My car history, the highs and lows...
Discussion
What sort of spec was the spec D sti?
I have a Hawkeye sti just now and going to be looking at getting a few things done after the new year so any pointers would be good,not looking for anything too drastic and yours sounded rather good.
I know it'll be going to Mr Forrest for the mapping anyway,that's a certainty already.
I have a Hawkeye sti just now and going to be looking at getting a few things done after the new year so any pointers would be good,not looking for anything too drastic and yours sounded rather good.
I know it'll be going to Mr Forrest for the mapping anyway,that's a certainty already.
snoopy25 said:
wow some great cars there!
Thank you, I've been very lucky to have the cars I have... not sure there will be as much chopping and changing over the next 15 years right enough, priorities have changed a wee bit over the years and, in the main, the cars which I'd like to try and tick off my 'list' require a little more financial outlay and planning than before.Cheers,
Grant
samj2014 said:
That's a helluva car history!
I see a Celica with the Castrol livery identical to the one you used to own around here fairly regularly (North Wales) - can't be too many of them about.
Thank you... the Castrol'd cars have always been pretty rare, the amount of attention they attract (mainly good I must say) is absolutely crazy, so it isn't for everyone. The Celica GT4s have always been the forgotten relation to the Evo/Impreza brigade despite being (in my opinion) farrrrr better built than either of the others of the same vintage. They never sold many over here either because, if I remember correctly, they were about £30k when all the others including the Escort Cosworth were cheaper.I see a Celica with the Castrol livery identical to the one you used to own around here fairly regularly (North Wales) - can't be too many of them about.
Cheers,
Grant
jimmyt1202 said:
That's a really quality history? Which ones have you got at the moment? Love the E91 tourer as well, very rare as a 335i, is it a DCT or manual?
Yeah I've ticked quite a few boxes, seem to be going through a German phase at the moment though.. currently have the E39 540i and have a new Golf R on order. Also have the Transit Connect which I can't see going anywhere unless I start to do a hell of a lot more miles for work.The E91 was a massively frustrating car for me... on paper it looked to be a perfect compromise between power and practicality, which is why I was ok giving up my absolute minter of an E46 M3. It was the later N55 twin scroll engine, with a Hartge ECU map from Birds Garage making ~360bhp; this was complimented by a Quaife LSD, Bilstein Suspension and Roll Bars from the same company.
But, the gearbox killed off the driving experience for me. It was a steptronic auto and the long lingering slurred gearchanges are all well and good in a big comfy cruiser (like my E39) but in a car which is meant to get the adrenaline pumping; it just wasn't doing it for me. Once I added that to the niggly problems (boost leaks and driveshaft replacement) and the horrific aftersales service from Birds Garage (46 days to change a driveshaft on their 'warranty') it was time to call it a day.
Had it have been a manual car, I'm fairly sure I'd have given it longer than 6 months to prove itself.
Cheers,
Grant
Stevenr said:
What sort of spec was the spec D sti?
I have a Hawkeye sti just now and going to be looking at getting a few things done after the new year so any pointers would be good,not looking for anything too drastic and yours sounded rather good.
I know it'll be going to Mr Forrest for the mapping anyway,that's a certainty already.
It was a very basic spec on that car as I'd bought it new and the 'understanding' dealership who supplied it to me were ok with basic bolt on mods but nothing serious.I have a Hawkeye sti just now and going to be looking at getting a few things done after the new year so any pointers would be good,not looking for anything too drastic and yours sounded rather good.
I know it'll be going to Mr Forrest for the mapping anyway,that's a certainty already.
I had a full 3" exhaust system made for the car by Meercat Exhausts in Kilbirnie, they made the exhausts for all of Colin McRae's personal cars... which sealed the deal for me.
- 3" Meercat Exhaust System (de-catted rather than sports cat)
- Green Panel Filter
- Walboro 255 Fuel Pump
- Andy F EcuTek Remap
- ~355bhp and ~390lb/ft
It was an extremely quick car and I was swithering about buying another Hawk STi recently, but decided that the 'potential' engine problems would really dampen the enjoyment for me and I didn't want to spend the kind of money to secure a decent forged example.
Cheers,
Grant
RS Grant said:
It was a very basic spec on that car as I'd bought it new and the 'understanding' dealership who supplied it to me were ok with basic bolt on mods but nothing serious.
I had a full 3" exhaust system made for the car by Meercat Exhausts in Kilbirnie, they made the exhausts for all of Colin McRae's personal cars... which sealed the deal for me.
- 3" Meercat Exhaust System (de-catted rather than sports cat)
- Green Panel Filter
- Walboro 255 Fuel Pump
- Andy F EcuTek Remap
- ~355bhp and ~390lb/ft
It was an extremely quick car and I was swithering about buying another Hawk STi recently, but decided that the 'potential' engine problems would really dampen the enjoyment for me and I didn't want to spend the kind of money to secure a decent forged example.
Cheers,
Grant
Thank you,sounds about perfect for me,anything around 350-360 would be ideal I think.I had a full 3" exhaust system made for the car by Meercat Exhausts in Kilbirnie, they made the exhausts for all of Colin McRae's personal cars... which sealed the deal for me.
- 3" Meercat Exhaust System (de-catted rather than sports cat)
- Green Panel Filter
- Walboro 255 Fuel Pump
- Andy F EcuTek Remap
- ~355bhp and ~390lb/ft
It was an extremely quick car and I was swithering about buying another Hawk STi recently, but decided that the 'potential' engine problems would really dampen the enjoyment for me and I didn't want to spend the kind of money to secure a decent forged example.
Cheers,
Grant
Engine wise,I've had mine coming up for a year now and it gets driven hard usually but always warmed up cooled down etc.I know I'm tempting fate saying this but not had any problems yet.I'm up over 80k though so I'll probably have a chat with Mr Forrest regarding that area before doing anything.
Stevenr said:
Thank you,sounds about perfect for me,anything around 350-360 would be ideal I think.
Engine wise,I've had mine coming up for a year now and it gets driven hard usually but always warmed up cooled down etc.I know I'm tempting fate saying this but not had any problems yet.I'm up over 80k though so I'll probably have a chat with Mr Forrest regarding that area before doing anything.
Yeah if I'm honest, the only reason I'd have one above that level would be if I'd bought it that way. The standard car isn't exactly a slouch, but with those basic upgrades it transforms it. You won't be disappointed. Engine wise,I've had mine coming up for a year now and it gets driven hard usually but always warmed up cooled down etc.I know I'm tempting fate saying this but not had any problems yet.I'm up over 80k though so I'll probably have a chat with Mr Forrest regarding that area before doing anything.
I'm not sure what is/isn't the cause for H/G failures and piston ring failures, but there doesn't seem to be a certain 'range' that they go at.. I've heard of low mileage engines needing work and I've heard of high mileage engines which have never been opened. I'd just continue treating it the way you are and enjoying it, but I'm sure that Andy will let you know if it'd be sensible to upgrade anything pre-remap.
Cheers,
Grant
It's been a wee while since I posted this, so thought I'd update it with what's been going on with cars, I have also tidied up the original posts a bit too. 
- 2002 Audi A4 SE TDi
11136826_10152869302733918_1870353937_n by RS Grant, on Flickr
11146030_10152869302793918_18620701_n by RS Grant, on Flickr
11136932_10152869302738918_243498236_n by RS Grant, on Flickr
This was a car bought around Christmas time to do some mileage in comfort rather than the van, it wasn't a show winner by any stretch but it was functional, did great MPG and was comfy enough to munch miles in.. bought from Gumtree, sold on Gumtree.
- 2004 Ford Mondeo 1.8 SCi Ghia X
mondo by RS Grant, on Flickr
photo 1 by RS Grant, on Flickr
photo 5 by RS Grant, on Flickr
Being a Mondeo-phile, I was happy to take this car in the deal with the Audi.. but I'm struggled to find a use for it, I did maybe 50 miles in 6-8 weeks, so I stuck a fresh MOT on it and sold it... it was a lovely place to be and a lot of car for the money with leather heated/cooled seats, xenons, automatic everything. I was well impressed.
- 1997 Subaru Impreza STi Version 3
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
I guess that this was something which was inevitable, a return to Subaru ownership. After viewing a LOT of rusty and/or poorly maintained tired examples, this beauty came up for sale in the London area on eBay. After a couple of long telephone conversations with the owner, going through exactly what had been changed/cleaned/refurbished on the car I dedided to have a bid on it. Flew down to view the car and he collected me at Heathrow, I viewed the car and came away with the car happy. I fixed a couple of small niggles, new lambda, jittery speedo and a blowing (still original!) centre section and it ran like a dream, the only reason I sold the car was that my friend told me he would have sold me his V6 STi Limited if I'd asked. I found this out just after I bought this car, grrrrreat timing. ..so I sold this black STi onto another friend and bought the Version 6 STi below.
- 2000 Subaru Impreza STi Version 6 Limited
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
DSCF0302 by RS Grant, on Flickr
DSCF0249 by RS Grant, on Flickr
This is the car that replaced the Black STi after only a couple of weeks?!
It had only been in the UK for 2-3 years and I knew it since import. It'd been treated to some very nice modifications, although not all to my taste (loud exhaust/equal length headers were the main issue!), the car has been mapped on an Alcatek ECU by Andy Forrest which makes sure that the car is running well and safely on UK fuel rather than still being set up for the higher RON rated Japanese fuel. It was probably running around 320bhp and went really well, the suspension could definitely have done with some adjusting to cope with the Scottish back roads as it never quite soaked up the lumps and bumps as well as my old UK Turbo cars used to. After prelonged period of storage and being in touch with a PH member on and off, a deal was agreed and it was off to it's new home... said that I'd not have another one after it was collected but I am really tempted to buy another Classic to stick on trickle charge and look at again.
- 2015 VW Golf R
IMG_7313 by RS Grant, on Flickr
IMG_7312 by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
0EC23ED2-84D6-4AE4-9AEE-1A58B5F07431 by RS Grant, on Flickr
CAD3E103-4D32-4915-B556-380DBA7CF16A by RS Grant, on Flickr
P1000989 by RS Grant, on Flickr
1312D917-0655-4732-82DB-94CFDAE24884 by RS Grant, on Flickr
IMG_7196 by RS Grant, on Flickr
I was into this car, in a much bigger way than I thought I would be. The headline figures are good, but not groundbreaking, 300ps, '4WD', manual gearbox... that last point, the manual gearbox, makes it 100 times more fun to drive than any DCT/DSG/Auto car I've driven. I'm sure that isn't the fashionable thing to say anymore, but for me, driving is all about being involved in the experience and that is taken away to a large degree when you lose the left pedal and interaction with the gearstick. The R was standard specification, there were zero extras fitted to it and with the exception of the 19" alloys (which was a mistake not specifying) there was nothing else I found that I'd want over the 13k miles and ~2.5yrs that I owned the car.
I tuned the car to ~360bhp and it was how the car should have been from the factory, it was a little too smooth and accomplished to start with. It was a great car, really enjoyed my time with it and I wouldn't put anybody off buying one, they tick a lot of boxes and cover a lot of bases; plus mine was the first car that I took to the Nurburgring (8:33 BTG) so it'll always be that bit more special for me.
- 2002 Audi A4 SE TDi
11136826_10152869302733918_1870353937_n by RS Grant, on Flickr11146030_10152869302793918_18620701_n by RS Grant, on Flickr11136932_10152869302738918_243498236_n by RS Grant, on FlickrThis was a car bought around Christmas time to do some mileage in comfort rather than the van, it wasn't a show winner by any stretch but it was functional, did great MPG and was comfy enough to munch miles in.. bought from Gumtree, sold on Gumtree.
- 2004 Ford Mondeo 1.8 SCi Ghia X
mondo by RS Grant, on Flickrphoto 1 by RS Grant, on Flickrphoto 5 by RS Grant, on FlickrBeing a Mondeo-phile, I was happy to take this car in the deal with the Audi.. but I'm struggled to find a use for it, I did maybe 50 miles in 6-8 weeks, so I stuck a fresh MOT on it and sold it... it was a lovely place to be and a lot of car for the money with leather heated/cooled seats, xenons, automatic everything. I was well impressed.
- 1997 Subaru Impreza STi Version 3
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrI guess that this was something which was inevitable, a return to Subaru ownership. After viewing a LOT of rusty and/or poorly maintained tired examples, this beauty came up for sale in the London area on eBay. After a couple of long telephone conversations with the owner, going through exactly what had been changed/cleaned/refurbished on the car I dedided to have a bid on it. Flew down to view the car and he collected me at Heathrow, I viewed the car and came away with the car happy. I fixed a couple of small niggles, new lambda, jittery speedo and a blowing (still original!) centre section and it ran like a dream, the only reason I sold the car was that my friend told me he would have sold me his V6 STi Limited if I'd asked. I found this out just after I bought this car, grrrrreat timing.
..so I sold this black STi onto another friend and bought the Version 6 STi below. - 2000 Subaru Impreza STi Version 6 Limited
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrDSCF0302 by RS Grant, on FlickrDSCF0249 by RS Grant, on FlickrThis is the car that replaced the Black STi after only a couple of weeks?!
It had only been in the UK for 2-3 years and I knew it since import. It'd been treated to some very nice modifications, although not all to my taste (loud exhaust/equal length headers were the main issue!), the car has been mapped on an Alcatek ECU by Andy Forrest which makes sure that the car is running well and safely on UK fuel rather than still being set up for the higher RON rated Japanese fuel. It was probably running around 320bhp and went really well, the suspension could definitely have done with some adjusting to cope with the Scottish back roads as it never quite soaked up the lumps and bumps as well as my old UK Turbo cars used to. After prelonged period of storage and being in touch with a PH member on and off, a deal was agreed and it was off to it's new home... said that I'd not have another one after it was collected but I am really tempted to buy another Classic to stick on trickle charge and look at again.
- 2015 VW Golf R
IMG_7313 by RS Grant, on FlickrIMG_7312 by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on Flickr0EC23ED2-84D6-4AE4-9AEE-1A58B5F07431 by RS Grant, on FlickrCAD3E103-4D32-4915-B556-380DBA7CF16A by RS Grant, on FlickrP1000989 by RS Grant, on Flickr1312D917-0655-4732-82DB-94CFDAE24884 by RS Grant, on FlickrIMG_7196 by RS Grant, on FlickrI was into this car, in a much bigger way than I thought I would be. The headline figures are good, but not groundbreaking, 300ps, '4WD', manual gearbox... that last point, the manual gearbox, makes it 100 times more fun to drive than any DCT/DSG/Auto car I've driven. I'm sure that isn't the fashionable thing to say anymore, but for me, driving is all about being involved in the experience and that is taken away to a large degree when you lose the left pedal and interaction with the gearstick. The R was standard specification, there were zero extras fitted to it and with the exception of the 19" alloys (which was a mistake not specifying) there was nothing else I found that I'd want over the 13k miles and ~2.5yrs that I owned the car.
I tuned the car to ~360bhp and it was how the car should have been from the factory, it was a little too smooth and accomplished to start with. It was a great car, really enjoyed my time with it and I wouldn't put anybody off buying one, they tick a lot of boxes and cover a lot of bases; plus mine was the first car that I took to the Nurburgring (8:33 BTG) so it'll always be that bit more special for me.
Edited by RS Grant on Thursday 2nd November 22:15
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 31st August 17:00
larsson7 said:
I've just spent a fair bit of time reading through all of your thread and I have to say it was time well spent, really enjoyed it, incidentally why do you regret not going for the 19" alloys on the Golf? Is it purely cosmetic? I would imagine the 18's would give a much better ride.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, the wheels are purely a cosmetic thing. I've not driven an R for any real distance with 19" wheels fitted, so can't comment on the difference in ride quality, but assume they ride a little more harshly than the 18" wheels and the performance/feel will be slightly different but having lived with my 18" wheels for a few months and seeing a car with 19" wheels from time to time... I think I could live with the compromise in handling/ride for the boost in visual appeal. However, trying to find a set second hand (for sensible money) is proving to be almost impossible at the moment.
Cheers,
Grant
Yes you will probably have to wait a while to get a set at a reasonable price, the biggest alloys I've had on a car are 18" and my current car is also on them, I would probably wince at the price of anything larger but if you can afford them go for it, they will definitely look better but I don't think you will enjoy driving the car more, looking back at the car after you park it definitely, but I would leave as is and just enjoy having what you have.
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