Mark W

Well since no-one else has jumped in I'll have a pop at the physics- Mesh is basically material with holes in, so the air heading towards a bit of material has to divert around in order to go through a hole. If you're going slowly, there's plenty of time for the air to wander around, but as you increase speed then there's less time for the air to make its diversion. This leads to increased pressure in front of the mesh in order to force the air through. This pressure forces air that would otherwise flow through the bumper to the ICs to take an alternative route altogether, therefore less airflow to the ICs. That's how I see it anyway! :D The question is do you purely maximise your setup for airflow, or do you sacrifice some of that airflow to physically protect your ICs/rad.

Well either way it sounds like getting a series 2 is a good idea. And I like the sound of repositioning it- I take it the loom has enough slack to put it where you suggest without modification? Presumably a mounting bracket of some kind is also required.

OK- well in the first instance I'll :bow: to Mr. Duff's expertise here (no offence Paul C ;) ) If it's the PTU connector then which bit usually fails- the loom side or the PTU side? I presume you suspect fractures in the wires...

Is off=rich definitely correct? The diagnostics I used (http://www.ttzd.com/tech/diagnostictech.html) say that on=rich. Plus, if I've lost a spark wouldn't it run rough all the way up the rev range? Coz it seems to always get better around 3000rpm :confused: Dunno, me!

Ok, I checked what I could... Removed the PTU, which involved much swearing at the driver's side throttle air-pipe :x: , and more swearing and a rotating captive nut in the timing belt cover :x: :x: . Double-back cable is as gently bent as possible, but the connectors were a bit gunked up, so gave them a clean. Whilst it hasn't cured the problem, it's not quite as rough as it was. And I'm sure the car pulls a bit more strongly when booting it :hyper: . ECU diagnostic- 55 :D But here's the odd thing... both 02 sensors appear to be working to a point, but they're reporting differently for each side. The right-hand side worked how I thought it would- the indicator flashing briefly and frequently (about once every 1.5s), and it did not change in behaviour when the engine decided to run rough for a bit. When testing the left-hand sensor and the engine was running ok, the indicator would stay illuminated for longer, and would also stay off for longer (in total flashing barely once every 2 seconds). More interestingly, the engine running rough would coincide with a sustained "off" period, and when the indicator finally came back "on", the engine would gradually pick up and run smoother again. So the question is, is this indicative of an 02 sensor/ exhaust problem, or is the sensing ok and the problem lies in the fuelling of the left bank?! (Going by the instructions via AndyP's site- when they say left does that mean passenger's side???) I'll also get around to checking the other connectors and the AFM and temp sensors, but I didn't have time at the w/e. :slap: Mark

Righty-ho. Thanx for that chaps- some small tasks for this weekend! :) Mark

It seems that every Zed owner and his dog has had rough running at some point, but I thought I'd ask the question in case these are characteristic symptoms.... Up to a minute or so after fire-up, the engine seems fine. Once it's warmed up a little I get the following problem: With the engine below 3000rpm and at low load, the engine note doesn't seem quite right and under light acceleration the car will judder/jolt. However, somewhere between 2500 and 3000rpm it will suddenly sort itself out and run smoothly. Similarly if you put your foot down below 3000, it will pull smoothly up through the revs. When thoroughly warm, the problem's less apparent, but still there. Originally I thought this was related to vacuum pipes as there were several which had loose connection with the plenum/balance bar, but having now replaced all the troublesome ones I've still got the problem. :( My current thoughts are that this is a air/fuel regulation problem, but there's so much to check I thought I'd pick people's brains. Any thoughts on where to start?

If you need yet another I could help out- I'm only just up the road. Car's bog standard unfortunately...

6x 890cc injectors plus another 4x 550cc??? Maybe they drop it to 4 cyls and low-rate for motorway journeys!!! :rofl:

I just replaced this bearing on my TT. Give MJP Autos a ring (http://www.mjpauto.com/contact.html) and he'll get you an OEM bit.

Yes, he's arrogant and a c*ck and might well be a marmite miner, but he's just accepting how the industry works and using it to make him as much money as possible! Sure, it *should* only be about singing talent, but in reality it's not is it? It's about T&A. I'm a T man. :D And yes he would put the Osbornes down, but then they're kind of a musical freak of nature I think- things happen to have worked out for them. I think Ozzy's great by the way! Chart music's sh!te. There's no originality there. I think we need a musical revolution- Cowell will be the first against the wall! Though he's probably so shallow he'll put on a wig or shave his head, whichever is most fashionable for the new regime, and go along with the new stuff!

I'm not sure about that- I always thought that the second you stop being insured then you lose all NCB. Back to the story though- if you've explained your situation to your new insurer, I'd have thought it's unreasonable for them to *only* accept a single certificate from your current insurer. But you may have to speak to someone higher up before they'll be a little flexible.

Voted! :dance:

It might well rocket, but I reckon it'll still have to be significantly cheaper to keep the greenies happy. All the more reason to get the conversion done now to recoup the money! As far as the tank goes, can they not fathom a custom arrangement with several cylinders to fit under your boot carpet? There's quite a lot of space there if you remove the spare wheel and polystyrene bits for the jack etc.

Go for it! My girlfriend had her Astra done as she does loads of work mileage; you can't tell the difference when it's running on petrol or LPG. And one of my mates had his 4L V8 Disco done to make it remotely affordable to run. My only comment is that £1200 is very reasonable- would it run a piggyback system from your existing ECU, or does it have a stand-alone ECU? And is it single point or multi-point? I gather that single-point doesn't quite have the response, (which of course for a Zed is pretty important!)

I agree- I'm going to wait until my stock tubs pack up, and then replace them with some T25 hybrids (not got that much spare cash!) with the right seals, THEN I'll decat :dance:

Well- cheese is good for you at lunch as well as the evenings... :dance: http://www.cheeseboard.co.uk/news.cfm?page_id=2 I quite like Mexicana- sounds a bit like the basil and chilli affair... but without the basil :slap: And for that special occasion you can always have your brie or camembert deep-fried... with cranberry sauce of course. :)

4 tyres, rear shocks, prop shaft bearing, air-con switch cluster, stereo, rear speakers and I've only had it 3 months! To follow... Front speakers, vacuum piping, clock (CHUNK- out of interest, did you nab yours from someone here, or can you get OEM for not much cash from somewhere?) Mark

Similar- I was told by Elephant that an alarm would make no difference to the Premium whatsoever, and that an immobiliser would only reduce it by about 5%. I asked what WOULD make a difference- basically anything cosmetic like bodykit and rims. Seems like the opinion is that if a car is appealing to a thief it'll be nicked whatever; it's the visual appealingness that matters. Not sure I agree myself!!!

It's only a '99. The garage in question has been used by her family for the last thousand years or so, so when she wanted to put it in there rather than the one I use I just left her to it. Add to this that it's actually her Dad who's dealing with the garage directly, so I'm getting the info 3rd hand...

(Well, is it ripping my girlfriend off to be specific...) Is it possible to inspect engine internals without dismantling the engine? This garage reckon one of the cylinders is scored, but it turns out they haven't taken the engine to bits at all- I'd have thought you at least have to remove the head. They are also saying that labour to mend the engine would be prohibitive and it's cheaper to buy a new engine at £1200 + labour (Vauxhall Astra, not a Zed!) Before she put it in to a garage, everyone I spoke to said it would be probably valve stem oil seals (puff of smoke on start-up, generally going through oil about 1L a month). What do you reckon? Mark

Silver one at Farnborough Gate (hope it was to give the Civic Type-R owner outside Halfords a :slap: :rofl: ) Dark/metallic blue one (? I was heading into the sun at the time :cool: so couldn't make out the colour too well) on the way up through North Farnborough, heading towards either Farnborough Gate or Blackwater.

Parked down the side of York House at the aerospace centre. :)

I found that my throttle cable was connected to the wrong cam/pulley thing which gave similar symptoms.

Care to shed any light?! Sounds intriguing...