Dave's Astra G with Car PC

[Dave One]

Long time no update....

Well, plenty has happened since my last update, some explained below, some not quite concluded and some other 'secret' stuff to follow .

Tax Disc

No Tax disc now.....lol



Car in the Garage

Car in @Paul_Bunce garage for some work on the exhaust amongst other bits, thanks Paul you're a star .



Oil Catch Tank

The Oil Catch Tank was full already



Track Rod Ends

Track Rod Ends needed replacing after noticing some lateral movement on pre-MOT checks.







I had the tracking tuned on a Hunter alignment machine after having a pair of Uniroyal RainSport 3 205 50 16's fitted to the front. I've also had a front flexi exhaust fitted for less than £45 and put the car in for the MOT.

MOT disaster

The MOT was a disaster, well sort of.... I needed the NSF, OSF and OSR brake pipes replacing due to excessive corrosion and I'm aware this is a genuine safety issue so needed sorting. I thought an hour and a half labour was good but they didn't contour the brake pipes around the engine bay at all . Nevermind, they work....

 

[Dave One]

Logo change....

I decided I'd had enough of the Dave One logo so have personalised the car in a more subtle way .

Front grill from...



to...





And the ashtray...



matching the gearstick ...



The boot, windows, mirrors and engine cover were debadged in a moment of madness/inspiration and few months back :/. And, I know, the car needs a good clean .

 

[Dave One]

PC soundcard upgrade

I have recently updated my old trusty Creative Soundblaster external USB Soundcard to a HIFIMEDIY SABRE USB DAC ES9023 96KHZ/24BIT (http://hifimediy.com/sabre-dac-uae23).

The Creative Soundblaster external USB Soundcard...



The HIFIMEDIY SABRE USB DAC ES9023 96KHZ/24BIT...



Next to each other...

 

[Dave One]

Seats Finally Replaced

About time too.... Massive thanks to @P200MSD (Foz) who happened to mention he needed rid of a pair of Mk4 Cab seats after a leather recaro upgrade. I was um-ing and ar-ing before getting a text to say they were already in my office at work (in Oct btw). I finally fitted them yesterday and I'm really pleased with the outcome.







Before...



After...





And a landmark mileage caught on camera.....



She's getting on a bit now, lol.

 

[Dave One]

Mk6 Steering Wheel Upgrade

Massive, massive thanks to @JohnZ - you're a star for the pioneering mods, guidance and supply of airbag - Thanks mate .

Mk4 Boss

Cut out and ready to paint...





Painted...







Mk6 Steering Wheel Wiring







Mk6 Airbag

Opel ...



Single Connector type required...



Mk6 Squib





Trial fit

Mk4 Wheel before removal...





The Mk4 Boss was too deep ...



Mk4 Boss Reworked

 

[Dave One]

Mk6 Steering Wheel fitted

A reminder of before...



After, love it ... (Airbag just needs reseating as the steering wheel controls connector was causing the bar to sit a little to the left).





















Mk6 Steering Wheel illuminated

 

[Dave Gilbert]

do all the steering wheel controls work?

that looks great

 

[Dave One]

I'm customising them directly to my Car PC as I have no head unit in the car. That said, there is some work to do in order to reconstruct the resistive ladder found in the Mk4 steering wheel in order to emulate the steering wheel controls. You can only configure the right hand side block as the Mk4 squib is still used - meaning a limited interface from steering wheel to car.

I'll post link to how-to - wait up two ticks

 

[Dave One]

http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/showthread.php/696704-Converting-to-Astra-J-Steering-Wheel

http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/s...o-Mk6-to-Mk4-steering-wheel-switch-conversion

I hope these links will help explain better .

 

[Dave Gilbert]

ahh yeh makes sence now then hahaha,

all i wanted to do was the facelift steering wheel in my vectra but keep my controls(sounds simple but not) so im sticking with mine hahaha

 

[Dave One]

ahh yeh makes sence now then hahaha,

all i wanted to do was the facelift steering wheel in my vectra but keep my controls(sounds simple but not) so im sticking with mine hahaha

It was a challenge - but much of the journey hasn't been easy. I'm upgrading the Car PC atm which is turning into a memory test as its been in and stable for three years now, fairly much untouched application-wise

 

[Dave One]

Car PC time again

I'm keen to get my Fusion Brain version 6 up and running and have made some progress. The Fusion Brain is an interface that hooks up to the Car PC via USB and can be controlled directly from the Front End software. There is the option to have 15 analogue input and 31 digital outputs (which can control relays).

The current plan for analogue input readings is...



And the plan for digital output control is...



Right, back to 'cutting code' ... since there's still some way to go yet!

 

[Dave Gilbert]

Sounds complicated but looks cool.

 

[Dave One]

Pressing the touchscreen for the second screen will bold up the associated symbols and switch the device on. Currently parking sensors, radar/laser detector, OBD ECU interface and Amplifier but there will be more. Some will be programmed to start with PC start up but I will have an override selection for when the PC is not in use...

 

[Dave One]

The first screen is an indulgence because I want the functions for the second and the Fusion Brain is capable.....

 

[Dave One]

I should remind readers that my Car PC is a touchscreen so pressing the relevant device icon will turn the device on. I will automate devices to turn on when the PC boots, implement an override for when the PC is not in use and establish voice control commands .

 

[Dave One]

Front Suspension Top mounts

My first auto-biog post of the year....

@8bitdan raised a thread before Christmas discussing the front suspension top mount gap on lowered cars. Eventually, after getting my head around the mechanics I realised that despite most members on the forum saying 'that's normal' or 'it'll be ok like that', I decided to do a little basic research. BTW, the nyloc nuts that were fitted came with the Bilstein shock absorbers, so an easy mistake to make!

The research was very basic indeed - stick some blu-tack under the wheelhouse stop and monitor. The ball of blu-tack got crushed as flat as a pancake that indicated the the complete leg was dropping as if the car was being 'jacked-up' whilst driving, or off-loading as the car body raised if you know what I mean...

Note the blu-tack for testing the movement theory in the first pic. I'm going to replace the wheelhouse stops with new ones too...





I got these after chatting with @8bitdan and getting the number from @Evripidis (thanks guys )...





Taking the assembly apart - notice the amount of threads showing...



New shallow nut in...



now notice the amount of threads showing allowing the wheelhouse stop to go further down towards the turret...



The wheelhouse stop is touching the turret now. Replacements should be ordered very soon...

 

[Dave One]

Powerflex Front Anti Roll Bar Bushes

These arrived today...



I'll be fitting them next week

 

[HarleyPete]

Just a question but are they worth the cost over standard ones or are they more performance orientated. I think mine may be on there way out but not sure if there worth fitting over stock ones.

 

[KevinH]

HarleyPete I would say that they are more geared for fast road or track use, so if you've uprated the suspension (coils and shocks) the power flex bushes will give the car a firmer feel and a worthwhile upgrade.

The Signums do suffer with failure from the rear upper control arms which have 'rose' type bushes in them. It can produce a knocking noise from the rear especially when cornering on a slightly bumpy road.