bigbramble

Unless your car is under warranty, why the hell would anyone take their 350 to a dealer? There is nothing like a good independent for quality service and workmanship for more reasonable money.

This is a type of car I know oh so well. Make sure the rear wheels don't have massive cambers as this generally means the rear axle bearings are shot which is an expensive job and is what normally kills 205s. Other than that they are incredibly tough cars. the 1800 diesel is a strong engine too, (1760cc or something like that iirc) it did come in turbo form too. Its essentially a slightly lower capacity version of the psa 1905cc diesel engine which was a good one. It's not a powerful car but due to it being so incredibly light by modern standards it kind of gets away with it, not that you would know as the more common non power steering version has steering about as heavy as an old transit.

2005 (05) 37,000 miles.

Here's my 05 roadster. I am very pleased with it, might not be the fastest thing I have ever owned but every drive is total joy. Involving yet comfortable and refined - exactly what I wanted. Only mod is a pop charger, despite the debate about loss of power, the gain of such a totally awesome sound means it will be staying put. Got an XYZ pipe and a few other bits ready to go own and I plan to fit 20mm spacers all round. My new ipod connection to the bose, thanks for the awesome guides!

its hard to tell with the dipstick but ive top it up 1/2 litre after about 1500 miles to be honest im struggling to read the dip stick I am glad I am not the only one. I am a fully trained mechanic with 11 years experience and the dipstick is total crap, I am now unsure if I have overfilled it as I keep putting more in and I cant really see any definite line, there is a more distinct darker oil at the bottom of the stick but it doesn't seem to move when I put oil in. Anyone else give me any tips? I'm gonna change the oil early next week anyway but it does seem odd.

It looks like a mess made on the floor after a drinking/curry session when suffering from a stomach bug. Hideous.

Heya, I have got an '05 roadster with the Rays wheels. I have gone for 20/20 spacers £120 from MWtech on this forum. I thought about wider but I really can't be doing with any rubbing at all. They should be waiting at home for me when I get home from holiday on Friday and I may well fit them then. Cheers, Ant.

How much did it cost to get them rolled? Looks like a nice job.

When it says 5 years or 60k miles it means whichever comes soonest so even if you have done 10 miles they should be changed after 5 miles. Why? Well because spark plugs like to seize themselves into cylinder heads over time and if left for too long there is a strong risk this might happen. 5 years is a long time to leave a spark plug, I wouldn't trust one past 2 or 3 personally - even an iridium plug breaks down, a platinum I would check annually. If a spark plugs is seriously seized in a cylinder head there is a risk it will break when you attempt to eventually remove it, the only way to guarantee the safe removal of a broken spark plug is to take off the cylinder head which is obviously not good news.

Haha 500bhp, the 'Tokyo professionals' probably gained atleast 70bhp from a Ripspeed sticker.

Lovely video, Ayrtons foot work is awesome. Just about the only jap sports car I have never driven or owned. I would like one, one day!

The reason you get flames from the exhaust is pretty simple. Cars that run a rich air fuel ratio send a higher amount of unburned fuel down the exhaust pipe. To make a flame you need a heat source, oxygen and the fuel itself. Obviously the excess petrol is the fuel and the heat of the exhaust is the heat source. Within the exhaust itself there is very little oxygen, but as soon as the fuel gets to the tailpipe it is exposed to oxygen and providing the exhaust is hot enough it ignites. This is more common with FI cars as they generally run richer. You can get a chav special flamer kit which is basically a spark plug in your tailpipe which is a more reliable heat source and will ignite everything coming through on even a gutless 4 cylinder hatchback. A catalytic converter will greatly reduce the likelihood of getting any flames as the hydrocarbons (unburned fuel) and carbon monoxide (partially burned fuel) are transformed into water and carbon dioxide which are not nearly as flammable. I remember driving along in one of my rx7's late at night through the new forest and I kept thinking I was getting flashed by a speed camera or something, until I realised it was my exhaust flames lighting up the forest around me!

The quality is fantastic! The signal doesn't even go through the tape electronics, it's pretty much straight into the amp. If you spend a bit of time tweaking the EQ on your player and the headunit it sounds better than the CD player Ahh thats awesome, nice one thanks. Ghetto mod it is then.

I forgot to say I have birdview too I don't want to loose it either as other expenses have to take priority over a sat nav update at the moment. If I carry out the mod to the bose tape deck, how good is the quality? I have an FM itrip thingy in my wifes car and it's awful, I couldn't bear anything that bad.

It's a UK car, but I don't remember them. Mind you I have only seen the car for one evening and I wont see/drive it again until Friday.

Do you know, I don't think I have steering wheel control iirc.

Heya, I normally use an iPod and so have looked at the ghetto mod for my bose stereo in my 05 roadster. Thing is I am wondering if it's just worth fitting the ida-x100 ipod head unit which I have from my old car already. I would use the tape player which obviously would be soul destroying. I know I need a fascia adaptor and the bose loom plug http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product ... ts_id=7879 is there anything else? (I have done a good bit of trawling but I am still unsure) The thing I am not sure about is whether I require this booster or risk having a quiet stereo? Any help greatly appreciated. Ant.

I have had 3 evo's over the years. I would take a 350 over any of them, far more character. Engine sounds dull and they are so clinical. On road nothing is faster but its not a great challenge. On track an under steering dog unless you go so disgustingly fast into a bend that you get all four wheels sliding. AYC needs servicing often too at £100+ a go and the diffs were £2000 last time I checked, they really don't last forever especially if the pump goes. MPG is one of the worst going, 4wd and so little turbo lag its always on boost so they are always drinking heavily. I used to average 15mpg in my Evo.

Haha too true and Starcraft 2 comes out next week too.....

Well I got the car today. Drove home and fitted the pop charger straight away. I could barely hear the engine on the drive home. Its so quiet with the stock intake but still fruity when you boot it. With the pop charger fitted it sounds totally awesome, lovely NA sound, I'm in love. I have taken the car for some spirited drives today around the local country lanes. Its a brilliant car, I am so happy with my choice. Apart from a very quiet clicking under acceleration and deceleration the car seems perfect and the price was very good. The car is incredibly rigid for a rag top, reminds me of an S2k a little but has a lot more torque. Fantastic fun to hustle. Standard brakes are as usual with brembo flipping shite but a set of hardcore pads should fix that. I did a little cruising in 6th gear at 40-60mph and fuel economy is pretty damn reasonable too. Great car, not too ott, just right.

I thought you wanted something bigger. Heres a 46" with blu-ray player and 5 years warranty for under £900. If you want to use the screen as a PC/Mac monitor I don't recomend a plasma. People say screen burn isn't an issue but thats nonsense, I would not risk permanent damage for the sake of such small picture differences. Personally I prefer the look of LCD screens, especially good one, sure the low res stuff looks a bit cack, but I use a low res feed about 1% of the time anyway. Who needs TV when you have red dead redemption http://www.robertwhyteltd.co.uk/samsung ... -11-p-1215

Haha he isn't being a pedant. An O2 sensor does actually measure oxygen content in the exhaust gas so as to establish the correct afr. A MAF, also known as Air mass sensor or air flow meter detects the quantity of air entering the intake therefore allowing for a fueling alterations. If the MAF is the type I think, it uses a heated wire. As the air passes the wire cooling it the electrical resistance changes enormously, this resistance reading is sent to the ECU and this is how it works. Old AFM's on early fuel injection systems used a big old flap

Thanks, I am off on holiday tonight for a week. When I get back I will give it a service and a good look over. Cheers, Ant.

Thanks! I am struggling! Do I have to use those exact and precise intervals? ie it wont work if I wait 4 secs after ignition rather than 3? Are the 5 throttle pushes 1 per second or just do it as quick as possible?