Oh for the love of god!

[Matt H]

I was wondering which icon to stick up with this post as I'm feeling a lot of different emoticons right now. Upset, anger and generally fed up with the whole situation.

 

Anway, heres the story:

 

 

So i took the car out last night to pick a girl up. Driving along a road near me last night, (thank god it was a residential or things might have been a hell of a lot worse - and thats even an understatement), when there was a small blow noise and then woosh, the most white smoke i've ever seen billowing out of the engine bay through the vents. Pull the car over turn off and then open the bonnet to more smoke then... oh F"ck a doodle do, flames coming from next to the turbo area. Autopilot kicked in, and as the girl i was with legs it half way down the road in fright (only amusing thing about the situation!) i literally knock down this womans door (thank god she was in!), and ask (well demand), a bucket of water etc, she rushes into the kitchen and comes back very pronto with a kettle full, i say can you do another load while i run back to the car and throw the water over the flames. Think thats put it out, but to make sure i come back to the very kind lady presenting me with a almost tanker sized watering can that she hands me and that goes over as well. Thew, fire out, and i'm thanking everything i know that this happened outside a kind womans house in a residential area when i could get hold of something to extinguish the fire.

 

So the AA arrive and take me and the car and the girl whos now come back to the car back to my house.

 

This morning i come home and take a look at the car and think about whats happened and my conversation with Mr Wild last night.

 

So, we have oil under the car:

 

 

We have the flames around the turbo area, we have a small pop noise. Plus looking back the heater was pumping out hot air last night just before it happened when i had it on cool. So, somethings over heated gone pop and oils come out, touched the turbos / cover and ignited... Think thats probably whats happened.

 

Anyway, cant see any damage under the bonnet (obvious will be, you dont getg flames unless something bads happened after all), and the rest of the car is fine (thank god again for it happening in a place where i could sort it out - Cant tell you how happy i am for that!!)

 

 

 

So what have i learnt?:

 

Well, firstly always carry a fire extinguisher in a tuned car (espically one that has been worked on by Britains cowboy ellite)

 

Secondly:

 

Every tuner i've taken my car too thus far has been a bunch of planks bar none, with the biggest jokers and wastes of good oxygen being Hyper Sports and Racing in Wigan.

 

Thirdly, i'm threw taking all this lying down.

 

Off to see a solicitor next week and phoning up trading standards too.

 

Fouthly:

 

project revival no.28 billion is about to start

 

Fithly:

 

Out of everyone i've been too, i've only ever walked away happy from Knight Racer. twice now

Edited September 6, 2008 by Matt H (see edit history)

[Gaz Walker]

You really do get all the luck don't you?

 

Sorry to hear that mate.

[redtwinturbo]

Sorry to hear this Glad you managed to put the fire out though.

[Matt H]

You really do get all the luck don't you?

 

Sorry to hear that mate.

 

Cheers Gaz,

 

But its nothing to do with luck mate, its to do with incompetant tuners.

[Guest Nizam]

sorry to hear that too

[Matt H]

oh and dont ever take your car to HYPER in wigan, i dont want to see anyone else on here go through what i've endured and my wallets endured due to them...

[tDR]

Every tuner i've taken my car too thus far has been a bunch of planks bar none, with the biggest jokers and wastes of good oxygen being Hyper Sports and Racing in Wigan.

 

Ever thought what the common denominator is?

 

Cheers,

 

Brian.

 

p.s. Have you ran your 10 yet??!?

[RedM]

..and driving a car that you know to be in not really driveable condition is the fault of whom exactly?

[Matt H]

Ever thought what the common denominator is?

 

Cheers,

 

Brian.

 

p.s. Have you ran your 10 yet??!?

 

oh, havent heard a peek out of you for a while Brian, glad someone can get kicks out of other peoples cr&p situations, good lad

 

oh and no Brain, It takes a working car to do that, :lightbulb:

[tDR]

oh, havent heard a peek out of you for a while Brian, glad someone can get kicks out of other peoples cr&p situations, good lad

 

oh and no Brain, It takes a working car to do that, :lightbulb:

 

You're beyond help IMO Matt so yes I enjoy poking fun at someone that frequently asks for advice then promptly heeds none of it. You're your own worst enemy.

[Matt H]

..and driving a car that you know to be in not really driveable condition is the fault of whom exactly?

 

Well gearbox slipping aside Red, last think i was expecting was the thing to set on fire, but any chance for the Mkiv elite to throw a litte jab in there they take hey.

 

But i suppose we can forget the fact that it should be working fine fine though cant we.

[Matt H]

You're beyond help IMO Matt so yes I enjoy poking fun at someone that frequently asks for advice then promptly heeds none of it. You're your own worst enemy.

 

What advice have i asked for? certainly nothing from you. 99% of the stuff you say when you do is utter made up rubbish, opinion based on your dislike for me! Think what you like, you'd say anything to try and annoy me!

Edited September 6, 2008 by Matt H (see edit history)

[Matt H]

Oh and if your refering to the situation with AFR, i was told the car was complete.. thats it, bar the gauges, i didnt want to burn bridges at the time so sat stum on the whole situation incase the car had to go back down. that its, nothing more nothing less

[tDR]

99% of the stuff you say when you do is utter made up rubbish

 

Please show me what I've said when helping people on this forum that's "utter made up rubbish".

 

opinion based on your dislike for me! Think what you like, you'd say anything to try and annoy me!

 

TBH I don't dislike you as such because I don't really know you. I only dislike the internet persona and with posts like that above it's no wonder.

 

What advice have i asked for? certainly nothing from you.

 

No you don't need advice, you're Matt H.

[Havard]

I reckon you killed a priest in previous life Matt.

 

My situation is a bit like yours mate. I got my car back for 12 hours on Thursday, woke up Friday morning and was greeted with power steering fluid all over my expensive driveway!!

 

We are not having much luck at the moment but at least my problems don't have too many zeros on the end of them.......

 

H.

[Matt H]

I reckon you killed a priest in previous life Matt.

 

My situation is a bit like yours mate. I got my car back for 12 hours on Thursday, woke up Friday morning and was greeted with power steering fluid all over my expensive driveway!!

 

We are not having much luck at the moment but at least my problems don't have too many zeros on the end of them.......

 

H.

 

Aye mate, worst thing is.... we may miss blackpool!!

 

Will the drive be alright bud? fiingers crossed

[Branners]

it may be time for a few home truths, and Im sure you wont want to hear that.

 

Choosing a tuner is like getting married. You should never jump straight in, always take your time and make sure they will give you what you want and vice versa.

 

You pick a tuner and give them a small bit of work. See how they perform and whether their workmanship fails. Then try something a little larger and see how that goes (marriage analogy getting vague here..). It gives you time to get used to the modifications and time for the modifications to settle down.

 

If you buy a new car you dont thrash the life out of it until its been run in. Its the same with modifications, you need to give the engine time to get used to them and for you to get used to them.

 

If you are then confident a tuner can turn out work thats reliable then you can consider the next step. If theres anything at all that worries you about the trader (ie they keep a car longer than you would like while working on it) then highlight that to them. Set a specific date by which the car has to be back. NEVER say that they can take as long as they need, the car will get put in the corner of the garage and then get pulled out when you start asking questions and then worked on.

 

Also get a quote from the trader for the work and DO NOT DEVIATE from that quote. Dont phone up and ask for extra work to be done or ask them to fit bits you bought elsewhere. The bill spirals out of control at that point.

 

When you hand the car over make a note of everything, mileage, bodywork marks, wheel condition etc and confirm with them when the car will be ready.

 

If the car is not finished then DO NOT TAKE IT AWAY. Tell them they have X amount of time to finish it and you dont expect to pay for the work as its included in the quote.

 

Once its finished if you take it away then drive it very carefully for the first few hours. Listen for anything strange, watch the temperature guage and check the fuel guage. Anything at all odd then stop and check it and take it back if appropriate. No trader is infallable, you can forget your keys, your wallet or even your phone and you rely on those every day. traders are the same, they will miss things, they shouldnt but they will.

 

If you are happy that the car is sounding okay then start to open it up a bit. Whatever boost limits they have mapped to then do not run it hard at that level yet. Run the car hard for a single run (and not to any serious speed) and see what it does. Do it again and see if things are okay. Do not thrash the living daylights out of a car you have just collected.

 

If you have a long trip home then run the car sensibly all the way. You dont want the car breaking down half way home. Waiting 2 hours for recovery as doubling the journey time home on a trailer is bad.

 

99% of people can use a trader and get a good service from them. If the trader was really that bad they would go out of business (Turbofit and mkivstore are examples).

 

You have to plan what the trader is doing, what you expect from them and then treat the car with respect once they have finished.

 

You are right, its not about luck. Its about managing the trader. Cars do fail, even brand new ones drop engines, blow turbos and suffere electrical problems. Your car is probably 15 years old now. Take a look at an L reg Cavalier and see how well thats running. The mkiv is good, but its getting old now and things will start falling off.

 

Maybe you know all of the above and Im wasting my time. But its how I approach things and Im on my 3rd mkiv (by choice) and have only had to be recovered once when a crank oil seal failed. I have run 1.5bar on a j-spec with stock fuelling, 1.2bar on a t-61 on a 130,000 mile UK spec and have used 5 different traders, all of whom have their own approach to modifications but all have delivered what I wanted, or where they havent I have learnt from that experience.

 

Get advice from technical members on the forum, and listen to it. If they say dont drive a car where the autobox is slipping then dont drive the car. If they say be careful how hard you push the car until its mapped then dont thrash it.

 

Im not sure what else I can say. Im sure this thread will degenerate in to an arguement but advice has been given in the past and not listened to, and that really gets up the techies noses.

 

JB

[jazz1]

calm down guys im sure everything will be ok although i feel very sorry for that supra right now

[Matt H]

Please show me what I've said when helping people on this forum that's "utter made up rubbish".

 

I'm refering to when you address me, other people you probably dont go out of your way to try to annoy. When ever you post something to me its always in a thread of mine when something has gone wrong and your through your 2p based upon what i said previously. Anyway, i really dont want to continue on with this with you, had enough of it in the past.

[Matt H]

it may be time for a few home truths, and Im sure you wont want to hear that.

 

Choosing a tuner is like getting married. You should never jump straight in, always take your time and make sure they will give you what you want and vice versa.

 

You pick a tuner and give them a small bit of work. See how they perform and whether their workmanship fails. Then try something a little larger and see how that goes (marriage analogy getting vague here..). It gives you time to get used to the modifications and time for the modifications to settle down.

 

If you buy a new car you dont thrash the life out of it until its been run in. Its the same with modifications, you need to give the engine time to get used to them and for you to get used to them.

 

If you are then confident a tuner can turn out work thats reliable then you can consider the next step. If theres anything at all that worries you about the trader (ie they keep a car longer than you would like while working on it) then highlight that to them. Set a specific date by which the car has to be back. NEVER say that they can take as long as they need, the car will get put in the corner of the garage and then get pulled out when you start asking questions and then worked on.

 

Also get a quote from the trader for the work and DO NOT DEVIATE from that quote. Dont phone up and ask for extra work to be done or ask them to fit bits you bought elsewhere. The bill spirals out of control at that point.

 

When you hand the car over make a note of everything, mileage, bodywork marks, wheel condition etc and confirm with them when the car will be ready.

 

If the car is not finished then DO NOT TAKE IT AWAY. Tell them they have X amount of time to finish it and you dont expect to pay for the work as its included in the quote.

 

Once its finished if you take it away then drive it very carefully for the first few hours. Listen for anything strange, watch the temperature guage and check the fuel guage. Anything at all odd then stop and check it and take it back if appropriate. No trader is infallable, you can forget your keys, your wallet or even your phone and you rely on those every day. traders are the same, they will miss things, they shouldnt but they will.

 

If you are happy that the car is sounding okay then start to open it up a bit. Whatever boost limits they have mapped to then do not run it hard at that level yet. Run the car hard for a single run (and not to any serious speed) and see what it does. Do it again and see if things are okay. Do not thrash the living daylights out of a car you have just collected.

 

If you have a long trip home then run the car sensibly all the way. You dont want the car breaking down half way home. Waiting 2 hours for recovery as doubling the journey time home on a trailer is bad.

 

99% of people can use a trader and get a good service from them. If the trader was really that bad they would go out of business (Turbofit and mkivstore are examples).

 

You have to plan what the trader is doing, what you expect from them and then treat the car with respect once they have finished.

 

You are right, its not about luck. Its about managing the trader. Cars do fail, even brand new ones drop engines, blow turbos and suffere electrical problems. Your car is probably 15 years old now. Take a look at an L reg Cavalier and see how well thats running. The mkiv is good, but its getting old now and things will start falling off.

 

Maybe you know all of the above and Im wasting my time. But its how I approach things and Im on my 3rd mkiv (by choice) and have only had to be recovered once when a crank oil seal failed. I have run 1.5bar on a j-spec with stock fuelling, 1.2bar on a t-61 on a 130,000 mile UK spec and have used 5 different traders, all of whom have their own approach to modifications but all have delivered what I wanted, or where they havent I have learnt from that experience.

 

Get advice from technical members on the forum, and listen to it. If they say dont drive a car where the autobox is slipping then dont drive the car. If they say be careful how hard you push the car until its mapped then dont thrash it.

 

Im not sure what else I can say. Im sure this thread will degenerate in to an arguement but advice has been given in the past and not listened to, and that really gets up the techies noses.

 

JB

 

Thats a very good post Branners

 

My problem is being too trusting at times, plus my lack of engine knowledge, coupled with the fact that after not having my supra driving on the road for more than a few months since my issues with the engine blowing around 2 years ago its hard to keep driving my escort around all the time dying to be back in a car i've spent ludicrous amounts of my hard earned on.

[tDR]

I'm refering to when you address me, other people you probably ......... Anyway, i really dont want to continue on with this with you, had enough of it in the past.

 

I read that and all I saw was:

 

I don't have a leg to stand on with my comments so the toys are out the pram and I'm not playing anymore!

 

Home truths tend to annoy people. Nevermind, I'll leave you to your usual sympathy plea.

[Matt H]

I read that and all I saw was:

 

 

 

Home truths tend to annoy people. Nevermind, I'll leave you to your usual sympathy plea.

 

ha ha, you can read it however you want, but your far too big a kid tDR and you love arguing for the sake of arguing, if i dont shut up then you will be harping on throwing milk around till the end of days!

[Branners]

Thats a very good post Branners

 

My problem is being too trusting at times, plus my lack of engine knowledge, coupled with the fact that after not having my supra driving on the road for more than a few months since my issues with the engine blowing around 2 years ago its hard to keep driving my escort around all the time dying to be back in a car i've spent ludicrous amounts of my hard earned on.

 

it is difficult when a supra is sitting there and just a little bit more boost wont hurt. Sadly it does.

 

I can take years to get my car to where I want it to be. My tiptronic is stock at the moment. Im lining up RLTC for the end of this year, decat pipes for middle of next year and other mods as I go along. I would never put a car in to have a decat, exhaust, boost controller, airfilter, fuel computer, FCD, RLTC, BOV and FMIC at the same time. Theres just too much to go wrong and troubleshooting that lot is hard if something isnt right.

 

If I decat and get a misfire I know what caused it and how to step it back. If I full BPU+ and I get a misfire it could be anything and could costs thousands to trace back.

 

good luck in getting things sorted. I would create a list of whats currently wrong and when the problems first turned up and then get advice from the forum on how to fix them. Then find a couple of traders you think you can trust and see what they think it is and how much to fix it. You cant keep throwing money at the car, at some point you have to get rid and start again.

 

JB

[Mike B]

more importantly....

 

was the date a write off?

 

[Guest CoolsBlue]

jesus that could of been very worse thank god it happened where it did mate, sorry to see this happen to you and your supra