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What have you done to your 159/Brera/Spider today?

856K views 11K replies 922 participants last post by  gtv6sa 
#1 ·
Hi all,

This kind of thread works well on several other forums I use and often sparks some great discussions / ideas. Just post up what it is you've done and feel free to comment on others posts, but be nice :lol:

Today - tracking set to zero toe as recommended on here. Needed doing as it's taken the inside edges off the fronts.
 
#5,451 ·
Went on the hunt for 2x new tyres. Such varied prices from the 4 retailers I visited. Looked on black circles and came across the Kumho Ecsta PS71. Anyone ever had any experience with these tyres? Reviews online seem to suggest issues with balancing and general egg shaped! Would be interested to get anyone's views. Cheers

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
#5,453 ·
Just indulged in a spot of knuckle skimming. I have a red raw thumb knuckle too.

However, i am now also sporting some philips whitevision +60% dipped beam and philips racingvision +150% main beam and some philips extremevision +130% fog light bulbs.

Which is lovely. Seem to have a slightly lose/dodgy bulb clip in my near side main beam so need to get that fixed as the bulb is a little slack in its seat with just the one clip :/
 
#5,454 ·
Had my car on a dyno today.

It being an auto, the conversion from the roller measurements to the flywheel figure is probably not quite right as its calibrated for a manual car. The figures in reality may be slightly higher. But anyway, the actual figures aside, what a lovely broad flatish power curve.

Ignore the weird red line, this was due the gearbox kicking down.

It would be nice if I could flatten out the torque curve for longer to give some more power but probably I need a modified turbo for that.
 

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#5,459 ·
Finally have my Xenon headlamp washers working again with a bit of a work around.

So maybe of interest to those who are having issues it seems that the non return valve splitter on mine failed causing a blockage which probably, I'm assuming, caused the headlamp washer pump to break as it tried to work against this.

So cost of repair of parts from eBay

  1. New Pump £16.99
  2. 8mm Brass T piece £2.59
  3. 8mm Non return valve £3.23

Total = £22.81 and fully functioning headlamp washers ready for my MOT.

Only issue was it was fiddly to get the pipes going into the T-piece and the connector on the pump for the tube to the washer jets is different to the OEM but with a bit of encouraging the pipe went on.

So lets see how long this lasts.
 
#5,463 ·
Got it up on ramps and blitzed the rear subframe and associated areas - 2 coats of rust beater & top coat of tetroseal.....I think it was a job well done?
Could not post 'before' photos as they were to terrifying to see by the human eye!!
Nice work. Dremmel for the awkward bits or just wire brush on a drill? Also, in the last photo, how is your wheel attached to the hub, it doesn't appear to have any spokes.:lick:
 
#5,466 ·
Hunting for brake light fault error cause

Trying to track down the cause of false warning error message "offside brake light failure" when I apply the brakes. Frustrating afternoon removing the rear light clusters, checking and cleaning bulbs and connections, swapping bulbs around. All to no avail.
 
#5,467 ·
Trying to track down the cause of false warning error message "offside brake light failure" when I apply the brakes. Frustrating afternoon removing the rear light clusters, checking and cleaning bulbs and connections, swapping bulbs around. All to no avail.
There's a good chance that it is a wiring problem; probably where the wiring and the boot hinge meet. Have a look and see if anything looks amiss before you start throwing money at new parts.
 
#5,468 ·
I fitted some 55w (equiv), 6500K CREE LED bulbs to my low beams.

The retainer spring needed some bending and needed refitting backwards but in the end, the fit is perfect and easy to do.

The light is super white and has a very good spread and there is no dazzle for oncoming vehicles.

These are also CANBUS error free and run much cooler than standard halogens.

They also fit behind the factor caps/covers.











 
#5,469 ·
Replaced the battery to an upgraded 720A, although the one fitted was okay and charges no problem I felt some short journeys pulled it down too much as it was only a 640A, after some short journeys over the week this fell to around 560A.
Seems a lot better starting/Cranking over and fires up first time within a split second.
 
#5,474 ·
A shame the tips don't follow the curve of the bodywork.
I think it was Squadrone Rosso who had the original tips welded to his custom exhaust.
Does it sound anything like a Ghibli oil burner now?
 
#5,476 ·
Over the last few days: in to Italia Speed (Newbury, Berks) for oil change, replace front discs and pads after 46k miles, and fit the newer-type safety catch at the front of the bonnet - most of the handle broke off soon after I got the car, two years ago. The mechanic said that it "drove very nicely", which is apparently high praise indeed - nice to know.

Once home, I replaced the front badge, which had got a bit tatty from stone damage, and noted the first few stone chips on the front bumper - resprayed just a month ago. :grumpy:
 
#5,482 ·
Replaced the rear pair of 19" Acceleras fitted to the rear wheels when i bought the car with a pair of Michelin Pilot sport 4s. The tyre fitter couldn't believe the difference in width between the Michelin and the Acceleras, the Michelins were 20mm wider even though both tyres were 235. Has totally transformed the car and i got a great price from Tyre Plus.
 
#5,484 ·
That sounds very odd. I wonder if they're from a dodgy batch - either Accelera or Michelin?
I'll get my tape measure out and check mine soon.
 
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