Hello!

[JackieFan]

Hi All!

Just picked up an S12 on Saturday and after a long drive home from West Wales it's time to start seeing how it ticks!

From the ground up...

The Suspension is probably on the original shock's and springs so it's very boat like at the moment. Did make for a lively drive across Wales in the poring rain mind you! Can you get an "Off the Shelf" replacement for the S12? does it share any components with the S13 or 14?

The bodywork is neither the tidiest or untidiest I've come across, there's Rot in the passengers door and on both offside wheel arches (mainly on the rear) the off side sill is also a little rotten towards the rear. I'm guessing that they are a bit like the old fords where the sills rot from the inside out so that'll probably need looking at. Anyone know of any good bodywork guys in the Leighton Buzzard area?...... does anyone know where Leighton Buzzard is?

The Diff is bog standard but seems to be holding up well with no whining or knocks, an LSD will be going in at some point though! Again can I get one of these off the shelf from someone like Quaife, Tranx or Nismo?

The gearbox is also holding up ok, it occasionally struggles going into second coming down the box and sometimes with reverse, the clutch works well but it is a little high so I'll probably change that and see if it makes the difference. The shift leaves allot to be desired, I can almost take a taxi between the odds and evens! Can you get quickshift kits for the S12? again, is the box same as the S13 or 14?

The engine is good, no knocks taps or squeaks and more importantly no smoke! Pulls fairly well when let off the leash too! It's had a dump valve fitted but I don't think it's helping to much as it's fairly loose and has a bit of a "bodged" look to it! The turbo had a service recently and has been okayed by whoever did that so I'll leave that alone for now. It's got a boost controller (manual) and it's set to 10 PSI (not sure how to check that as it's running the standard boost gauge!) Plugs and leads seem fairly standard, new sets will be supplied for the obligatory "New car service" along will a full compliment of fluids.... anyone got any suggestions/preferences?

The exhaust is fairly new between the Turbo and the back box, however the back box it's self appears to be made entirely out of putty! can anyone recommend where to get a replacement from before I get ripped off by Kwik Fit!?

That's about it for now I think hope you guys don't mind the questions straight out of the box!

[Jeff]

Hi, saw that car on e-bay. Looks nice

I'm afraid I can't help with your questions but as you are fortunate enough to have a copy of the S12 manual, you can probably compare the various bits you mention to the S13 (and S14) manual which is available on-line. I've posted the link on here before but can post it again if you can't find it

[PukkaSilvia]

kyb make better shocks for the s12 than std
avo/chassis dynamics do uprated and -40mm lowered springs
You could be more adventurous and buy a diy coilover conversion kit or fit s14 coilover fronts.

Quaiffe and nismo do a diff. Quaiffe r200 lsd diff comes in at £525.
You could also fit a s13 or s14 vlsd diff as fitted standard on those cars.not as good but the convesion shouldnt cost much more than £100

You can get a quickshift kit as you have a mk2 s12. It is the same as the s13 quickshift unit so search s13 quickshift on ebay. Or just cut the lever down and get a aftermarket gearknob with grubb screw clamps. This did the job for my car but my gearbox is still nice and tight.

As for the exhaust buy any universal free flowing rear silencer and fabricate it to fit as the standard unit is a disgrace.

Welcome to the club. Hope you enjoy your new car


ps

Have a look in how-to section at the brief first stages of tuneing for a bit of info on spark plugs etc as you may aswell do that when you replace them (bcpr7es)

[halliwell]

You can by an FSE regulator to boost the fuel demand,25pi - NGK plugs - decent oil with additive - high octane fuel - Manual boost valve (intercept actuator feed)set to 1.2 bar - intercooler set up to keep temperature down.
You will get 180bhp at wheels this equates to 220bhp from engine.
All the above only cost me £200.00

you can go further with bigger turbo T28, bigger injectors, race cam and lots of expensive engine bits.
P.S.you can sort gearstick out look on s12 web sight for instructions.

all the best Fraser

[FLEXXX]

welcome to the club mate

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Pukkasilvia

Quaiffe and nismo do a diff. Quaiffe r200 lsd diff comes in at £525.
You could also fit a s13 or s14 vlsd diff as fitted standard on those cars.not as good but the convesion shouldnt cost much more than £100

Another option would be to weld the diff up for some real sideways hilarity

[JackieFan]

Thanks for the replies all!

First things on the list have got to be sorting the suspension and body work. Going to drop the rear sub frame out at the weekend and get a real good look at it! Does anyone use Superflex here? Is there a definitive list of bushes to use, maybe some part numbers? I'm not a million miles away from a Superflex in Uxbridge so I guess I can just take the old ones out then mix an match where necessary

My local motor factors managed to quote me for a set of shocks front and rear at a price that seems fair. Where did you guys get your low/up rated springs from exactly? I've followed a few links after nosing around the "How to" section" but apart from AVO I'm drawing blanks! The AVO springs will obviously do the job but they only seem to chop 35 mm off the beanpolesque height, I was looking more along the lines of 45-50mm (assuming clearances allow!). Forgive my ignorance but it doesn't seem like a huge amount of work to bung coilovers on the rear but height adjusting the front seems like more of a job! Anyone out there running S13/14 front struts, if so have you replaced them with Tein/Koni type units?

As for welding the diff..... I'm well up for a bit of that action.... however, have you ever tried to explain to a traffic officer why it's not actually possible to drive your car without going just a little bit sideways!!

Tell me if I should move my thread some where more apropriate (polite answer only )