ICAP

Ok thanks for that. Im guessing about a 5 then, unless something wont come off or wont go on properly. I think to do both sides, plus a proper brake fluid change it would take me a couple of days. The front disks/pads are fine, but i would need to bleed the brakes all round to do the job properly. Garages will charge too much to do the job, so i will be doing it myself.

My rear drum brakes are gone, and need replacing (the shoes and the drums!) How hard is this to do? Ive changed front disks/pads before, but never done the rear drums before.

I will go with the standard (NGK) then. Set of 4 at ECP is about £15.

Unless of course one of them is cracked like mine! lol

What sparkplug do you recommend? Personally, i have had good experience in the past with Bosch Super 4. I also have a choice of Splitfire and NGK. This is for a 1.4 non-Gti. I believe OEM may be just as good, anyone got an opinion?

I believe someone has achieved 77bhp from the APQ (in an Ibiza I saw on a different forum.) This was with raceland manifold, custom exhaust full system (sports cat) and BMC CDA, which is reasonable (it was proven rolling road)

I believe the base bhp for the APQ is 60bhp and the 16v is definately 100bhp.

99 I didnt buy it neccessarily for performance, more for the price it was sold at. Im pretty surprised with the torque though, thought it was going to be crap. Its equally as fast as my Mk3 VW GT. Have you done anything to the engine? Why is it bellowing smoke? Have you wrecked the rings?

Hi, I now have an Arosa with engine APQ (according to the book that came with it) Does anyone else have this engine? I believe it is quite a random engine. 1.4 8v manual. I couldnt find it in the comprehensive list from the forum (in the how to fit section I think) TBH, although Im sure its not as fast as a 16v, the cars got a bit of pick up, im certainly not disappointed with the performance.

Im 99% sure the answer is yes, but will wing mirrors for a lupo fit an Arosa? And would Polo 6n mirrors fit an Arosa? thanks

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OMP-Single-Oval-Exha...id=p3286.c0.m14 This is the one i saw but i assume its centre exit?

Thanks for the responses, some sensible and expected comments! Ive had several cars before, so this is not due to the fact that I cant afford to buy or insure a 16v, its just that a 1.4 8v has been offered up at a reasonable price, and Im looking at more of a runaround at the moment (especially with petrol prices where they are). I also live in London, so size wise the car suits me. Yes, it is a 1.4 manual -so quite rare as I understand. I also agree that was the car not at the price it is, I wouldnt see the point in a 10bhp gain for the extra money. Its only 1 insurance group higher though and the difference in fuel economy is minimal. Maybe in the future i will get a 16v, or 16v engine if I want to keep my shell. In the mean time i think I will probably keep the car reasonably standard, as clearly they are not designed to be tuned. Might buy a few bits a pieces in the future though if I get bored. On the subject of exhaust however- I understand that there are centre exit exhausts (as for the 16v) but you can buy performance exhausts I believe that are not centre exit? I saw one on ebay buy OMP that looked like a normal exit.

understood, but I can get a decent 1.4 for under £1000, while 16v are £2,500+. Budget wise that suits me at the moment! I guess there is not a great deal to do with them then. I would be surprised if you could remap the ecu on an 8v and make any serious performance gains anyway! ~ Realistically, what gains likely to see from filter and decat? 5bhp? lol

Hi there, Im considering purchasing a 1.4S Arosa. Having not yet driven one of these, I only have stats to go on, and i see the performance is 60bhp for this model, which to me is fairly poor for a 1.4. I wanted to know, what are the tuning capabilities of this? I realise there will be less tuning products available than for the 1.4 16v variant, and that in most cases, an engine conversion will be more beneficial than throwing money at an 8v. However, are there any particular bottlenecks with the engine design that can release a few horses? For example, a de-cat straight through system with filter, high lift cam, remap, lightening+balancing etc? Im guessing for an 8v these products might be hard to come across, however i have no idea whether theres good resources for this stuff on the German market for example. I could just buy a 16v, but have seen an offer for an 8v that is very good value (also would prefer the cheaper insurance!) Thanks !