Vs Ute

[clubby2084]

Something to tart up the interior. If you can find them. I highly recommend the seats from the VR/S HSV's.

There's fabric and leather versions of the seats available. The leather ones are bloody expensive (still).

Sooooo comfortable. I've slept in the seats in my Clubsport and probably one of the best nights sleep I've had...

Found some fabric one's on ebay a couple weeks ago, was the whole interior for a sedan but, was only a few hundred dollars.

Edited March 18, 2012 by clubby2084

[Kid-Ae]

Yeah I'm on the hunt for either SS seats or some HSV ones. Initially wanted VT seats but too much mucking around to have them engineered (I'm not one for voiding insurance/being defected).

 

The ones you have in that picture would be absolutely perfect!

 

It'd be nice not to have the seat jerk around while I'm driving lol

[Onikage]

Looks nice, should give it a good cut and polish one day, the paint could come up real good.

 

You could also keep an eye out for statesman/caprice seats (in the VQ-VS series, easy bolt in), not as buckety as the HSV seats but still are comfy.

 

A nice upgrade if you can justify it, is to get a VR-VS Level 3 cluster, with the trip computer, though you will need the loom and BCM out of a berlina/calais/statesman, or get a special loom that lets you keep your existing bcm, which costs about $100 or so.

 

EDIT:

 

Since you've driven both a VT and a VS, how would you compare them?

Edited March 20, 2012 by Onikage

[Kid-Ae]

Yeah I'd honestly be happy with either high spec Holden seats or HSV spec. Whichever I come across first for a good price.

 

I'd thought about the level three but I decided it was a bit too much mucking around and simply wanted to get a working cluster in the car. Settled for the one I got and can't complain

 

The comparison..

 

VT: Less cabin noise, less road noise, less rear vision. In terms of handling, the VT felt solid at all times, didn't feel like it was a 1550kg car through corners or under brakes. Acceleration was smooth, nearly lackluster due to the weight. Interior was well designed and seriously comfortable. Overall, for a family targeted car, I would rate it fantastic. Little excessive om fuel but wasn't bad if you weren't a road warrior.

 

VS: Louder, less refined, a bit more responsive, lower quality interior but wasn't bad. More cabin noise, more steering response (possibly because it has no p/s leaks in my vs), slightly better economy. Can't comment on the handling, even with lowered springs and shock combo, still corners like a big car. Much more 'fun' to drive. I find the VS a tad slower when you put the foot down for reaction, but once it gets into action it'd eat the VT alive so long as it maintained traction (somewhat poetic). Less blind spots (even the vs sedans are better than the vt at this). May also just be a ute thing, but the weight distribution is terrible in the sense that you have to corner a bit slower or it feels like the front will make it but the rear just won't corner how it should.

 

If I was to pick one for fun, the VS. For a comfy daily driver i'd go anywhere in, the VT. That said, the ute isn't bad for cruising. I'm not a fan of how high a temp the early VS commodores would run before the thermo kicks in.. 3/4 on the gauge before the thermo kicks in, but my mechanic and my radiator specialist both checked it and said it was operating the way it should be.

[orangeLJ]

Ive got a 3 window cluster from a VR calais floating about,

 

$40 + post ;)

 

All the commodore utes spit the bum really easily (IRS improved them to a point, but still very tail happy)

[Kid-Ae]

You tempt me no end... What would be required to wire it?

 

Yeah, it's frustrating because even with new brand new 235's on the rear it's still so twitchy in the wet, gets me a bit nervous..

[orangeLJ]

Put some decent tyres on it.

 

My VT sedan was always tail happy and twitchy (much like my VU ute)

 

BUT!

 

Fitted some pirelli Pzero neros to it and even now, with them looking like full slicks (flipped to accomodate for camber wear, so smooth all accross) they are still very grippy.

 

Even the 595 SS's from Federal have been a decent tyre (google Option 1 garage, GREAT pricing on federals)

 

 

I think its basically a patch loom and thats it for the dash.

 

Google it and you will find a few responses, pretty common changeover.

[Kid-Ae]

I've heard a lot of praise for Federals. I'll look into it once these wear down a little more.

 

Really? Sound's pretty simple (even for a simpleton like myself) :)

 

In other news..

 

Sounds like rear uni is crunching a little now if you blip the throttle.. Not bad, but enough for it to warrant being replaced soon.

 

Also going to fix the ghetto exhaust hanger ASAP.. Two pieces of fencing wire are holding the exhaust just after the cat, looks like it's on the rear crossmember of the gearbox.. Sadly the exhaust doesn't have a hanger on it, so rather than weld one, i'll just get a U bolt/shackle and fix it in place. Raising it will get rid of my annoying exhaust thud as it's touching the gearbox somewhere..

[ke70dave]

don't use a u-bolt....

 

as in a months time, the ubolt will come undone and you will be under there again.

 

take it to an exhaust shop, he will weld on a hanger in about 46seconds.

[Kid-Ae]

Yeah you've got a point. I just want a 'Get it done right now' solution because it's bugging me. Might put a U bolt on it before driving it to the exhaust place, just to see if it does actually make a difference with it sitting higher..

 

Also started trolling carsales and ebay again for AE92s.. I'll never get over them lol.

[Kid-Ae]

Copped some TLC in the last couple of weeks.

 

Full major service, plugs, leads, oil etc. Car isn't upset on a cold start anymore, which is nice.

 

New rear pads went in on Wednesday, definitely pulls up nicely now.

 

I put Narva +100 globes in a few weeks back, however I'm not super impressed.. Is there anything better that is ADR approved? (Don't feel like getting canaried for HIDs)

 

Some goodies came in the mail yesterday too, new LCA bushes. Front end has a minor clunk on the passenger side occasionally, figured I'd do the first bushes that usually go in the front of these cars before looking for anything more sinister.

 

Otherwise, it's driving smoothly, it's not chewing too much fuel for its size and it's still sucking in all the other wannabe racers at the lights, all of which think I want to drag them. It's an auto six boys, ain't no race car..

[MYSTIK[RL]]

narvas plus 120, blue plus 90, artic plus 50, and intense are all adr approved.

 

I'm currently using artic plus 50 in the seca and the excel infinitly brigther and whiter, also make sure you get the parking lights as well

[Kid-Ae]

Yeah I might change my parkers and possibly my high beams. It's more frustrating when I see older cars than mine with much brighter lights and I can't see shit.

 

Poor ute had possums decide to have a fight on the tonneau tonight, little bastards tore two neat little holes in it..

[Kid-Ae]

Gave it a hand wash today, woah, so purdy!

 

Going to be looking at getting the exhaust sorted soon, it sounds crummy now, no idea why. All the piping looks fine, might just be one of those things..

 

Suggestions of what I should do exhaust wise? Ideally i'd be getting it custom made, but alas, no $$$. Lukey system better than a redback system?

Edited May 10, 2012 by Kid-Ae

[Onikage]

With commodore catbacks, all premade 2.5" ones are pretty much the same, in that they use straight through mufflers, choice seems to come down to what tone you want.

 

Redback seems to be the common choice, depending on who you talk to, Lukey is either slightly deeper or slightly raspy, best bet is to ask around for audio clips, or even ask people to take for a spin in their car with an aftermarket exhaust.

 

If you will be going custom made, you have the pick of a 2.25" stright through system to maintain low end torque and driveability, with marginal sacrifice, if any in the top end (an exhaust fitter I spoke too reckons a 2.25" striaght through on a V6 commodore will easily outflow what the motor can put out in terms of airflow) or a 2.5" to go a bit louder, and possibly have a bit of top end, also is a good choice if you plan to cam the motor later on.

 

The bare minimum I would recommend is a centre straight through offset muffler, and a hotdog at the rear to minimise drone, you could even run a straight through muffler at the back too to reduce drone further and make the exhaust quiet until you sink the boot into it. Pick mandrel bends if you want better flow, or press bends to minimise cost.