Newbie needing help already

[smiffywhu]

Lool ! The most entertaining introduction I've seen on this site so far! Nice to have you on board

Thanks mate, lovely message, I didn't see it originally

 

[smiffywhu]

I’ll keep my eyes open for you then, as you’re very close to me. There’s only a few owners over here. Two Ghiblis and another GT that I know in addition to my 3200.

Spotted a GT heading towards Lowestoft from Beccles about 4:15, Bright metallic blue. Didn't have time to wave as I was testing the upper rev range and I'm a lot happier with her now. Loving the downshifts too, she's an angry little lass! meow

 

[FIFTY]

Welcome to the forum Smiffy, it is indeed a good introduction for a new member

Your gold chrome wrap is not to my taste sorry - I am two years younger than you so it is not age related but at least I am not being rude about it (yes I read the whole thread).

Regarding the price of your wrap it would have indeed been quite expensive. Chrome wraps cost more in terms of material per metre as you mentioned but also fitting the stuff is an absolute bast@rd because Chrome wrap does not stretch like matte or pearlescent wrap so it takes more time and skill to install especially on a curvy car like the GranTourismo

Would I buy a wrapped car? Depends on the wrap, I don't mind the pearlenscent wraps but generally hate any matte finish on a car. There was that blue chrome wrapped GranTourismo on the market a little while ago which I did look at more than one time however I do like having real paint and clear coat lacquer to adorn so the colour underneath would have to be something other than black, dark blue, silver (which are all UK resale colours) as I would eventually take the wrap off to enjoy the new paint underneath

Anyway... forumer has stuck a direct port Nitrous system in their manual 4200 and seems to be a good way to gain 150+ BHP for £5k if you don't mind sacrificing some room for a bottle of laughing gas - I wonder if you have to put one of those stickers on your car stating that you are carrying pressurised canisters lol

 

[JonW]

Thanks Jon,
I'm 34 and I'm guessing people are thinking the same about me. As said before, if I liked its original colour and a wrap removal was cheap I'd certainly consider removing it, but, as the gold isn't for almost everyone on this thread, the blue isn't for me so it's an easy decision to leave it on.

Ok - I take it back, I’m nowhere near twice your age...

 

[Vampyrebat]

Ha ha, that told him! He's my brother by the way, and your last word in your reply appears to have an extra letter....when referring to him

I didn't know Martyn was a Cont!!!

 

[smiffywhu]

Welcome to the forum Smiffy, it is indeed a good introduction for a new member

Your gold chrome wrap is not to my taste sorry - I am two years younger than you so it is not age related but at least I am not being rude about it (yes I read the whole thread).

Regarding the price of your wrap it would have indeed been quite expensive. Chrome wraps cost more in terms of material per metre as you mentioned but also fitting the stuff is an absolute bast@rd because Chrome wrap does not stretch like matte or pearlescent wrap so it takes more time and skill to install especially on a curvy car like the GranTourismo

Would I buy a wrapped car? Depends on the wrap, I don't mind the pearlenscent wraps but generally hate any matte finish on a car. There was that blue chrome wrapped GranTourismo on the market a little while ago which I did look at more than one time however I do like having real paint and clear coat lacquer to adorn so the colour underneath would have to be something other than black, dark blue, silver (which are all UK resale colours) as I would eventually take the wrap off to enjoy the new paint underneath

Anyway... forumer has stuck a direct port Nitrous system in their manual 4200 and seems to be a good way to gain 150+ BHP for £5k if you don't mind sacrificing some room for a bottle of laughing gas - I wonder if you have to put one of those stickers on your car stating that you are carrying pressurised canisters lol

Hi FIFTY, thanks for your post.
NOS is something I've never used, the scoobs has a toucan with a meth map which I only use on track days but I don't fancy anything like that in the GTS. I'll certainty look into it but for now I'm still finding my feet and since being told up the upper rev range I'm a lot more satisfied with her performance. I also dislike matte wraps and everything you said about the gold chrome wrap is what I have been told too so thanks again

 

[smiffywhu]

Ok - I take it back, I’m nowhere near twice your age...

OK now I feel old and far too old to have a gold wrap

 

[smiffywhu]

I didn't know Martyn was a Cont!!!

You guys all seem to know one another, this is superb to hear, is this due to regular meets across the country?

 

[smiffywhu]

Hi Guys, Just realised my wing mirrors don't fold in. Is this likely to be a fuse I could sort myself or take it to local garage? The mirror direction knobs work.

 

[GeoffCapes]

Hi Guys, Just realised my wing mirrors don't fold in. Is this likely to be a fuse I could sort myself or take it to local garage? The mirror direction knobs work.

Move it slightly. Mine work perfectly 99% of the time. Then I have to move it round a little more (or less) depending how the car is feeling, then they work.

 

[Wanderer]

Mine are full of spiders, any ideas apart from sellotaping the cat to door?

 

[outrun]

Mine are full of spiders, any ideas apart from sellotaping the cat to door?

Wipe the glass with a heavily diluted bleach solution. DO NOT wipe any other part of the mirror, it will fade the colour of paint or plastic etc. Make sure it's fully dry before you drive it. All insects hate bleach so you can use this for things like around lights or gutters on your house, works very well.

 

[Felonious Crud]

Wipe the glass with a heavily diluted bleach solution. DO NOT wipe any other part of the mirror, it will fade the colour of paint or plastic etc. Make sure it's fully dry before you drive it. All insects hate bleach so you can use this for things like around lights or gutters on your house, works very well.

Excellent! I've arrived on the Top Tips page of Viz. What other domestic life hacks do you have up your sleeve for us, Athol?

 

[smiffywhu]

Good afternoon guys, Firstly sorry to continue on my newb thread but I couldn't see how to make a new one.

I'm concerned my clutch (or something) is dying and I wanted your opinions what to do ASAP whilst it's still under warranty. I'm guessing a clutch life test is extortionate and my nearest main dealer is 70miles away in Colchester. The symptoms are when I go to pull away in first or reverse gently on the accelerator it tries to launch off. This first started happening last week when I was jumping in and out of different cars and wondered if this was the reason but this week I'm pretty certain it's not my heavy foot and that the car wont crawl along under load at 2/3 mph.

Is this a sign of clutch wear? Any tests I can do at home? I still have 6 weeks warranty under the garage I bought it off and 4.5 months for trading standards.

Cheers

 

[conaero]

First off, I don't think you have a clutch issue. What is the mileage and when or was the clutch done?

The GTS is well know to be jerky when cold, so try this and see if it sorts it, I suspect it will as it did on my Strad:

Turn on ignition but do not start
Wait for all the lights and diagnostics to finish
Press the brake and accelerator as far as you can a couple of times each
Start the car

 

[smiffywhu]

First off, I don't think you have a clutch issue. What is the mileage and when or was the clutch done?

The GTS is well know to be jerky when cold, so try this and see if it sorts it, I suspect it will as it did on my Strad:

Turn on ignition but do not start
Wait for all the lights and diagnostics to finish
Press the brake and accelerator as far as you can a couple of times each
Start the car

Thanks for this tip, I will try this next time I'm out. Is this something people do daily or just when the jerkiness gets worse? The car has done 52k, no idea if it's had a new clutch.

Now you mention it it does tend to be worse when cold.

When selecting reverse and 1st am I supposed to hear quite a distinctive click of the gear change? This sound can also be heard when flicking up through the gears too albeit quieter.

I would really love 1 of you owners to see it and give me your opinion first hand before the warranty expire but I'm miles away from most of you stuck out on he east coast.

 

[Contigo]

Welcome! That's some brass balls you got there

If you like it then enjoy it as ytou say **** what others think. If you are young and carefree then it goes with the personality but I reckon it just makes the brand a little cruder! Let us see the pics of it when it's finished

 

[smiffywhu]

Thanks Phil.

I bought her the way it is now so there's nothing to finish. I'm having it detailed next Thursday so as you've requested I will post the link of the photo's the guy puts on his Instragram page. He text me last month to say the "before" pics on his site has the most likes he's ever had and that was after only a few hours.

Matt I think you may have cured my issue. Earlier I done the school run and no lurching forward. The school is a 2 minute walk due to footpaths or a 5 min drive due to cal du sac. The school kids loved it, I wonder what the parents thought. They probably thought I'd been a bum for the past 6 years since working from home and always in the playground. Hope that's put them straight.

 

[iainw]

What a superb plate!Did you sell the plate separate? No I wont be unwrapping it anytime soon, it's metallic blue underneath, all my cars have been/are blue but I don't think it suits the GTS as well. I appreciate the wrap is OTT but I haven't paid extra for it (from the comparisons I did anyway) and I believe it's a big job removing it anyway. My other current car is a 525bhp Impreza. Is there a popular way of getting another 100bhp out of these without compromising reliability as in all honesty even in Sport MC shift mode it feels like I'm towing a caravan. I've considered going back to 20" alloys but that wouldn't help massively.

Didn’t you test drive it first?! If you remapped it- you would get an extra 20bhp out of it and it would feel like you were towing yourself to the closest Masarati specialist with a voided warranty :/ PS - I think the wrap is epic . Would love to see the kids on a school run!! Don’t conform to the rest of the parents

 

[Wanderer]

Clutch is a wear item anyway surely? Not covered by warranty...