Quote from: Bignod00 on May 30, 2014, 09:49:09 amSo, yesterday I went down to visit Alex at AKS Tuning in Bedford. I'd been getting fed up with a few niggles that had been creeping in with my car so wanted Alex to work his magic for me.After an early start myself and Carlo arrived first thing and actually beat Alex so decided to have an awesome bacon baguette from the cafe next door! Once Alex had opened up he started work on the car straight away.Firstly he swapped these rusty old balljoints.For these shiny new adjustable Superpro Balljoints.Next up he straightened my exhaust for me which had been bugging me for ages as it seemed to shift about randomly depending on its mood.Alex had spotted a small oil leak on my car when I was down there ages ago so he quickly sorted that for me and replaced the dogbone mount that had been leaked on with a new Vibratechnics one.Whilst the car was still up in the air he sorted my ride height as he thought the rear was too high. He then checked all the suspension components over thoroughly as I'm due out on track soon and wanted to be sure everything was "bang on!"Whilst the front wheels were off we checked their balancing as I'd been getting slight wheel wobble at high speeds......turns out one wheel needed quite a lot of weights removing to make it right.The car was then brought down and Alex fitted the 42dd & AKS shifter kit and gearbox bushes.This along with the short shifter that's been on for ages has made for a much more positive gear change.My APR fuel pump was then refitted to the car after it had been down at AKS for a while getting checked over.Alex then fitted some Pagid Yellow RS2-9 pads to my AKS 370mm brake kit as I wanted something more aggressive than the ones that came with it.The car was then taken away for its laser 4 wheel alignment and shakedown after Alex had discussed with me how I wanted it to feel/behave and my personal driving style (especially on track!)Finally the wait was over and he returned, apparently the geo was WAY out and a total b@stard to correct. If I'm honest I'd been very lazy and hadn't had the alignment done for way too long. Thankfully Alex stuck at it though and got it sorted. He then took me out for a spin and I think a little bit of poo came out of me! I couldn't wait for the drive home and I can safely say it was EPIC! The car now feels so positive and just the way it should and wow........THE BRAKES!!!!!!!! I nearly gave myself whiplash on many occasions on the way home, I literally cannot explain how mental these pads are. Obviously I haven't had chance to fully test them yet but they feel like they could stop a train. I cannot wait to get it out on track again, it'll be like a different car out there now.Anyway, thanks to Alex for another job well done. I can't wait to get back down to AKS for my next round of mods!THIS BRAKE SETUP WITH THE RS29s IS TOTALLY INSANE I have never ever experienced braking like that. ALL my internal organs touched the windscreen numerous times. What a set-up. Matt....You should have opted for the RS3 ball joints like me. I really to update my build thread and go through my latest mods.Cannot praise Alex enough. I can honestly say that even if I lived in the Scottish highlands I'd travel to AKS for all my work doing.Top bloke
So, yesterday I went down to visit Alex at AKS Tuning in Bedford. I'd been getting fed up with a few niggles that had been creeping in with my car so wanted Alex to work his magic for me.After an early start myself and Carlo arrived first thing and actually beat Alex so decided to have an awesome bacon baguette from the cafe next door! Once Alex had opened up he started work on the car straight away.Firstly he swapped these rusty old balljoints.For these shiny new adjustable Superpro Balljoints.Next up he straightened my exhaust for me which had been bugging me for ages as it seemed to shift about randomly depending on its mood.Alex had spotted a small oil leak on my car when I was down there ages ago so he quickly sorted that for me and replaced the dogbone mount that had been leaked on with a new Vibratechnics one.Whilst the car was still up in the air he sorted my ride height as he thought the rear was too high. He then checked all the suspension components over thoroughly as I'm due out on track soon and wanted to be sure everything was "bang on!"Whilst the front wheels were off we checked their balancing as I'd been getting slight wheel wobble at high speeds......turns out one wheel needed quite a lot of weights removing to make it right.The car was then brought down and Alex fitted the 42dd & AKS shifter kit and gearbox bushes.This along with the short shifter that's been on for ages has made for a much more positive gear change.My APR fuel pump was then refitted to the car after it had been down at AKS for a while getting checked over.Alex then fitted some Pagid Yellow RS2-9 pads to my AKS 370mm brake kit as I wanted something more aggressive than the ones that came with it.The car was then taken away for its laser 4 wheel alignment and shakedown after Alex had discussed with me how I wanted it to feel/behave and my personal driving style (especially on track!)Finally the wait was over and he returned, apparently the geo was WAY out and a total b@stard to correct. If I'm honest I'd been very lazy and hadn't had the alignment done for way too long. Thankfully Alex stuck at it though and got it sorted. He then took me out for a spin and I think a little bit of poo came out of me! I couldn't wait for the drive home and I can safely say it was EPIC! The car now feels so positive and just the way it should and wow........THE BRAKES!!!!!!!! I nearly gave myself whiplash on many occasions on the way home, I literally cannot explain how mental these pads are. Obviously I haven't had chance to fully test them yet but they feel like they could stop a train. I cannot wait to get it out on track again, it'll be like a different car out there now.Anyway, thanks to Alex for another job well done. I can't wait to get back down to AKS for my next round of mods!
Ooooh those ball joints look good might have to give Alex a call and add some more bits to my ever growing shopping list Mind if I ask how much they are?Which brakes pads were you running before you changed to the RS29s? I'm running Alex's 370mm setup too but with the standard textar pads, is the difference really that big?
Quote from: Little_Dave on May 31, 2014, 03:36:32 pmOoooh those ball joints look good might have to give Alex a call and add some more bits to my ever growing shopping list Mind if I ask how much they are?Which brakes pads were you running before you changed to the RS29s? I'm running Alex's 370mm setup too but with the standard textar pads, is the difference really that big? Do it! :) The SuperPro ball joints are £155 and well worth the investment IMHO.I changed from the standard Textar pads matey and yes, there really is that big a difference!
Wheel re-trim was done by "Royal steering wheels".Standard of workmanship appears to be high and the materials feel like they should last.
