My K11 Super Turtle build project

[Daniel]

Ok everyone, I've been a member on this forum for a couple of months now, and have been making a decent bit of progress on my trusty K11 Micra. And now, I thought (a little bit late, I know) that I should make a blog about my build, so I can keep track of everything (Y). And so anyone else can, if they want to :wasntme:.

So, to get started, here is the only pic I could find of the car before I started modifying it, about 3/4 months ago. You'll soon see that a lot has changed :grinning:.

Unfortunately, I only have a side-view picture, as I didn't take any other pictures of it at the time (maybe too embarassed? :down. However, I can assure that the car was COMPLETELY standard when I bought it for about £650 18 months ago, and was absolutely mint, apart from a few rust bubbles on the wings (most of which are steadily getting worse until I can find new panels or the patience to fix them :glare.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I've enjoyed working on the car :grinning:.

 

[Shaun]

Does this not already exist? lol
I take it this is going to be your blog?
Get that aircon out!

 

[Daniel]

Next update - thought I'd add a few photos after I started to modify her - chopped springs (but don't worry, I upgraded them after getting my money together (Y)), K11 SR alloys, Savage universal backbox (for pretty much the same price as a direct fit backbox - should have done my research :wasntme, VW Polo front splitter from my local scrapyard, sub/amp/6x9 boot setup, Green Cotton air filter, open mouth lower grill, and various cheap Halfords special parts (most of which have now been replaced, but some still remain ).

Also de-bumperstripped, de-mudguarded, de-stickered, and buffed out a few scratches that I had managed to pick up. And of course, the more observant people among you will have noticed the huge dent in my passenger side front wing. Well, it turns out that all Audi A3 drivers really are cocks, so I can thank one of those people for that grr.

Enjoy the photos, but don't pick on me for my past choices of modifications :laugh:.

 

[Daniel]

Does this not already exist? lol
I take it this is going to be your blog?
Get that aircon out!

Yes, I finally decided to make a blog :laugh:. And no, it didn't already exist. It didn't occur to me to make one at the time, but you know what they say - better late than never :wasntme:. And the aircon will be making the move from my car to the local scrapyard tomorrow (Y). Who needs aircon, anyways? :grinning:

 

[Shaun]

Yes, I finally decided to make a blog :laugh:. And no, it didn't already exist. It didn't occur to me to make one at the time, but you know what they say - better late than never :wasntme:. And the aircon will be making the move from my car to the local scrapyard tomorrow (Y). Who needs aircon, anyways? :grinning:

People that get stuck on the motorway like myself... but i still don't have it lol

 

[Daniel]

Ok, now for another photo update. This is just to show a few more mods I made - Momo steering wheel, OMP strut brace, fitted the cold air feed and new air filter, new alloys, pre-facelift tailgate handle, lowered her a bit more, and a few other little bits.

 

[Daniel]

People that get stuck on the motorway like myself... but i still don't have it lol

But isn't that what windows are for? :grinning:

 

[Daniel]

Full modifications list

Engine modifications

Pipercross performance air filter
Pipercross cold air feed
Pipercross oil breather filter
NGK spark plugs
Janspeed de-cat pipe
Ashley midpipe
Jap-style 4” backbox with custom slash cut burnt tip
Heat-proof exhaust wrap from manifold to backbox
Handmade exhaust brackets

Handling modifications

Apex lowering springs (90mm on each corner, welded into front struts for safety, with rear axle strap)
KYB shock absorbers
Falken 195/45/R15 tyres
OMP upper front strut brace

Exterior modifications

15” Calibre Dub deep dish alloys
VW Polo front splitter
Heckspoiler tailgate spoiler
Open mouth lower grill
Open mouth, resprayed upper grills
Removed all bumper strips, mudguards, stickers, and logos
Removed rear wiper and motor
K11 tailgate handle (pre-facelift)
Bonnet raised by 10mm
Chrome washer jets
Ultra-stubby ariel
Lightweight windscreen wipers
Front callipers and rear drums painted red
Removed middle brake light (inside, above parcel shelf)

Interior modifications

Momo steering wheel
Momo gear knob
Ripspeed handbrake lever
Ripspeed tax disc holder
Ripspeed mats
Ripspeed seatbelt pads
Ripspeed door sill protectors

ICE

Sony head unit with iPod hook-up
2 x Kenwood door speakers with built in tweeters (400 watts each)
2 x Alpine tweeters (50 watts each)

To do

Remove aircon
Remount alternator
Fit 1.3 SR fuel rail/injectors
Fit custom 4-1 manifold
Fit Walbro fuel pressure regulator
Fit OMP rear strut brace

So still quite a bit to do, but work should be underway tomorrow morning. Watch this space (Y).

 

[Daniel]

A bit of photo whoring today after gave her a good clean :wasntme:. A few stickers added, sprayed my rocker cover, Jap-style backbox, but that's about it I think. I did actually fit my Jap plates after I washed her, but my camera ran out of battery. Will take a few more pics on Thursday before I start to take everything apart (Y).

 

[Scott]

Awesome! My favourite colour by far. Nice stance on those wheels aswell

 

[Daniel]

Awesome! My favourite colour by far. Nice stance on those wheels aswell

Cheers buddy, is a sweet colour - it's grown on me since I bought it :laugh:. I've not seen many others the same colour as mine, and it's the only one (apart from hooded's) that has these alloys on (Y). I want to go lower, but can't without flaring my arches and getting some serious negative camber - the alloys are 15x8, so the outer rim sticks out a ridiculous amount, even with not much stretch . I guess if I went lower though, it wouldn't be practical :blush:

 

[phil.marsh]

I see you've got the blogbug to

 

[Daniel]

I see you've got the blogbug to

Yeah, once you catch it, it's kind of hard to stop :laugh:. But I should have made this when I first signed up, since I knew I'd be heavily modifying it :wasntme:

 

[phil.marsh]

I really need to do more to my little bubble! Next job is open mouth grill just no idea how lol

 

[Daniel]

I really need to do more to my little bubble! Next job is open mouth grill just no idea how lol

Lower or upper grill? Or both?

 

[phil.marsh]

Firstly upper. Just getting rid of that middle Splitter bit with out being left with a stump. As well as how to fix the mesh

 

[Daniel]

Is yours a pre-facelift or facelift? I can't remember :wasntme:

 

[phil.marsh]

Pre... The better one

 

[Daniel]

Pre... The better one

Oh, it's like that, is it? Got beef with my facelift turtle???? :laugh::laugh::laugh:

I can tell you now it's a lot easier to make your grill open mouthed than it was to do mine, just cut the whole thing out in the middle, leaving the outside intact, then smooth over with sandpaper and respray. Not sure how to do the mesh though, I haven't seen one done close up. Presumably it's just glued in with Araldite or silicone sealant, as I can't think of any other way to do it. The shape of my 2 upper grills meant it was really hard to make them open mouthed, and still retain some rigidity and keep the holes for the original bolts. They didn't come out too bad, but could do with smoothing over and respraying again. Was just to see if it could actually be done.

Really easy to cut out the lower grill though, but does take a lot of patience to get it smooth :glare:

 

[phil.marsh]

I'll have to try That I'll get back to you on it.

 

[euro_micra]

Looks good, quite sporty without going ott(Y)

 

[johnbr6]

one clean car there man lovin' it!!!

 

[Daniel]

Thanks for all the positive comments, everyone (Y).

Parked up next to a fellow modified Micra, a pre-facelift SR. Anyone know who belongs to this K11? I don't think I've seen it on here, but seen it driving around Milton Keynes a lot.

 

[Daniel]

Made an early start on removing my aircon, thinking I'd have to do it over 2 days. However, 5 hours later, and everything is done!

Here's the engine bay before I removed the aircon. Went to de-gas the system, but it turned out that there wasn't actually any gas in it anyway :laugh:. So it seems that my aircon was doing absolutely nothing anyway. Definitely better off without it (Y).

First things first, battery out. Don't want to get myself electrocuted or anything :grinning:.

Cue a lot of hard work, bleeding greasy hands, and an hour later, I've got a pile of aircon parts. Surprised at how much it all weighs, so I've definitely freed up a bit of weight there. And I haven't even got the aircon pump out yet :suspect:.

Ahh, space and a nice tidy engine bay (well, sort of. Could do with a clean :laugh.

Aircon pump and remaining mounts now removed. Actually couldn't believe how much the pump weighed, especially since it nearly fell on my head while I was under the car grr. Again, freeing up some more space, and maybe a few extra horses :grinning:.

Alternator removed. Thought I would have to wait until tomorrow for Wills alternator mounts and belt, but they turned up at about 10, so at least I wasn't going to be without a car (Y).

It's amazing how much space you get in the engine bay when you remove the alternator. I only had to twist the standard manifold to one side to get it out, where as before I had to pretty much take apart my whole engine bay, without actually dropping the engine out completely :laugh:.

Out with the rusty/cracked/ridiculously heavy original manifold...

And in with the new (well, second hand) custom made 4-1 manifold (Y).

Started to get hungry about now, so managed to persuade my other half to drive me to Tesco to get some lunch. So behold my tasty, high energy lunch :laugh:.

Right, back to the work now. Bolted the manifold back up, and reconnected it to the decat pipe. The backbox twisted a bit more than I thought it would when I reconnected everything, so when I got back from the scrapyard (where I was told there was a Micra with a full Japspeed system - there wasn't :glare, my rear bumper was melting since the backbox outlet was pressed against it. Got gassed by the exhaust wrap as it heated up as well, didn't enjoy getting smoked out of my own car. Was blowing a little bit, but should be able to solve that by replacing the manifold gaskets (the ones on there looked pretty decent, so didn't see the need to replace them - probably should have done, since I did actually buy some :wasntme, using some different bolts and washers, and sealing the whole thing with exhaust sealant.

Then, for the finishing touches, fitted my 1.3 fuel rail/injectors, and Walbro fuel pressure regulator. Looks like a very nice shiny addition to my bland engine bay (Y).

So there we are. Took her out for a drive, the fuel pressure regulator needs adjusting a bit, but it's considerably louder and a bit nippier. Now just need to get my hands on some CG13 cams :grinning:. Maybe someone can help me out with that? :wasntme:

Thought I'd get a few pics to show my Jap plates as well. Not quite finished yet, I'm thinking about installing March rear numberplate illuminators next (and filling in the holes left by the tailgate handle bolts, smoothing it all over and respraying), and reshaping my front bumper around where the numberplate is mounted.

 

[frank]

well done dan (Y) the 1.3 cams will make all the difference now

 

[Daniel]

well done dan (Y) the 1.3 cams will make all the difference now

Thanks :grinning:. It feels so nice to drive right now, pops like mad on overrun. Just need the cams now, and sort out the blowing, and it'll be pukka (Y)

 

[Antony]

that red micra is a super S. not an SR. dont ask me how i know, i just do..lol

 

[phil.marsh]

What difference do 1.3 cams make? And I have the same breather filter as you red just looked tacky!

 

[frank]

What difference do 1.3 cams make?

the 1.0 cams are 196 deg/6mm lift phil, and the 1.3 are 222 deg/8mm lift, so they give about 5hp (probably more when added to the other breathing mods

 

[Shaun]

But isn't that what windows are for? :grinning:

when it's hot and no breeze you'll be beggin' for aircon... but i still wouldn't have it if i had a choice...

 

[Daniel]

the 1.0 cams are 196 deg/6mm lift phil, and the 1.3 are 222 deg/8mm lift, so they give about 5hp (probably more when added to the other breathing mods

So in theory, if I was to fit 1.3 cams, I should end up with at least an extra 5bhp because of all my other mods? If so, I'm going on eBay when I get home :grinning:

 

[frank]

So in theory, if I was to fit 1.3 cams, I should end up with at least an extra 5bhp because of all my other mods? If so, I'm going on eBay when I get home :grinning:

you,ll have an extra 10hp in total if you change that peashooter stock downpipe dan fwn

 

[Daniel]

when it's hot and no breeze you'll be beggin' for aircon... but i still wouldn't have it if i had a choice...

But even with just the cold blower on, it stays pretty chill. Like I said, the aircon had no gas in it so it wasn't doing anything anyway. It was just sitting there being all heavy and power sapping :laugh:.

you,ll have an extra 10hp in total if you change that peashooter stock downpipe dan fwn

Yeah, I know :laugh:. I'll probably change it at some point. Maybe a whole Japspeed system, or save getting that until I get a 1.3. But I'm more focused on getting some 1.3 cams first. Is the 1.3 throttle body the same?

 

[hazzr]

very nice car mate

 

[Daniel]

Made another new addition to the Micra while I was at a mates house - parcel shelf with Nissan 6x9s, and some A-pillar tweeters. Might look into some CG13 cams tomorrow

 

[karlj]

Throttle bodies are the same

 

[TGK]

Looks funky that does

 

[Daniel]

Looks funky that does

Funky good or funky bad? :laugh:

 

[Tom 1.0]

Looks good.

Really reminds me of one of Dans old cars.

Get hold of some Phase II rear lights, I think they really tidy up the back of the facelift micras.

(Y)

 

[TGK]

Funky good or funky bad? :laugh:

Funky good

 

[Daniel]

Throttle bodies are the same

Ah, fair enough. Was thinking about fitting any 1.3 parts I could that would give me a few more horses - I've already fitted a 1.3 fuel rail/injectors, and am trying to get hold of some CG13 cams as well. Are there any engine parts off a 1.3 I can use (other than the ones I already have) that will give me more power, without doing an entire engine transplant?

Looks good.

Really reminds me of one of Dans old cars.

Get hold of some Phase II rear lights, I think they really tidy up the back of the facelift micras.

(Y)

Thanks mate, it's getting to where I want it to be. Slowly :laugh:.

I've tried fitting some pre-facelift rear lights to her, but the wiring is different (which is stupid, because the actual connector is the same). When you brake, the reverse light comes on, you put it in reverse and the brake light comes on, and all the lights come on when you indicate (or was it the other way round? :laugh. Either way, they won't fit - unless anyone can tell me otherwise :wasntme:.

Funky good

Thanks :laugh:. Funky isn't a word I normally hear when someone is describing my car :blush:

 

[karlj]

Afaik the 1.0 and 1.3 fuel rail and injectors are exactly the same so they won't give any extra hp

 

[Daniel]

Afaik the 1.0 and 1.3 fuel rail and injectors are exactly the same so they won't give any extra hp

Really? They must be putting more fuel into the engine, I would be very surprised if the only difference between the 1.0 and 1.3 is the bore, stroke, and cams. I would put 1.6 Almera injectors on, but I think it would just overfuel and run sluggish

 

[karlj]

The head flow differently I think

Have you got the fpr on? If so has it been setup properly?

 

[Daniel]

The head flow differently I think

Have you got the fpr on? If so has it been setup properly?

Yeah, I got the FPR on. It's running much better with it on, now that I've fitted my 4-1 manifold and removed the aircon. Just trying to find out what else I can do to get more power (other than CG13 cams, welding a different downpipe onto the manifold, and changing the midpipe). Don't want to go boosted until I get a 1.3 though

 

[Tom 1.0]

I've tried fitting some pre-facelift rear lights to her, but the wiring is different (which is stupid, because the actual connector is the same). When you brake, the reverse light comes on, you put it in reverse and the brake light comes on, and all the lights come on when you indicate (or was it the other way round? :laugh. Either way, they won't fit - unless anyone can tell me otherwise :wasntme:.

those ones, off the facelifted facelift.

(Y)

Or go all out and get some LED lights,

 

[Daniel]

those ones, off the facelifted facelift.

(Y)

Or go all out and get some LED lights,

Do those rear lights (the ones off the facelifted facelift) not have the bubble on the reverse and sidelights? Because that's why I wanted to get rid of my brakelights - so I didn't have the bubble. Did you have to do anything to the wiring at all?

And I've never been a fan of LED rear lights - think they just look tacky and "Halfords Special". I would really like a set of black tinted rear lights to go with my black tinted side repeaters (Y)

 

[Daniel]

Fitted my colour-coded tailgate spoiler back on today - decided the black one didn't look as good with the bolts holding it on the outside :doh:. Back up for sale now for £10 + p+p if anyone is interested?

Also put the finishing touches to my 4-1 manifold - new gaskets, and all sealed with exhaust putty (Y). Doesn't sound like a tractor when I'm ragging it anymore:grinning:! Unfortunatley, I have now lost the incredibly loud pop/spit of flame when I redline it in neutral or rag it through 1st/2nd/3rd :down:. I guess this is a good thing though, because it means it's not running rich anymore, and is definitely a bit quicker :grinning:.

 

[frank]

it was popping because of the leaks dan :grinning:

 

[Daniel]

it was popping because of the leaks dan :grinning:

Yeah, I know :laugh:. I'm really disappointed that I lost the popping (was incredibly loud from outside the car, and the flames were about a foot long (Y)), but at least I know my exhaust system is now completely sealed, so I'm not losing power. I still get small pops/rumbles when I let off the throttle, it's not really over the top. Also means that my mates SR has a leak somewhere, because his has quite a raspy pop :suspect: