Progress thread: Balou#14

[Balou#14]

I tapped into the console in the roof for the power. I ran the cables to the roof together with the cables for the dashcam. I added connectors to all the footwell lights so I can just unplug and plug in new ones when I want.

And my girlfriend also loves the footwell lights, she even said she would like some in her car

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[sheppy1]

Hahaha they do look damn good! Have you done the ones for the back footwells too?

And good idea with the connectors! I seriously messed up when it came to that... All mine are spliced together so can't even get the glove box out now! Haha.

Can you tell me how you went about getting a wire over to the driver side? I had to splice a long wire into the passenger side led strip wire and then ran it to the driver side where I then hooked up the driver side strip...

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[Balou#14]

My wires come down on the driver side as it is left hand drive car and the fuse box is on that side

My cable comes down on the driver side with the a connector in the area of the fuse box.
I made a loom myself which plugs in there and runs to the 4 footwell lights and has connectors on the end. Then I just plug the light strips in there.

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[sheppy1]

Ahhhh very nice job indeed!! Rusty has offered to help me with my shambles of a wiring job! Haha. I've got everything spliced together and no plugs at all! So such a pain if I wanna change anything!

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[bhalay207]

Ahhhh very nice job indeed!! Rusty has offered to help me with my shambles of a wiring job! Haha. I've got everything spliced together and no plugs at all! So such a pain if I wanna change anything!

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My door card lighting is like that.... Here's to not removing the door cards anymore Haha.

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[mrtc]

i think for leds. im tempted to stick with the cig lighter ones, i know they arent as good but im not sure how long ill be into leds, back in the day i spent loads on underfloor neons for my seat marbella only to never use them due to worry of the police seeing me

[sheppy1]

Ahhhh very nice job indeed!! Rusty has offered to help me with my shambles of a wiring job! Haha. I've got everything spliced together and no plugs at all! So such a pain if I wanna change anything!

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My door card lighting is like that.... Here's to not removing the door cards anymore Haha.

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Likewise mate! Hahaha. Kept meaning to add plugs and connectors but cba lol

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[Balou#14]

Some more pictures of my latest install:

Dashcam:



Ignition surround:


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[sheppy1]

Looking good mate! And glad to see you went for one of the lock cover things too ha.

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[Tonto]

Very nice mate, I'm currently waiting for a replacement cam and sd card coming to try and figure out my problem..

I've also got a lock cover on way from aliexpress lol! They do look good!


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[bhalay207]

Very nice mate, I'm currently waiting for a replacement cam and sd card coming to try and figure out my problem..

I've also got a lock cover on way from aliexpress lol! They do look good!


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Did you not solve the problem with your cam then mate?

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[Tonto]

Very nice mate, I'm currently waiting for a replacement cam and sd card coming to try and figure out my problem..

I've also got a lock cover on way from aliexpress lol! They do look good!


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Did you not solve the problem with your cam then mate?

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No mate, I think the cam is faulty as it's always when it starts to record. New sd card came today and that's not the problem! I'll have to wait till cam gets here to try it.

[Balou#14]

Last week I noticed the paint on my boot was coming loose and cracking. It was only a small bit but I was not happy with that and went to the dealer with it. He made pictures and send a claim to Opel Belgium to have it fixed. Today I got the news they are going to fix it so I am very happy with the effort my dealer has put into it, as I had read online that many dealers make it a nightmare to have something fixed under warranty, especially the paint.



I have an appointment to bring in the car on the 18th and it would take around 3 days to have the car back. I will keep you guys updated.

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[Balou#14]

My new jack and axle stands arrived today. So I already started using them in the evening and took off my winter wheels and put my 19'' summer wheels back on

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[Balou#14]

Brought my car to the dealer this morning for the paint repair on the boot. Will have the car back on wednesday. I got a replacement car which is the new corsa 1.2 petrol with 70 bhp. This thing is really f****ng slow...

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[mrtc]

Brought my car to the dealer this morning for the paint repair on the boot. Will have the car back on wednesday. I got a replacement car which is the new corsa 1.2 petrol with 70 bhp. This thing is really f****ng slow...

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i had a corsa 1.2 as a hire car a few years ago, rubbish on fuel as you have to rev the balls just to get it moving, was scared on motorway as the thing just wouldnt move,

[Balou#14]

It really feels like it doesn't have any power at all. My 1.7cdti astra isn't a race car at all, but compared to this corsa it feels like an F1 car


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[bhalay207]

I had one when I took mine into Vauxhall for its mot to be done. I travel to work on the M1 and this particular day it was awful weather. I was doing 70mph and to say it felt skittish was an understatement. Made me appreciate how planted the Astra actually is.

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[Balou#14]

Got my astra back today after a few days. The paint was coming off on the boot due to rust. They got rid of the rust and resprayed the whole boot. So everything is repaired under warranty. Very happy with the way my dealer handled it.


Also very happy with the fact I gave them a dirty car and I got it back completely cleaned. Outside and inside

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[Balou#14]

After having the paint for my calipers laying around since november or so. I finally had the time and good weather to actually paint them.

Before


After


Will post some pictures with the wheels back on later.

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[tucpal]

very good work

[Balou#14]

Changed the rear footwell lights today. I had led strips but they weren't really bright and had no good way of mounting them. Changed the rears to the led panels which are much brighter and are much easier to mount between the vents.

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[sheppy1]

Awesome dude! Are those the little square panels? If so then I did the same swap from strips as you did! Miles better aren't they

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[Balou#14]

Yes the little square panels They are really much brighter and easier to mount in the rear. The strips in the front are good, bright enough and securely mounted but the rear ones kept getting loose.

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[sheppy1]

Yep! I had the exact same issues and now have that exact same setup too... Glad you've found some panels that you like and that work as you want too

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[Balou#14]

Verry happy with the setup now I think the mods will stop for a little while now, because me and my girlfriend just bought a house last week

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[Tonto]

Looking good mate I hope to get mine painted this week!! Congrats on the house too.


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[Balou#14]

The painted calipers really look much beter. And thank you!

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[Balou#14]

Some pictures with the wheels back on. Need to clean them again though





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[sheppy1]

Always liked those wheels! What size are they again?

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[bhalay207]

They look like 19s to me

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[Balou#14]

yep, they are 19's

[sheppy1]

Dayum! Ha. Hows the ride comfort on those things? I find the 18s I have now are way less comfortable than the 17s.

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[mrtc]

is that with standard springs sheppy, if i cant find a elite with 18s (they have sri suspension, ill add it to the 17s

[sheppy1]

It is yeah... And elite have standard suspension don't they? As in the same as on every model except the SRI.

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[AlexFitton]

Some more pictures of my latest install:

Dashcam:



Ignition surround:


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I was trying to do the same mod for my dash cam but for some reason i could get the trim away properly to put the wires in place on the a pillar?

[Balou#14]

You can feel a difference between 17's and 19's for sure, but I still like the ride comfort.
I have an ecoflex engine and I remember reading somewhere that the ecoflex versions had different suspension (which is 1cm lower) than standard... Can't remember where I read it though...



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---

Some more pictures of my latest install:

Dashcam:



Ignition surround:


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I was trying to do the same mod for my dash cam but for some reason i could get the trim away properly to put the wires in place on the a pillar?

I did't remove the a pilar trim, just pulled it loose.. If I remember correctly I also took the rubber door seal off to have a bit more room to feed the wires through..


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[tucpal]

Ecoflex has Sri springs but softer dampers

[mrtc]

Ecoflex has Sri springs but softer dampers

Didnt know that. Are all 2.0 cdti, ecoflex?

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[tucpal]

no there is a 2.0 cdti in whatever spec you opt for so everything has standard suspension apart from the sri
but only the 2.0 ecoflex model has lower suspension to help with fuel saving and better aerodynamics
but it will have softer dampers like the standard ones

[bhalay207]

So my 2.0CDTI SRI ecoflex is abit of a mash up suspension wise

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[marcus]

no there is a 2.0 cdti in whatever spec you opt for so everything has standard suspension apart from the sri
but only the 2.0 ecoflex model has lower suspension to help with fuel saving and better aerodynamics
but it will have softer dampers like the standard ones

Is the 2.0 Sri vx line the same setup as the ecoflex then? Is that ecoflex spec or ecoflex engine? Thanks

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[tucpal]

No vxline has Sri suspension and it will be ecoflex engine

[Balou#14]

Changed the colors on my gear knob today



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[Balou#14]

Decided to take out my brodit phone holder and change it for an aukey magnetic phone holder. Really like it so far after a couple days. The holder is really solid with the phone attached, no shaking. And the holder is more discrete compared to the brodit one when the phone isn't attached.

[Jj0063]

I've just got one of these & absolutely love it. Mine was £2.89 inc postage as well. Best thing I've bought in ages!

[bhalay207]

Do you have to stick something to your phone?

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[Jj0063]

Do you have to stick something to your phone?

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They come with a metal plate which for me (I have an iPhone 6) have just taken my hard plastic shell case off, placed the piece of metal in between the case and phone.. no need to stick anything as the case holds it in place.. can't tell any difference by looking at my phone & it works perfectly.

This is the one I went for:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182051419219?_...EBIDX%3AIT

Arrived in 2 days & is great.

[Balou#14]

Indeed, great phone holder for a low price! I did just the same thing with the metal plate, put it between my phone and case and you don't notice it. Really happy with it

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[Balou#14]

So this morning I noticed one of my rear wheels was flat. Took the wheel off and there it was.. a nail

I knew I needed 4 new tyres but I wanted to drive a little longer with them and then buy new ones next summer. But now I had to change to my winterwheels earlier then I originally wanted.