Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

You are right, but I am addicted.

Also am following two X1/9 engine swaps, one with a fiat twin air engine and another with the full fat 595 abarth. The twin air turbo has the same power as the old uno turbo that was a straight swap and is smaller and lighter. While the abarths go from 160-200 from a 1.4 that is a pretty straight swap.

Sort of annoys me as I took ages to find a 2.0 masserati biturbo engine that makes 200bhp (on a good day) that would require alot of work to fit and by alot of work I mean the dallara level of making the car longer by adding more engine bay. Now there is an easier swap that is just engine mounts and can use stanadrd fiat ECU with a bit of wiring and nicking bits off a modern panda. Not even a need for a bigger water cooling radiator. The charge intercooler can even be in the engine day drawing air flow from under the car out the top of the engine.

EDIT: After more thought, can't sleep, think that it might be because it goes against what I was told by Guy Croft, and I could not attend his funeral due to Covid, then other covid funerals issues. So some latent anger/upset.

not bothered about it being exciting at all

Take that back!!! Actually, it is very dishwater. But fuck me is it handy. The Mk1 facelifted version with it's feature of the two outer rear seats sliding in and back with the middle seat folded to make a massive four seater, is nice. 2.4m lengths of timber also go from the passenger footwell to the back window without and folding or moving seats.

Sorry, I meant exciting to drive. Obviously depending on what you want from it, it can still be exciting.

I was on a stag do this weekend and I had 3 tall adult passengers in the Superb who all traveled in comfort with lots of space and I did derive happiness out of that.

@Dammit - thoughts on this:
"IMS bearing - External Fix with modified oil pump feed"

Its the line item from work done on a 986 I am looking at.

Had a feeling that you had reservations about some IMS replacements/modifications?

Dads been offered this for my sister.
Seems expensive and doesn’t really fit the bill in my eyes.
https://www.mackinnonmotors.co.uk/used-cars/kia-niro-1-6h-gdi-2-dct-euro-6-ss-5dr-edinburgh-202204064368467

Any thoughts?

That TW product worked great on the yellowing headlights of my Lexus

Is it actually big enough?

My in laws have a (similar sized?) Quashqai and constantly complain how small it is inside

That’s precisely what I thought.

And it’s 19k ffs. A fairly unfortunate event has made changing the car a necessity, but I literally refuse to let anyone in my family throw that amount of cash at that car.

@Dammit - thoughts on this:

"IMS bearing - External Fix with modified oil pump feed"

Its the line item from work done on a 986 I am looking at.

Had a feeling that you had reservations about some IMS replacements/modifications?

There are lots of variations, that one I'm assuming has a take-off from the oil filter by using a sandwich plate?

Or is it the one where they knock a hole through the IMS and feed the bearing with oil through a hollow drive pin?

Of the two, I've not heard any horror stories about the first one, whereas with the second that drive pin can shear when it doesn't have a channel in it. It's often replaced with an aftermarket, theoretically higher quality steel part (sometimes made from a cut down Alan key, entertainingly).

Cheers,

I have a boxster/Porsche specialist booked to do an inspection on it tomorrow, so will find out more then...

The one which uses the sandwich plate is, objectively, a nice design I think - it's non-trivial to fit, expensive, and shows that at least one owner was happy to spend time and money on the car.

But, that doesn't tell you whether it was installed well - and given that removal and installation of the IMSB can put a sideways loading on the timing system, which wasn't designed for that, you basically have to go on "how many miles has it done since" to suggest if there's likely to be a downside.

Honestly, I'd go on the overall condition of the car - which you'll get from your inspection.

How many miles/year/engine?

It's a 2000 3.2 on 77k IMS was done (along with a lot of other work) in 2018 at 71k
Invoice for that was over 5k - done by PMR - not someone I had heard of but seem to be a small specialist outfit run by an ex OPC tech

Hi car people. I have a completely non critical decision to make. I'm buying a second car as the a runabout. It has to carry two young kids still in car seats, has to be fun/ good to drive and be around the 30k AUD mark.
I have chosen 3 cars.

A 2017 Peugeot 308 gti 270 with a low 34,000 Kay's. It suits my french car affliction. Great to drive, and I like it. Questions over longevity and running costs. Eg, alcon brakes are about $3.5k to replace.

A 2016 mk 7 golf r manual with 80,000 Kay's. Predictably rock solid proposition, but dull and common.

Left field, a brand new Hyundai i20 N. Surprised by this car, it's basic... But so much fun. And worry free as the warranty and capped servicing makes the next 5 years stress free.

Really stuck here.

If you're using the 308 regularly, then 3.5k brake change doesn't sound sensible.

Between the Golf and the Hyundai, is the Hyundai really going to be more exciting? Or just slower and less capable therefore invoking a feeling of difference.

If anything, the manual gearbox in the Golf will make it more engaging.

I’d go mk7 Golf R all day long.

Tbh I’d be happy with the GTI equally.

Could you budget for the golf R and a remap?

My observations were:
The 308 was nice to drive and engaging at normal road speed. But deceptive at how quickly it went from say 50-80kph. It's very capable but the gear change is sloppy.

The golf is completely well rounded. But requires more speed to feel anything. Has a reassuring feel about though.

The i20... It's like an old school hatch. The interior would have been ok a decade ago, but it feels cheap. But then I kind of like that. It was the most engaging, but I suspect that's because the chassis was the least comfortable and most firm.

For context, my 306 is the perfect car (in my head)

Both you and NurseHolliday are probably better judges than me as you both seem to have had your heads in cars a fair bit. What's the reason for leaning golf-ways?

In terms of remaps etc. Well, my mechanic would definitely convince me to go VAG since he has knowledge and software. Mind you, it's not outright speed I'm after, it's a good drive experience so things like the steering or gearshift matter.

I should add too, I'd be happy with a golf GTI but they are expensive in comparison and tend to be in worse condition.

There is a johnny smith video on youtube where he meets a guy with one of the group b cars in his garage.

Yeah, but does your car brand have an 'instrument' that uses pink noise that influences you to find flow states of consciousness that can illicit alphas waves in the brain?

https://www.kia.com/uk/about/sounds-in-nature/

"We found that people were more creative when they had listened to the songs... you could see increased alpha and theta power, a coherence of brainwaves seen and increased connectivity, particularly connecting the occipital and frontal parts of the brain, where our emotional control center is situated, and the areas connected to increased creativity and flow states."

Inspection done and all good, so have put a deposit down on the Boxster : https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/529634238722035/
Hopefully pick it up next week after the private plate has been transferred back to regular ones.

Looks very clean.

Finally got a stereo and speakers installed in the DS , jaeger quartz clock is working and keeping good time too

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For me, i just think the Golf is the best all rounder, sure it's maybe bit bland and sensible, but the golf comes out as the car i'd actually want to daily. Plus they go like a cut cat especially with a remap.

I have almost bought spicy French cars on a few occasions, the last Peugeot we looked at had horrible noisy suspension which I knew would drive me mad on a daily basis. The prospect of maintaining those alcons on a road car would definitely put me off.

If the POS Subaru i'm running about has a major let go any time soon i'll be looking for a Mk6 GTI i think.

Pug- Isn't there an issue with that alcon calipers that piston corrode, and stick and damage pads and discs. There have been a few warranty claims from PUG, at quite low miles. This is from people also doing disc and caliper swap upgrades to psa cars. Is it a AUS issue?

Golf, expensive but hold value, is there a better other vag brand version seat/skoda/etc version?

Hyundai - I say best bet, depreciation hit but how quick can they get it, 5 years stress free..what does the servicing include brake discs and pads, and it is going to be the family car so child sick and child mess etc. You want something that you turn the key and the thing works

@mcmyk @lynx
Thanks, yeah all valid points. In fact my only hesitation on a golf is "everyone has one" which is a dumb reason.

The alcon calipers in the pug don't have the corrosion issue here in Aus. Because no salty wet roads. But, even non OEM replacements are spendy and require ordering months in advance. The solution is to use the '250' brakes... But why downgrade?

Yeah, the Hyundai will depreciate. But, the i30 N has held value very well. Australia loves Korean cars it seems.