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[twistedsymphony]

I don't know much about those cars since they don't make Vauxhalls here state side though it looks to be about equivalent to a Focus, which isn't bad at all.

the US has a severe shortage of sporty hatch-backs.

I love what you've done to the center console and the projector headlighs... projectors are always an awesome addition to any car IMO.

I'm a bit confused as to why you spent the money on coilovers when you could have spent much less on simply new springs for the same lowered effect? And if you're going to go coils you'd be best served to take it to a pro to have it at least weight balanced and at most setup for whatever kind of driving you intend to do.


I think a cheap mod that would work wonders for the look would be to get some longer & stronger lug nuts and wheel spacers to give it a wider stance... while you're in there you could probably pull the brakes and spray them with some oven paint to sharpen up the look a bit. That is unless you've got the coin for new wheels and brakes  

Also I'd replace the grill with something badgeless and less flashy

[hamwbone]

if you value youre life get REAL wheel spacers with that bolt to the axle, dont get the cheapos! hehe

[Dano2k0]

QUOTE(lostboyz @ Apr 14 2008, 05:43 PM)

that arguement dosent work because the converse would also have to be true, and left hand != wrong side

most of the world is left why do you have to be different? (for once its not the US)

Lol now thats confusing, all i know is right hand drive = correct  

QUOTE(yaazz @ Apr 18 2008, 06:13 PM)

That is a sweet car. I love the Console and headlights

Thanks for the feedback, appreciate the comments, and i must be going the right direction as others are liking it Hopefully you'll check back every now and again as i slowly make more progress.

QUOTE(jimbobjim @ Apr 18 2008, 10:37 PM)

Lovin the centre console mate, looks about one million times better.

We brits drive on the correct side  I couldn't imagine changing gear with my right hand.

Cheers mate, yeah the centre console looks great compaired to the original black one, which due to the cracks i had to swap anyway, things like that annoy me and make me loose sleep untill i sort them out lol.

Oh and i too couldn't imagine changing gear with my right hand either, i guess due to the fact we are used to it the other way round it would take some serious adjusting to.

[Dano2k0]

QUOTE(twistedsymphony @ Apr 19 2008, 07:17 AM)

I don't know much about those cars since they don't make Vauxhalls here state side though it looks to be about equivalent to a Focus, which isn't bad at all.

the US has a severe shortage of sporty hatch-backs.

I love what you've done to the center console and the projector headlighs... projectors are always an awesome addition to any car IMO.

I'm a bit confused as to why you spent the money on coilovers when you could have spent much less on simply new springs for the same lowered effect? And if you're going to go coils you'd be best served to take it to a pro to have it at least weight balanced and at most setup for whatever kind of driving you intend to do.
I think a cheap mod that would work wonders for the look would be to get some longer & stronger lug nuts and wheel spacers to give it a wider stance... while you're in there you could probably pull the brakes and spray them with some oven paint to sharpen up the look a bit. That is unless you've got the coin for new wheels and brakes  

Also I'd replace the grill with something badgeless and less flashy

Yeah i guess if you don't have many sporty hatch backs, i guess in some respects you could compaire it to the Focus for a rough comparison of a sporty hatch. Though in my opinion the Astra is much better in many respects (model dependant of course)

Thanks for the feedback on the centre console and headlights mate, glad you like them I couldn't agree more either, the 'Angel Eye' projector headlights make a huge impact to the look of any car, and i'd go for them any day of the week.

As for the coilovers, i got these because springs on standard shocks just don't do it for me, i agree its a much cheaper option and you could lower the car pretty much to the same degree, but the handling performance in my opinion is no where near a coilover setup. Ive been in a few cars that have just had new springs fitted, and while it does deffinatly improove the handling of the car, there is no comparison between just springs and a complete adjustable coilover setup in my opinion.

In the future i may take it somewhere and have the coils adjusted, though in all honesty at this moment in time i'm very happy with them, the handling is amazing vs the majority of cars on the roads here in the UK, considering its a front wheel drive car i think the handling is well and truly stunning considering the road conditions were currently facing. Ideally i'd need the coils setting up if they can be improoved much for what we call 'fast road use' and potential track day use, as in the future i'd love to take her on the track when i get the Z20LET in with a few other mods.

I'm hoping to swap the grill out in the future too mate, i'm not all too keen on the standard grill, so will hopefully be swapping it for an OPC one in the future, infact i'll try and post an internet pic here soon so you can see which one i'm considering, i thought with a carbon bonnet it would suit very well.

As for the brakes and wheels, i should be getting some second hand wheels from someone in the near future, they are hardly amazing, but i think will look nice on the car, and will last me till i decide which ones i'd like as a more permanent choice. The brakes i'm getting some of those light weight racing 4pot willwood calipers for the front with some big disks and bells to suit, for the back i'm going to leave those standard for the time being, and will hopefully decide what to do with those in the future.

Cheers for coming into comment aswell though, i appreciate your input

QUOTE(hamwbone @ Apr 19 2008, 02:12 PM)

if you value youre life get REAL wheel spacers with that bolt to the axle, dont get the cheapos! hehe

Lol yeah cheap wheel spacers = a big no no in my opinion, my intentions with the car are always to never cheap out on anything, so anything i'm going to do i'll hopefully do right with the best choice.

[grim_d]

QUOTE(twistedsymphony @ Apr 19 2008, 07:17 AM)

I'm a bit confused as to why you spent the money on coilovers when you could have spent much less on simply new springs for the same lowered effect?

just to add, with the roads and sheer amount of speedbumps here now, for long term use, lowered springs on standard shocks just wrecks the shocks.

So ya might aswell get the extra handling for the extra cash than having to replace your shocks down the line.

[bucko]

Looking good really like the headlights. Twisted are they called Opel in the USA? In Europe Vauxhall's are called Opel's and in the UK it's Vauxhall, never understood why, I think it's so they can tell weather you imported them or not.

[lostboyz]

no opel or vauxhall in the US

and as for the US not having many sport hatches, Im waiting on this one that my dad showed me they are producing in the near future (he works for ford)


^ford verve concept


Lookin really good, the center console made a huge difference in the look. Keep up the good work

[Dano2k0]

QUOTE(grim_d @ Apr 20 2008, 03:56 PM)

just to add, with the roads and sheer amount of speedbumps here now, for long term use, lowered springs on standard shocks just wrecks the shocks.

So ya might aswell get the extra handling for the extra cash than having to replace your shocks down the line.

Yeah mate, the speed bumps around now days are unreal, its pretty crazy just how many there is now days. Ive had a few friends run standard shocks and different springs and i agree, they don't really last amazingly well.

However the coils have great reputation for the durability, and the handling improovement is enough for me, even if they only last as long as standard shocks with different springs lol.

QUOTE(bucko @ Apr 20 2008, 06:03 PM)

Looking good really like the headlights. Twisted are they called Opel in the USA? In Europe Vauxhall's are called Opel's and in the UK it's Vauxhall, never understood why, I think it's so they can tell weather you imported them or not.

Thanks for the feedback mate, glad you like the headlights, i too think they make a nice difference to the appearence of the car in general

QUOTE(lostboyz @ Apr 20 2008, 08:17 PM)

no opel or vauxhall in the US

and as for the US not having many sport hatches, Im waiting on this one that my dad showed me they are producing in the near future (he works for ford)


^ford verve concept
Lookin really good, the center console made a huge difference in the look. Keep up the good work

Considering its going to be a new car, i think thats a reasonable looking new hatch i think what my mind is set on more than anything when i look at it is that nice looking big front mount grill, to be fair i don't like the majority of new cars due to the look and shape of them, i think they are horrible, going back a few years to the likes of my Astra i think cars looked great in general then. I could have bought a good bit newer car if i wanted,  but ive always had a heart for the MK4 Astra, so finding a good example for this age isn't always too easy, however i was lucky with this one and am very happy with it

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Oh and for those interested ie Twisted and others, the grill i was thinking of getting was this:

http://www.lmfvauxha...p...pe=P&id=551

Its about £80 + delivery, pretty expensive just for a grill, but i think this would look cracking on a carbon bonnet. Input on this is welcome and appreciated.

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(Dano2k0 @ Apr 20 2008, 06:47 PM)

Oh and for those interested ie Twisted and others, the grill i was thinking of getting was this:

http://www.lmfvauxha...p...pe=P&id=551

Its about £80 + delivery, pretty expensive just for a grill, but i think this would look cracking on a carbon bonnet. Input on this is welcome and appreciated.

that will look "ace" or as we say in the north east USA "wicked awesome"  

as for the carbon-fiber hood IMO they look best with at least a gloss coat, natural CF looks rather trashy IMO.

Glad to hear your putting proper wheels and brakes on in the near future...

[Dano2k0]

QUOTE(twistedsymphony @ Apr 21 2008, 06:15 PM)

that will look "ace" or as we say in the north east USA "wicked awesome"  

as for the carbon-fiber hood IMO they look best with at least a gloss coat, natural CF looks rather trashy IMO.

Glad to hear your putting proper wheels and brakes on in the near future...

Thanks for the input mate, glad you like my idea of using that grill, i thought it was different to what you usually see modified grill wise, and should make a nice difference to the front of the car.

Yeah i was hoping to get a 'glossed' type carbon bonnet so it has a nice shiny finish, its just a pain finding some one who still produces these where you can fit a normal fitment grill in the front, ive found a company that will make me one without a grill at all, but when i upgrade to the Z20LET i'm going to need all the airflow i can get through that grill so cutting air-flow is a no go for me sadly.

Hopefully i'll be putting the new brakes on in the near future, maybe a month or so and they'll be on, i'll see how things go, ive got the calipers on their way, but i need to get some 5 stood bells that will suit my car.

Cheers

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Ok time for a little update, ive finally finished installing the head unit, all the wiring you have to do on this thing is crazy, its taken me a while to remove alot of trim, fit wires, re-fit the trim etc so all in all its taken a good while start to finish, wish i'd have taken some pics along the way... Oh well.

Ive also got the 6CD changer mounted in the boot, there was already a little space for putting stuff in, so i decided mounting the changer there would be reasonable. Although it still sticks out a little, its a good fit as ive bolted it in place and made a surround of my own, at least this keeps it from rolling around in the boot and getting hammered etc. Please also note, the little door wasn't on the picture, and the boot and changer need a good clean now!

Also, ive been running some more wiring, snapped a picture of some of it while ive still got the glove box out, its the power wire for the amplified which runs right down into the boot, as you can see its a good gauge wire, hopefully it'll help keep the voltage up better than some thinner stuff. Maybe i'll add a cap in the near future too. I'm having a small-ish removeable box in the boot with 2x subs, as sometimes i need to use my boot, so sadly at the moment i can't have a build i can't remove at least some of!

Anyway, heres the pics:











All in all, i'm very happy with how everything has gone, everything is currently wired and working, ie GPS, DVD, Radio, and the CD changer. Just need to finish wiring for the amp now!

Cheers everyone

[grim_d]

nice grill, only problem is it's an opel badge on it, and youve got a vauxhall, one of those things that grind on me, but if your ok with it then it's all good

[Dano2k0]

QUOTE(grim_d @ Apr 23 2008, 06:28 PM)

nice grill, only problem is it's an opel badge on it, and youve got a vauxhall, one of those things that grind on me, but if your ok with it then it's all good

Tell me i'm confused but Vauxhall and Opel = same company? ie you can buy an astra in the UK with Vauxhall badges, or else where you can buy the Astra with Opel badges, they are both the same, other than in the UK, northen ireland etc we get them with Vauxhall badges instead, as Opel is vauxhall, it makes it 'different' to see a vauxhall car with opel badges on over here, so its of course abit different.

But yeah i think its fine, as in my opinion its the same brand, so it matches the car fine

I love the look of the grill, i think thats the one i'm going to go for, hopefully i won't be dissapointed if i order that one.

Cheers

[twistedsymphony]

I'm looking at that picture with the power wire and thinking "wow he has a lot of space under the steering wheel"   duh...

I've got to say I love your center console so much I'm tempted to do something similar in my 240sx (aka 200sx in your neck of the woods) I'm thinking of buying a 2nd set of center console trim pieces smoothing them out and painting them a glossy silver  

I've also been looking at similar DVD/GPS units as well, I'm leaning towards a double-din Kenwood unit. I was originally going to go Alpine because you can eject the GPS bit and make it a stand alone unit for use in another car... but that was until every review I read said that their unit was just over priced garbage.

that pioneer unit you've got doesn't look like anything I've seen here state side, but it does look slick  

Man I've got to get working on my car, at least I got around to pulling some panels to judge fitment of the new speakers I'm ordering  

[Dano2k0]

Lol, yeah i can guess it would have been confusing, as your steering wheel would be on the left. As i'm sure youve figgured, its just the glove box i had removed for fitting the wiring.  

Ive also got some 6x9 Vibe speakers that i'm going to mount in the rear 'parcel shelf' i was originally considering cutting the wiring half way down the car for the rear speakers and running it from there to the rear shelf, though ive figgured if i'm going to the trouble i might aswell just run new cables from the head unit up to the back with some up-rated wiring, i'll obviously benefit more with some thicker wire, so this is what i intend to do.

I'm going to have to pull the panels on the front doors and measure up to see what speakers i can fit there too, considering what i currently have there are the originalls, they actually sound pretty good and are capable of producing reasonable bass for standard speakers, they obviously can't take the power though when you start turning it up loud, so i'm going to look into replacing those shortly too  

I'd say go for it Twisted mate, i think a silver console would look great in your car, be sure to take some pics and post them up if and when you do it. In my opinion a nice neat silver console would make a huge impact on any car that has originally got a black centre such as mine had.

Maybe i'm wrong, but i thought the pioneer unit i had, was out in the US etc? its the Avic-X1 there is also the X1R and the X1BT, its a cracking unit, personally the best one ive ever got to play around with by far. Its got some great features on it, the sound setup is nice and simple to use, but yet very effective. Also the GPS seems pretty good so far too, so all in all i'm really pleased with it  

In my car ive got 2x single DIN slots, so double DIN was out of the question without some serious modding, the other din slot has got my CD holder fitted at the moment. There are some great double DIN units though, i think Pioneer also have some pretty high spec double DIN units, might be worth while looking to see what they offer round your end.

Thanks for the feedback aswell mate, glad to hear you like what ive done so far and be sure to post us all some pics when you get round to doing some work, it'll be nice to see how you get on, oh and nice choice of car aswell by the way

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EDIT:

Forgot to mention ive got my new brakes today, well they are second hand, but new to me.
They are a nice pair of wilwood 4 pot calipers, need a good rub down and re-paint, but all in all seem great. I'll post some pics sometime soon.
I need to order a pair of 5 stood bells to suit yet, going to cost yet another small fortune!

[grim_d]

QUOTE(Dano2k0 @ Apr 24 2008, 12:48 AM)

Tell me i'm confused but Vauxhall and Opel = same company? ie you can buy an astra in the UK with Vauxhall badges, or else where you can buy the Astra with Opel badges, they are both the same, other than in the UK, northen ireland etc we get them with Vauxhall badges instead, as Opel is vauxhall, it makes it 'different' to see a vauxhall car with opel badges on over here, so its of course abit different.

But yeah i think its fine, as in my opinion its the same brand, so it matches the car fine

I love the look of the grill, i think thats the one i'm going to go for, hopefully i won't be dissapointed if i order that one.

Cheers

well they are all owned by GM and ya wouldnt put saab badges on it would ya?

just me being picky, i have a unique taste with cars and i don't like seeing cars badged up as something they are not.

hey at least it's not chav as fook with a big TURBO badge on the back of a N/A car

its a nice grill though, cant ya get a de-badged one or are you not into de-badging?