8bit's Mk1 Leon Cupra R. Scarlett - as in Johansson...

[8bit]

A diseasel! The cheek!! I've embarassed quite a few petrol's in her lol! Tell me about it, lately has been non stop. Few more things like, take the suspension out, take the crap poly bush top mounts out for oem ones, split the front struts and change a track rod, 2x ball joints then she should be grand Oh and an engine mount!

Good job I read this thread, just ordered Cupra R fogs from ECP.

Where did you get the helper springs from, I've put lcr rears on my derv and the bloke said slacken the cable on the MOT but they squeel a tiny bit, so I'm thinking just fit springs and hope for the best?!

Heh, just kidding dude Must admit, the thought of a diesel never really appealed to me that much, I quite like to rev an engine a bit and hold on to gears when on a blast but then I've never driven a quick diesel. Open to being convinced tho!

I'll dig out the BIG hammer this time

Cheers fella

 

[8bit]

Where did you get the helper springs from, I've put lcr rears on my derv and the bloke said slacken the cable on the MOT but they squeel a tiny bit, so I'm thinking just fit springs and hope for the best?!

Sorry, forgot about that question in the last post. I got them from my local SEAT parts desk, they come from an Alhambra but there are a number of other cars in the VAG range that use the same rear caliper. I think I searched the mk1 Leon section for "caliper spring" or "caliper helper spring", there are a few different part numbers available from Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda but they all end up with the same thing.

 

[EL]

Car looks great mate. Great combination with the wheels, the colour of them and the red. Works superbly

 

[8bit]

Car looks great mate. Great combination with the wheels, the colour of them and the red. Works superbly

Thanks bud, appreciate the comment The colour is a touch lighter than I had in mind (think Audi black edition wheels) but the satin finish is exactly what I was after. If I could get this finish on my slightly darker LCR wheels they'd be perfect

Weather getting warmer up here, reckon if there's no more cold snaps by the time I get back from honeymoon I'll swap the LCR wheels back on and keep the R32s for winter. I miss my Ultrac Sessantas, the Uniroyal winters feel a bit skittish and nervous when pressing on, in fact the front end goes light when on WOT in a straight line. The Sessantas just make the car feel like it's on rails.

Looking at the photos though I almost wish I'd used the R32 wheels as summers and the LCRs as winters...

 

[csd_19]

Weather getting warmer up here

Back into positive single digits, get in!

 

[8bit]

Nothing very exciting happening with Scarlett of late. I did discover where I think my coolant leak was. Around the temp sensor seemed to be wet all the time. As luck would have it, I found the box that the green CTS came in a couple of years ago in the garage, complete with another o-ring seal and the retaining clip, so changed those and it seems to be OK.

Another order with SERE this week, two new rear brake calipers because the O/S one doesn't seem to engage the handbrake any more and neither of them clean the discs properly if they've built up any rust, so I think it's safe to say they're shagged.

Also ordered an exhaust gas temp sensor as I'm getting the fault code for implausible signal more and more frequently, and almost always after giving it some beans. Economy is also on the decline too so reckon that's probably the cause. Not much looking forward to changing that, it's a pain getting round the back of the block to undo it but needs must!

Will hopefully give the whole car a good wash, clay and wax this weekend and with any luck I'll get my LCR wheels cleaned, sealed and back on the car. It's too warm for winter tyres now, car felt skittish and nervous out for a blast the other evening so looking forward to getting back on the Sessantas soon.

 

[csd_19]

Saw Scarlett at lunch min, those wheels really do work well

 

[8bit]

Cheers mate, yeah they do look good but I still slightly prefer the LCR wheels. R32 Aristos beat running around on steelies with enormous spacers to clear the Brembos all winter tho

 

[csd_19]

lol yep very true!

 

[8bit]

Glad I ordered the EGT sensor now, got another fault code for it this evening. Economy is also down, struggled to break 20mpg in town earlier, usually get 25ish. Gonna be a pain to change that...

 

[cuprat]

I've went from 25ish to 10 to 15 in town lol.

Car coming along nicely mate.

Trying to organise a meet for next week if you fancy it?

 

[8bit]

Aha, you went for an RS4 then? Thought you were going for an Evo? Never driven an Evo so can't comment on those but drove an RS4 a couple of years ago, fantastic cars. Pull well from anywhere in the rev range but the best power is above 5500, where that V8 is really singing

I'll go have a look for a meet thread now.

 

[cuprat]

Aha, you went for an RS4 then? Thought you were going for an Evo? Never driven an Evo so can't comment on those but drove an RS4 a couple of years ago, fantastic cars. Pull well from anywhere in the rev range but the best power is above 5500, where that V8 is really singing

I'll go have a look for a meet thread now.

Yeah just think they look ace and as for the v8 its a awesome note

 

[8bit]

Yeah just think they look ace and as for the v8 its a awesome note

They do look smart like and you're right, can't beat a V8 growl and roar My next car will be a v8, won't be an RS4 tho, not giving too much away just now in case it doesn't work out!

 

[8bit]

Managed to get a good few hours of car stuff in at the weekend Spent Saturday afternoon doing a few jobs.

Got the EGT sensor changed finally, what a ball-ache that was. Tried to do it from above, removed the turbo outlet, charge pipe, DV and a few other hoses but still couldn't get in down behind the engine to get a spanner on to the probe bolt on the turbine housing. Ended up going under the car again, managed to get a 17mm spanner on it and got the old one out. Couldn't get the thing back up out of the bay as I couldn't see where it went in under the coolant pipes above the turbo compressor inlet so ended up losing it and cutting the old cable.

That was fine but meant I ended up routing the cable for the new one a little bit differently but it should be OK. Job done anyway and my MPG is back up to normal sort of levels again, plus the idle feels smooth again too.

Also got my summer wheels cleaned and back on the car. After washing:

Randomly picked up some Simoniz 2-in-1 alloy wheel and sealant stuff in Halfrauds when I was in for some MF cloths a while ago so gave that a shot, came up OK and after a hoon on Sunday there was no visible brake dust, even on the fronts where the DS2500s are. Will get some proper cleaner and sealant for next time.

So on Sunday had a good hoon around Deeside, it's like one big playground really - anyone that hasn't been up here, get it sorted and come for a bit of a drive For those that know the area, went out North Deeside, got to Ballater then came back along South Deeside but all of the above were full of sunday drivers so turned off at Aboyne and went from there to Tarland then back to Aberdeen through Echt, and that lot was a different story Can really feel the difference in the Vredesteins over the winter Uniroyals, much more confidence pushing hard into and out of corners.

Got back home with several hours of sunshine left and Scarlett caked in road dust so broke out the buckets and hose. Just a very quick 2 bucket method wash and a once-over with Meguiar's Quik Detail spray but looks not too bad for the relatively little effort I put in:

Still on the to-do list - change R badges again, replace rear brake calipers, tidy the Brembos up a bit, get a couple of small dents pulled out, proper wash/clay/polish/wax. Won't be long before the timing belt, water pump and tensioners need doing again too, considering doing that myself...

 

[8bit]

So the other weekend there I set about ripping out the old TrafficMaster SmartNav system that was in the car when I got it. Not sure if this was a dealer-fit option or what but I never used it and it bugged me just being there so I set about it. I was going to fit a bluetooth module to the stereo system anyway so decided to kill two birds with one stone.

Removing the smart nav system ended up being a bit of a mission. I had to remove the glove box, driver's side lower dash trim, driver's side A-pillar trim and both upper and lower center console. The actual unit for the smart nav was behind and below the OBD-II port. A picture of the early carnage:

The Alpine KCE-400BT bluetooth thing works a treat with the IDA-X305 head unit. I get the names from my phone book on the head unit display when scrolling through, I see the name of anyone who calls me (if their number is in the phone obviously), it all just works.

This evening I decided to sort the undertray which was sitting a bit low after changing the EGT sensor, so that's done. I also re-did the R badges again, I didn't lacquer the ones I put on earlier this year and they got really tatty, really quickly. This time I've lacquered them so hopefully they stay looking decent a bit longer this time.

Added one more, for a couple extra bhp

 

[drka-drka]

^^ looks similar to one I used to see around ;-)

 

[8bit]

Busted Yours was one "rung" up from there though aye? What do you mean "used to", you sold the Leon? I don't come on here as much these days, bit out of touch...

 

[8bit]

So I got a new car last week. The LCR is staying though - it's now the "sensible" family car which my wife will be using day to day. I'll still have the odd blast in it though and still have some jobs to do so this thread doesn't end here.

For now though, I've created a new thread for the new car, the link is below. Here's a clue, see if you guess what it is before you go there:

New thread is here - http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=384625

 

[8bit]

So today I had Scarlett on track for the first time. My wife gave me a voucher for a track tuition thing at Knockhill for Christmas, which I'd been wanting to do for ages. Since I'd always meant for the modifications to the LCR to be with track use in mind, it seemed only right to use it.

It was great, just one of those times where it all seems to make sense, seems to come together. The firm ride just works on the track. The Ferodo pads bit hard after a few laps. The remap could be used to full potential. The instructor was really good and very encouraging, I'd say I learned more about driving hard and where the limits are today than I've done in the last few years hacking about B roads on my own.

Highlight of the day (besides the overall experience itself), passing an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Low light of the day - totally cooking the brakes. Came out of the chicane on full power towards the next corner, hit the brakes and the pedal sank to the floor, no braking at all. Not sure what was wrong, DS2500 pads, EBC discs and Castrol race-spec fluid. The instructor suggested maybe changing the lines for proper braided ones but I always thought the LCR had braided lines anyway. They were fine after a bit of a cool-down.

There was also a good bit of shaking through the steering when braking hard so i suspect I may have a warped disc at the front...

I paid the wee bit extra to get photos taken on track, I'll post those once I get them.

Took the scenic route home, turned off the motorway at Perth then up to Blairgowrie, Glenshee, Braemar then back to Ballater and along South Deeside Road - got to be some of the best roads in the country. Stopped for a breather and grabbed a couple of photos.

In other news, Scarlett had a birthday today too