The New 'Dogmobile'
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:14 pm
It's taken ages to get a decent day and a relatively clean car simultaneously, but finally........
May I present, for your delectation and delight, my recent aquisition, which has been christened, "Nitric", by my one-time chemistry student bro.
You may recall I bought this about 4 weeks ago, with a dpf additive fault. Needless to say, the FAP is now history and it's currently running the same 180 bhp map as it's predecessor.
I'm slowly working through a disappointingly long list of niggles.
Sorted to date:
De-FAP / remap
Auto tailgate wiper, (comes on with front wipers on selecting reverse).
Auto wipers re-configured correctly, (suspect I messed this up when setting up the one above).
New tailgate wiper blade.
Air and pollen filters.
Drivers seat heater switch melted - replaced with one kindly donated by V6Exec.
Drivers seat height adjuster linkage re-attached, (it just clipped back in).
Handling........
Finally checked tyre pressures yesterday........
NSF 21 psi
OSF 28 psi
NSR 24 psi
OSR 12 psi
Set them all to 35, needless to say there is a bit of a difference.
I also fitted Plod's strut brace, but it may have to come off again for some more fettling as it doesn't clear the DW12 acoustic cover by much. Anyways, I haven't really evaluated the handling properly, but the coming week will determine how good or otherwise it is now. TBH I'll be happy if it feels as surefooted as its predecessor.
Still to sort out:
Knackered COM2000
Spongy, confidence-sapping brakes - it stops fairly quickly. but just doesn't 'feel right'.
Turbo-lag. Flies once it's made its mind up, but there's more of a delay than there should be, (probably a vacuum system issue).
Chipped windscreen - (repairable).
A minor front wheel balance issue, (I'll have to buy some tyres, or maybe some wheels / tyres, still pondering).
Lousy audio - occasional 'bangs' when playing CD's and really awful radio reception, (think I'll try an aerial first, then check the rest when I get to the phone, see below).
Some trim clips missing that should be holding the seat ecu cover in place.
An oil change etc.
Phone install - my last Nokia kit was OK when linked to cradle-mounted phones, but via bluetooth it was utter crap. Suspect I want a Parrot setup, but don't know enough about them yet, (Santa may oblidge).
Some decent looking plates.
Replacement HDi badge, (some scrote's had the 'i').
I may go for a custom remap, (£££), if the rest falls into place without too much grief, (which decision will affect wheel / tyre choice and so on).
I had misgivings at first - the dogmobile was a hard act to follow - but this one's growing on me. It'll never be tidy enough to win any prizes but it has the potential to be very entertaining for relatively little cost, for a few years yet.
We'll see.
May I present, for your delectation and delight, my recent aquisition, which has been christened, "Nitric", by my one-time chemistry student bro.
You may recall I bought this about 4 weeks ago, with a dpf additive fault. Needless to say, the FAP is now history and it's currently running the same 180 bhp map as it's predecessor.
I'm slowly working through a disappointingly long list of niggles.
Sorted to date:
De-FAP / remap
Auto tailgate wiper, (comes on with front wipers on selecting reverse).
Auto wipers re-configured correctly, (suspect I messed this up when setting up the one above).
New tailgate wiper blade.
Air and pollen filters.
Drivers seat heater switch melted - replaced with one kindly donated by V6Exec.
Drivers seat height adjuster linkage re-attached, (it just clipped back in).
Handling........
Finally checked tyre pressures yesterday........
NSF 21 psi
OSF 28 psi
NSR 24 psi
OSR 12 psi
Set them all to 35, needless to say there is a bit of a difference.
I also fitted Plod's strut brace, but it may have to come off again for some more fettling as it doesn't clear the DW12 acoustic cover by much. Anyways, I haven't really evaluated the handling properly, but the coming week will determine how good or otherwise it is now. TBH I'll be happy if it feels as surefooted as its predecessor.
Still to sort out:
Knackered COM2000
Spongy, confidence-sapping brakes - it stops fairly quickly. but just doesn't 'feel right'.
Turbo-lag. Flies once it's made its mind up, but there's more of a delay than there should be, (probably a vacuum system issue).
Chipped windscreen - (repairable).
A minor front wheel balance issue, (I'll have to buy some tyres, or maybe some wheels / tyres, still pondering).
Lousy audio - occasional 'bangs' when playing CD's and really awful radio reception, (think I'll try an aerial first, then check the rest when I get to the phone, see below).
Some trim clips missing that should be holding the seat ecu cover in place.
An oil change etc.
Phone install - my last Nokia kit was OK when linked to cradle-mounted phones, but via bluetooth it was utter crap. Suspect I want a Parrot setup, but don't know enough about them yet, (Santa may oblidge).
Some decent looking plates.
Replacement HDi badge, (some scrote's had the 'i').
I may go for a custom remap, (£££), if the rest falls into place without too much grief, (which decision will affect wheel / tyre choice and so on).
I had misgivings at first - the dogmobile was a hard act to follow - but this one's growing on me. It'll never be tidy enough to win any prizes but it has the potential to be very entertaining for relatively little cost, for a few years yet.
We'll see.
It really is in excellent condition.
