Evening all, I'm new to this forum and I would like some advice on cheap but effective mods to my car be it cosmetic or performance.

 

Ive Owned my car about 6 months now and it's probably the best car I've had

 

Had my droplinks changed today to get rid of a horrible knocking noise now I'm looking to make some improvements

 

thanks guys

What would you class as cheap?

 

Plenty that can be done 

Brake upgrade then remap then suspension would be my order of doing it with the experience I've had.

I went for remap first then brakes I should have done brakes first because standard are terrible.

 

Search function is best way to start.

Rear anti roll bar, 312mm brake upgrade, remap will give you a lot more fun and confidence when pressing on. Very cheap things are the elephant hose mod and the pikey air vent. Both can be found with a quick search. 

Solid console bushes, absolutely essential, the damn thing will not steer properly without them.

Thanks guys, just a quick question, when I get up to speed like 80 or 90 I'm getting a vibration through the steering wheel, any ideas what that could be?

Wheels out of balance is the most common cause

Thanks I'll get them checked out, really wanna black the chrome vent on the front and get some steel wheels

Black plastidip a quick option for the front chrome grill.  I primed and painted mine but geez stone chips.  

Just watch perfomance mods on an old clutch and flywheel buddy.  Budget for them being tired.

 

Have fun, i love mine ( the wife nor the wallet does though)

Is there a thread for painting it? So many things I wanna do with so little time  Tempted to repaint my alloys as all the paint it chipping off

Mask up all areas needed. Clean and dry grill and spray the black plastidip straight on, peel of masking tape carefully while its wet or it can cure to the masking tape.

I removed my grill which is easy by looking at the few torx holding it on and even pop out the chrome part if you wanted to go one step further.

 

Id just mask up for plasti dip.

Same with the wheels just clean, dry, mask up and spray the plasti dip in even coats ( youtube). You have to know what your doing with spraying paint where plasti dip is very forgiving, if it gets messed up just let it dry and peel it off and start again.

Another vote for plasti dip. Mines been on a year or so and still looks ok. Might re do it again soon though.

 

Heres mine when it was first done

 

 

Looks spot on, smooth too stevo. OP thats the way to go

Cheap black vinyl from b&q was about £8 a roll when I bought mine. 

I'll have a look into both of these guys, that looks a good finish though

The previous owner fitted a stubby aerial to the VRS and the signal for my stations is horrendous and now the thread is all corroded looks like I'm gonna have to change the whole unit, or maybe I could just change the aerial itself 

 

Also when I turn the car off the radio doesn't turn off, all the settings are fine in the radio itself but it won't turn off when I turn the ignition off, any ideas guys? 

Most likely the power cables at the back of the radio are round the wrong way

9 hours ago, Rjh2810 said:

The previous owner fitted a stubby aerial to the VRS and the signal for my stations is horrendous and now the thread is all corroded looks like I'm gonna have to change the whole unit, or maybe I could just change the aerial itself 

 

Also when I turn the car off the radio doesn't turn off, all the settings are fine in the radio itself but it won't turn off when I turn the ignition off, any ideas guys? 

If it is the factory "Symphony CD tuner, there's an option to allow it to run with or without the ignition key.

 

Find the manual online for a full list but....

Push and hold TP button for a few seconds to get into the setup menu.

21 minutes ago, vindaloo said:

If it is the factory "Symphony CD tuner, there's an option to allow it to run with or without the ignition key.

 

Find the manual online for a full list but....

Push and hold TP button for a few seconds to get into the setup menu.

I've done all that and it's no good, guess I'm gonna have to remove it and have a look at the cables

Wonder if the battery reset would help ? Disconnect battery for 40 mins? 

 

Also is it the adapter thats corroded on that stubby ariel ? Just normally they come with adapters to fit. 

It's the little ball that you can move up and down the thread on that is shot

On 6/15/2017 at 15:40, stevobeavo said:

Another vote for plasti dip. Mines been on a year or so and still looks ok. Might re do it again soon though.

 

Heres mine when it was first done

 

 

What type/colour of Plasti dip did you use? Many thanks  

Radio signal is still ****! 

Upgrades....

Suspension control arm bushes will go at some point, replace with HD or Seat Cupra solid ones.

Suspension, complete springs and dampers AND a RARB are needed to make it work more sportily.

 

Brakes depends on driving style. I found them "bad" initially but my previous car was an Impreza. Main issues with them is they go "off" after about 3 good pushes. At the least a sporting pad material is needed if you want to hammer it on your local B roads.

 

Remap last.

 

Other stuff....

Cruise control is quite handy and helps relax the little demon in the right foot.

 

J.

Anybody clay barred there car? I was gonna do it then, someone at work said turtle wax colour magic would make it look better?

 

opinions?

Deff claybar to get the crap out of the paint. Then a good polish and wax/sealer top coat ;-)