New Almera

[AlexT]

Bought this off a relative for just £1500, with 22k miles on the clock Totally standard at the moment apart from removing the rear badges and the rear windscreen sticker. Plan is to keep a clean OEM example, with a couple of subtle changes.
- New number plates
- 6000k HID's (Anybody shed any useful info on these?)
- Maybe lower on springs 30-40mm? Far too high and too much roll on cornering.
- Spray standard alloys Gunmetal or Gloss black?

Any other subtle changes that can be done on the N16?

Just a couple of pictures :

Boot before :

Badges removed :

Boot after :

Sidestrip that had faded before :

Sidestrip after using DA :

Beading on bonnet :

Cheers for looking. Any suggestions and comments appreciated

 

[elkingyboy]

Welcome dude, nice colour by the way, lol.

I agree with you that subtle is the way to go on a N16. Your plans sound good to me.

6000K HID's are what I have on mine and I must say that they are ace. Clear white light

As for springs, I can't recomend H&R highly enough, although the price is quite steep. Just over £200 delivered IIRC

P.S First mod should be full membership on here. Best money I ever spent as regards to my 'Mera. Loads of useful info and we're a pleasant bunch

 

[Almerasleeper]

Welcome Alex - looks in fine fettle, as you'd expect with such a low mileage

You can pick up a set of Apex springs for approx £110 & a set of clear or smoked side indictors for approx £25 (sometimes cheaper). A K&N panel filter is around £40 on ebay.

 

[Raceworx]

nice ride if your wanting to keep it looking like it could be factory.. personally id get som BC coilovers.. drop it till you get top of the tyre level with the arch. some 20mm spacers on the standard rims.. colour code the handals de-chrome the grill and get a light smoke tint all round.. will look tough as fuck but will keep people guessing as to why..

 

[VVLwezz]

nice one man, cant fall off with that

 

[FOSSIL FUELS]

very nice looking mota... like the red on a N16

 

[Kiltox]

£1500 - rofl.

My knackered 53 plate one will fetch more at auction when the dealer I part exed it to takes it there :lol:

Nice one - looks like a cracker too.

 

[AlexT]

Welcome dude, nice colour by the way, lol.

I agree with you that subtle is the way to go on a N16. Your plans sound good to me.

6000K HID's are what I have on mine and I must say that they are ace. Clear white light

As for springs, I can't recomend H&R highly enough, although the price is quite steep. Just over £200 delivered IIRC

P.S First mod should be full membership on here. Best money I ever spent as regards to my 'Mera. Loads of useful info and we're a pleasant bunch

Cheers mate. Were the HID's an easy fit? Connect all the wiring and secure the ballast? Is that it or are there any modifyin to do? Are the bulbs standard H7?

How much drop is achieved with the H&R's?

 

[AlexT]

Welcome Alex - looks in fine fettle, as you'd expect with such a low mileage

You can pick up a set of Apex springs for approx £110 & a set of clear or smoked side indictors for approx £25 (sometimes cheaper). A K&N panel filter is around £40 on ebay.

Thanks mate. Apex are what i've been looking at, just hope they don't affect the ride quality too much. Smoked indicators will be added to the list, the orange looks out of place! Is an aftermarket panel filter an improvement over the standard?

nice ride if your wanting to keep it looking like it could be factory.. personally id get som BC coilovers.. drop it till you get top of the tyre level with the arch. some 20mm spacers on the standard rims.. colour code the handals de-chrome the grill and get a light smoke tint all round.. will look tough as fuck but will keep people guessing as to why..

Coilovers is a no-go as i'm a bit wary of spending a lot of money on this. I spent over thousands of pounds on my previous car, it got written off and unfortunatly i lost a fair bit of money. Certainly de-chroming the grill and handles sound like a good idea, im guessing their just plastic and just need a sand, prime and paint?

nice one man, cant fall off with that

Cheers mate.

very nice looking mota... like the red on a N16

Cheers mate

£1500 - rofl.

My knackered 53 plate one will fetch more at auction when the dealer I part exed it to takes it there :lol:

Nice one - looks like a cracker too.

Haha ye was very fortunate that my grandparents love me lol..

 

[Almera bandit]

Hello there and welcome along. What a bargain!

I like the job you've done on the bodywork aswell so far, nice and shiny.

 

[AlexT]

Hello there and welcome along. What a bargain!

I like the job you've done on the bodywork aswell so far, nice and shiny.

Thanks alot. I'm a OCD sufferer.. (Obessive Car Detailer) Just waiting for a nice dry day to put the machine polisher on it.

 

[Liam]

Sweet looking motor mate!

£1500!!!!!!!!!! I paid £900 for a 'w' reg with 96k :lol: Bargin of the century!

 

[Almerasleeper]

Is an aftermarket panel filter an improvement over the standard? (AlexT)

As far as I & other N16 owners on this forum are concerned, that's a yes. Do NOT waste your money on a 57i kit - they don't work on our models. I have already explained why a hundred times on here, so please take my word for it. With the panel filter, you won't notice any instant difference in performance or noise. But most of us who use them have reported either better mpg or improved engine response. I'm sure my car also feels smoother through the gears & slightly torquier.

 

[Kez]

hey and welcome! looks like a very tidy car youve got there!

i cant believe how much you bought it for, lucky boy!!

what polish you using btw?

 

[white_biscuit]

Cheers mate. Were the HID's an easy fit? Connect all the wiring and secure the ballast? Is that it or are there any modifyin to do? Are the bulbs standard H7?

HIDs are always an easy fit. Just H7 Bulbs secured in. Some cars (mostly German) they require a Bulb holder to secure it in, but generally not needed. Just Plug the Red wire into the Yellow and Black into Brown and secure the ballast and your good to go.

Ammar

 

[elkingyboy]

HID's a piece of piss to fit mate, only modification required is a hole in the rubber cober over the back of the bulb holder.

The H&R's give a 35mm drop all round and ride quality is fantastic, Paul (Almerasleeper) can confirm that, lol.

 

[mera red gti]

ello and welkom - very nice car pal, i hate your paint work argh lol
my ol dear has the 1500cc, there supa quiet and peaceful

dd

 

[pedlo]

welcome

nice car and colour, i hope you have luky with him, red.... the colour of passion... he he

 

[AlexT]

Is an aftermarket panel filter an improvement over the standard? (AlexT)

As far as I & other N16 owners on this forum are concerned, that's a yes. Do NOT waste your money on a 57i kit - they don't work on our models. I have already explained why a hundred times on here, so please take my word for it. With the panel filter, you won't notice any instant difference in performance or noise. But most of us who use them have reported either better mpg or improved engine response. I'm sure my car also feels smoother through the gears & slightly torquier.

I will take your word for it I've never rated the aftermarket induction kits unless they're installed on a high spec car. I even had a BMC panel filter in my previous vehicle and preferred it over an open cone. Anything to improve the MPG is a bonus!

hey and welcome! looks like a very tidy car youve got there!

i cant believe how much you bought it for, lucky boy!!

what polish you using btw?

Cheers mate. Lol i think im going to be getting a lot of hate and jealousy at me for the price

In the photos, it was only hand polished using the crappy Meguiars 3 step. Waiting for a dry day to use the DA on it. Polish range = Menzerna Power Gloss, Intensive Polish, Final Finish and i also got the Meguiars #83 and #80.

HIDs are always an easy fit. Just H7 Bulbs secured in. Some cars (mostly German) they require a Bulb holder to secure it in, but generally not needed. Just Plug the Red wire into the Yellow and Black into Brown and secure the ballast and your good to go.

Ammar

Sounds like a piece of piss then. So they're just H7 and not the H7R or whatever the others are?

HID's a piece of piss to fit mate, only modification required is a hole in the rubber cober over the back of the bulb holder.

What's this hole for mate? Feeding the wire through im guessing?

The H&R's give a 35mm drop all round and ride quality is fantastic, Paul (Almerasleeper) can confirm that, lol.

35mm is the drop im after, but the price of £200+ is a wee bit out of my willingness. Apex will be ideal. Can anybody confirm how much the Apex springs affect the ride quality?

ello and welkom - very nice car pal, i hate your paint work argh lol
my ol dear has the 1500cc, there supa quiet and peaceful

dd

Cheers mate. Paintwork will be better when i get the DA on it

nice car and colour, i hope you have luky with him, red.... the colour of passion... he he

What??

 

[AlexT]

Here's a couple of pictures of my previous car before it got written off if anybody is interested.

And then after i used some T-cut.. This is why T-cut is Bad!!

Extent of the damage was this B-pillar being mashed.