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Well at the weekend i picked up a Yellow 53 plate YRV Turbo, owned by "brabus" on here!
He had it in the classifieds and also listed on Ebay.
Car is immaculate, 22,000 miles , Full dealer service history and everything so far seems perfect. Drove home 310 miles without any issues.
Goes quite well, although a little shocked at the ride quality!, Firm to say the least!!
I have already changed the stereo head unit, changed oil/filter to 5w40 fully synthetic (comma), checked air filter (looks as new, was replaced at last service 2000 miles ago)
then the weather turned nasty...
Next jobs in the next few days:
To check the spark plugs to see if they have ever been replaced, and to get some dexron autogear oil and do a few changes get as much of the old oil out.
I will see if i can get Dexron VI rather than Dexron III as it's superior stuff and fully backwards compatible with older Dexron grades.
Change the coolant (it looks fresh but I like to know it's been done by myself)
Front tyres are the original Brigestones dated 2002!, looks like they have been swaped from the back to the front. They dont have much life in them and have started to crack from age hardness. So They will be coming off ASAP.
I dont consider tyres of this age to be safe.
Got some new Vredsteins in the shed but they are slightly lower profile...175/50/15, but they will do fine. The tyre height is more or less the same as worn treaded 175/55's
On the rear is some Kumho's with plenty of tread, but cheaper T speed rated.
Also got some DOT 4 Super blue racing ATE brake fluid (gives superior pedal feel to 5.1).
Only thing I can see that needs attention on the body, The bonnet scoop has faded to a lighter shade of yellow than the paintwork. Will get a aerosol can of custom paint code mixed up and spray that myself, looks a easy job to remove it from the bonnet.
Oh, I want to get my hands on the Workshop manuals if someone has them,
Cheers!
Excellent another Yellow YRV Turbo owner....
Good stuff. And yes the plastics go a very light shade of yellow after being in the sun for a while
Mines the same, even the rear spoiler has gone a lighter shade 
Give us a shout if you want any modding tips
A nice mod to have is electric folding door mirrors 
And they weight the sames as the non electric folding type we ended up having over here in the U.K.
As for tyres, I don't rate the bridgestones at all on any car. Bridgestones seem to be a popular fit by IM for the Jap cars they import. I had Bridgestones on my Scooby and they tramlined badly. Worst tyres I had on the Turbo are Dunlop Sports, they were lethal in the midly wet to wet roads
Be interested to see what you do with yours
In relation to paint, I have just ordered some Y07 coded colour spray and touch up paint, from Amazon Marketplace
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'12' Plate Mazda MX-5 2.0 litre NC 3.5 Venture Roadster 160BHP
'15' Plate SEAT LEON 184 FR TDI. 240BHP/500nm Torque.
Past: '53' Plate Yellow YRV Turbo Approx. 150BHP
Yes i can get a custom mixed
Yes i can get a custom mixed YO7 400ml aerosol can for £9.95.
Same fading for my rear spoiler and the door mirrors, although I may well wrap the door mirrors in some carbon fibre effect 3M film. Could even do the bonnet vent the same but I think colour coded is best for the bonnet, as it will probably make it look like a aftermarket job.
Still not sure on what to do regarding tyres/wheels.
Got a good selection here,
BMW MINI 15" 5.5J ET45 steels (very retro looking with Daihatsu modded centre caps), MINI 15" 5.5J ET45 pepperpot alloys (only 5.4kg each),
Some 15" 6.5J ET38 JDM style alloys which i recently refurbed to a dark silver.
The Mini 15" Steels are already fitted with 2x Yoko Parada 195/50 and 2x Federal RSr 195/50 semi slicks.
Pretty sure i will need a 5mm spacer on the rear, not only for inner clearance but the big bulgy grease cap on the YRV rear hub stops the centre cap from fitting properly.
Photos here of the Mini Steels and Modifed centre caps (were silver now painted black and a Daihatsu Logo), also photo of the JDM style alloys, but these have 185/45/15 tyres so overall a bit too small radius (wont fill the arches without lowering car)
http://imageshack.us/g/831/dsc09594b.jpg/
Just for info,, MINI wheels
Just for info,, MINI wheels have 56.1mm centre bore (correct for the GTti but 2mm too big for newer Daihatsu's)
However, these guys are very useful to know: custom spigot rings, even 2mm ones no problem...
http://www.customspigotrings.co.uk/
Got the Mini Steels on! No
Got the 5.5J x 15 Mini Steels on!
No mods needed, except for 5mm spacer on rear. There is about 2-3mm of inner clearance.
Sits really nice, very pleased and they dont stick out far like some wheels do.
No spigot rings, everything feels fine (If you do the nuts up properly evenly and tight as possible while its off the ground they arn't needed),
No vibration felt.
The Mini steel wheels are dirt cheap on Ebay, Lots get removed from Mini's when they are brand new for alloys to go on, and the dealers sell them real cheap.
Mine only cost £30 for the 4 on Ebay.
Amazed at the weight of the original alloys! These steels (6.7kg without tyre) are almost exactly the same weight even with the semi-slick.
195/50/15 all round, Rears are Yokohama Parada, Fronts are Federal Semi-Slicks.
Fronts are 30psi, rear 28psi.
The ride is better, and the grip...Well, only done 15 miles but it feels insane!!
Photos...
http://imageshack.us/g/23/dsc00093xb.jpg/
Wow, went out for a drive
Wow, went out for a drive again (damn cat food needed),
Thought i would try the brakes and ABS as not done any serious braking yet...
50mph and jumped on them, with the Semi-slicks the ABS didn't even kick-in!!
No skidding, No drama, a very short stopping distance.
Never felt stopping quite as impressive to be honest.
Just goes to show, upgrading to better tyres (fronts at least) is far more worthwhile to start with than brake upgrades.
Sounds like your having real
Sounds like your having real fun Nathan
I got mixed up with the AT Fluid, it was £28.80 not £18.65...got some ACDelco 5w-40 supreme plus for a Punto service same time
The plugs are unique to the YRV Turbo and seem to have all the best tweaks to make them that bot better than the rest.
Noticed a while back NGK listed a different plug (BKR6EP8)and emailed them why....no response as usual. I'm using Denso VK20Y but thats for longlife more than performance.
You think Dexron 6 will be ok for the steering too?
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Current- 04 Silver YRV TURBO
Past- 91 Charade GTti, 89 Charade GTti, 98 1.3 Hi-Jet.
A friend in need is a friend indeed, a friend always in need, an Effin nuisance
Hmm good question, I guess so
Hmm good question, I guess so as GM state Dexron 6 is backwards compatable.
I did actually try this morning a set of BKUR6ETB-10 (The Sirion/YRV KE-VE/VE2 plugs)
Felt fine, if anything it started up with less cranking when cold and smoother idle when hot (1.0mm plug gap on these)
After a 15 mile drive I pulled the plugs, amazed that there is not a trace of soot on them, just some light greying to the 3 ground electrods.
Drove very steady no boost So cant see that they were running too hot. No sign of detonation, Must just need few more miles on them to start to get a soot coating.