Murmur

Now that's contradicting the pro-backpressure said earlier. They don't. They mask it. Keep thinking, you'll work it out. I could agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong!

Wake up, we're talking oil seals in the turbo, not piston rings. Now you're putting words in my mouth. Nobody said anything about converting chemicals. Cats have a presence of form as well as function in an exhaust. You seem like a smart fella, I'm sure you'll figure out why cats mask smoke eventually.

Linky

I'm up for this.

Exhaust backpressure, the myth There is absolutely no way that the gas pressure in the exhaust system would have any equilibrial effect on a seal which is under comparatively trememdous amounts of pressure from oil on the other side. Because Physics. If your car was smokey after fitting de-cats, it was like it before. You didn't notice because the cats were just doing their job of turning what passed through them into something less offensive. Sorry for going on the attack, but all this hocus-pocus surrounding backpressure and oil seals really needs to stop.

Non turbo pipes have mufflers where the cats were and are designed to fit the standard elbows. Turbo pipes have no mufflers and are useless without the elbows.

Looks like this one Ebay watermark if I'm not mistaken. Explains everything.

I will double check with the tester before I buy anything.

Got the results in my hands and it states "excessive play" in the Hicas Balljoints, no mention of issues with the arms. From comments and with my type of Hicas it sounds like I would be better off going the repair route rather than replace. So, next job is finding somewhere that sells the balljoints I need.

OK, good advice so far. Once I've got the red slip in my hands I'll have some more info on this, as I'm not sure whether the ball joints are included in the problems.

Its the electronic hicas. I assume that the lockout kits are compatible with this as well.

As per title. Failed the MOT today as the ends were worn out and wobbly. Question is, is it worth trying to get new ends and repair, or buy a lockout kit and replace the lot. The garage aren't able to get the parts via their supplier to repair, so the choice is mine. Thoughts and comments...go!

It is indeed Blue all around. I'd actually prefer it to be Bronze! My guess is that the blue was an expensive optional extra that was rarely chosen, or that it was used when production slowed to a trickle up until 2000 or 2001 when the 300 was revived for the facelift just to use up stock.

It's true! But you could certainly be excused for thinking that Japs only had Bronze glass. I guess mine would be the best example, Jap '98 original blue glass.

Anyone who's mentioning the glass for UK/Jap. Jap can have Bronze OR Blue glass, but Bronze is much more common.

Jap can have these too.

Bonnet spacers would let you dump some heat. No need to chop anything up that way. Take them out when the weather turns again.

Insurance is a game of Risk. Statistically speaking a vectra like that one is more likely to hit something, be hit by something, be stolen, spend more time on the road, cover greater distances and be popular to a certain age demographic than the Z. As far as Insurance companies are concerned, it's not the value of the car that's important, it's the liklelihood that covering that car will cost them money.

My attempt. I don't think the grey would take much imagination.

Avoid cheapo double-drilled wheels like the plague.

Spotting what's wrong will be quite difficult, really you need to be in that wheelarch with a measuring tape and comparing gaps and whatnot with the other side to see what is bent/stretched and what isn't. Also those spacers will lift the spigot ring off the hub, and for Z's having hubcentric fitment, that's no good.

Tyre sizes - Fine Ouuuuch, if they said 30 was fine and you're running with stock brakes, then they ****ed up and owe you a new wheel (did it do this both sides?). Obviously don't get another 30 and use a spacer, that defeats the point of buying the correct size wheel in the first place. Not much you can do about the arch there, if something's bent then it's bent. choices there are either throw the required money at sorting it out, or live with the rub.

I used a spanner on a rope.