What have you done to your Elgrand today?

[PhillB]

What I’ve done to my Elgrand today is just look at it, I don’t know about you but I drink about ten cups of tea a day, from my mashing position I see the beauty, at 10am he’s green, at 3pm he’s purple (sometimes with green bumpers) and in between he’s a bit of both and then full on Bronze from the living room, so my question is, Who the hell wants a white Elgrand!?

 

[Highway Dave]

What I’ve done to my Elgrand today is just look at it, I don’t know about you but I drink about ten cups of tea a day, from my mashing position I see the beauty, at 10am he’s green, at 3pm he’s purple (sometimes with green bumpers) and in between he’s a bit of both and then full on Bronze from the living room, so my question is, Who the hell wants a white Elgrand!?

Well , at least the colour changes are quick…

 

[bikerToe]

What I’ve done to my Elgrand today is just look at it, I don’t know about you but I drink about ten cups of tea a day, from my mashing position I see the beauty, at 10am he’s green, at 3pm he’s purple (sometimes with green bumpers) and in between he’s a bit of both and then full on Bronze from the living room, so my question is, Who the hell wants a white Elgrand!?

ive got the same, but with all the rain and clouds it just looks like crap !!! and when the sun comes out for an hour it looks even worse it really needs a wash but with another week of shite weather its just not worth it.

 

[Highway Dave]

I’m going to say something out of character now, a G30 Elgrand on a cloudy day with the sun just emerging from behind a cloud , can look absolutely mint ( if it’s clean that is lol)

 

[bikerToe]

I’m going to say something out of character now, a G30 Elgrand on a cloudy day with the sun just emerging from behind a cloud , can look absolutely mint ( if it’s clean that is lol)

i did see mine like that once, the joys of living in one of the wettest parts of the country

 

[Pete33]

Mine is living under the car port in this weather. No need for ruining the lovely shine with all the rain and salt on the roads. But this evening I have installed TV, firestick, aerial

 

[PhillB]

That layout looks really good @Pete33 have you got more photos of the layout?

 

[Pete33]

Cheers mate. I will take some more. But all I have done is remove passenger rear seat and had a unit installed (a partial side conversion) so I have plenty of storage, sink, leisure battery, 260W solar, sockets, removable compressor fridge / freezer cool box behind remaining rear seat. But still have 6 seats. More of a day / night conversion It gives me flexibility to fold other rear seat to the bus wall and have a useable space for fishing rods and other essentials

 

[Pete33]

Cheers mate. I will take some more. But all I have done is remove passenger rear seat and had a unit installed (a partial side conversion) so I have plenty of storage, sink, leisure battery, 260W solar, sockets, removable compressor fridge / freezer cool box behind remaining rear seat. But still have 6 seats. More of a day / night conversion It gives me flexibility to fold other rear seat to the bus wall and have a useable space for fishing rods and other essentials

I didn’t waste space with a hob, just put a portable one (in its case) under the sink in a cupboard.

 

[RuskinStreet]

Well , at least the colour changes are quick…

Jealousy gets you nowhere David

 

[RuskinStreet]

Today I lumped…….

4 cases of Costco water
3 cases of Pepsi MAX
3 5litre stuff for washing machine
1 pineapple for the bay window
1 bauble wreath for the front door, I told her it was too big - and it is.
Lots of other ‘weekly shop’ stufff.

The Van drove great - but I was fcuked.

"1 Pineapple for the bay window"?? I've heard they attract people who are into sharing their loved ones. Car keys in the fruit bowl?

 

[kfgas]

To cold today to do anything to my Elgrand but did have the bonnet scope arrive from Aliexpress and 1st impressions are that it will be easier to fit than the Impreza scope and not needing any major modding being slightly shorter in length and more flexible and for the money pretty good quality. I also prefer the slope on the rear as it is a more gradual slope than the Impreza scoop. Will try it on the bonnet tomorrow



What I have done is spent most of the day researching speakers to fit in the rear camper part facing to the outside of my Elgrand with the tailgate open and how best to connect them to my existing 2x250 rms 2 channel amp and a very nice secondhand 4x150 rms 4 channel amp which I have recently bought.

I have decided on fitting 6 speakers, 2 each in the side camper units and 2 as far to the outside as I can get them in the centre unit. Each speaker is rated as being 200 watt rms (125 watts mid bass and 75 watts tweeter rms)

I think I have got it sussed and have decided on 51/4 inch component speakers rather than 6.5 inch component speakers partly as these will take up less room and will fit better in the space I have and also allow all of the 6 tweeters to fit between the top and bottom speakers on the side units more at ear level.

Also for the same sort of money that the 6.5 inch would cost I can go up a bit in quality with better drivers, tweeters and crossovers and from what I have read this is a better option as the major benefit of the 6.5's over 5.25's is potentially better bass which as I have also got a 10 inch sub to go back in and already have a 8 inch sub fitted bass should not be a problem.

I have also bought a secondhand 2 din touchscreen head unit with DAB as a source with 5 volt pre-outs and a 13-Band Graphic EQ which along with what should be a better dac and processing over my phone will hopefully improve the sound as although the blue tooth receiver unit I have at present works fine from my phone it is not ideal as the blue tooth compresses my FLAC files and with the head unit I can play these from a USB stick straight into the head unit with no loss of compression and quality.

I will be repositioning the Bluetooth receiver to use from the inside of the van as the head unit will only be able to be used from the outside with the tailgate open

 

[Richard Fox]

To cold today to do anything to my Elgrand but did have the bonnet scope arrive from Aliexpress and 1st impressions are that it will be easier to fit than the Impreza scope and not needing any major modding being slightly shorter in length and more flexible and for the money pretty good quality. I also prefer the slope on the rear as it is a more gradual slope than the Impreza scoop. Will try it on the bonnet tomorrow

View attachment 118467

What I have done is spent most of the day researching speakers to fit in the rear camper part facing to the outside of my Elgrand with the tailgate open and how best to connect them to my existing 2x250 rms 2 channel amp and a very nice secondhand 4x150 rms 4 channel amp which I have recently bought.

I have decided on fitting 6 speakers, 2 each in the side camper units and 2 as far to the outside as I can get them in the centre unit. Each speaker is rated as being 200 watt rms (125 watts mid bass and 75 watts tweeter rms)

I think I have got it sussed and have decided on 51/4 inch component speakers rather than 6.5 inch component speakers partly as these will take up less room and will fit better in the space I have and also allow all of the 6 tweeters to fit between the top and bottom speakers on the side units more at ear level.

Also for the same sort of money that the 6.5 inch would cost I can go up a bit in quality with better drivers, tweeters and crossovers and from what I have read this is a better option as the major benefit of the 6.5's over 5.25's is potentially better bass which as I have also got a 10 inch sub to go back in and already have a 8 inch sub fitted bass should not be a problem.

I have also bought a secondhand 2 din touchscreen head unit with DAB as a source with 5 volt pre-outs and a 13-Band Graphic EQ which along with what should be a better dac and processing over my phone will hopefully improve the sound as although the blue tooth receiver unit I have at present works fine from my phone it is not ideal as the blue tooth compresses my FLAC files and with the head unit I can play these from a USB stick straight into the head unit with no loss of compression and quality.

I will be repositioning the Bluetooth receiver to use from the inside of the van as the head unit will only be able to be used from the outside with the tailgate open

Wow sounds impressive buddy! My head unit has decided to stop working, so no music for me currently!

 

[kfgas]

Wow sounds impressive buddy! My head unit has decided to stop working, so no music for me currently!

Very much a budget system Richard with most of the bits not being what some would consider higher end from some of the more well known names where I believe you pay more for the name than the product which unless you go right to the top of the tree are no better and in a lot of cases not as good and you are just paying for the name and there marketing costs.

Most bits have been bought from ebay or facebook marketplace second hand, ex display or are older or discontinued models as is the case with the speakers I am buying and another part of the reason why I have gone with the 5.1/4's is that although they are new they have been discontinued and are going for a really good price for there specs.

Example is the second head unit I have bought which is a 2017 model which when new was best part of £400 and although it only has a 6.2 resistive screen and is lacking some of the more up to date features it does have a pretty decent spec for music and has lots of reviews praising it for its sound quality and will do all I need it to do being able to play all formats including FLAC through USB so lossless, 5 volt RCA pre-outs. has a dab radio, 13 channel EQ and blue tooth which although only version 3 will be fine for what I need and it even has a cd and dvd player

It is in really good condition with all the leads with just a couple of very small scratches on the top of the surround trim where it has been fitted and replacements are just 90p from Aliexpress which I will probably get for the small cost



I paid £45 for it including 48 hour tracked postage

From this you will guess that I am tight but I have always been like this and would prefer to buy half decent quality which is a few years old and maybe does not have all the latest gizmo's than buy lower end new for more money.

Bit late for me to to change now.

 

[AlanM]

So hopefully fronts are in good condition

Your next MOT test will show you that.

May I ask how much the new 'pipes' were please?

Is the 'cat' material in the old exhaust pipes worth taking to a scrappy?

 

[Pete33]

Your next MOT test will show you that.

May I ask how much the new 'pipes' were please?

Is the 'cat' material in the old exhaust pipes worth taking to a scrappy?

£200 with gasgets
I let the garage who fit them keep the old ones as they did the job for nothing

 

[kfgas]

Still not been able to get out and do much to my Elgrand due in part to the weather but also as I have had a flair up of the gout I get but have had the 4x150 4 channe[ amp that I had recently bought second hand delivered a couple of days ago

Weighs a ton and very solid build quality with 4 AWG connections and proper allen key tightner's.

Just a couple of very small marks on the case which I am not worried about as it will be fitted inside one of the camper units

Seller says it has been tested by NVS amp repairs and all working as it should.

Dead chuffed with it.

Packed to perfection by the seller wrapped in several layers of heavy duty bubble wrap and in a box twice the size of the amp with even more protection around it.







This amp was made in South Korea in 2014 and when new was over $500 in America and was the entry level amp from this maker from a small number of dealers who concentrated on competition amps

Link to a Youtube video which shows the workshop where it was made where the amps are hand assembled which I found really interesting.

Very much old school and very similar to how some of the best UK classic amps from Cambridge, Naim, Quad Leak etc used to be made in very small workshops

It seems that Shoc Industries are no longer in existence disappearing in about 2021

It does seem though that this amp is still being made with a name change to DC Audio 175.4k on sale again from just a few specialist dealers in America for $660 and gets really good reviews

https://smdaudio.com/dc-audio-175-4k-700w-4-channel-amplifier/

This amp has the exact same case albeit with a couple of small cosmetic changes the same connectors and circuit board with the exact same layout, same number of caps and transformers etc all in the exact same place on the board and is also made in South Korea.

In line with my thinking of getting a half decent sound system for not to much money I paid £65 for it including tracked postage.

This amp will be used to run 4 of 5.1/4 mid bass and tweeters in the outside units with my existing 2 way amp used to run the the 2 in the centre unit.

I will also use the 2 channel amp to power the pair of 6x9 4 way speakers that I have already got fitted in the inside of the camper units by way of a speaker selector so that they can be switched off when the outside 5.1/4's are being used.

Will set the amp up to run the 5.1/4's as not too concerned about sound quality on the 6x9's

I have also bought an Integral 256gb usb stick from Amazon as it was on offer and have transferred over my FLAC files so I can run them through the head unit, Could really have done with more memory as I ran out with still over 80gb not transferred

 

[PhillB]

Very envious of a good sound system, my boy/dog Angus doesn’t like it when we play music, might be my singing, so something like that is out of my sphere, Bela Lugosi’s Dead would sound ace through that Kev!

 

[bikerToe]

Im a big fan of music and listen to it all the time, I'll even pick up my guitar now and then, but when i'm driving I still listen to it but its more like background music, its probably because of being a mechanic i've got to here any abnormal noises coming from the car (or bike) saying that it does hide some of the interior panel rattles

 

[Bazildog]

Wrestled with abs sensor, battle goes on