philwaters

Just for info - just got my set through and very pleased with the one I've pulled out of the box to have a look at 🥰 Will be offering them up tonight Phil Waters

It is also the local meeting this Thursday in Bramshill from about 7.30pm onwards.. should be a few of us there here Phil Waters

As no one else has answered 6" fronts and 7" rear with 160bhp. If you plan to upgrade to 200ish then maybe go with 8" rears now to avoid wanting to increase wheel size later. I'd also stick with 185 widths all round at that power level. Phil Waters

Unless you've driven a 7 with a standard 5sp it's hard to understand just how short 1st is. It is, afterall, designed to allow a Sierra to do a hill climb whilst towing a caravan 😬 Phil Waters

Hi Graham, Can't mail as it isn't in your profile so I can't mail with an attachment. I've uploaded it into my Temp web directory - have a look here and 'right-click' and 'save target/link as' on the file called Brents Definitive.... Drop me a mail if you have any problems getting it and I can reply with it as an attachment. Phil Waters

I think Brent's Zetec was a pre-K3 ECU, so it'll be *.fig I'm pretty sure I've got a copy of Brent's map from when I changed to injection. Post up if you want me to have a search and email it if I can find it. Phil Waters

With 138bhp, I'd go with 7" rears - you'll either run 185's or max 205's which are suited to 7". The 205 is a bit of a stretch on the 8" so is the minimum you can fit, anything larger is going to be too much for your power level. Phil Waters

Not easy - the spring is a rubber thing which is shaped so you can't easily reduce it's height in order to reduce the pressure. You can just see it in this picture - it is the series of donut ('mmm donuts ) shaped rubber rings at the bottom (it's in the vice upside down). The act of pushing it down is to get a couple of moulded pins on the ball joint to pass some slots so you can get it to the reverse position. You might be able to reduce the height of the pins so you don't have to push down so far. Many years ago I had a pin shear off which meant you didn't need to push at all, it would go into reverse easily - not very nice as you tend to slide it from 1st to 2nd, pushing it to the left - which meant it would just fall into the gate now open to it Phil Waters

Well, cost wise the DD wishbones are a bit more expensive than the front links and you will need a DD ARB and mounts. Howerver, the additional link upgrade also requires a new ARB, which I believe only comes in one size, the standard thickness. I don't think there is a significant difference between the link or the full DD upgrade, but the DD benefits that it a) looks a bit cleaner/more modern and b) it gives you the ability to fit any DD ARB you want, including the Freestyle adjustable one if you can stretch to it. Phil Waters

Do you mean like this? Phil Waters

Christian (at Comp) did say that you get less space for brakes on the 1380 wheel - I didn't follow up to see if it would be enough to suit my car (LA) so it might be worth checking what space you need for rear DD discs before deciding on style alone. Personally, I think the 1381 is the way to go, it'll match the front much better which isn't deep enough to be dished. Phil Waters

I've been talking directly as I was trying to work out my offset (Live axle) and I think I'll have to pass on the BB and deal directly due to the unique way in which they are being funded. Good to see that Christian pointed out to me about the bulk buy though - in case I could have taken part Phil Waters

Ok - think I am getting somewhere, but decided I ought to make sure whichever 8" rim I go for will be Ok on my Live Axle (Ford). Can anyone tell me what sort of gap I should plan to have between the radius arm and the inside edge of the rim? Also, what sort of gap between the outer edge of the rim and the inner bit of the wheel arch (the return bit where it tucks back inside - the bit about 5-6mm wide). Cheers in advance for crawling around under your car 😬 Phil Waters

I think these are them in grey here and these are them in black here I like the black, just not sure how they would go on my car. Phil Waters

I interested in a pair of 6" & a pair of 8". What is the deal with the bulk buy - is it deal directly or via someone? I would need to deal directly for my 'plan' to work so if it is one person buying then I will have to pass. What are the deal prices? Now, do I want Black or the grey... decisions, decisions.... 😬 Phil Waters

Yep, the *.mapfile will hold 3 maps - when the car isn't connected you just click on the square at the bottom where it says PC Map # and it will let you select which one you want to view. If the car is connected then this overrides this function and you can only select them by using your switch on the car. When you save a map it will automatically select the 'Save all maps' option and all the maps will be ticked. You can choose to change that to either de-select maps or just save the current map to disc. Then on the open option you can choose to open the entire map (i.e. all 3) or select one of the maps within that file in import to the current slot. So, you can easily import the current map into all 3 slots by simply saving just that map to disc, changing the slot on the PC and importing the file back into that slot, and then repeat again. Then you have the original as a safe fall back map, one to set for the MOT and one to play with - maybe for motorway cruising or something.... Phil Waters

Check the AFR/Lambda setting for the missing maps - under ECU config. They should have been carried over, but worth a look. Having said that I've copied maps into other slots with no issues. Phil Waters

Great- thanks chaps Phil Waters

I'm think about changing at least the rears from 6" to 8" and I just thought I would check the Toyo site regarding the rims permitted for the 205 rears I have and it indicated 5.5 - 7.5. here I could go for 7" I guess, but I had started to think about swapping them all round to 8-spokes and they are either 6 or 8" width it seems. Anyone running the 205's on the 8" rims? Would it be Ok? Phil Waters Edited by - philwaters on 9 Oct 2009 17:48:34

Is the play in the steering wheel - i.e. you turn the wheel and it doesn't turn the wheels immediately? If so, first check the clamp up by the pedal box, hold it and rock the wheel and see if you can feel any slack between them. Mine recently worked loose and I thought it was the rack. If that is ok then it might be some wear where the rods join the rack as I mentioned. I think the parts are quite cheap and a couple of hours to take the rack off the car. Might also be worth trying to get some grease into the rack. You can use the gaiter as a pump - fill it with grease and cable tie it to the rod and the rack and then wind the steering over and it has no option but to go into the rack. Do this 2 or 3 times and it'll have a nice lot of grease in it. Phil Waters

Green used to mean 8%, black was 22%. Yes, I believe they will reconditioned them. What is the problem? Are you aware that you can adjust out any free play via the large nut on the top. If you have play in the ends of the rack (where the rod arms are attached) you can get a new pin, locknut and cup and change by drilling out the pin and replacing. The arm should be set so it will just not support the weight of the track rod end. Phil Waters

I second that "Powervamp gel batteries (PC680)". I fitted one a few years ago (must be getting on for 6 yrs at least) and it turns over my 2.0lt Zetec no problem. I leave it on a conditioner, but as long as their is no drain on them they just hold their charge. And they are zero maintenance too . If / when mine does fail I will doing a straight swap. Phil Waters

Hi Nigel, whilst they are certainly short and stubby TB's, they still use a manifold, so not direct to head However, you've also got to be careful of not having your inlet too short as this will loose you torque (I believe!). I think the ideal is something like 17" from the centre of the valve to the end of the ram pipe altohugh I suspect mine is closer to 14-15" at a guess. Phil Waters

I agree, get an Emerald or an MBE ECU and a set of Jenvey's, they transformed my Zetec. However, I think you'll be hard pushed to get them inside the bonnet on an S3 chassis - even with short rampipes (45mm) they will be only 20-30mm from the bonnet at the front which isn't enough space to get much of a filter on. Have a look here to see my bonnet/filter space. Phil Waters

They are fine - I've had 4 pt belts since I built the car in 96 and I've never had a comment at any of my MOT's. Phil Waters