Dave's Astra G with Car PC

[MikeS]

your gonnna hate me then

refurbed snowflakes
f1 Goodyears 215/40/17
eibach 50/30
bilstein b4's

I need to clean her up and get some pics posted

the veccy alloys look decent on 215/40/17, 45/50 profile and they look chunky

I think the Vectra C alloys looks best though

 

[5M1THY]

Them wheels are called penta alloys there on the mk5 Sri there nearly as much as vxr wheels tbh but are nice..

 

[Dave One]

Whiteline RARB fitted

I've heard nothing but good reports about RARBs so decided it was time I treat myself to a Whiteline BHR75, plus it can be transferred to another Astra if I change .

It wasn't hard to guess what the postie had delivered, and massive thanks to Davecoupe - cheers .



Unwrapped...



I'd already decided that due to the light surface rusting I would paint the RARB and brackets to match the brake calipers - so red it is .



Now down to business...

The rear spring bump stop lower limiter plate needed the hole widening to 10mm...



Bracket on...



Next the rear trailing arm nut is removed to secure the forward bracket...



Like so...



Both brackets...



Next to offer the RARB up prior to tightening and securing all brackets...



Just before final checks and lowering back to ground...





I've only been for a short drive but was very impressed with the difference the RARB has made - I know why people say it's the best mod you can do .

As always, a massive thanks to @paul_bunce for being the mechanical lead - Cheers mate .

Vauxhall T-shirt

I also wore my Vauxhall T-Shirt today, it made all the difference, lol.

 

[Matt]

Did you manage to remove the nut that holds the rear trailing arm on your own? I couldn't undo mine when I fitted the bar, or when I came to remove it a couple of years later.

 

[Dave One]

Did you manage to remove the nut that holds the rear trailing arm on your own? I couldn't undo mine when I fitted the bar, or when I came to remove it a couple of years later.

Well, Paul managed to get the nut that holds the rear trailing arm by himself whilst I watched and chatted to him. You can see the corrosion and crud in that area but the mating surfaces were pristine (as they should be - just pleasantly surprising given the surroundings). Lubricating oil was only applied a few minutes previous but I was the first to admit I should have put some penetrating oil on the day before.... He just used regular spanners and a little white knuckling. I'll check them for security at the weekend and will coat the protruding thread with some lithium grease now most the crud is off.

 

[Dave One]

Whiteline RARB cont'd

I've just been out a got the obligatorily on the floor pic ...

 

[Dave One]

Whiteline Strut Brace fitted

I've had a JOM Strut Brace fitted for a couple of years and do rate the strut braces. The only two minor compliants I have are that the engine bay relay box lid doesn't fit without modification and that the air inlet feed to the throttle body rubs; and it takes up a fair bit of engine space.

@Davecoupe sold me the Whiteline RARB and when I heard about him selling the Whiteline Strut Brace KSB629 I thought I should upgrade

This is what the JOM Strut Brace looked like (you can see both the areas I pointed out)...



And this is the Whiteline Strut Brace...







You can see that both the fuse and relay box can be properly secured into position and there is no contact with the air inlet feed to the throttle body.

 

[Dave One]

Bonnet Lifters fitted

The eagle eyed amongst you would have seen this update coming too...

 

[Dave One]

Latest Car PC feature

I have got myself a Fusion Brain v6. This has the ability to have 15 analogue inputs and 30 digital outputs whilst interacting with my Car PC front end software or independently.

This pic shows the Fusion Brain v6 with a temperature sensor and 3-axis accelerometer attached. I'm going to work on the dash display soon.....



Other sensors I'm hoping to include are photosensitive and steering angle (I need help here as I'm completely out of my depth with AMR circuits!)

 

[Dave One]

Steinmetz Grill

Look what has just arrived...



I have also been doing another project that I'll upload over the weekend .

 

[Drakey]

Bloody hell Dave, I didn't realise your car had so many hidden additions to it. Look forward to a good nose around next week if ok.
Fantastic write up also.

 

[Dave One]

Bloody hell Dave, I didn't realise your car had so many hidden additions to it. Look forward to a good nose around next week if ok.
Fantastic write up also.

Cheers Drakey, and of course its ok. I've got plenty more parts to add and if you have any ideas for mods I can add just give me a shout .

BTW, fantastic family tree - soooo many Vauxhalls.

 

[Dave One]

Fog Cornering Mod

Recently I have been discussing a fog cornering mod idea with @Measorpaul and Paul has had it fitted for quite some time now. The main requirement is to provide lighting in the direction of turn as per modern day VWs and Seats (and possibly others). For now the circuit design is somewhat simple and crude as comes on when the indicator feed energises the relay, thus providing current to the fog lamp on direction of turn but only if the headlights are on.

Planning...



Building...







Verifying









Cabling to dash, plus some extra cables...



I took the fused 12v directly from the battery, therefore had the relays element in the engine bay with the four control/indication wires going back the the dash through the firewall.


However, as also the mod needed modifying for modifications sake so the dash fog indicator would illuminate (to give the driver confidence the system was working) and the system could either be set to headlight on only / off / on (shown below).











Needless to say, the system can be switched completely off and the fog lamps can be used as normal.

A quick video of the system in operation...



I have got a very nice circuit diagram to post up soon .

 

[evocarlos]

cool beans

 

[Dave Gilbert]

nice mod, i drove a 2012 peugeot 207cc the other day and that did the fog round corner thing, it really lights up the corner.

 

[Dave One]

Cheers guys. I'm working on making the function more intelligent using my Car PC but for now it'll work crudely....

I went out on a late night drive yesterday and the junctions where I used this were much better lit - I like .

 

[Dave One]

Front Parking Sensors

I decided it was time to have a go at installing the front parking sensors from my parking sensor kit. The first stage was prepping parking sensors to allow for bumper removal by using 2 pin connectors. Parking sensor wires cut to length...





Next was to solder the connector pins on but leaving the actual connector off on the carside to allow for routing through the car.





A quick look at the bumper before installation.



Flaming T25 bumper screw rounded and needed slots cutting for removal - arrrrgggghhhh - timewasted to resolve this!



Parking sensors in the number plate recess - just! I cut the sensor holes whilst the bumper was fitted and removed the bumper to cut through the crash bar to allow room for the sensors.







I have connected the sensors to prove they work and had the angle of visibility i.e. the number plate holder didn't affect the sensor viewing area. I still need to route the cable through the car but I'm happy with their location .

 

[Dave One]

PC upgrade time

I've just ordered another motherboard (ZOTAC D2550 wifi supreme Mini-ITX board) with 4Gb DDR3 RAM and M2-ATX-HV power supply to go with a Crucial SSD I've had for a few months. Also ordered a new BU353-S4GPS receiver, 48 channel rather than my current 20.

A massive thanks to @Autosparks for supplying me with a Sony RM-X4S to expand the Car PC control. Integration will start very soon .

 

[Dave One]

Exhaust Woes

I finally got my Irmscher Double D exhaust sorted....and I didn't have to do a thing.



Unfortunately at was because the centre section gave up, lol....





If I ever needed an excuse for a stainless steel centre section and removing the flange to have a stainless steel sleeve fitted, this has got to be it!

Any advice on whether a stainless steel straight through is legal to pass the MOT, or any offers of a stainless steel centre section would be welcomed .

I'll also be checking up on cleaning the rear pipe to make it proper shiney....

 

[evocarlos]

as long as the cat is there it will pass the mot the silencer on the center is optional
it looks like you need to get a 5l tub of waxoil under there