Move over Grampsmobile, you've been replaced!

[Febs]

Well I had 6 years of fun with my VX Calais (in metallic beige, aka the "Grampsmobile"), but all good things must come to an end, and it's been replaced with my new pride and joy. :)

MY08 Calais-V International, 6.0L, bog stock for now, except for the factory 20"s (which I love!) and a tow bar. :) Sat nav too as it's an International. Love it! The A6 is great, and the engine's better than I was expecting.

Tune, exhaust, OTR and HIDs to follow (still tossing up between 4300s and 6000s). Maybe a brake upgrade at one point too. :)

(Anyone want to buy a VX Calais 5.7L? ;))

http://img.skitch.com/20100304-d8mngqniwqwh59jqjdw2jp4equ.jpg

Cheers,
- Febs.

[Roonstain]

Very nice - love the supersports!!

You will love it even more after tune, exhaust and OTR....
I am surprised that you like the A6 stock - most don't - so you will be even more impressed when its retarded software is fixed! lol

Makes me wish i could have had a few more $$$ to get a calais v wagon....


Good luck mate!

[fatas]

nice want them wheels :pray: :yep: :drool:A6 RUBBISH NEED TO SORT MINE BAD

[35R]

congrats Febs, very nice! :)

[SHANESVZSS]

love the calias with supersports looks sweet , just gotta lower her a touch and done , if you think the a6 is good now wait till you get a tune , i drove christians ss ute (a6 tuned) and i wa very impressed and suprised how snappy it was..

[NickS]

Congrats Febs ... looks great mate, love those rims.

Considered lowering it a little ? The VE rides great when lowered, even with 20's, looks a million times better too. You'll have to try mine ...

Go the 6000K HID too ... I have them in the GTS (50W) and they are awesome. Have had them in for over 12 months and never been flashed.

Enjoy mate ... keep us posted as you have a play.

:bravo:

BTW ... is it Black or Evoke ?

[ghz28]

Congrats on the new purchase, looks good!

On the lights, there is a reason the factory ones are 4300K, you can actually see better with the light they produce. The more blue the harder it is for the human eye to focus properly. You may have noticed that at night the blue lights on an emergency vehicle are more "annoying" than the red ones.

I have had HID 6000K in my Adventra since 2004, my VZSS since 2006, and 4300K in my Mercedes for a year now. As bulbs fail in the Holdens there is no doubt I will be switching to 4300K in them too. The illumination from the 4300K is far superior and much easier to drive with, well to my eyes anyway. :)

The colour temp of the HID bulbs increases over time, that is why there is 5000K available to replace 4300K if only replacing one bulb in a Euro car for example.

Garry

Tune, exhaust, OTR and HIDs to follow (still tossing up between 4300s and 6000s). Cheers,
- Febs.

ps.
ADRs 13 low beam washers and automatic load compensation with HID
45 Colour temperature of lamps in general
75 design requirements of headlamp cleaners
77 Specific HID colour temp specs (basically keep below 6500K)
78 specifics of HID bulb construction

now require the headlight washers and self levelling for all bulbs over 2000 lumens output. We have directly adopted the the EU Standards. Not that that seems to worry anyone. :)

[DaveHAT]

Suitable replacement for the VX which was a very nice car Martin.

If you've kept the original parts of the VX put them back on and sell off the bling. That's if you can be arsed of course.

Congrats.

[lautray]

It's finally happened. Well done man. Looks great.

[Goanna]

Nice one....Canberra car too by the look of our new airport in the background!!

[NickS]

Congrats on the new purchase, looks good!

On the lights, there is a reason the factory ones are 4300K, you can actually see better with the light they produce. The more blue the harder it is for the human eye to focus properly ... :)

Interesting ... I have 6000K in one car and 4300K in two cars, I prefer the 6000K by a mile.

[fatas]

did u buy it from slavens ? was it there accounts womens or staff car ? we nearly got this one ! :yep:

[seldo]

Congrats on the new purchase, looks good!

On the lights, there is a reason the factory ones are 4300K, you can actually see better with the light they produce. The more blue the harder it is for the human eye to focus properly. You may have noticed that at night the blue lights on an emergency vehicle are more "annoying" than the red ones.

I have had HID 6000K in my Adventra since 2004, my VZSS since 2006, and 4300K in my Mercedes for a year now. As bulbs fail in the Holdens there is no doubt I will be switching to 4300K in them too. The illumination from the 4300K is far superior and much easier to drive with, well to my eyes anyway. :)

The colour temp of the HID bulbs increases over time, that is why there is 5000K available to replace 4300K if only replacing one bulb in a Euro car for example.

Garry



ps.
ADRs 13 low beam washers and automatic load compensation with HID
45 Colour temperature of lamps in general
75 design requirements of headlamp cleaners
77 Specific HID colour temp specs (basically keep below 6500K)
78 specifics of HID bulb construction

now require the headlight washers and self levelling for all bulbs over 2000 lumens output. We have directly adopted the the EU Standards. Not that that seems to worry anyone. :)All very true!
There is a substantial difference between 4300 and 6000 and the idea is supposed to be so that you can see better, not just pud-pulling rights...

[NickS]

All very true!
There is a substantial difference between 4300 and 6000 and the idea is supposed to be so that you can see better, not just pud-pulling rights...

Maybe it's because my 6000K lights are 50W ... I don't know?

In any case, nothing to do with "pud-pulling" ... my 6000K lights work better than the 4300K sets. Book "theory" is all well and good but I'd rather go by real life experience ... even if some think it's crap.

Honestly though ... how is one set of lights more of a wank than some other set ???

:confused:

[ghz28]

Although its probably my fault, this is a thread about someone's (Febs) new pride and joy.

Lets not denigrate it to yet another discussion about legal and interpretive things that people will maybe never agree on. I just stated some facts about HID lights and my opinion on one factor. I am happy for my posts to be edited by mods. I am sure there is another thread where we can discuss HID.

Cheers.

[seldo]

Maybe it's because my 6000K lights are 50W ... I don't know?

In any case, nothing to do with "pud-pulling" ... my 6000K lights work better than the 4300K sets. Book "theory" is all well and good but I'd rather go by real life experience ... even if some think it's crap.

Honestly though ... how is one set of lights more of a wank than some other set ???

:confused:Nick - I have 35w 4300 low beams, and (by accident - because that's what Gerald supplied me) 6000 high beams. IMHO the 4300s have a better light output, or probably more correctly, my eyes get a better response to the 4300k light than the 6000, and I can make a direct comparison by simply flicking from lo to hi and back. Your leap to the defence of the 6000+ users is understandable as my use of "pud-pullers" is a bit jaded in that it was/is a gross generalisation largely stemming from having read untold posts on the other site by wankers whose sole interest in going HID is so they'll have that cool blue look... So I've lumped everyone in together...
I apologise - but I'm feeling very grumpy and uncomfortable atm since
I fell and broke my arm 10 days ago, and after the hospital ferked it up, had to have it operated on, re-broken, plated, and now I'm in pain, cranky, contrary, and generally hard to get along with...Can't even bloody type very well one-handed...at least I only need one hand for the other...;)
Coincidentally, I was about to contact Gerald and get some 50w 4300 globes for me, as well as some HIDs for my mate's Grange - he likes mine. Don't they already have HIDs in either hi or lo?
Again - my apologies to all you 6000 users ;)

[Febs]

Cheers guys! Oh, and nothing wrong with a bit of healthy discussion. :)

The colour temp of the HID bulbs increases over time, that is why there is 5000K available to replace 4300K if only replacing one bulb in a Euro car for example.

Thanks for your post. I vaguely remember hearing somewhere that 5,000 was the closest to "proper white"? i.e. 4300 is a bit under, and 6,000 is a bit over? Didn't realise the temp increases over time...might have to take a look at a 4,300 and 6,000 set and have a think. :)

If you've kept the original parts of the VX put them back on and sell off the bling. That's if you can be arsed of course.

Was going to do that if I traded it in, but I'll most probably be selling it privately, so I'm gonna leave all the fruit on it. I considered ripping out the custom LCD dash (7" touchscreen molded into the dash), but I'll probably be able to sell it easier (via forums anyway) with all the bits left on.

Nice one....Canberra car too by the look of our new airport in the background!!

Keen eye you've got there. ;)

Interesting ... I have 6000K in one car and 4300K in two cars, I prefer the 6000K by a mile.

Actually, a question for everyone who's got HIDs - do you have them for both high and low (and if so, in a VE with projectors, is that two kits or one dual-element bulb?) I was considering buying them just for low beam, and keeping the halogen highs. Seems to be two separate bulbs (reflector for high, projector for low).

did u buy it from slavens ? was it there accounts womens or staff car ? we nearly got this one ! :yep:

Nah it was a private sale in Canberra.

Considered lowering it a little ? The VE rides great when lowered, even with 20's, looks a million times better too. You'll have to try mine ...

<snip>

BTW ... is it Black or Evoke ?

Evoke...love the look of it with all the chrome trimmings. Considering lowering it a bit, but not too much...I'm actually liking the fact that it doesn't scrape on anything. :lol:

nice want them wheels :pray: :yep: :drool:A6 RUBBISH NEED TO SORT MINE BAD

I guess when you've come from years of driving a 4L60E, anything is an improvement. ;) But yeah, I'm keen to see how it is once Sonny works his magic. Just don't want it to be too rough or harsh...gotta keep the comfort factor (sh*t, am I getting old? :lol: ). :)

Cheers,
- Febs.

[ghz28]

Very few cars come with HID in the high beam, well Europeans at least that I know of. For the VE it would mean two sets.

I put HID in low, high and separate spots on the Adventra, the delay in the HID firing up the first time for high beam is a bit disconcerting at first, but you get used to it, and the lows stay on anyway.

Every Euro I have driven has had HID low and halogen high beam, with well designed lights I think this is a good compromise, on the M5 we drove in Europe for a month late last year the colour temps matched very well. But the two different colour temps (if using 6000 HID like my ute) between HID and standard halogen does look a bit strange.

On the colour temp rise, yes the 5000K is nice, my friend in London changed out his 4300K straight away for 5000Ks. After about 12 months of regular use the 4300s end up around 5000K anyway.

In general noon daylight is quoted as 5500K.

With reference to my comment about the lights in the Adventra, being now 6 years old, they do look quite blue, so are possibly up around 7000K which might explain why the beam seems to be poor to my old eyes. Have asked Gerald to source me replacement 4300K ones though.

[NickS]

Nick - I have 35w 4300 low beams, and (by accident - because that's what Gerald supplied me) 6000 high beams. IMHO the 4300s have a better light output, or probably more correctly, my eyes get a better response to the 4300k light than the 6000, and I can make a direct comparison by simply flicking from lo to hi and back. Your leap to the defence of the 6000+ users is understandable as my use of "pud-pullers" is a bit jaded in that it was/is a gross generalisation largely stemming from having read untold posts on the other site by wankers whose sole interest in going HID is so they'll have that cool blue look... So I've lumped everyone in together...
I apologise - but I'm feeling very grumpy and uncomfortable atm since
I fell and broke my arm 10 days ago, and after the hospital ferked it up, had to have it operated on, re-broken, plated, and now I'm in pain, cranky, contrary, and generally hard to get along with...Can't even bloody type very well one-handed...at least I only need one hand for the other...;)
Coincidentally, I was about to contact Gerald and get some 50w 4300 globes for me, as well as some HIDs for my mate's Grange - he likes mine. Don't they already have HIDs in either hi or lo?
Again - my apologies to all you 6000 users ;)

Sorry to hear about your arm mate ... not good. Can you numb the pain with a few reds?

:D

Sorry about the thread diversion Febs, I always figure that no conversation ever stays on one topic and one topic only so I'm not sure why anyone expects a thread to ... it's not like this isn't all useful info for you anyway.

Seldo ... Grange has HID Lo-beam standard with self levelling / washers etc. The hi-beam are halogen. I'm not a big fan of the start up delay with the hi-beam HID so probably won't change them. The GTS hi-beam are awesome once they are warm but they have a definite delay on the first use.

Finally ... I don't find 6000K even remotely blue, definitely white and 4300K looks yellowish next to them. Once again, just my opinion of course!

Congrats Febs ... perfect colour, can't wait to see it!

:D

[Kyle]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

Febs.. car looks great mate, nice buy :)

[BlooHAT]

Nice Buy Febs

Your choice is what i would have in a VE range, love the rims and the colour !!

Get some chrome and Dark tint :shock:

Dan

[seldo]

Yes Febs - nice buy - looks terrific. Love the colour and the 20" Supersports. Once you've done the suspension it will look tough as.
...and sorry for taking your thread off-track :)

[cosmo vyss]

Nice new ride Febs. Although its still a little grandpa spec....

Whats with the girly auto? I thought auto's were for old men and wives..:seldo:

[Febs]

So apparently I've been paying the wrong insurance premium on my VX for the last 3 years (in my favour).

I rang my insurer to find out why the quote was taking so long today.

Insurance co: "It's a high-performance vehicle so we have to send off for a special quote."
Me: "You guys also class my current car as a high-performance vehicle, yet I'm paying the standard insurance rate for it." [They have set rates for cars worth $0-$20k, $20k-$40k etc... and they're very reasonable]
Insurance co: "That's because it's not listed as a V8. It's listed as a 'VX Calais 5.7L'.
Me: :headbang:
Insurance co: "Our bad. You're still insured, but this new quote is going to be pricey...over $1,500."

Ended up going with the novated lease company's insurer. $1,200pa full-comp and good conditions ($500 excess, free windscreen, free hire car etc...). Also got a greenslip through work's broker for $420 (best quote I could get through the MAA site was over $600)!

Pain having to register interstate cars too...need to get a blue slip. :\

Whats with the girly auto? I thought auto's were for old men and wives..:seldo:

Haha...if Holden made it with a manual, I'd buy one!

Cheers,
- Febs.

PS: Already started with the mods...well, started ordering them from eBay anyway. 6000K 55w HID kit on the way (decided I liked the look of the 6000K's better - white without being too ricey). :D

[fatas]

we got full comp over 25 two only drivers listed GIO $1175 PA pay buy the month inc screen, hirecar, good deal i think and GIO were first class with the write off of the barge so we went with them again and we have max no claim for life.:beer:

[Febs]

Took it to Marrano's (Sonny) over the weekend. 254.1rwkw up from 197.7rwkw stock. :)

Full Di-Fillipo exhaust (loved the sound after hearing Nick's), Orrsom OTRCAI, and tune.

Love it. :D

Cheers,
- Febs.

[lautray]

Good result without even breaking a sweat.

[fatas]

is that with stock exhaust ? i want 275 :moon:

[NickS]

is that with stock exhaust ? i want 275 :moon:

ummmm ...

Full Di-Fillipo exhaust (loved the sound after hearing Nick's) ...

Congrats mate ... great result, I'm sure you'll love the exhaust, I reckon it's perfect! Can't wait to see it on a nice dry Sunday sometime very soon ... :headbang:

:cheers:

[BOMI]

WOW, thats a great result Febs.

Troy :)

[DaveHAT]

Giddyup mate ... the grampa II evolves nicely.

[fatas]

ummmm ...

mine will get a small cam rockers and under driven pulleys and i hope sonny can get 275 or more :wave: