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richcr's arosa tdi - updated 10/06/2010 (rear adjusters are out! - new photos!)


richcr
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Ok well I recently posted in the new members section and as I said there, I have plans for the car, though it's not going to be an overnight transformation and it is my daily so it will always have to remain somewhat practical.

I'll start by posting some pics of how it looked (pretty much) when I bought it, although it's been cleaned a few times since I very first got it, it's still completely stock here:

frontside.jpg

siderear2.jpg

All very nice and all, but I decided this weekend to start working on it, so I started with the cheapest things..

1) de-wiper the rear window

2) remove the lettering/badges on the back

3) aero-wiper blades on the front

4) fit a new headunit (as the standard one was broken anyway)

5) fit a stubby aerial

Few pics:

new1.jpg

new2.jpg

new4.jpg

new5.jpg

For some reason I forgot to take photos of the headunit or front wiper blades, so further pics to follow when it's next daylight :shades:

Also, regarding the aerial, I will be buying a black one asap, it's just I had that one laying around in my shed so I figured it'll do for now but i dont really like silver aerials, can look a bit chav if you're not careful.

So, future plans are:

- coilovers

- either new alloys or at least refurb the standard ones to a diff colour

- lupo/arosa mk1 rear lights

- may have a go at fitting cruise control

- black stubby aerial

- possibly new seats/door cards (black ideally)

- fit black interior plastic trim/roof lining

- get bodywork looking pristine (couple of odd annoying stone chips and blemishes)

- re-map ecu

- awesome rear arb kit

And that's about all i've thought of for now.

Only other thing I would say is that i've been having a good look at ebay over the last couple of days and I may have some new wheels soon as i've seen some I like.. but that's all i'll say for now. :P

All comments and advice welcome :D

Rich.

Edited by richcr
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Yeah thanks, I agree it definitely looks cleaner and smoother. I really like the colour too and i'm very pleased with the car so far. :)

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Ah now that's true, I had forgotten about that.. consider it added to the list ;)

Were you surprised by how nippy it is? I was.. and I had a stripped out saxo vts before this so I expected it to feel pretty slow. The only thing is it wallows a bit around the corners on the standard suspension.. but hopefully that will be sorted soon enough.

Oh, another thing I forgot to add, an awesome rear arb kit!

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Yes, really are nippy, i had wheel spin in 1st, 2nd and 3rd the other day! Tyres were a bit rubbish though. It really does perform well as a standard car in my opinion, keeps up well in the outside motorway lane. With a remap they are brilliant, so much more top end pull and better MPG!

Yes, little wollowy in the bends, though not too bad. An Awesome ARB is on my list too, should improve things, not sure if im lowering mine, might do, just on eibach springs if so.

This is my second TDi, so im planning on doing a few more things to this one, which i should have done to my last one. Will probably fit cruise again too.

All in good time :lol:

Some of the later clear side retpeaters would look good on yours :)

I think Citroen C5 stubby aerials fit Arosas dont they? I got one from ebay for about £5. Very short and black.

Shame your getting rid of the Arosa lights though, big red lupo ones will look a bit odd :coffee:

Edited by cardaft
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Yeah i'm not sure what to do with the side repeaters yet, i was looking at getting some dark smoked ones but i'm not sure so i'll wait and see for now.

Cheers for the tip about the c5 aerial, i'll look into that. As for the rear lights, i'm not sure you know.. i dont love the standard mk2 ones, but you're right that the mk1 might look silly. What i really want is some clear crystal or smoked ones, but cant find any. All i've found are chavtastic lexus ones that would look gash! :wacko: But i'll have a think about it..

Edited by richcr
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Im not sure if dark repeaters wuld suit that colour, they might. Mine has the clear crystal ones on, look quite smart.

I bought a stubby aerial for a C5, though im sure ive heard people fitting these to seats on the seatcupra forums. Look the same fitting anyway.

I think Lupo rears only suit red Arosas, though thats my opinion, for every other colour i prefer the Arosas lights. After all, they help define the rear as an Arosa!

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Im not sure if dark repeaters wuld suit that colour, they might. Mine has the clear crystal ones on, look quite smart.

I bought a stubby aerial for a C5, though im sure ive heard people fitting these to seats on the seatcupra forums. Look the same fitting anyway.

I think Lupo rears only suit red Arosas, though thats my opinion, for every other colour i prefer the Arosas lights. After all, they help define the rear as an Arosa!

Well i'll have a think about it, i'm not in any rush and I dont want to make it look crap.. might have to play with photoshop and see if I can get a feel for it.

Tidy :)

Thank you :)

Not as nice as yours though.. yet.. but i'll keep working at it B)

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  • 1 month later...

Ok, time for an update. Haven't had much time for the car lately so it's been slow progress.

New things are:

1) Stubby black aerial (as the chrome one looked.. not very good..)

2) mk1 arosa rear lights

And that's it.. like I said, slow progress, but it's still progress!

I wasnt sure about the lights at all, but then some came up on ebay, and I got them for £13 (inc delivery!!) so at that price, I couldnt refuse.. even came with all the bulbs etc! Bargain!

Now that i've fitted them, I like them a lot to be honest, I was worried they would look too red on a pale blue car, but I think they look good :)

Will hopefully get round to fitting coilovers in the next 2-3 weeks and then i'll sort out the alloys. i'm also looking at upgrading brake discs/pads etc as well as the brakes feel a bit spongey at the moment, but we'll see.

Other slight update, I replaced my family car recently. We did have an astra but with an 11 week old baby we couldnt fit everything in the boot, so i've now got a jetta and i've included a couple of pics of that too. It's a 2.0 PD TDI Sport 140bhp model for anyone who's interested and it's only done 10k miles, so it's really nice to drive, everything feels nice and tight, very pleased with it.

All comments/advice welcome as always.

Rich.

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Thanks! Yeah my aerial screwed straight down and sits flush, i think it came off a vw sharan? Not 100% sure though. I got it from 'OPS' (forum member on here).

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  • 3 weeks later...

Right - update time!

I went for a drive today, met a lovely girl called Emz and a friendly chap called Rob.

And they gave me these .... in exchange for some cash, but still, a good deal I reckon!

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I'll get some better on car photos up when I have more time.

I also have more updates coming soon as I've bought coilovers and uprated pads/discs to go on the car, just haven't got around to doing anything with them yet.

As always, comments etc welcome.

cheers,

Rich.

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Yay, these suit the Arosa's so well. Glad they've gone to a good home, and hope you take care of them lol! :)

I will definitely be taking good care of them. I just need to hurry up and get the coilovers on now and get it dropped because I think they'll look even better then! :D

Best colour for Arosa in my opinion. Is it eggshell blue?

Not keen on the wheels though

Yeah it is the eggshell blue colour, which i think officially is called 'canica' blue - but i could be wrong on that.

I think the wheels suit really well, but that's a given, otherewise i wouldnt have bought them :P

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yeah it is canica blue i was looking for one for ages but they were daftly priced

ill offcially start the ever so friendly advice...

get it lowerr!! :P

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lol yeah, it will be going lower very soon. I may try and do it over the bank holiday weekend, have to wait and see.

And yeah I know what you mean about the prices, I payed a bit over the odds for mine but i'm happy with it and that's what matters :shades:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, it's time for a proper update. I'll let the photos do the talking. So here's the list:

256mm Brembo brake discs.

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EBC Green Stuff brake pads.

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1 tin of red Hammerite paint.

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TA Technix coilovers.

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Fitting it all to the car.

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How the car looks now.

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Still need to finish adjusting the ride height and then get the tracking and camber done etc. At the moment the front is dropped about 70mm and the rears are wound all the way down with the adjusters still in.

I expect you will have also noticed that I haven't finished painting the calipers yet either but I didnt want to rush them and I needed to get the car back on the road so i'll finish them off another time (soon hopefully).

All comments welcome. :shades:

Edited by richcr
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could do a bit lower on the front and yeah just throw them rear adjusters in the back of your garage to never be seen again :P

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lol I already tried having the front lower, but I couldnt even get off my drive way, even at this height I still have to be VERY careful, otherwise the bottom rubs (and I mean the bottom of the car, the mudflaps rub anyway). So I don't think I can go lower at the front :(

That said, I think I can get away with dropping the rear a bit more which will help to improve the overall look, so i'll try and take the adjusters out this week and see how I get on. B)

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I took the adjusters out of the rears, but its still sitting high. When I have got some spare pennies I am going to invest in the shorter springs for the rear. Think they are about £100.

Have to say I am not keen on the wheels either, but hey ho. Everyone's different :)

Its does look good though! Gotta love the lighter coloured 'Rosas! Proper retro/euro!

Edited by lolly
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