Jono's 07 Euro

**jono_l** · 12-04-2011 03:30 PM

Hi all,

Been a bit of a lurker here over the past few months, but have finally gotten the car up to what I consider to be a presentable state and thought I'd post it up!

We bought the car last December with 62xxx kms on the clock, a '07 Euro Lux Auto. I used to own a manual Holden Vectra (very expensive trouble), but had to go with the auto as this car gets driven by other family members. Asides from the slushbox (which to be fair isn't that bad), I've been loving every single bit of this car! Smooth, powerful enough for most situations, and handles very well for something its weight.

First thing I did was to add a Parrot bluetooth kit to the car. Picked up a refurbed CK3000 Evo unit off eBay for around $60, another $20 on a plug-n-play wiring harness, and spent an evening wiring it in. Was a scary experience pulling apart the centre console of a "new" car, but managed to only lose one clip somewhere into the shifter assembly.
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Decided to mount the bluetooth control pad next to the sunroof and VSA switches, and ran the mic up next to the rain sensor above the rear view mirror. This is the end result:
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I couldn't stand the flat driver's side mirror on the car as I always felt it left me with a blind spot that even a shoulder check couldn't quite cover. Ordered a set of original JDM mirrors which are convex on both sides. They're also blue tinted which looks flash. If anybody is interested I'll dig up the part numbers for these - I got them through japanparts.com. Also installed the sports pedal set at the same time - I'm sure everybody knows what they look like !
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Finally was able to give the car a decent clean over the weekend, and this is how she stands right now:
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Next up is probably a rear sway bar. Was also thinking about lowering it, but getting shocks and springs (or coilovers) is a bit out of my budget right now. Also a bit worried about practicality issues, as I already have to angle the car in and out of our driveway. It seems that even the Eibach pro kit would probably drop the car to a point where it would scrape. For now, I'll probably be enjoying the car largely as Honda intended it to be!

**opilot87** · 12-04-2011 08:44 PM

Looks mint! I recently bought one too and am just getting to the stage where I am nearly happy with it.

I'm very interested in more info about the mirrors! I'm glad someone else notices these things, all mirrors should be convex! I had already thought about this, as I have seen some kind of stick on replacement mirrors that are convex, but wasn't too sure how good it would look. Did you replace the whole mirror or just the glass? Would be interested in part numbers / rough price if you can!

Cheers,
Ollie

**antony** · 12-04-2011 10:42 PM

You will LOVE the Euro after the Vectra,I had an Astra,and it was a lemon.

Then upgradDed to a Jetta,and now have a Euro,love it.

**Ollie89** · 12-04-2011 11:58 PM

Very neat mate.

**jono_l** · 13-04-2011 08:51 PM

Thanks for the comments guys!

Ollie, I'd also looked into the stick on replacements available from eBay. Whilst they were certainly the most cost effective, I decided against it as I imagine it'd look pretty shoddy.

Went for replacement glass only - the part numbers are:

76203-SEA-J32 - RH side, convex, non heated
76253-SEA-J32 - LH side, convex, non heated

I was quoted 11,300 yen for both sides, and express shipping cost around $30-$40AUD all up (including the sports pedal set). Installation was pretty straight forward - just pry out the old mirrors and clip on the new ones. A word of warning though - the OEM blue tint causes a slight double vision effect compared to the standard mirrors. It was a bit unnerving at first, but I don't notice it anymore after 2 weeks. If you want I can try take some comparison pics for you (still have the original glass lying around).

Antony, good to see another ex "European" Holden owner! My Vectra would have made most Astras look reliable. I had mine from 54k to 102k km's. In that time, I had to replace the water pump, crank sensor, tie rods, power steering pipe (ruptured!), clock spring (caused steering wheel to randomly jam around corners), rear engine mount, several oil gaskets/seals, heater tap, and the starter motor. The last straw was a broken speed sensor and failing idle control valve, leaving me with no speedo/ABS and a car that would stall at the lights - not much fun when you're covering 100-150km each day for work!

I absolutely love the Euro, even if it's just for the fact that I've done 8000km's without a single issue!

**kural7** · 13-04-2011 09:21 PM

can you post piks of the sport pedals please?

**opilot87** · 13-04-2011 11:46 PM

Thanks Jono. I spent ages today trying to find them! I did however discover some people had electrically folding mirrors though! I searched for those part numbers at the website you mentioned, but nothing came up. I tried in google and have only got one store from Japan I think. They seem a fair bit more expensive but will look into it. Thanks for the info, if you know of them available anywhere else please let me know!

Ollie

**jono_l** · 14-04-2011 12:11 AM

Kural7, I seem to have used up all my attachment size quota on my first post. I do have pics; I'll post them up once I sort out a different image host.

Ollie, I briefly looked into the electronic folding mirrors too, but quickly put them into the too hard/too expensive basket! Japanparts.com do special orders if you submit an enquiry to them via the "Contact" link on their home page - that's how I got mine through them. The other store you found on Google was probably Super GT (asking around $100AUD per side)? That's actually where I got the part numbers from in the first place

**opilot87** · 14-04-2011 01:35 AM

Exactly right! And I agree i'm fairly sure if I find folding mirrors they will be outrageously expensive. But I will send an enquiry to Japanparts, thanks a million!

Ollie