My first car - 2007 Astra CDX!

[Astranomical]

So finally I get a chance to create my own "Show Off Your Ride" thread

Anyway, its not a Commodore, but still a Holden (sort of), its a 2007 Astra! I wasn't really all that keen on getting a FWD car at first, since the other buzzboxes I've driven have left a bit to be desired, but I have to admit, I'm really impressed with how this Astra goes. Despite being FWD it doesn't understeer anywhere near as bad as I thought it would, and while its no Commodore, I have to say, I really like it. Anyway, pics are below, I'll probably take a couple more in a few days.

[hwy747]

At least you like it, that is all that really matters!! One day you will get a Commodore

[PaulSV6]

Nice mate,

Whats the performance like?

[naf33n]

nice car mate, i like that colour,
i used to be a bit of a hater towards the astra, but then my sister got one, then my mum got one, then i got one.... all the same year as yours
i got the manual turbo deasel over here in the uk, deffently goes better then i was expecting, and lots of fun to drive in the snow

[levymetal]

i think the astra's are real good looking cars. after reading the other thread and seeing how people said the autos were gutless, what's your take on that? reckon it goes alright or is it a bit weak? my mum might be buying one soon so it would be good to find out what to expect before we test drive

[naf33n]

yes the autos are weak, my mum and sis have petrol autos, very sluggish, basicly chalk and cheese compared to my manual turbo deasal

[Astranomical]

Thanks guys. As for the performance, I have the 1.8L petrol engine which puts out exactly 90kW, half that of our VE. Compared to our VE, its quite a step down in many ways, being FWD and having less power...if you're coming from a Commodore, you will be quite disappointed. However, the car I got to drive most of the time before the Astra wasn't our VE, it was our '95 Hilux 4WD, which has a 2.5L diesel engine with less power than...well...I don't know what lol, and "handling" that reminded me of what it would be like to be inside a shopping trolley going down a steep hill. Compared to that, the Astra is quite a considerable step up, as I said for a FWD car it handles very well, I'm especially impressed with how well it handles corners. And yeah, I do have the 4 speed auto, as I said if you compare it to any Commodore you will be disappointed, though for what it is its quite alright.

naf33n: Yeah, I was never much of a fan in the Astra in the past either, though I still always thought it was better than that Cruze thing...though I really have to say, they are quite a nice car to drive, I have to be honest, I never knew a little FWD car could be so nice to drive. The only real downside to it that I've discovered so far is that there's no AUX in, and the guys at our local Holden dealer don't know anything about whether or not its possible to add one. I've done some Googling and discovered that its nearly impossible for Astras with my headunit (CDC-40 OPERA), oh well looks like I'm stuck with the FM transmitter for a while yet if I want to use my iPod.

Finally, I've attached a shot of the engine bay, behold my 1.8L of German-engineered power.

[sweefu]

How is it on petrol mate?
Any plans for it?

[Astranomical]

It depends on how I drive it...if I'm barely touching the accelerator and I don't have the air-con on, its pretty good on fuel. However, if I start pushing it around a bit it does get a bit more thirsty.

As far as mods go, I don't have any planned at the moment, to be honest I really quite like the way it is, the only thing I intend to do is to upgrade the sound system, put in some decent speakers and a head unit that I can plug my iPod into.

[Astranomical]

Thought I better update this - thanks to some dumb shit in a Hilux that needs to go back to driving school, the Astra is off the road for a little while.

[Patti2912]

Shit,
All i can think about when i look at those pictures is how much you would have shit yourself when the Hilux hit you, especially hitting on the drivers side, lol.
Hope you weren't hurt.

[Astranomical]

Yeah, I knew he was behind me, but there was less than one second between him being behind me, and next to me...at that point I knew we were going to hit and couldn't do anything but yell "WHAT THE ####" at the top of my voice. I was fine, not a scratch on me, was just pissed off that my car was wrecked thanks to some clown who should hand in his license and catch the bus.

Anyway it was his fault (overtaking through an intersection, and without due care) and his insurer paid out, car was fixed a bit over a month ago and is all as good as new now Which reminds me - I should get around to taking new pics, and perhaps updating my avatar.

[Astranomical]

So today I decided to pull some finger out and take some new pics of it with the damage repaired. The guys at the smash repair place did a fantastic job with it, you can't tell the car was in an accident. Also a photo of something I did about a month back, installed a vent in the glovebox thats standard on higher level Astras that routes air from the air con system into the glovebox, great for keeping drinks and stuff cold, only cost about $11 too. One of those little things I think they should just make standard on all cars.

[Astranomical]

Finally got around to getting a 'bee sting' antenna for it (I don't listen to the radio so radio reception is not an issue for me), so it no longer looks like a bloody oversized RC car. Only a small thing, but it makes the car look a whole lot better.

[Astranomical]

Today I decided to spend some money:



Looking forward to finally being able to listen to my iPod in my car without having to screw around with bloody FM transmitters. The dash kit, CANBUS adapter, etc is on order and will be here next week.

[Astranomical]

So the bits required to fit the new HU finally showed up as such it went in today.



Before I started



Glovebox and HU removed, all ready to go (for what its worth, if you're using a coathanger rather than the proper set of removal keys, getting the OEM HU out is a PITA, I'd imagine its probably the same on Commodores) And yes, that lantern is ON - it is quite dark in my garage.



The OEM head unit - CDC 40 Opera. While this is a great head unit (its actually a 6 disc in dash stacker), unfortunately GM are pricks and will not allow Holden access to the software required to enable the AUX input.



Powering it up for the very first time - it works! And there's no magic smoke.



Testing it with my iPod - unfortunately my iPod is geriatric which means I have to use the AUX input rather than the USB connection, but its still infinitely better than the crappy FM transmitter I used before...and had to strategically place on my rear parcel shelf in order to hear anything at all.



The finished product!

[Astranomical]

Just to update this, the other day I decided to spend some more money, picked up a set of components for the front as well as some dynamat for the front doors, once I have some more funds I want to do the rest of the car, as well as add an amp and sub, and possibly upgrade the rear speakers. Haven't had much of a chance to try them out yet but so far they're much better than the stock crappy speakers (mind you, I'm not surprised)

[sweefu]

Good stuff man Money spent on sound deadening is money well spent. Can make $300 speakers sound like $800 speakers.