superkarls overhaul

been a BUSY weekend!

fitted my 3 inch downpipe and decat today.
was absolutely dreading the job after what people said but it wasnt THAT bad.
total time, from getting on the ramp to driving off the ramp, about 2hrs 30 mins.

some tips for anyone and what i did:
  • split the downpipe at the flexi pipe, wiggled till it came apart, and prised it apart with a bar, this leaves just the top turbo bit of the downpipe, meaning much better acces to the bolts.
  • next, stubby spanners, ratchet spanners are a plus but ours were too fat.
  • facing in the cars direction, bottom, and rear most nuts off from the bottom and through the drivers wheel arch. top nut off from the top of the car
  • now, use all your magic to wiggle the top part of the downpipe out through the bar of the bay from underneath.
  • then, take your flange from the OEM downpipe, place it on the flange for the new one (in my case xspower) my new one was slightly fatter, and the oem one was difficult enough to get out so, i grinded the flange of the new one to about 0.5-1mm smaller than the OEM dp flange.
  • next, undo prop at the front of the car (3 bolts, then under a heatshield there is a centre join in the prob, undo its mount so you can slide the prop off (its on a spline), this gives you more room to fit the downpipe in.
  • use ALLLLLL your magic and determination to get that new downpipe in, i put mine in turned the wrong way, then once in the gap, turned it round.
  • now fit your dp with nuts in which ever order you like, the same ways you removed the OEM.
  • re-attatch prop, charge pipe, exhaust, any other bits and bobs, and see how it sits.
  • i had to knock my heatshield slightly to stop it contacting.
  • and FINALLY, prepare to jizz your pants as you start your engine and here the mighty growl of the exhaust!
im so happy with the way it sounds, i expected it to be REAAALLY loud with my bodged OEM exhaust but its not. It still has the same annoying drone, but the growl and gargle is just EPIC!

this weekend im tired, exhausted from heat, sunburnt, but the work on the car is done and dusted! it waits for it mot now.

good day everyone
 
Good stuff mate thanks for the info to will help when I take this on :)
know how you feel with this heat and working on cars does you right in

Atb


Dre
 
Some one has definitely been a busy boy! Loving the work mate and how your car looks with the fmic! Over the moon with downpipe? Get a video up of the "growl" ASAP!
 
Sounds great karl, top work lately man, it's moved along so fast!

Now it's time to man up and get some boost on the go I think! Get it mapped!!!!!
 
il try and get a vid made with a go pro. i know i've said id do that but now i definately will!

prawny, i think you are right, bout time for some boost!
i'l have to leave the car alone for a while now, spent alot recently, not just on the car, so il let my balance recover.
i hope i can get some R-tech treatment in the next couple of months!
my only worry is the clutch :( il cry if it slips when i get mapped :(
 
Karl, car is looking well good. You have been busy this weekend. Top work. :anbet: X
 
tiny update.

got some fancy show plates that im painting/putting together, just for a cheap fun mod really.

also, i've decided a cambelt and all the other little bits should be done, piece of mind really. its been over 3 years and 32k miles since the last one. i like to be cautious, afterall it wasnt done in my ownership.
il have a go at this myself with my dad keeping a watchful eye on the situation, always good to learn when you can.

and lastly the car is running great. pulls sooooo well right now. i would like to fit a boost gauge to see what its doing but i think il just do some logging sometime.
oh, and i've still not been to awesomegti, hopefully going this thursday. Ive fitted 2 new tyres to the rear (3rd set 12 months), but when i visit awesome im taking my old ones so they can have a good look at them. i hope to get the alignment sorted. i mean to me the car handles great already, but clearly there are improvements to be made.

my next future plan/idea, thats always in the back of my mind, is do i buy a large port engine to rebuild and swap. hmmmmmmmmm. time will tell.

for now, happy motoring gents
 
Looks great karl! I seen an AGU a3 for sale on the classifieds, worth buying and breaking.. was my plan but things change lol! FMIC looks nice though! i want one.. and a downpipe!
 
Nice work scouse. Sounds like you've had a ****ter with awesome tho. Hope they come good and offer some sort of compo for trashing yr rears. So I take it we ain't going R-tech this month then :(
 
Free revo for wrecking your tyres... ;)
 
damo.h said:
So I take it we ain't going R-tech this month then :(
Click to expand...
i dont think i will for a while :(
im going to london in 2 weeks, and then theres inters, plus for my map i still need to do my cambelt etc, plus a 007p ideally. so im way off mapping for a couple of months.

Dane said:
Free revo for wrecking your tyres... ;)
Click to expand...
id never trust them to map it!
 
well pleased with these:
P6100210.jpg

painted ming blue with chrome decal.
il upload a picture of them on the car once i've lacquered them

also, should i fit this:
P5310209.jpg

its momo, solid steel, weighs a ton!
hardly oem, but i was thinking it might not look too bad, and might feel good to use. its been sat around my house for yeaaarrrrrrrs, never been fitted to anything
 
Liking the plates very much Karl. :) x
 
went to a specialist today that makes custom exhausts.
got a quote on a 3 inch catback and got booked in for the 18th.

then found out about another exhaust.

we'l see what happens with that.

also booked in to awesome gti next wednesday to rectify my alignment problems. looking forward to that, as john on the phone said 'lets put this issue to bed'.
 
lol at those alignment figures.

Its quite clearly 1.7 degrees total toe, which is completely mental.

You want factory toe on the rear (circa 8 minutes toe in per side) and a touch of toe out on the front to provide nicer turn in.
 
its nuts isnt it.
i have parrallel toe on the rear, and im happy with that. i did also consider slight toe out on the front, but with how well the tyres are wearing im going to leave it at parallel.
i think in the end, id like a tad more camber front and rear, sometimes i find when pushing hard it can slide out and tyre squeel, like there isnt enough camber to combat the roll of the car and im losing my contact patch.
i do drive quite hard, but at the same time i want as long out of my tyres as possible. who doesnt!
 
StaceyS3 said:
That was what I said about Hayward and Scott but look how my luck turned out lol

I'm sure they'll do a lovely job ;)
Click to expand...
id hope they do a better job than H&S!

and, luckily for me, and i wasnt going to reveal it till i had it with me and could take pics, but i've got hold of a brand new milltek non res with slash cut tips :arco: for a BARGAIN!

which reminds me i need to cancel my booking for a custom one....
 
Centre section was not on back order and should be with me early in the week. I'll call you as soon as it lands dude.
 
busy day, driven 90 odd miles today to visit awesomegti to have my car looked over/diagnosed regarding the excessive rear tyre wear.

first thing il say is thankyou to them, despite the troubles i've had (not all their fault) they have been very helpful, willing and kind to have my car in today for a good 2 hours free of charge.

so i got my car in to them, went through to the workshop with the mechanic and discussed what had happened, what was on the car, my theories, and also showed him one of my 2.5 month old tyres that was completely ******** and clearly showed some tell tale signs of wear and toe in.
after a good while in the waiting room i was called out to the front where another mechanic was going around in circles. His theory was that the rear diff was on its way out and the wheels were rubbing in corners and therefore causing the wear. I took what he said on board but i've never personally experienced rubbing, although i know its common. even IF that were an issue i dont personally think it would cause this:
P5130181.jpg

P5130179.jpg

in just 2.5 months of driving and roughly 1500 miles, if that.

also, even if the rear diff was a possible culprit, the toe in would still be excessive and out of spec in the first place and would still need addressing. so, they proceeded to put it on the alignment ramp, got it all setup and the readings taken, i was called to the car and shown my current settings, to which the mechanic then AGREED there is excessive toe in, out of the specifications. just what i wanted them to acknowledge, we're getting somewhere.
so after some discussion and me identifying that there is still some adjustment where it could be dialled out the mechanic said he would try his best to see what could be done.
moments later the mech had reduced it by 0.20, but STILL it was 0.75 OUT of the max limit.
this was when some serious head scratching went on.

the ONLY thing left to consider is the trailing arm bushes. everything else on the rear end is new and uprated, so this one bush may be a weakness that the other modifications being stiffer, have highlighted.

so the next step is to replace these with powerflex poly items, and then i will see where its at.
i also mentioned to the mech, that this bush/mounting is located to the chassis by 4 bolts and is through some slightly elongated holes (giving minimal side to side movement) and i may look into modifying these larger (like is done with the wishbone ball joint holes), to hopefully give me that extra mm or 2 to get the settings within spec. i just hope there is enough outward room before the bush fowls the chassis.

hopefully this will sort the issue out. i need the toe as parrallel as can be, then, if the wear continues, i can accept the mechanics suggestion of the rear diff. which as i say i think is unlikely, seems ok to me.

here are my latest printouts:
P7110288.jpg

P7110287.jpg

so i need my rear toe within 0.20, and thrust angle at 0 and i will be happy.

on a more positive note! :arco: i picked up this:
P7110284.jpg

P7110286.jpg

P7110285.jpg

shiny new milltek back box for a hardon inducing £150!
loving the slash cut tips.
just waiting on my mid section now, which i also got for a great price.

which reminds me, the O2 network has been down today since about 1 o'clock. i went to O2 in the trafford centre because i was stressing there was something wrong with my phone/network/account, turns out they are having technical problems and only notified the engineers when i, amongst a million other people went in to complain.
so ben, if you have tried to phone and not got through, you know why.
same for you sandip, i could've met up with you today, i was there till 3 o'clock, ended up going to KK's for some donuts too :rock:win

cheers all for your interest and comments.
 
Finally getting somewhere dude. Glad awesome came good and you didn't have to **** on the counter ;)

£150....... Dam you scousers !!!!!
 
so i got my milltek on....
P7210289.jpg

P7210290.jpg

P7210291.jpg

P7210293.jpg

P7210292.jpg

P7210294.jpg


first impressions, borrrrrinnnng, its not very exciting from inside the car, i have a 3 inch downpipe and decat too but it is SO tame from inside, which i guess is a good thing, but i enjoyed the scream of the old exhaust after 4k rpm.
anyway i got a friend to video it as he said its got a good growl to it, and watching them back i though 'eh, that aint too bad actually'. My dad also took it for a spin and i was quite impressed by it once id heard it drive off.
its quite an amazing piece of kit really, so well made, fits perfectly, so so quiet inside the car, yet sounds like an animal when you're behind it. overall im really happy :)

MASSIVE thanks to:
ben @ parsons performance
reesy
sandip
awesomegti
they all helped me find a brand spanking milltek for a VERY good price

my mate who recorded the videos tells me he'l upload them to youtube so il link them as soon as i can.

only bummer is, relentless idea of 2.5 inch is obv alot different to millteks idea of 2.5 inch, so the milltek reducer isnt very snug on the decat so i do get a tiny blow. its either that or the decat is made of thinner wall steel.
but il be getting rid of the 2.5 section at some point making it 3-2.75 inch. flanges or just slip on and clamp im yet to decide.

after the exhaust, gave the car a clean, emptied catch can as per, she looks all pretty, ready for some more progress soon (trailing arms, haldex controller).

P7220297.jpg
 
It gets better with time!

Also, you can hear it more if you have firmer mounts (you can hear more of everything though!) which also help tighten gearshift and feel.
 
Westy said:
It'll never compare to your de-baffled OEM backbox madness! I did find that the exhaust mani made my whole exhaust system louder so maybe that's a future mod for ya ;)
Click to expand...

I've told him this as well.
 
superkarl said:
done next to nothing on the car this weekend, which is boring, only gave it a wash, and did some touching up and polishing on the paint
P4240026-1.jpg

she looks well though.
ordered some powerflex anti roll bar mounts so that'l be the next job, hopefully get that done before my trip to awesome. im not gonna try and re bush the rear before i go there because its quite alot of work, well, labour intensive anyway.

on the other hand i have some bike porn for anyone thats interested.
fitted a K&N to a cbr600rr-5.
airfilter is under the tank and under the main ecu
P4290030.jpg

heres a comparison between the two filters, strangely the k&n was slightly smaller, but its clear it will flow a hell of alot better than the standard one
P4290034.jpg

P4290033.jpg

this i thought was pretty cool and id never seen before, as you can see it has injectors here, which i was like, this cant be where they are, right before the throttle bodies??
P4290032.jpg

P4290031.jpg

turns out it has two stage injectors, a set which are direct port injection, and then upon full throttle, or roughly 90% as we found out, these come in before the throttle bodies mixing with the what would be ram air.
took a video....
[ytv]C7GLxMTbQWQ[/ytv]
pretty freaking cool to me
Click to expand...

Ohhhhhh bike pron, love it lol:jump:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Suspension overhaul..
Replies
4
Views
1K
LaSarthe&Back
L
S3AMJ
Hose overhaul
Replies
24
Views
5K
S3AMJ
S3AMJ
B
Haldex Overhaul
Replies
10
Views
1K
s3mad_dude
s3mad_dude
audison
Suspension overhaul guide?!
Replies
7
Views
947
Westy
Westy
dusty
Easter s3 overhaul
Replies
2
Views
720
BuuBBa
B
Top
Back