disappointed

[SGHOM]

Nobles are shut now, but I'll be going back on Monday.
I did ask for Darren's advice regarding the air filter, & the bonnet vents for getting the best cold air feed in, & he said he'd experiment with that to get the best out of it.
It's no different to before except no tape on the inlet. It's just flapping around !! they said they would put the under bonnet sound insulation back on, but they haven't. And he would look at the incorrect pipework for the boost & sort that. also set the boost up. nope !! :(
no print out for the power or torque. [ was told it may not be poss 'cus of auto box ] so I asked what the power was, or at least a good estimate, & he couldn't tell me !!!
As for the car, I'm not disappointed with that !!! It sounds, feels, drives much more responsively !!! dump valve sounds much better, & it pulls a lot stronger even without boost.

And the price ??? £2.54 :-D :-D

[zedy1]

How Much Did The Twin Flame Kits Cost You Derek

[zedy1]

are ypu still going to ikea

[Nick Mann]

It sounds like it's well on the way, though! A few things to sort out, but they don't sound huge. Presumably the other problems have been dealt with. It's a shame that there aren't any power figures, though. £2.54!! Bobby bargain!

Looking forward to seeing it tomorrow.

[SGHOM]

are ypu still going to ikeayes !!! if you are coming Mo, bring your tool kit !!! between us we'll sort the boost once & for all !! :-D

[SGHOM]

£2.54 was the change from my guesstimation of the cost !!! :$

[SGHOM]

How Much Did The Twin Flame Kits Cost You Dereknot bought any..........................yet !!!
try these www.flamerkits.co.uk

[Nick VR4]

Looks like just under 1500 squids to me
I cant see way they couldn't give readings of power etc
Whats the difference between a Auto and Manual only the % of lose through the drive train

[Spirit]

Is that £360 or £380 + vat to do the cambelt and plugs ? :stunned:

Thats not much cheaper than Mitsubshi charge ! I paid about £470 inc vat for that when they did mine.

Anyhow, as Nick said it's a good start and at least you are happy with how the car is driving - mind you when you have paid £1500 I would have expected a little better service on the other bits :sad3:

[borgan]

This is a windup isn't it? Yesterday, your car was on the rollers at 6500 rpm & today no boost control setup, no dyno sheet & the best part of £1500 lighter. You ask about estimated power, they answer haven't a clue. Somethings not right!!! Was their display/vdu (for the rolling road) not working? How did they know whether the adjustments were spot on?

[SGHOM]

no It's not a wind up, the car is running better than It ever has done, but I'm not a happy bunny. :( need to speak to you guy's tomorrow, & no doubt I'll be making a trip back to Nobles early next week.

[BraindG]

yes !!! if you are coming Mo, bring your tool kit !!! between us we'll sort the boost once & for all !! :-D

My car is a mobile toolkit at the minute.... isnt it zedy :D

[borgan]

Sorry to hear it. Personally, if i'd asked someone to correct a fault (e-boost not working) & was prepared to pay for it, I'd expect it to be done. I can understand that you're not happy, once the e-boost is setup you're going to have to have it re-mapped (more expense). In my mind, it's logical to ensure that every mod is working before doing the mapping.

You've been looking forward to this for a while now. You've posted to the forums, we've shared your excitement & then this!!!! If you get your e-boost up & running tomorrow I think that they should re-map the car for free. They should also attempt to get you a printout. Owen Developments were able to get me before & after figures so I can't see wehere the problem lies.

[pjjohnson]

Borgan, what did Owens do and what did you get before and after ?

I've never had a power graph produced, always the same reason, gearbox doesn't lock up in 4th at low enough revs. Thats on 5 different rolling roads, including Nobles.

[borgan]

pre-unichip 291.9 hp @5554 & 324.5 lb/ft @2268. post-unichip 334.3 @ 6166 & 342.8 lb/ft @ 2533rpm. Transmission losses left figures of 226 & 192 hp @ wheels. Boost remained at 1 bar as extra torque from boost increases was causing g'box to slip. The improvements were due to timing & ignition changes. H/duty clutch plates should be here on thursday. Another week's delay while modifications made to valve body & torque convertor, then should have bullet proof g'box able to handle in excess of 600 hp & 600 lb/ft torque (well within potential of engine).

You'd have to ring them to find out why they managed to produce figures.

[Kieran]

Where've you got all the gearbox strengthening bits from Borgan?

[borgan]

From the states. Took them a while to confirm that they could assist but all necessary bits should be available to be sent on Monday. Having a g'box this strong has made me reassess how far I'm prepared to go with any mods.

[zedy1]

yes !!! if you are coming Mo, bring your tool kit !!! between us we'll sort the boost once & for all !! :-D


ill try being there for around 2-3pm but will ring barry or dave to confirm if im on the way there. barry your car is the mobile tool car

[SGHOM]

schweeeet !! :-D

[pjjohnson]

Thanks for the figures. I wish I could reciprocate.
Who are doing the bits for the gearbox, is it Level 10 ?

[borgan]

yes, level ten. Sam from level 10 has been a real help. It took him quite a while & a lot of phone calls to ensure that they could do it? Quicker response from box, less transmission losses, bullit-proof box, I'm looking forward to seeing just how good these boxes can be!!!!

A few questions for you PJ, did they (engine builder) give you any indication of the state of your connecting rods having run quite high levels of boost? Were they re-used, did they replace the bolts with ARP ones? Were ARP bolts available?

[pjjohnson]

Everything was fine in the engine, apart from the big end bearings which were changed. This was after 110,000 miles on between 1 and 1.2 bar boost.

The thing is I don't know why I broke a piston, the theory that an air leak caused it seems to be a red herring.

As far as I know, anything that I would have needed uprating would have been a custom made job, but I didn't go too deeply into it as I decided that std replacements would have to do.

This gearbox work seems really interesting, maybe no need to buy a manual after all.

[enigma]

How much for the box mods? I may think about this myself.........The nitrous may just overpower the box!!! ;)

[borgan]

For the service kit you're looking at $579, torque convertor upgrade $498 & modifications to valve body $498. I've been quoted between £3-400 labour. Add about £300 for postage. With the pound quite strong against the dollar at the moment the price isn't much more than a normal rebuild.

Not a cost I took into account when starting my mods.

Choices : g'box that slips on wot but still quick
rebuild the g'box with enough strength to take whatever power
I decide to upgrade to

I've decided to upgrade the box hoping that all the good comments I've heard about level 10 are true. In 2 weeks time I'll be able to make my own judgements.

Positive thoughts: go for more power
negative thoughts: where is the next weak link?

[borgan]

quote [This gearbox work seems really interesting, maybe no need to buy a manual after all]


A Level 10 upgrade is supposed to give you less transmission losses than a manual & a quicker shift that's still smooth. Also having tiptronic available is the real bonus. Having found out about Level 10 I know which I'd rather have.
I chose a VR4 as living in central London I didn't want the hassle of changing gears. With the mods I have planned after my box upgrade I can have RS6 performance for a fifth of the price. The ultimate stealth vehicle? :-D

P.S. I work outside London so do have opportunities to use the power daily.

[pjjohnson]

Borgan, how is the box upgrade going - should I follow in your footsteps do you think ?

[borgan]

Disappointed, the name of this thread, is how I feel at the moment. Was told that they were waiting for a couple of parts to arrive there to complete service kit. Made several calls over the course of a week to see if parts had arrived. Finally was told that parts should be in that day and that they would courier parts before the end of day. Rang a couple of days later to ask for tracking number at which point I was told that the 2 clutch plates that had arrived didn't look right so were not sent out. I've been trying to locate diagrams of 2nd & 4th clutches with measurements in order to verify whether they are O.K. Rang Mitsi to see if clutches are available individually and at what cost. They weren't much help.

My choices now are

- give up on idea (unlikely as that'snot my way)
- strip box and send clutches together with torque convertor and valve body (having already waited a while for delivery of clutches, I'm concerned about possible lengthy delays)
- find diagrams or someone that has just o/hauled box that still has old clutches available (unlikely at this stage)


So, at this moment in time I don't suggest you follow in my footsteps. Will keep you updated.

[pjjohnson]

Sorry to hear of your problems - that seems not to be unusual with VR4's. Thanks for letting me know - will keep feet on the ground for the moment.

[Kieran]

Sorry to dig up an old thread like this, but I think it may be of interest to people like Glenn and Nick Mann.

The V5A51 gearbox was introduced to the USA market just before these postings, so I am thinking that now it's a little more established, Level 10 (see previous posts) may be in a position to offer more help?