Conference terri::cars_uk

    Wow... a 1990's MG alright,I'd never really thought of an MG as a
    modified car before because most of the examples over here (if in good
    condition) are standard because the owners are purist's,but as you have
    obviously gathered that's not what this note is about.
    The car sound's awesome,especially the performance figures and I'm glad
    someone agree's with me about security,it's definitely a 1st priority.
    I hope you keep following these notes and keep us informed about the
    progress of your project car it sounds fantastic,best of luck with the
    rest of it and I hope it gives more people the incentive to write in.
    
    
    
           Steven.

    
    Thanks,
    I'll keep you posted as I go along...
    
    I have to say that I love some of the small hatches you get in England
    especially that Renault Clio (correct name I hope???) that had the 
    Escort Cosworth drivetrain and motor grafted into it.....It was in MAX
    POWER about 6 month's ago....
    I like the idea of having a 4 wheel drive vehicle like a Cosworth...4
    wheel drive has huge advantages...
    I did toy with fitting a Cosworth 4 wheel drive system under the MG,
    but 
    a) There isn't enough room between the front chassis rails and
    b) my friend who's doing the really tricky stuff said no way its too
    hard.....
    
    The next car I do (one day) will be 4 wheel drive...
    
    Byron
     

    Sorry it's been so long,but things have started moving with my own car.
    First of all I've fitted a new exhaust(performance of course),it's a
    MAGNEX stainless steel job and it looks and sounds great.
    Next up are the shock absorbers,I had originally ordered KONI's but
    have since been informed that the KONI importers won't be getting a
    delivery of them until Easter!!,so I've gone for SPAX instead,these are
    of similar spec(adjustable etc) and should be delivered this week along
    with the lowered/uprated springs and an alloy front strut brace.
    These mod's together with the reset rear torsion bar(there are no
    springs on the rear of a Renault 5 Turbo for those of you unfamiliar
    with the car)which will be getting done at the beginning of next year 
    should improve handling that is already pretty good.
    Other things arriving soon are a direct induction air filter kit(does
    away with the airbox)and a set of NGK racing plugs and leads.I had
    originally toyed with the idea of fitting Splitfire plugs but after
    some good advice and an injection of common sense I decided on the
    NGK's(thanks those at 256.).
    These are all the mods for now but on the horizon I can see a set of
    15" alloy wheels wearing 195/45 tyres and a braking system upgrade
    before the search for power really begins!
    
    
    
              Steven.
    
    
    
    
    P.S. Just incase you were wondering,I have informed my insurance
    company about the mods so far(exhaust,shocks)and the rep said it
    shouldn't make any difference.....but he'll get back to me.

>braking system upgrade before the search for power really begins!

Go for some metal braided brake lines when you get to the brake parts.

Dave

    Thank's, I had intended going for Aeroquip braided hoses front and rear,
    grooved or cross-drilled disks,again front and rear,and uprated pads to
    match,or go the whole hog and get a four pot conversion,this sells for
    about 400+ pounds,but is meant to be really worthwhile.
    
    
           
               Steven.

    Why don't you rebuild the whole bloomin' thing & then spray it with
    24 carat gold paint. If you're gonna throw your money away then go
    the full hog.
    

    We all have to blow our money somewhere...
    
    Some blow it on computers,
    Some on beer,
    Some on drugs,
    Some on food,
    etc etc
    
    We just choose to blow it on cars. Is that a bad thing compared to some
    of the above.

    (Sorry not having a go at ya, just I hear that so many times ;-)) )
    
    Regards,
    	Dan

    RE: .8
    
    Or all of those things!
    
    Laurie$Skint.

    Re.2337.7
    I'm not going to have a go either,but I have been around cars all my
    life(nearly 25 years),my interest first started when I was about 5(yes
    five years old)when my father bribed me into grinding the valves into a
    B.L. A-series head,I had my first 'go' at driving(sitting on my fathers
    knee and steering)when I was 6,drove my brothers Hillman Imp when I was
    8 and more or less drove ever since.So having "blown"all my money on
    the rest of the things mentioned(except the computers)in the past,I
    have now decided to "blow" it all on my car now that I have a car worth
    doing something to.Incase you are wondering,my previous cars have
    been:-Mini 1000cc
          Kadett 1300cc
          Sierra Sapphire 1.8LX
          405 SRI
    and now the Renault 5 GT TURBO
    Now you know my automotive life history,we can get back on
    track,remember the KONI shockers I ordered but couldn't get 'cos there
    wasn't a delivery 'til Easter?,and remember how I was going for SPAX
    shockers instead?,well I recieved another phone call yesterday saying
    there would be none of those 'til mid-January,so I gave PRIMA RACING a
    call this morning,and they have the KONI's in stock and the springs and
    the alloy stut brace,and they will be here by Friday,why I didn't try a
    Renault specialist like PRIMA in the first place is beyond me,but there
    you go,I'll keep you posted if there are any more developements.
    
    
    
    
               Steven.
    
    
    
    P.S Did I mention I worked as an apprentice mechanic for 3 years?
    

    >>    P.S Did I mention I worked as an apprentice mechanic for 3 years?
    
    It goes without saying.
    
    Don't all mechanics / ex-mechanics go around in R5 Turbos and XR3i's ?
    
    ;-)
    
    Ooo sorry that was NOT called for!
    
    Did you see that incredibly sad looking Granada in MAX POWER with the
    totally daft stereo system in it?! WOW!

    re .8
    
    You know you're in the company of computer folk when the top 4 items
    listed for spending money on does not include the opposite sex!
    
    Agg (training to be among the non-computer folk)

    Hey, no way I'm gonna spend money on THEM!
    
    ;-]

    Then we should ask ourselves - what are we doing in the 'max power'
    topic!!!
    
    Did anyone see that article on the the granada with the humungous
    stereo system in it?! It had about 10 3-way speakers in EACH FRONT
    DOOR! I wonder how the hinges held them up?!
    
    Dan
    
    P.S. It had some seriously lovely spot lights & alloys, though <smirk>

    Yes,I seen the sad brown thing in MAX POWER last month,incredible sound
    system though,even more so when you consider it recorded 150.1dB in a
    recent sound-off,anything over 150dB is instant deafness! Shame about
    the car though,still each to there own I suppose.
    
    
          Steven.
    

    That's exactly what I thought - nice stereo, sad car.

    While were on the subject of car stereo,can anyone recommend good
    speakers for my car(by recommend I mean speakers you have heard and
    know sound good),they need to be 165mm dia.,of two or three way design,
    or I may go for components if I can find somewhere suitable to fit the 
    tweeters,I am just concentrating on the front at the moment(that's
    where your sound stage is meant to be)as the rear speaker locations are
    tiny,I may add some bass at the back at some stage but first priority
    is the front.I fancy Infinity or maybe Kenwood(a bit of brand loyalty
    creeping in),but I am of course open to suggestion.My head unit puts
    out 4x15w or 2x25w if you are running just the front speakers, which I
    will be,so the speakers will need to be compatible with this output.
    I have auditioned Infinity's which meet the criteria in a local shop
    and they sounded good,but they were running off an Alpine head unit,and
    you can never really tell how they'll sound 'til they are in your own
    car,so any help will be appreciated.
    
    
    
           Steven.
     

    You'll be hard pushed to find something better than infinity's, but
    they're expensive and to be honest you won't be making the most of them
    running them just off your head unit.
    
    Kenwood are fine, as are Alpine, and probably represent a more cost
    effective buy. I take it you have a Kenwood head unit? Maybe speakers
    to match will be better - at least it's all neat then.
    
    If you can, consider separates, putting the mid-range drivers in the
    existing 165mm locations and thinking about locating the tweeters
    somewhere high up in the doors or dash (I've got mine in the
    A-pillars).
    
    Also, if you can force yourself, consider an amplifier. I don't mean a
    ridiculous setup, just a simple 4x50 watt amp will do, because running
    4 speakers up the front and 2 in the rear of a single head unit won't
    make more much.
    
    I know you suggested just the front speakers, and you are correct in
    saying you want to concentrate on building up the front sound stage
    first, but you don't want to go without quadrophonic sound for too
    long! Even if you don't buy some rear speakers first, it's food for
    thought later on.
    
    And one thing you don't want to do is run all the front speakers off
    the head unit, and then later on decide to whack in an amplifier and
    bass tube in the boot! This i) is very naff ii) sounds crap unless
    you're one of those bass-nutters who just likes to listen to a low
    warble all day!
    
    Sounds good... :-)
    
    Dan

    Thank's,my local dealer(who stocks mainly Alpine,Clarion and
    Blaupunkt)has a small Blaupunkt 4x50w amp on sale just now for 89
    pounds a saving of 50 pounds(it says),this could be just what I'm
    looking for ,though I'm not a big Blaupunkt fan,but if it fits the
    bill....
    I also have to think about speakers,I would like to keep everything the
    same and I believe Kenwood do a component set the size I need,so that
    would seem to settle it.Tweeter location shouldn't be a problem,I think
    I could just about get away with mounting them on the window winder
    blanks,but make it look good.
    All I need to do now is find the money,any suggestions?
    
    
    
                    Steven.
    

    Sell your stainless steel exhaust? ;-)

    My shockers were delivered this morning as promised,along with the
    lowered springs and the alloy strut brace,so I am going to fit them
    tomorrow,all going well,and I'll let you know how things go ASAP.
    
    
            Steven.
    

    Well,the shockers never got fitted yesterday,nor will they be fitted
    today due to torrential rain that hasn't stopped since Friday night,
    though I may speak nicely to the local garage owner(who I used to work
    for)to see if I can use the ramp.Maybe.
    
    
    
           Steven.
    

    Right,that's enough for me I thought things were changing when SMOORE
    had found some pals.Now he's at it again replying to his own notes.
    I wonder,do you post letters to yourself at home then wait with
    pregnant expectancy for the juicy replies.
     

    Ok,now that I have someone to reply to I will,the idea of this topic
    was to relate to other enthusiasts our experiences and modifications we
    have made to our cars,if people just want to read without contributing,
    fine,but someone has to keep this topic going however boring it may
    seem to some,and if that means replying to my own notes so be
    it,incidentaly you never mentioned what type of car you had,I would be
    interested to hear.
    
    
    
            Steven.
    
    
    P.S. The shockers are great.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    It's probably not a toy one for a start so you won't find any topic of
    conversation about him adding bits of meccano etc to his car :-)
    
    Davie.
    

    Back to the subject of ICE,did anyone see the Kenwood/Rockford Fosgate
    install in the 5 Turbo in the January issue of Max Power? almost 3000
    pounds worth,including installation costs,wow!
    Still on the subject of ICE,does anyone have any experience of,or views
    on Pine(not to be confused with Alpine)equipment,the magazines(Max
    Power,Car Stereo&Security and Car Hi-Fi)seem to give it pretty good
    reviews,and although it is cheap,they say you get a lot for the money.
    As I am on a tight-ish budget,I was considering(considering mind)an
    install with some of this gear,any(constuctive)views?
    Back to the subject of suspension(oh no not that again),having lived
    with it for a few days now and trying different set-ups,Itried them on
    the stiffest settings all round,and guess what? it's superb,I'm not
    trying to be "big or clever",I really do find it to be the best set-up
    for me,the ride is firm,but not bone shakingly so,it just feels very
    taught and together.
    Any comments?
    
    
          Steven.
    

    I should try it under heavy braking too, just to make sure. It might
    get a bit 'skittish' but, if all seems fine, stick with it if that's
    what you prefer!
    
    re.Pine
    
    	Never head of 'em, sorry :-(.

    
    ... I agree with -1. give it test on a few unenven roads, heavy
    braking/acceleration cornering etc.. from experience, brakes and
    sterring don't work to well once you've lost contact with the ground -
    which it may do a lot more often than you'd think.
    
    Graham (and no, I haven't heard of Pine either, sorry)
    

    On pure principle I'd go for Kenwood or, more preferably, Alpine.
    
    IMO!
    
    Dan

    
        You may be paying for the name but you also pay for the quality,
     i've experimented with cheaper makes, and with ICE you definately
     get what you pay for. I've now got Kenwood and Pioneer, and am
     well impressed.
        But saying that i'm sure your proposed setup will sound good.
     B.T.W. i visited the Pine stand at the International performance show
    thing, some impressive sounding cars were on show.
    
    
    
    
    
        Nick      
    
                 
    

re .32

Is that RMS power?  If not I think you'll find you will need more power to drive
4 x mid/tweet (if you want to hear them over the bass that is).

Pine stuff seems to do the job, but I would use better where your budget will 
allow.  


..Craig 

    A guarantee they won't get half-inched by the first chancer to pass
    your car? :^)
    
    Laurie.

    I'm hoping to play on the 'If they can't see, they won't nick it' idea.
    
    Well, it's the best we can hope for these days. Thanks for the vote of
    confidence, Loz, particularly after our house got broken in to last
    thursday.
    
    ]-\
    
    Cheers,
    Dan

    >> after our house got broken in to last thursday.
    
    Hope your PC memory wasn't nicked Dan ;^)
    

    Lordee, I wish it was - I could have claimed for some then!

    RE: .40
    
    Hardly worth carrying away!
    
    Laurie.

    I'd luurrve to have a play with this pc tool if you can stick
    it somewhere getable.I assume it does port sizes and stuff like that?Z
    
    Ta Matt.

    Yup, sure. For a while, the stuff is in :
    
    FORTY2::USER4:[HOWELL.PUBLIC]BOXPLT13.ZIP	(good - windows)
    				 LOUDSP.ZIP
    				 PERF.ZIP 	(good)
    				 SDLMP215.ZIP
    
    Some of them I've no idea what they are :-S.
    
    Cheers,
    Dan