Update with a few pics from the weekend.
Friday morning started well with a final check of things and then a first start-up!
Here is a video of the first proper startup -
Martin then sent me out for just a few miles and then return to the garage to check all levels etc.
Once that was complete I was then spent a little bit of time plumbing in the sensors to the datalogger unit, this is only temporary at the moment until I decide on a final position.
I also fitted some little covers I found for the suspension turrets, these hide the shiny TEIN coilovers which are underneath and also stop road grime entering the engine bay via a hole present due to the alignment settings on the topmount.
I then went for a further drive putting 50 miles on the car before returning to the workshop and doing an oil and filter change, this was done and the engine refilled. I then took the opportunity to plumb in the boost controller so I could use a little more boost as without the VSV in place the actuator is only providing about 0.7bar.
That wrapped things up for Friday, I celebrated this huge milestone on Friday night with a curry and some beers
Saturday morning and it was time for the car to get its MOT, given that pretty much all the mechanicals are new this went though without any problems, I then jumped online and re-taxed the car so its now fully road legal again.
The rest of Saturday was spent with more running in, the workshop is ideally located in that the Yorkshire Dales National Park is only about 25 minutes drive to the North, this is an ideal proving ground in the the roads are quiet, fast, hilly and twisty. Lots of chances for shifting frequently through the gearbox and differing speeds and boost.
The weather was excellent, and I couldn't resist stopping at a nice spot to take a photo:
A few things I've noticed so far:
1) It's very fast compared to my 118D! - should be obvious I know but it had been a long time since I've driven a GT-Four
2) The HKS 264 cams don't appear to have had any real detrimental effect on the low end performance, I haven't taken the car fully through the rev range yet however so no idea what the top end is like.
3) It feels really powerful and pulls hard even with quite low throttle input and boost.
4) The TEIN's seem quite compliant yet still plenty firm enough.
5) The new exhaust sounds fantastic but it is quite noisy - might have to do something about that.
6) It really needs a proper clean and polish!
Cheers
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