I updated my bike project thread yesterday and remarked how these months pass quickly, nearly a month since I last updated and I've not really achieved much!
There are reasons for this; I get quite anxious to start a job on the car if I know it's going to put it out of action. It's silly really since I didn't use to mind so much, and these days I live within walking/cycling distance of work if I can't get the car back together, but I guess we're not entirely rational beings at times
I did borrow my girlfriends car for a while, with the idea that I'd get the jobs done on the Crossfire, but the mighty 207 had other ideas when it blew it's head gasket for the second time this year
Thankfully repaired under warranty..
I also have been umming and ahhing about changing the springs on the Crossfire, the TA Technix 50/40mm lowering springs do give the car the stance I want, but the spring rates feel off, the rear of the car is very stiff and the front wheels can rub on the arch shields when reversing with some lock on.. Of course some of the ride quality issues could be attributed to the previously mentioned knackered bushes, realistically I should change those, then if it's still poor, swap the springs out for some 30/30mm Eibach items.
Enough waffle anyway, I have done some things. First up, I finally fitted my boss and steering wheel, replacing the stock item which looks like it's come from a Voyager or something
Removed like most modern wheels, couple of torx screws in the back of the wheel to release the airbag/horn push (battery disconnected of course), then a big hex key bolt in the centre and off it came. I didn't take many photos of the process in the middle as I was having a bit of a nightmare trying to get the right horn push adaptors and rings.
Basically the Personal (and Nardi I think) wheels use a slightly bigger horn push and a different PCD from the more standard Momo fitment, I bought one which I hoped would work along with an adaptor ring to counter the diamter issue, plus I had a pcd adapter ring, and a ring which gives a spade connector for the horn. Essentially if I had a Momo wheel it would have taken about a 1/4 of the time it did! But I got it worked out, and even the airbag replacement fuses in the Momo boss kit, fit and work to keep the light off.
100% improvement in my eyes, feels better, doesn't look as visually heavy which helps in what is quite a tight cabin really. Horn works, airbag light comes on and goes out, happy days
I do also want to change the gear knob, it's a bit slippery and the height of it means that if you happen to have your hand on it in a certain way, it's possible to catch your finger between it and the surround, which is unpleasant. The gearshift in general leaves a bit to be desired to be honest, so a bit of research required to see what I can do to tighten/speed it up a bit.
As I look back through my photos, here's some evidence of the mountain of suspension bushes, ball joints and arms all waiting to be fitted
But to end this update on a high, another item I've wanted to do something about for some time now, the exhaust. I had mentioned previously that I had a bit of a plan for this but I was being a bit secretive. No real reason for the secrecy other than I had something in mind that was a bit marmite and I wasn't quite sure it was going to work or not. It was, as these ideas often are, fuelled by a chance ebay spot, this might give a clue...
They're replacement recreations rather than original parts, but they were effectively new and unused. My main aesthetic issue with the old exhaust was that it didn't fill the space in the bumper as well as I thought it could have, it's a big cutout, so any normal silencer with a twin round exit would need to have huge exits to fill it, which would look odd. The thicker ends of the Tuscan/bike cans fills the space a bit more visually, or that's what I'm telling myself anyway
Anyway, today I got them fitted, great service by Custom Chrome in Nuneaton, if you're in the area and need exhaust work doing, give them a shout. They didn't look at me too funny when I turned up with a Crossfire and a couple of carbon cans anyway haha
Of course it was absolutely curse word down today so no audio clips I'm afraid, and I forgot to take a vid of the old exhaust, so can't really do a direct A/B comparison aside from the internal clips from the 'ring
but suffice to say it's done pretty much exactly what I'd hoped. It's cut out the resonance that happened from around 2-3k and it sounds much deeper overall, a bit quieter, not done any motorway stuff yet so can't comment on drone but it feels better. It's also removed or greatly reduced the crackles and pops on overrun which sounded just a smidge too chavvy for my liking.
Once it's a bit drier, I will get a video and do a comparison of sorts.
Lastly, I made a new and updated list that I can get ticking off
Oh and I keep seeing these.. having a lot of time to read forums on the internet can be a dangerous thing.
