Feature Car - May 2010 - Paul's Bora

Car Details:
VW Bora SE PD150 ARL TDI | 2000 (W) Plate | Auto-Dimming Mirror (doesn't actually Dim though!) | Aero interior trim | Car - 176k, Engine - 76k

Modifications so far:
Standard Engine PD150 | JOM Coilovers | Retro-fitted Cruise Control (not currently working) | Bora Sport Seats (non-Recaro) | 288mm Brakes/Greenstuff Pads | Miles To Empty | Illuminated Always On needles

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So, I'll start at the beginning...
We bought the car in April/May 2007. It had an Upsolute remap on it upping the power from 115bhp to what was thought to be 140(ish) bhp. Apart from this, the car was standard.

A few months after we bought the car, we retro-fitted cruise control into it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't work though (Bad Times). We tried checking the wires were all ok, bought new clutch and brake pedal switched, but nothing.

On Friday 13th June, I was driving on my way to work at about 7:30 in the morning, when a deer jumped out in front of me when travelling at 60mph (it was a national speed limit). I slammed on my brakes as hard as I could, but there was no hope for my poor car (or the deer). I hit it. Just off centre of the car at about 45mph. The results? I got a dent in my bonnet, the front grill was smashed to peices, my centre bumper grill was gone, and my slightly hanging off and one of my headlights was cracked all around the bottom.

I bought a new grill and a new set of headlights from a member from Uk-MKIVs for £60. I was donated a new bumper centre grill from a friend, and I bought a new bumper guide from my local VW Specialist to sort out the bumper.

The car then looked like this...

The only thing left to be replaced then was the bonnet itself. I bought this as a new bonnet from a parts garage for about £120. The bonnet was sprayed and fitted, making the front end look ok again (apart from the bonnet hanging over the end of the front a little for some reason.

After not touching the car from a modification point of view, all I could do was keep it clean and kind of tidy.

The first real mod that I did was to fit some HID lights from HIDs4u. HIDs are a lot more powerful then standard yellow headlights, meaning that driving at night is a lot easier. The lights are 6000k brightness, which gives them a slight blue tint to them. After seeing how blue they were though, I wish I'd gone for the 5000k pure white lights.

After all this time, I had a play with all of the wires for the cruise control, took them all out and cleaned them then put them all back in again. Then, on my way home from the place I was at the time, I thought I'd try it out (there was still no light on the dash to say it's on). And... It worked! I don't know what it was, but the cruise control now works properly, keeps me at the speed it's set to. This make motorway driving a LOT easier!

Beginning of 2009, the car was parked outside of my flat on the main road. I was just leaving to go to my other half's house and found that I had a dent in the side of the car. Apparently, a lady in a BMW reversed out of the parking spaces opposite our flats and went straight into the side of the car. Unfortunately, she also drove off, so I couldn't get her numberplate :(

With the dent still in side of the car, I thought that I would fit the new suspension that I have had for about a year now. Before this could go on though, I had to buy a new shock absorber for the front of it as the old one had leaked (the kit was 2nd hand). I bought this, and we went about fitting the kit.
We started with the back end of the car as this was said to be easiest. We jacked the car up, took the wheels off, undid the strut nut and slowly lowered the axle. This allowed us to take the spring out. Then, we undid the top of the shock and removed that too. The new shock was put in, a lot shorter than the old one :). We put the new springs in, and something didn't seem right. We had to hold the springs as we were lowering the car as they were falling out. This was the result:

I had a look on the internet, and I was missing adjusters for the rear of the car. This meant that the car was WAY too low, so we had to put the standard springs back in.
Next was the front of the car. We jacked that end up and removed the wheels, but we couldn't get the shock out of the hub. After about an hour of trying, we gave up on the front. This was then fitted the week after by a friend near where I work.

So, I was now on a quest to find adjusters for the back of the car. The main place that I could find to get these from wanted almost £100 for the pair, which I wasn't really willing to pay. So, I asked about on Uk-MKIVS and luckily, someone sold me some for £40 for the pair!

As the front end of the car was quite low at this point, it looked really funny as the back was at standard height. I was quite releived when we could FINALLY finish the kit off and fit the new rear adjusters. This made the kit perfect. The ride height was ok, but for now I am unable to go any lower due to the size of the wheels. As they are only standard 16" wheels, I keep scraping bumps as I go over them, not something I like doing. So, I'll be looking for some new wheels to put on soon as well :)

Q4 2009
Drove to Bournemouth and bought some new wheels. Black TT 6 spokes for £280 with tyres. Car is now a little low though, I hit basically everything that is bigger than a stone!

Q1 2010
Just got on the motorway after going to Dod1396's house for a VAG-COM scan after having a rattle in my engine, 200yds onto the motorway and the engine cut out. No power, not powersteering, nothing. Luckily, I was in the left hand lane anyway so got over to the hard shoulder and tried to start it again - nothing. Was picked up by the RAC and taken back to the depot (it wasn't actually the RAC, but a partner). The next day, I had the car towed to a local VAG specialist. Cost me £100 to have it towed the 10 miles or less!!!

Anyway, after having a look at it, trying different things etc, they took the head off and found that the crankshaft was broken [:(].
Quote - £2800 to have it all repaired. So, I thought that this was a good time to be doing an engine swap on the car. Took me 2 weeks to find a suitable engine. In the end, Azzle123 found me a new one at his local breakers yard for £600 including all but the ECU, FMIC and rad. Bargain!

So, had it shipped down to the garage, VW/Audi Centre, nr. Chippenham, then had to wait for a week as they'd given their engine crane to their other garage. After a week of waiting for them to fit the lump, went up and picked the car up. WOW! What a difference the 150 lump is to the 115 lump. Pick up is stupidly fast and the engine is incredibly quiet!

April 2010
After running the PD150 lump with the Remapped ECU from the 115, I thought that I had better change it ready for the MOT.
Took me about 1.5-2 hours to do as I had problems getting the MAP sensor out of the intercooler. Changed them and now running on a standard map [:(]

20th: MOT day. FAIL! The garage didn't like the cable tied backbox and one of my shocks was leaking. Bought a new JOM kit from Venom Motorsport - will be fitting at the weekend.

Things to do in the future:
Remap
R32 DSG Air Intake
Milltek Exhaust - Turbo Back
Joey Modded Headlights
All Red rear lights
Uprated Anti-Roll Bars