Damo V

Jim, if you are continuously replacing brake components, perhaps its time to consider a PROPER setup, which you couldve had by now bearing in mind the money you have spent "replacing" parts

User 32922

Jim you know a £20K loan is only around the £400 per month mark (over 5 years)

£20k = nice new car with (hopefully) NO problems

Paul

PS. so if you spend £800 per month at the moment you'll be £400 up each month as you would be paying out all the time fixing bits.

Matt

that car costing a third of what its worth a month just to run, i fail to see how, list me last month expenses please jim..........

Benn 304R

must admit I cant see how any car could cost ya 1k a month lol
Not even a ferrari would cost the i should imagine

Jim Galbally

ok ginge, brake breakdown...

Discs + Calipers + Pads from Switch: 60quid
Hubs + TCAs + ARB to make them fit: 90quid
New TCAs to replace knackered ones i bought: 150quid
New Bushes for the front "whilst you're there": 160quid
Brake bleeding kit: 20
Fluid: 40quid
New Discs (x1) to replace fucked ones scott sold me: 120quid
New Discs (x2) to replace the brand new set of discs that got fucked by the pads scott sold me: 80quid (more reasonable parts place... lol)
New Pads to replace fucked pads scott sold me: 50quid

(ps scott told me they might be iffy when i bought them, i'm not having a go at him)

see how it all adds up ginge? That doesnt include labour to fit them, coz i DIDNT do it myself!

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

Right

TCA are £60.00 a pair
TCA Bushes from deflex full front set up, had mine 4 years £35.00
Fluid £15.00 for 5.1
New disks and pads cost £180.00 for Greenstuff.

Jim i have the same brake setup as you, to make them fit to your hubs is 2 washers and a file, took me 15 minites to make them fit.
ARB 28mm cost me £20 from the scrappy

Thats £310.00.

Dont need a brake bleed kit really, but even then is your one gold plated for £20.00 because mine was £4.99

Ratty

iTrader: (1)

Jase he's gone to a 4 pot setup with cossie hubs now, but even still those prices are over the top and it dont cost £300 quid to fit them

Plus why buy your own bleed kit if your paying someone to fit them

Matt

must be london prices again folks

MWF

Jim this is about your car or about cars in general it's about you

Nobody is forcing you to spend what you do on your car.

I really don't see how changing to an MR2 or 200sx will change things, we'll see the same post in 6 months saying you hate Jap cars because they cost so much to tune.

Stop pissing your money away, take on board the harsh truth that you are spending more on your car a quarter than the car is worth in total.

Take a good look at your spending and think about the future.

Get a nice house and a mortgage, start investing. Sell up and buy a new Civic or something. Save your money and buy a decent Cossie and then at least your money is going into places you can dig in and get it back from.

I know that sounds a little blunt but I'm concerned you are going to get to the point you want a wife and kids and realise you've spunked all your earnings into a red V6 taxi.

Jim Galbally

Jase, TCAs are not 60quid a pair, where you buying yours from, partco?
Deflex bushes may cost 10quid for the wholecar, but powerflex dont
the fluid youre buying must come from halfrauds... i got mine cheap!

discs i got ripped off with, but i needed them same-day and didnt care if i got bent over... but 180 for discs n pads is TOO cheap for 2wd cossie. greenstuff i wouldnt touch with my mum's micra let alone my own car

in order to fit the brakes i had to replace all the components at the front, as 2.0 GLSi and 2WD cos is all completely different.

the brake bleeding kit i actually bought for my mates car so knock 20quid off... but hell its a drop in the ocean complared to the rest,i was just trying to illustrate a point.nothing is EVER simple and always costs more than people think...

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

Jim

Save some money and buy yourself a haynes manual.

My old taxi has cost less than 2k thats including touching up a couple of panels, new injectors, bradied hoses, shot blasting, cossie rear brake set up, a different diff, different wheels and much more

I wouldnt plought that money into a escort cos never mind the 24v.

I did not realise your brake set up had changed i do apologise thought you were running 4x4 cossie front brakes and where do you buy your track arms from

Hell you spent 3k out of loan on the car, i would still get round a lap of coombe quicker and i havnt got a cossie lump in my motor.

Personally if you need to spend that money on a motor then it is the wrong motor for you, listen to what the guys say, if you cant fix yourself buy something very very new.

If you keep it shop around for parts, clean it yourself, buy good second hand parts from traders if your not sure what you buying.

I bought a fair few parts of pete and not one of them have i had a problem.

Find a garage that dont charge you that type of money

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

£1000 in a month

Matt

rubbish

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

Part No: TARXJ1050 Status: Available from stock.
Item Price: £123.41 Surcharge: £0.00 Price: £123.41

Description: RED DOT BRAKE DISCS FRONT: SIERRA/SAPPHIRE COSWORTH 2WD
Other Info: 6 GROOVE DISCS. PRICED PER PAIR.


Part No: FER399H Status: Available from stock.
Item Price: £55.28 Surcharge: £0.00 Price: £55.28



Description: FERODO DS2500 PADS (FRONT) SIERRA/SAPPHIRE COSWORTH 2WD

Other Info: WITH WIRES

Less 10% discount

Thats about £170 + Vat.

That is the first place i checked without shopping around, for what you do as in fast road and occasional track do you need anymore that

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

What fluid do you need to run in standard sierra cosworth brakes as i thought 5.1 Synthetic brake fluid would be fine, i may be wrong however and personally i have had deflex bushes in the car for 4 years at the front with no problems at all, so if you need to waste that type of money on your car then that is your choice. You dont always need to get the best of everything to get a good package.

Why pay £140.00 in brake fluid and put on half fucked pads and disks, cost you twice in the long run, however you already know that.

What top quality disks and pads do you use then, i would prefere brand new greenstuff than second hand stuff anyway.

Jim Galbally

Tarox Front Discs 40 Groove - 2wd Cosworth £176.00 pair
Tarox Front Pad Set - 2wd Cosworth £51.00

thats 266quid inc vat (+ delivery)


jase,my oldcars have all been "on a budget" my 1st TT cost me 1k all in (inc car + conversion!) the 2nd car was about 2.5k for the lot including lots of engine work.

with this car i dont do things on the cheap tho,if i find something worn or broken, it gets replaced with a brand new genuine/uprated part.very little on my car is s/hand... infact the only thing i can think of off the top of my head that is 2/h is the brake calpiers, front hubs, and ARB (calipers i bought as 2nds as they were BRAND NEW 1k ago and minty minty mint mint)

i mean i replaced all the badges and stripes recently as they were looking a bit past it... that was £100+!most people wouldnt have bothered! the car really has been maintained to a very good standard (money wise at least! ) i just dont like having anything 2nd rate.

THAT is why i want to sell it tho, it's too easy to spend a fortune on something thatmost people wouldnt even bother replacing costs always spiral out of control with me...imean my nitrous setup for example...it was supposed to be a cheap bit of extrapower... that cost me over 1k just to implement! and i got the kit itself CHEAP!

Jim Galbally

ps i meant 40 brake fluid, not 140!

thats for SRF 5.1 its just under a tenner a litre (i got 5L) infact even shitty halfords 5.1 is £8 a litre

the problem with me is i'm impatient, and i'll pay £50 for a £10 item if it means i dont have to wait. i rarely "shop around" but then it's so much less agro that way.

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Jim,
I know you don't like them, but Cossies are REALLY hard to beat for VFM and tunability. The Jap cars cost more to get equal power out of them, as they need many more of their OE parts changing after a certain power level.

However, if your are limiting your choice to these two cars, then the 200SX is the one I would chose. Even then, look at the cost of getting it track ready :

Mods to the 200SX are what I would consider as essential:
FMIC, the stock WMIC is pants. A Hybrid turbo which costs about £420 now, you can pick up most for around £500. Walbro fuel pump to replace the in tank pump, around £100, K&N panel filter £30, PFR7B or equiv spark plugs, MT90 gearbox oil,
heavy shockproof rear diff oil, Motul or Castrol RS 10/60 engine.

Whiteline ARB’s front/rear £200, rear sub frame pineapple rings £30 (these clamp the sub frame in place, otherwise it handles like a blamange), front compression strut replacement rubbers (the stock ones are silicone filled and split), replace the dampers with something like KYB AGX, you can get coilovers for them for circa £500 now, but I don’t know how good they are on this car. You can use stock springs, or you can buy Eibachs that lower it just over 1” for £100ish. The problem is if you lower it, you need to replace the rear top links to correct the camber, so that adds another £200!

The geometry setup with camber bolts in the front to get 1.5 degrees negative to reduce understeer.

New brake pads, EBC have made me some ceramic red rears which work well, they have just put them on the market after testing with John Felstead, and he runs the EBC ceramic reds on the road, and puts the new compound yellows in for on track.

Brake disks - John I uses the EBC front grooved/spotted, rear plain EBC (there’s a surprise ), and has no complaints for standard sized discs etc.

You can buy a 310mm disk upgrade kit which is worth doing if you plan on doing a lot of track work, the main advantage is pad life, the EBC’s aren’t fading even on the 280mm disks, but they would be better on 310mm.

Full decat exhaust, the S14a has 2 cats which strangle the engine. £175 for 3” downpipe.

Ideal stuff to buy:
Get a fuel computer and boost controller or an Apexi PowerFC ECU. John runs the SAFC-II fuel computer and AVC-R boost controller with the stock ECU, if you want a PowerFC and mapping use Andy Forest, he is dead cheap on the ECU and mapping and does a good job.

FSE FPR, not essential but cleans up the fuel pressure supply with the walbro pump

Oil cooler if you plan on doing lots of consecutive laps, otherwise the standard is OK.

Larger water radiator, temps get a bit high after 10 miles of ragging it, do-able on the OEM rad if you don’t plan on nailing it hard.

Its quite a list when you add it up, the handling side of things are essential, they suck in stock trim, very unpredictable. Engine stuff is down to personal preference, they really need circa 300BHP to come alive, but can still be fun with 250BHP if you decat them and use a Dawes device. You have to do the FMIC, charge temps are ridiculous on the stock intercooler.

Take a look in the traders area of the SXOC, you will find links to Apex and Dano there, the 200 is relatively cheap to modify compared to scoobs, but its still a fair whack when you add it all up. http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=23 http://www.danodesign.co.uk/ http://www.apexperformance.co.uk/

If you need any specific info let me know, the thing that fails most commonly on these is the turbo gaskets, pain in the arse job to do in terms of time but not technically difficult.

Hope this helps.

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

I know what you mean Jim, Jut be patient, you have a nice looking car with an engine that useable (not my choice however), dont spend and spend, you have a tidy motor just shop around for parts and get friends to help fit, dont book it in. And wash it yourself.

Dont get rid if you have put that much money into it, you could buy another motor and end up replacing everything on that

What ever you decide good luck.

(i do understand about the old car, i saw it on a few occasions and it was bodged and your right in what you say that you dont want to do it that way again)

Jim Galbally

mike, WAY too ott... i was thinking about sticking a half decent set of tyres on it, MAYBE a chip+filter and then just DRIVE the thing.

i dont want a track car, i want a ROAD car i do at least 500 miles a week!

i do want to do the odd track day, but only for a bit of fun, nowhere near as serious as yourself, lee, marco etc. etc.

just do a "bit of a PON" with the mr2 really, turn up, do a few laps, have a laugh etc.

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

Buy a diesel fiesta, 500 miles a week on a tank, park yours in the garage and bring it out weekends

Jim Galbally

jase TBH up till friday, i LOVED my car... infact even driving it to work thismorning i was really enjoying it etc. it's quick, nice to driveetc. etc.

but i need somehting more sensible and that isnt as much of a omney pit.also want to lose the "boy racer" stereotype that comes with the sierra

GARETH T

you want a cheap derv runabout mate,,, wouldnt believe how much these can save you

RichardPON

Yes mate - it is the way forward!

You'll have so much fun!

Just stop modifying cars - how much fun is it if you have no money left over at the end of the month?

Porkie

iTrader: (1)

Good plan

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Jim,
Then if you aren't prepared to carry out at least some of the mods on the 200SX mentioned, then the car won't be suitable for even occasional track use and will be a liability out there, spoiling your enjoyment. The fact of the matter is that there are very few cars that will put up with track use without any work what-so-ever without being unreliable (as you are finding out). With the correct mods (like on my car as an extreme example), everything has been changed to cope with the rigours of track use, so all I do is turn up with spare oil and fuel, drive on track and drive home again. It is ALL in the preparation of the car.

Benn 304R

Jim, who do ya pay to valet your car?
No way should it cost £150 lol, not for one anyway.

if that is the price they are charging, I think Porkie underpayed me

Seriosly, you shouldnt be paying anymore than £100 absolute max m8, as it dont get very filthy does it (as in major of road filthy lol)
Told ya at nat day, I will do it for £80

Jim Galbally

benn, thats for 2 full valets and the ocassional 20quider (average a month i do) i get it done before + after a show aswell

it'll be up to you ASAP

mike, how come PON's car didnt fall aprt then it's not like i'll be going mental out there.

on friday for example i drove fairly easy. i had the brakes die (which was due to bad prep, didnt notice the pads were down to the metal b4 i went out!) and a wheel/tyre fucked. the 1st tyre went from hitting a pothole, would happen in any car... the 2nd one was down to the shonky car rubbing on the shock for months unnoticed until it warn thru causing it to blow out (taking the wheel with it) i wouldnt have this problem with standard suspension + wheels + tyre sizes. my failures were down to bad preperation, end of.

i had very high water temps aswell... the solution? only do a few laps at a time your idea of a track day and my idea are world apart... i just want the ocasional blast to drive without fear of hitting things. anyway ive been driving for 4 years and done 2 trackdays, i'm hardly a regular go-er am i

Spiky

iTrader: (1)

and a lotus for fun

Spiky

iTrader: (1)

why do you vallet your car twice a month??

more importantly why not do it your self???

Porkie

iTrader: (1)

Benn, he said £150 a month. take away the Bullshit then thats say £100.

If he pays £20 for a decent handjob and a vac, then having that done once a week is the £100 that he is paying.

EDIT whoops. in the time it took me to reply I see Jimbo has come back! I was right though

Jim Galbally

spiky, due to me being 1) shit at it 2) lazy (since i owned it ive washed it myself TWICE and jetwashed it about 10 times... thats in a YEAR!

also my car looks SHIT when dirty and it does a lot of miles in rain,saltetc. so gets dirty quickly.

mark

keep it jim and get a 2nd car as a run about


fook me i can keep 2 cars on the road and only work part time and have my own place and kids aswell

im sure you can have 2 cars living at home with a full time job

Jim Galbally

mark, my car not often NEEDS money spending on it, but i havea habit of spending loads "becasue i can"

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Jim,
Because the shonky side mounted intercooler never allowed the car to get anymore than about 180bhp, so it was never going to be stretched on a hot day with the ignition retarded as Glass Eye's brain .

The MR2 is better out of the crate as a car, but it's on the limit handling is less forgiving, hence why I recommended the 200SX, as the Toyota needs a more talented driver, and PON with his karting experience is actually not a bad driver .

mark

but that wont happen if you get a run about as the sierra wont get used as much

RichardPON

How painful was that for you to say then?

I disagree with Mike on pretty much everything except the above .

It depends on how many trackdays you're gonna do! If you're gonna do four or five a year, then you'll have no problem enjoying yourself in absolutely ANY car as long as it's properly maintained.

Simple fact is that Jap cars as a general rule tend to be more fun on trackdays in standard guise, as they are simply a better car out the box than any Ford equivalent with reference to cost.

Doh

Jim, maybe the problem isn't your car at all then, if you send your £2k a month earnings to me then you will be sorted because you "WON'T" be able to spend on your car

and i'll spend it on lap dancing girls then everyones happy

Damo V

I still belive as has been said you WILL end up spending just as much on a new car and be EVEN more pissed off, remember, you know the car you have now, you know its bad points you know its good and very good points...

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

PON,
You openly admit that the power goes as flat as a fart with high charge temps, so this is not going to stretch the chassis or the brakes on a hot day as much as it would with full power. Having been in the car, I know that it takes more to drive than a 200SX, so could you please tell me which part of what I said you actually disagree with, as I only spoke the facts .