Kid-Ae Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Spoke to a mate and he's giving me his Kenwood sub and amp for BUGGER ALL, so pumped! The Jaycar gear isn't bad for how little I paid but the Kenwood gear is a fair bit more powerful. Happy with my economy this tank just gone (post filter change). 56L took me 450km, not going to complain to much about that, still had a hundred km left in her if I was gentle. Been told never to run these cars under a quarter tank as they apparently don't like it. I'm also pretty certain that my fuel gauge is inaccurate, just using the trip meter to know when to refill. What can I do to the interior to spice things up a little? Cheers for any feedback guys, will take some pics of the series 2 gear and LED setup and post them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Tomorrow's job before work: Take cover off intake manifold and clean out the carbon build-up. Two cans of carby cleaner and might even use a little petrol on a paintbrush to help lift the grime. Doing some Googling and it seems that it's quite easy to do and improves economy and helps engine run more smooth. Fingers crossed it works (just need to go get a gasket and some decent quality gasket sealant, the copper based stuff, before I begin). Guess while the manifold cover is off as well I could give it a sand and polish Ahh cars.. Love 'em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) I wouldn't bother removing the bellmouth from the intake manifold as they were only fitted in the buick (vn/vp/vr) and quite honestly are a waste of time as they actually make the car run better when they are installed, throttle response it slightly lower with it removed but the placebo affect tells people it is better. Happy with my economy this tank just gone (post filter change). 56L took me 450km, not going to complain to much about that, still had a hundred km left in her if I was gentle. Been told never to run these cars under a quarter tank as they apparently don't like it. I'm also pretty certain that my fuel gauge is inaccurate, just using the trip meter to know when to refill. Economy is spot on for it and yes, the saying is to try to keep it above quarter of a tank as the pump keeps cool and prolongs it life. Tomorrow's job before work: Take cover off intake manifold and clean out the carbon build-up. Two cans of carby cleaner and might even use a little petrol on a paintbrush to help lift the grime. Doing some Googling and it seems that it's quite easy to do and improves economy and helps engine run more smooth. Fingers crossed it works (just need to go get a gasket and some decent quality gasket sealant, the copper based stuff, before I begin). Guess while the manifold cover is off as well I could give it a sand and polish Ahh cars.. Love 'em Make sure you don't get any carbon down the intakes, personally I would be leaving that job to when you decide to take the manifold off and replace the valley and intake gaskets. Edited October 19, 2011 by Trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) Cheers Trev, saves me some work! I'm just glad that a car with 330k on it can return solid fuel economy. Proof that my girlfriend's Dad looked after it. Ahk, well then I'll do it Saturday when I have a spare few hours to replace a few gaskets and do some serious cleaning! Decided I'm going to make it look like a berlina and throw some body-color skirts on it. Failing finding any, I'll get some stocko ones from the wreckers and give them a sand and a spray. Edited October 19, 2011 by ROLLA'BOY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Scrapped the Berlina idea. Will buy a set of stocko skirts and paint them black. It'll look all purdy-like. f@$k I miss having a project car.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangeLJ Posted October 21, 2011 Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 If you are going to pull the plenum apart, maay as well grab a set of inlet/valley gaskets and do the lot, it doesnt take too long and is pretty worthwhile considering like 80% of all ecotecs will leak water through degraded inlet gaskets (gives the impression of a water leak or BHG in some cars due to water loss) As for going under a quater of a tank, as trev mentioned, its meant to ensure the pumps longevity through cooling, BUT I'm guilty of regularly running mine down to "0kms to go" on the distance calculator. :blinks: Its not ideal, but at 300k kms, its still kicking (touch wood) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 Mine lacks a bit of response I'm finding, gunna tighten the throttle cable a little and have a tinker.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangeLJ Posted October 21, 2011 Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 Get the injectors serviced, replace the 02 sensors, give it an oil change and do the plugs and leads. (the basics) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 Did plugs and leads recently. Plugs are gapped correctly and leads are beautiful. Oil change is due in about two weeks time. Taking mine and my girlfriend's cars in at the same time for some work, hopeful that my mechanic loves me enough to give me a nice price Saw a VZ SV6 today for sale for $13k.. Ahh the temptation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Car decided it didn't like me today and cracked the shits. Alternator crapped itself. Thank you wreckers for the $40 one that's now installed and is in quite good condition. Drove my girlfriend's '04 Corolla Ascent around today. Faster than the VT by a fair margin. LOVE IT :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 Get the injectors serviced You can service the injectors yourself like I did the other day, you will need 3x Fuelmiser ISK-0515AX which comes with injector seals, spacers, pintle covers and filters, it is fairly easy to do, you might have a bit of a hard time pulling the old filters out but I just use a small flat blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ke70dave Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 (edited) yeah but the best part about the injector servicing is when they put it on their little machine and run the cleaner through them for 25mins. the nasty stuff....that i don't think you want on your hands. they also check the flow to make sure they are all flowing the same amount. injector seals are a good idea as well, but they will give you these when you get them serviced by an injector guy. and for ~$120 for 4 injectors, proper injector cleaning is well worth it. Edited October 24, 2011 by ke70dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Cheers guys. Got a list of things I want done to the car by christmas - Trans serviced - Engine tuned and serviced (perhaps even dyno tuned if funds allow) - Diff serviced - New fuel filter - Passenger side strut top mount bush to be replaced (can feel/hear it clunk occasionally) - MAYBE a high flow catalytic converter. Maybe. - New tires (driving to Sydney in January, want this car in tip top shape) - May even look into thicker slotted rotors and performance pads for the front. Anything else I should add to that list? I'm enjoying the absolute reliability of this car. It can handle anything. Wish I could lower it, but stupid Holden made it more expensive to do on the VT's with the crappily designed rear end... WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE TOE-LINK OUT HOLDEN?!?!?! Grr.. CBF paying for a camber kit on top of springs, was only looking to go lows if anything. Including a camber kit, close to $800 fitted.. Before you tell me to fit it myself, I don't have anywhere to do so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Cheers guys. Got a list of things I want done to the car by christmas - Trans serviced - Engine tuned and serviced (perhaps even dyno tuned if funds allow) - Diff serviced - New fuel filter - Passenger side strut top mount bush to be replaced (can feel/hear it clunk occasionally) - MAYBE a high flow catalytic converter. Maybe. - New tires (driving to Sydney in January, want this car in tip top shape) - May even look into thicker slotted rotors and performance pads for the front. Anything else I should add to that list? I'm enjoying the absolute reliability of this car. It can handle anything. Wish I could lower it, but stupid Holden made it more expensive to do on the VT's with the crappily designed rear end... WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE TOE-LINK OUT HOLDEN?!?!?! Grr.. CBF paying for a camber kit on top of springs, was only looking to go lows if anything. Including a camber kit, close to $800 fitted.. Before you tell me to fit it myself, I don't have anywhere to do so... Don't bother with a dyno tune unless it has a programmable chip. Forget the cat if the exhaust is just a cat-back. You won't be able to go thicker on the rotors without changing the calipers. Get the coolant and brake fluid tested, if they need replacing then do so, also check the serpentine belt and idler bearings for noise as well as the waterpump for play. When lowering an IRS commodore the distance from the wheel to the diff is shortened so you do actually need to get shorter cv shafts, there are 3 sizes in total abd quite honestly not many people think to do them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Was thinking of new calipers too, there are some packages floating around for a reasonable price so I might see what a mate at bursons can do. Not worth it for the small amount of extra flow/noise with the cat? coolant and brake fluid are both like new. All of the above was looked at last service and mechanic was happy with it. Yeah I've heard that the distance becomes smaller due to the squat from lowering. Know of a guy who had an issue with one popping out when he had a 4point camber kit installed.. instead of replacing the cv, he just reverted to a 2 point kit.. Seeing the mechanic today while I take my girlfriend's car in for some work, will see what he says about a few things and get some quotes. On a positive note, economy is steady, engine doesn't feel like it's running out of puff and best of all I had a kid on his red P's offer me decent money for it. Not selling though :) for the next 12 months or so, then see where I'm at money wise and possibly go to a VE or VZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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