6 months. That's how long I lasted before succumbing to the slippery slope that is modifying. And so it begins...
I bought my LCR is December 2012. 55 plate, 55000 miles, 5500 pounds. Freaky huh? It was beautiful. 6 previous owners had obviously cared for it. Apart from a few scuffs on the alloys and the splitter, it was immaculate inside and out. I picked it up from Cardiff and brought it back to Salisbury. This is only the third car I've owned after a 2.6 b5 A4 estate and 1.8 Almera Sport+, and the differences were immediately apparent. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Maybe more. Why would I ruin it with silly rock-hard suspension and noisy exhausts?
Fast forward to the 14th June 2013. Here I am typing the beginnings of what I hope is a long and exciting journey into the world of modifying. Why the sudden change of heart? To be honest I'm not really sure. I'm almost certainly blaming this forum. Without it I would never have considered what I have planned. But in your defence I would never have gained so much knowledge and support, even if you have no idea you've given it.
So here we go then. A bit about myself. My name's Alasdair. I'm a nearly 25 year old professional musician, originally from Northumberland now living in Salisbury.
The Car
Silver LCR. 64000 miles. Not a single modification so far. Original aerial, original wipers etc etc.
The Plans
I've spent a good few weeks looking at as many RR's as I can trying to find common mods, easy mods, cheap mods, power mods, handling mods and the best rated mods. I've put together a list of what I believe to be the most suitable mods. The car gets used daily. As you can see I've put 9000 miles on it in 6 months. 3 of those I was out of the country so technically they were all in the space of 3 months. For this reason I need my car to stay reliable and easy on the bum on long journeys. This is of course a preliminary list and is subject to change. I've also attempted to put it into an order of completion too.
Finally, any comments/advice/recommendations is thoroughly welcomed as are any questions. This project has been made possible almost entirely by help received on this forum and I wish to return any help I can to any newbies in my situation.
3 x R badges and Cupra badges
These are starting to look scruffy so a nice easy cheap mod to start off with.
4 x centre caps
As above.
Calliper Re-spray
The callipers are currently a hideous shade of light pink. I've gone for blue. I'm hoping this will look good against the silver. I'm also going to continue the blue theme in the engine bay.
Disks and pads
These need replacing soon. I'm just going for new OEM parts. Until I start upping the power I have no need for uprated parts.
Wheel refurb
This is a dicision I've been battling with. I think the LCR looks REALLY nice with 19's so depending on my financial situation when I cross this bridge, I could go for new alloys and keep the stocks un-refurbed for winter. To make the decision that little bit more difficult I've seen some BBS CK's in 18's that look great.
Dogbone Mount
I've got no idea how this mod works but I've heard great things about it so it's on the list.
Replace hoses
In blue to keep with the calliper theme. Basically as many as I can change I will.
Badger5 V3 80mm TIP with Induction Kit and heatshield
Yup you guessed it. In blue. I've seen Badger5 does a kit with this all included. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80mm-V3-B...UK_WSJL_Wholesale_GL&var=&hash=item61cf711793
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
This could be moved further up the list but I'll leave it here for now
Stage 1 Remap
There aren't too many places near Salisbury to get this done. I'm thinking JKM in Portsmouth to get a REVO map.
Cruise control
Retro-fit by JKM again. Very useful for the amount of miles I do.
Armrest
Not essential, just a comfort mod. SEAT dealer quoted me silly money though. Another bridge to cross.
Exhaust
The one mod I'm least comfortable with getting. I like the sound of the OEM exhaust. Its not aggressive and has a lovely burble at 2200/2300rpm on half throttle. But I accept that without it, upgrading the engine is fairly pointless. If anyone knows of a system that has the gains of a 3" system but sounds stock or stock-ish I would love to hear about it.
Coilovers
Another debate to have with myself. If I go with 19" alloys I probably won't want to lower. If I stick with refurbed stocks or the BBS CK's then I probably will. Hmm. As long as it doesn't make the ride too harsh. Reading some review though it sounds like it's not too bad.
Spacers - 10mm front 15mm rear
Essential in my eyes. Especially for the rears. It bugs me every time I walk up to my car just how far into the arch the rears sit.
Replace front seats
The seats just sit all wrong with me. I'm a tall lad, about 6'3", and my shoulders are in the headrest if I don't slouch. I'm also pretty skinny so I still slide about between the lumbar supports.
I think after all this the car should be just as want it. I'm hoping to do the small bits fairly quickly, I already have the badges, wheel centres and calliper paint ready to go. The bigger jobs will be less often. Maybe one every few months. At least that way I've always got something to look forward too.
I'm hoping to get some pictures on Sunday of how the car is now then I'm good to go.
Thanks for reading.
Al
I bought my LCR is December 2012. 55 plate, 55000 miles, 5500 pounds. Freaky huh? It was beautiful. 6 previous owners had obviously cared for it. Apart from a few scuffs on the alloys and the splitter, it was immaculate inside and out. I picked it up from Cardiff and brought it back to Salisbury. This is only the third car I've owned after a 2.6 b5 A4 estate and 1.8 Almera Sport+, and the differences were immediately apparent. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Maybe more. Why would I ruin it with silly rock-hard suspension and noisy exhausts?
Fast forward to the 14th June 2013. Here I am typing the beginnings of what I hope is a long and exciting journey into the world of modifying. Why the sudden change of heart? To be honest I'm not really sure. I'm almost certainly blaming this forum. Without it I would never have considered what I have planned. But in your defence I would never have gained so much knowledge and support, even if you have no idea you've given it.
So here we go then. A bit about myself. My name's Alasdair. I'm a nearly 25 year old professional musician, originally from Northumberland now living in Salisbury.
The Car
Silver LCR. 64000 miles. Not a single modification so far. Original aerial, original wipers etc etc.
The Plans
I've spent a good few weeks looking at as many RR's as I can trying to find common mods, easy mods, cheap mods, power mods, handling mods and the best rated mods. I've put together a list of what I believe to be the most suitable mods. The car gets used daily. As you can see I've put 9000 miles on it in 6 months. 3 of those I was out of the country so technically they were all in the space of 3 months. For this reason I need my car to stay reliable and easy on the bum on long journeys. This is of course a preliminary list and is subject to change. I've also attempted to put it into an order of completion too.
Finally, any comments/advice/recommendations is thoroughly welcomed as are any questions. This project has been made possible almost entirely by help received on this forum and I wish to return any help I can to any newbies in my situation.
3 x R badges and Cupra badges
These are starting to look scruffy so a nice easy cheap mod to start off with.
4 x centre caps
As above.
Calliper Re-spray
The callipers are currently a hideous shade of light pink. I've gone for blue. I'm hoping this will look good against the silver. I'm also going to continue the blue theme in the engine bay.
Disks and pads
These need replacing soon. I'm just going for new OEM parts. Until I start upping the power I have no need for uprated parts.
Wheel refurb
This is a dicision I've been battling with. I think the LCR looks REALLY nice with 19's so depending on my financial situation when I cross this bridge, I could go for new alloys and keep the stocks un-refurbed for winter. To make the decision that little bit more difficult I've seen some BBS CK's in 18's that look great.
Dogbone Mount
I've got no idea how this mod works but I've heard great things about it so it's on the list.
Replace hoses
In blue to keep with the calliper theme. Basically as many as I can change I will.
Badger5 V3 80mm TIP with Induction Kit and heatshield
Yup you guessed it. In blue. I've seen Badger5 does a kit with this all included. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80mm-V3-B...UK_WSJL_Wholesale_GL&var=&hash=item61cf711793
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
This could be moved further up the list but I'll leave it here for now
Stage 1 Remap
There aren't too many places near Salisbury to get this done. I'm thinking JKM in Portsmouth to get a REVO map.
Cruise control
Retro-fit by JKM again. Very useful for the amount of miles I do.
Armrest
Not essential, just a comfort mod. SEAT dealer quoted me silly money though. Another bridge to cross.
Exhaust
The one mod I'm least comfortable with getting. I like the sound of the OEM exhaust. Its not aggressive and has a lovely burble at 2200/2300rpm on half throttle. But I accept that without it, upgrading the engine is fairly pointless. If anyone knows of a system that has the gains of a 3" system but sounds stock or stock-ish I would love to hear about it.
Coilovers
Another debate to have with myself. If I go with 19" alloys I probably won't want to lower. If I stick with refurbed stocks or the BBS CK's then I probably will. Hmm. As long as it doesn't make the ride too harsh. Reading some review though it sounds like it's not too bad.
Spacers - 10mm front 15mm rear
Essential in my eyes. Especially for the rears. It bugs me every time I walk up to my car just how far into the arch the rears sit.
Replace front seats
The seats just sit all wrong with me. I'm a tall lad, about 6'3", and my shoulders are in the headrest if I don't slouch. I'm also pretty skinny so I still slide about between the lumbar supports.
I think after all this the car should be just as want it. I'm hoping to do the small bits fairly quickly, I already have the badges, wheel centres and calliper paint ready to go. The bigger jobs will be less often. Maybe one every few months. At least that way I've always got something to look forward too.
I'm hoping to get some pictures on Sunday of how the car is now then I'm good to go.
Thanks for reading.
Al
