Croma My beautiful Croma.

Doofer said:

I might grind a pebble-infested sponge over it in a week or ten. That's it as far as my pimping goes.

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Shame on you doofer You are not going to use your head are you?

Another MOT out the way. Straight thru with no advisories

Four wheel tracking next and a new battery. Any recommendations on the battery? Nothing wrong with mine but it's the original and the ole girl deserves a treat

Bosch or Varta. They're both identical, made by the same company. There's a thread on here somewhere full of my research when I got mine - it's not officially the right size but it's fine. The only other option is a Fiat-only special. I didn't bother finding out how much, but you know what the answer will be.

i went for a bosch s5 on my stilo jtd, has a 5 year warranty got it from cheap batteries online, going back to exhuasts. have you thought about have the back box replaced by a straght pipe? and losing the silencer all together? you can still have nice nice tips added

/\ People might make a "knuckle shuffle" sign at you as you fart past them though

rat20v said:

going back to exhuasts. have you thought about have the back box replaced by a straght pipe? and losing the silencer all together? you can still have nice nice tips added

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I am probably going to go for a custom stainless set up that splits in front of the rear axle and exits either side. Not decided on 2 or 4 tailpipes. Already had a look underneath and the floorpan is the same as the 159 which has a twin exit as standard.
As for 'farting past them' diesels don't sound like that when you modify the exhaust. You've been having too many wet dreams about 1.2 Punto's Doofer

I finally got round to removing the airbox to finish the 'detailing' and what a day it turned out to be!!

I found a substantial split in the top hose, which I had to remove to temporarily repair. On refitting I dropped the ratchet and, while fishing about, I noticed that the bottom vacuum hose (to the turbo actuator) had perished and was barely attached. After a couple of hours of skin removing frustration, I bit the bullet and put the car up on ramps. From underneath the job took ten minutes to replace with some silicone hose that I already had.

I am looking forward to taking it for a spin this afternoon and see if it has eradicated the niggly faults that I have learned to live with.

I have taken some pics of the drilled airbox for Ahewitt and Roberto
I checked the air filter and after 8 months or so since I replaced it, the filter is still very clean despite the extra air flow.

Does anyone know the part numbers of the top hose (airbox to turbo and breather) and also the rubber feet on the plastic engine cover as I have a couple missing?

Well I went for a 50 mile round trip last night and it's like driving a different car! The slightest touch of the throttle and it takes off. No more smoke when it's under load either. The pipe must have been like it for months.

looks awesome dude, stanced just right too

Looks great Hal, good thing you found the leak . Thank you for the picture, now I understand what you meant. Wouldn't those holes bring you hot air from the engine instead of cold air from outside ?

Thanks for the comments guys. It's taking shape now.

Yes it will draw in some warm air but not as much as a cone filter, as I still have got the cold air feed attached. The intercooler will bring the temp back down.

Next project is to make a replacement for the top hose out of silicone pipe and incorporate a catch tank to compliment the standard aos system.

Hey halilson looks great and thanks for the pics. Your air box a bit different from mine as yours is 2.2. I mite give it ago this week but I'm battling a the drivers side door handle at the min as it's broken. Once I'm in can't bloody get out without lowering the window and using the handle outside! Grrr.. Still it must be love cos I'm not giving up on it lol

If yours is a 1.9D then just unclip the stupid diverter flap inside it, so it can breathe properly. I'm not convinced that drilling holes is a good idea myself.

There is quite a lot of detail info on the interior door handle, I had the problem and posted some useful information, about 3 years ago.

keithglos said:

There is quite a lot of detail info on the interior door handle, I had the problem and posted some useful information, about 3 years ago.

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Likewise with me, the inside handle is an easy cure if you take care to remove the door pull switch plate GENTLY then take some tension off the spring before re assembly its all cherry

Doofer said:

If yours is a 1.9D then just unclip the stupid diverter flap inside it, so it can breathe properly. I'm not convinced that drilling holes is a good idea myself.

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Performance car magazine did an in depth test on various after market cone filters, high flow and standard panel filters and also drilling the standard air box. The drilled box showed the biggest gains in power, while some of the cone filters actually gave a lower power rating than the standard set up.

halilson said:

Performance car magazine did an in depth test on various after market cone filters, high flow and standard panel filters and also drilling the standard air box. The drilled box showed the biggest gains in power, while some of the cone filters actually gave a lower power rating than the standard set up.

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Interesting, and probably a debate that could roll on indefinitely. There isn't much fresh air knocking about under the Croma bonnet, as it's pretty much full, but perhaps other cars have more fresh air. I'd wonder whether less cold air is better than more warm air.

You also can't control the mix used, so it could be running on 90% warm air (as there's less resistance from a hole than the snorkel to the front).

Personally I got rid of the daft restrictor from inside it and put in a K&N filter, and it was noticeably zippier when accelerating. It also lets the lovely turbo song come whistling out - not too much, and it sounds nice.

Doofer said:

It also lets the lovely turbo song come whistling out - not too much, and it sounds nice.

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That's the main reason that I drill the box. It sounds even better on a 5 cylinder engine

Doofer said:

Interesting, and probably a debate that could roll on indefinitely. There isn't much fresh air knocking about under the Croma bonnet, as it's pretty much full, but perhaps other cars have more fresh air. I'd wonder whether less cold air is better than more warm air.

You also can't control the mix used, so it could be running on 90% warm air (as there's less resistance from a hole than the snorkel to the front).

Personally I got rid of the daft restrictor from inside it and put in a K&N filter, and it was noticeably zippier when accelerating. It also lets the lovely turbo song come whistling out - not too much, and it sounds nice.

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Did just the same and got the same results, K& N is a real bonus

Just remember to do the annual laundry.

It might get harder to get the cleaning kit, now that Royal Mail have banned the sending of aerosols. I know they do one with pump spray oil, but the detergent is still an aerosol.

They must be x-raying parcels - I go to an auction where they sell everything lost in the post or seized. The place is full of aerosols, since the moment they banned them. It's a nice little earner for them.