Vectra SRi CDTi 150bhp

[AMG]

Are these a big difference at night? I’ve given my B5.5 Passat to my sister to borrow for a while and the headlights are so poor she won’t drive it at night because she lives in the country and it genuinely scares her. If this was a cheap enough upgrade I’d throw a set in it for her.

If just looking a cheap fix, throw a set of good quality 100w bulbs into it!

 

[Blackie]

@_Stu_ to be honest the picture doesn’t do them justice. As @Big Pimp has said they’re unreal!

The vectra’s headlights where shockingly poor with standard bulbs in much the same as you’ve described about your Passat, these are a massive improvement!

I had to slightly modify the headlamp rear cap with a heat gun and pushed out the plastic to allow room for the fan on the rear of the bulbs, but other than that they’re a straight forward swap, no ballasts or anything to worry about like with HID’s.

Well worth the £21 I paid for them (H7 bulbs in mine).

 

[Blackie]

If just looking a cheap fix, throw a set of good quality 100w bulbs into it!

You’d pay around £20 for a good set of quality bulbs, I personally think these LEDs are a better choice at around a similar value.

 

[Jonesy]

@_Stu_ to be honest the picture doesn’t do them justice. As @Big Pimp has said they’re unreal!

The vectra’s headlights where shockingly poor with standard bulbs in much the same as you’ve described about your Passat, these are a massive improvement!

I had to slightly modify the headlamp rear cap with a heat gun and pushed out the plastic to allow room for the fan on the rear of the bulbs, but other than that they’re a straight forward swap, no ballasts or anything to worry about like with HID’s.

Well worth the £21 I paid for them (H7 bulbs in mine).

Cheaper than hids and less hassle. Sounds like a bargain mod

 

[Blackie]

Cheaper than hids and less hassle. Sounds like a bargain mod

Not to mention they produce HID quality light output!

 

[big_pete]

Will they pass MOT ok?

 

[Blackie]

Will they pass MOT ok?

@Big Pimp has had his car pass two MOT’s with no issue.

I’ve heard of a few guys on the Vectra Owners page having problems with MOT, but nearly as many didn’t have problems?

Technically there’s no reason to fail them, they’re not HID so therefore those regulations don’t apply. I think the cases mentioned above are down to testers poor knowledge and not wanting to know to a certain degree.

From what I’ve noticed on my Vectra which has projector style headlights, is that the beam is great with clearly defined break off point etc . . There’s no glare that you would typically find with HID’s fitted to normal reflector type headlights.

What these are like in reflector type headlights I don’t know, maybe someone else has experience?

 

[Big Pimp]

Will they pass MOT ok?

I’ve been through 2 MOTs mate

 

[Blackie]

I’ve had to buy four of these this time, two for the Vectra and two for the wife’s Touran:

 

[Blackie]

And a few minutes later I’ve fitted the front and rear ones to my Vectra:

 

[Jonesy]

I’ve had to buy four of these this time, two for the Vectra and two for the wife’s Touran:

what price did they work out poasted? Have a link? good to get ones that proven to work wellp

 

[Blackie]

what price did they work out poasted? Have a link? good to get ones that proven to work wellp

They are £7.99 each on Amazon with free next day delivery (if your a Prime member). They are currently offering 5% off for two.

Hakkin Dual USB Port Waterproof 12-24V Car Motorcycle Marine Boat Cigarette Lighter Socket with LED Digital Voltmeter Meter Monitor (Red) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M6ZFP4R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XNSOAbKKD9J5C

 

[Blackie]

So a couple of weeks ago I replaced the drivers front window regulator as the original one had broken due to a common fault in them (the four spot welds that hold two parts of the scissor mechanism break) but even with the window now operating I still couldn’t use it as the front of the window was dropping as it was going up. Tiredness and darkness got the better of me that day as I was unable to see the issue, there was certainly nothing obvious such as lose rivets, play in the mechanism etc . .

I finally got around to stripping the door again today and thoroughly examined it again and something caught my eye, there was the tiniest of bends in one of the arms, it either happened during removal from the donor car, during transport or storage when I picked it up (most likely cause) or when fitting it to the door.

Quick twist with a pair of vice grips and the window was fully operational, not dropping and creating an effective seal when fully up!

Just goes to show how something so minor can cause a headache and how sometimes going away from the problem and coming back another day can help!

 

[Blackie]

The repair of the window highlighted another issue with the Vectra, as with the window down I could hear an annoying squeal coming from the engine bay.

Going on the assumption that it was probably a known usual culprit I went and ordered an alternator pulley which was very kindly fitted by a good friend who happened to have the correct tools for the job.

Since then (and totally coincidental) I’ve had a couple of flashes of the eml with an egr flow code being lodged. So I’ve ordered and egr blanking kit and as I knew my swirl flaps were leaking boost from the inlet manifold I also ordered a swirl flap delet kit.

I know I need to get the egr mapped out now so that I don’t get an eml in future from it, but having spoke to two mapping people they seem keen on giving it a power map as well as removing the egr.

I’m a little worried due to the high mileage on the car and I don’t want to cause any undue stress on the turbo so I’m in a bit of a dilemma! Do I go ahead and get an extra 50ponies out of her and hope the turbo holds together or do I continue searching for someone who will just map out the egr and leave the power alone?

 

[bmurf]

The repair of the window highlighted another issue with the Vectra, as with the window down I could hear an annoying squeal coming from the engine bay.

Going on the assumption that it was probably a known usual culprit I went and ordered an alternator pulley which was very kindly fitted by a good friend who happened to have the correct tools for the job.

Since then (and totally coincidental) I’ve had a couple of flashes of the eml with an egr flow code being lodged. So I’ve ordered and egr blanking kit and as I knew my swirl flaps were leaking boost from the inlet manifold I also ordered a swirl flap delet kit.

I know I need to get the egr mapped out now so that I don’t get an eml in future from it, but having spoke to two mapping people they seem keen on giving it a power map as well as removing the egr.

I’m a little worried due to the high mileage on the car and I don’t want to cause any undue stress on the turbo so I’m in a bit of a dilemma! Do I go ahead and get an extra 50ponies out of her and hope the turbo holds together or do I continue searching for someone who will just map out the egr and leave the power alone?

You will always need more power lol. What mileage is on it anyway. You could get a dtuk tuning box for the extra horse power if you felt like you wanted it.

 

[Boksic]

The repair of the window highlighted another issue with the Vectra, as with the window down I could hear an annoying squeal coming from the engine bay.

Going on the assumption that it was probably a known usual culprit I went and ordered an alternator pulley which was very kindly fitted by a good friend who happened to have the correct tools for the job.

Since then (and totally coincidental) I’ve had a couple of flashes of the eml with an egr flow code being lodged. So I’ve ordered and egr blanking kit and as I knew my swirl flaps were leaking boost from the inlet manifold I also ordered a swirl flap delet kit.

I know I need to get the egr mapped out now so that I don’t get an eml in future from it, but having spoke to two mapping people they seem keen on giving it a power map as well as removing the egr.

I’m a little worried due to the high mileage on the car and I don’t want to cause any undue stress on the turbo so I’m in a bit of a dilemma! Do I go ahead and get an extra 50ponies out of her and hope the turbo holds together or do I continue searching for someone who will just map out the egr and leave the power alone?

I have a map for the 120 and 150 engine that is standard map with egr/dpf delete I can flash for you for not much £ if you like. It's been on 2 150 Saab's in our family for a few years now, and a mates 120 for about 2 years. All have run standard and DTUK boxes with the file too.

 

[Blackie]

@bmurf she has 172k on her at present.

@Boksic sweet! Good to know, I’ll give you a shout once the egr blank kit arrives!

Today the swirl flap delete kit arrived, somone step closer.

 

[bmurf]

Are you gonna be doing the swirl flap delete yourself, just wondering if it was a difficult or fiddly sort of job. I would give it a go myself on my Vectra if it wasn't very hard/awkward/time consuming

 

[Blackie]

Today I received the final piece of my puzzle, the Connects2 wiring harness to allow me to fit my old trusty Kenwood DAB Headunit to the Vectra. May seem daft but I’ve missed the DAB and the ability to play all my music from my iPhone! Oh that and the handsfree phone function in it!

So I turned this:

Into this:

Ah finally, my little creature comforts!

Now to make a start on building an uncluttered boot build for my sub which has sat inactive since @Cartunes sold it to me!

 

[Blackie]

Are you gonna be doing the swirl flap delete yourself, just wondering if it was a difficult or fiddly sort of job. I would give it a go myself on my Vectra if it wasn't very hard/awkward/time consuming

Sorry I never saw your post mate. Hopefully a mate will be helping me. It’d take the best part of a day to do as you’ve to take the manifold out. Whilst it’s out it’ll be stripped and cleaned to get rid of the restrictions caused by carbon build up from the egr.

So when it’s finished it should be pretty close to the factory power figures again

 

[Cartunes]

Today I received the final piece of my puzzle, the Connects2 wiring harness to allow me to fit my old trusty Kenwood DAB Headunit to the Vectra. May seem daft but I’ve missed the DAB and the ability to play all my music from my iPhone! Oh that and the handsfree phone function in it!

So I turned this:View attachment 190157
Into this:View attachment 190158

Ah finally, my little creature comforts!

Now to make a start on building an uncluttered boot build for my sub which has sat inactive since @Cartunes sold it to me!

Strike a light mate. That was nearly a year ago???? Nice to see some progress. I love it when an audio plan comes together.....

 

[Blackie]

Strike a light mate. That was nearly a year ago????

Yea I know! Though to be fair it was originally planned for the Clio . . . . That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

 

[Blackie]

Today I stuck a pair of Vauxhall logo’d mudflaps on the arse of the mighty Vec, hopefully stop a little dirt and tar from building up!

 

[Blackie]

Today I painted the brake calipers on the mighty Vectra

 

[c_rad]

Today I painted the brake calipers on the mighty Vectra View attachment 190612

You're in Newtownabbey area aren't you?
Near sure I've seen this about, Always looks clean!