balou#14]

Added a 2nd boot light today. I am very happy with the result.



Made a small loom using the pins of a connector. This goes between the plug and the original light and I tapped my wires from there. This way I didn't need to tap in the factory wires



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[sheppy1]

Ooooo I love the steering wheel! Didn't know the OPC one was different to standard! I'll be on the lookout for one to go with my OPC wheel

Also nice work on the boot light! Small job that makes a big different ain't it

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[Balou#14]

The gear knob in combination with the steering wheel is definitely a big upgrade compared to the original. I really love it.

The extra boot light is indeed a small job but it makes a huge difference.

Tomorrow I will try to instal the ambient door lights, already made some wires with connectors so that it is possible to unplug them and remove the door cards. I'm still thinking what would be the best way to tap into the original wires, because it looks like there isn't that much room?



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[Balou#14]

Installed the ambient door lights today, they work great and had no problems with the install. I will make some pictures when it's dark outside and post them later.

Also added the battery cover today. Makes the engine bay look cleaner in my opinion.

[tucpal]

keep up the good work

[sheppy1]

Get in there mate! Really getting stuck in aren't you .

How much was the battery cover if you don't mind me asking? Seems to be about £15 here and not sure if that's a good deal or not.

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[Balou#14]

Yeah a lot of mods which have been waiting to get done because I didn't have the time. But since I don't have to work this week, it is playing time

I got the cover from autovaux together with some other parts, so I could save on the shipping costs. The cover was somewhere around £ 7 I think..


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[sheppy1]

ooooo that's good then! do you have the part number please? a

[Balou#14]

Part number is 13320713

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And the pictures of the ambient door lights.

[sheppy1]

Cheers mate! I'll order it soon and lights look great! They really add warmth to the car I think

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[Balou#14]

Yeah the lights really make the interior pop. Have one job left to do, which is replacing the lower grill in the front bumper since mine is cracked.

I'm already thinking what I can do next

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[sheppy1]

Let me know how you get on with that grill! I need to take mine off to install the chrome trim on it but couldn't get it off and gave up ha

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Found and bought the battery cover for £5.70 with free delivery from a UK parts site I use

[Rusty2009]

The battery covers are £5-7 new surprised anywhere stocks them as VX where calling cars back in and removing them.


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[sheppy1]

The battery covers are £5-7 new surprised anywhere stocks them as VX where calling cars back in and removing them.


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Oh dear that's not good!! What we're they being recalled for and will they take mine off when it's next in for a service??

Edit: just did some searching and found that it's due to it causing overheating and then a potential engine fire!! Not sure I want it anymore...
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[Rusty2009]

The battery covers are £5-7 new surprised anywhere stocks them as VX where calling cars back in and removing them.


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Oh dear that's not good!! What we're they being recalled for and will they take mine off when it's next in for a service??

Edit: just did some searching and found that it's due to it causing overheating and then a potential engine fire!! Not sure I want it anymore...
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We had a big debate on this and there is nothing wrong with them they are nice and secure.

[Balou#14]

I read about the problems to at first, but also read it on this forum that it was secure and safe. So I went ahead and ordered it.
It also looked secure to me when I installed it.

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[sheppy1]

fair enough mate, glad it's not causing any issues for you I am just a bit nervous about it so I cancelled (or am trying to cancel) my order for that part.

You're defo making great progress with your car though!

[Balou#14]

Thank you, I am also really happy with the way the car is coming along.
I am still considering a few mods, but it seems like I'm out of small/cheap mods for the moment.

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[sheppy1]

Yeah it's fun to get the little easy jobs out the way but then you realise the other things you want done are all bloody expensive and properly difficult! Haha

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[Balou#14]

Hahaha, I know exactly what you mean. I still have to mount the lower grill and paint my brake calipers, only thing I need for those is some time. Although I will probably wait with painting the calipers until I change back to my 19'' wheels for the summer.

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[sheppy1]

Yeah may aswell eh as the wheels will be off then anyway won't they . I still need to install the chrome trim on my front grill but waiting for summer when I won't get rained on doing it haha. Also still need to learn how to get the grill trim off! Couldn't figure it out last time!

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[Balou#14]

That is exactly what I was thinking
I'm actually thinking of getting my 19'' wheels powdercoated before then...
Yeah I know what you mean, I don't have a closed garage so it's no fun working in the cold and rain.


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[Balou#14]

Had a little package in the mail today, and went right ahead and installed it.



I really hated the silver plastic covers
Also bought a black set so I can mix it up a little bit

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[sheppy1]

Orite those mate do you have TPMS on your car??

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[Rusty2009]

Orite those mate do you have TPMS on your car??

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Yep there TPMS valves.

[sheppy1]

Nice! He has the energy / excite model too I think so didn't think he'd have TPMS

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[Rusty2009]

Nice! He has the energy / excite model too I think so didn't think he'd have TPMS

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Could of been specd as an extra, Also don't forget he's in Belgium so spec is quite often different. Also all new cars now have to have TPMS.

[Balou#14]

These are my winter wheels and I bought the set second hand, so I had no idea that they have TPMS sensors.
My car doesn't have TPMS however...

[Rusty2009]

These are my winter wheels and I bought the set second hand, so I had no idea that they have TPMS sensors.
My car doesn't have TPMS however...

Your halfway there with a retrofit then as long as you have the fuses etc in the rear board.

Just need the TMPS module (and loom) then a VCI request to have a fully working system.

[Balou#14]

Will definitely look into it then
Thanks!

[sheppy1]

Result there mate getting the valves with your spare wheels! You can still get it done even if you don't have the rear fuse box which my energy/excite model doesn't have so yours may be the same.

Only issue you have is that I'm guessing you have the small display on your instrument cluster? May not be too useful (or even work) without the large display however I could be wrong

Edit: can see in your photos you have the large display so you'd be fine
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[Rusty2009]

Will definitely look into it then
Thanks!

Have a look at the how-to mate
https://www.vxoc.org.uk/forum/Thread-How...rofit-TPMS

Result there mate getting the valves with your spare wheels! You can still get it done even if you don't have the rear fuse box which my energy/excite model doesn't have so yours may be the same.

Only issue you have is that I'm guessing you have the small display on your instrument cluster? May not be too useful (or even work) without the large display however I could be wrong

Edit: can see in your photos you have the large display so you'd be fine
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You can still have it on the small display will just give a code rather than a message.

[Balou#14]

These are my winter wheels and I bought the set second hand, so I had no idea that they have TPMS sensors.
My car doesn't have TPMS however...

Your halfway there with a retrofit then as long as you have the fuses etc in the rear board.

Just need the TMPS module (and loom) then a VCI request to have a fully working system.

A question about TMPS: I have 2 sets of wheels (summer and winter). The winter wheels already have the sensors as I found out But if I would also add sensors to my summer wheels, will TMPS work with both sets? Or does it need programming everytime I switch wheels?

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[tucpal]

they may need activating to your car

[sheppy1]

Hmmmm tricky one! I'd have thought they would just work TBH...I mean only items with a chip in them like the cluster would really kick up a fuss if you switched them as there is programming in them. But with the TPMS there isn't any programming is there...I mean there's no control module in the actual valves themselves so the car wouldn't even know if they had been switched.

[Balou#14]

I am just asking because I have no idea how it works
Maybe there is someone who has TPMS and uses 2 sets of wheels that can help?

If the car can recognize both sets without being re-programmed then I might consider retrofitting TPMS. But if it needs constant re-programming for each set then I don't think it is that interesting..

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[sheppy1]

@Balou#14 Would you say the pipercross air filter is worth getting? Also how do you go about fitting them? never had to do it before...

[Balou#14]

@Balou#14 Would you say the pipercross air filter is worth getting? Also how do you go about fitting them? never had to do it before...

I think it is really an improvement. Engine seems to run smoother, especially in the lower revs.

Install is very easy. Just screw open the filter box, and replace the filter

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[sheppy1]

@Balou#14 Would you say the pipercross air filter is worth getting? Also how do you go about fitting them? never had to do it before...

I think it is really an improvement. Engine seems to run smoother, especially in the lower revs.

Install is very easy. Just screw open the filter box, and replace the filter

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Oh wow! That's my new purchase then! Is this the correct thing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIPERCROSS-PAN...xyuR5TbMdd

also pardon the daft question...but where even is the air filter? I've never had to even look at one in my life! Ha

[Tonto]

@sheppy1 Sheppy Sheppy... you don't know where air filter is tut tut haha! I've got k&n filter as when I got mine people were saying the pipercross has a tendency to sag in the filter box.


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[Rusty2009]

TPMS you should be fine when swapping wheels the sensors my need activating but that should only be needed once.

My dealers couldn't figure how to activate the sensors so I met up with Baz and we fitted 2 of his wheels which kicked started my sensors.


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[sheppy1]

@sheppy1 Sheppy Sheppy... you don't know where air filter is tut tut haha! I've got k&n filter as when I got mine people were saying the pipercross has a tendency to sag in the filter box.


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Don't judge me ha. Hmmmm I dunno which to go for then!

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