Kitaro - 2004 Daihatsu Copen

[StevenRB45]

Covered 450 happy miles, mostly with the roof down. All appears ok so time to treat him to an oil change. Well... my low profile oil filter still proved to be an absolute arse to extract...

so I took the bumper off again
View attachment 445183
This time I decided to take the intercooler out to give it a clean, that was a mistake too. The hose clamps were a huge pain to get back on, they're sprung rather than a simple jubilee clip, much swearing later they were reattached, I don't think it was really worth it, I didn't even take an 'after' photo.

Now this may be a stupid question but is there a particular reason they couldn't be replaced with standard jubilee clips?

Not that you'll be cleaning the intercooler regularly I'd assume..

 

[Didge3]

Now this may be a stupid question but is there a particular reason they couldn't be replaced with standard jubilee clips?

Not that you'll be cleaning the intercooler regularly I'd assume..

Jubilee clips don't provide even clamping force on all sides, the various cars with turbos I've owned haven't used jubilee clips on the boost hoses although I'm sure it would probably be fine to use them. I don't intend to take it off again so thought I'd struggle through getting it back on and never touch it!

 

[StevenRB45]

Jubilee clips don't provide even clamping force on all sides, the various cars with turbos I've owned haven't used jubilee clips on the boost hoses although I'm sure it would probably be fine to use them. I don't intend to take it off again so thought I'd struggle through getting it back on and never touch it!

Odd on a light pressure set up though..

This is the boost on the C3...yes it's absolutely manky.

Orange hot boost going down to the intercooler, black cooled boost coming back.

Or perhaps the french don't give a toss.

 

[Didge3]

Odd on a light pressure set up though..

This is the boost on the C3...yes it's absolutely manky.

Orange hot boost going down to the intercooler, black cooled boost coming back.

Or perhaps the french don't give a toss.

I'll have to check my friends 208 GTi as his engine bay looks very similar to yours but I expect it is running more boost. Twinairs use Clic-R clamps, having had a look back through old pictures though it would appear my Saab had jubilee clips which managed 19psi alright so I assume its probably fine.

 

[blu73]

are you talking about these??

They don't do anything fancy and won't hold more even or as tight as a jubilee. Japanese manufacturers love these, my suzuki only has these pretty much.
You can buy special pliers to latch onto the tabs and click open but i never find them that hard, they can be a struggle with access issues but if you don't like them replacing with jubilees will be fine. The advantage of them i guess is you don't overtighten hose clamps which i find people do A LOT. And putting these together in factory with the appropriate tool is no doubt significantly faster than other types of hose clamp.

 

[blu73]

Side note on hose clamps in general - people seem to use t-bolt clamps alot on high boost aftermarket stuff. Over the years it has become a thing that is said all over the place, replace jubilees with t-bolts to hold high boost. But I have seen a convincing argument on how they are better at holding a hose on. Seems to me they will take repeated removal and refitting better due it using an actual nut and bolt to tighten rather than a little worm drive. But they don't really do the equal pressure thing they claim, they still pinch at the point the tighten up (why hose clamps just leak if you tighten them too much).

Fuel line clips do a pretty good job at equal pressure, but clearly they are all really small.

Murray Clamps though, correct name 'murray constant tension clamps', they really are equal pressure. You rarely see them though, i think i've seen like maybe 3 or 4 people ever use them outside motorsport. Jubilee is basically good for anything on a car except perhaps fuel lines.

^^just my opinion

 

[Didge3]

are you talking about these??
View attachment 446020

They don't do anything fancy and won't hold more even or as tight as a jubilee. Japanese manufacturers love these, my suzuki only has these pretty much.
You can buy special pliers to latch onto the tabs and click open but i never find them that hard, they can be a struggle with access issues but if you don't like them replacing with jubilees will be fine. The advantage of them i guess is you don't overtighten hose clamps which i find people do A LOT. And putting these together in factory with the appropriate tool is no doubt significantly faster than other types of hose clamp.

Yes those, good to know. I just fought with them, they were unbelievably stiff and quite sharp so if your pliers slide off they can really bite you. The small ones are easy to remove, it was just the two large ones on the intercooler that were too wide for my pliers so I had to use a combination of pliers and a worm drive adjustable spanner thing, it wasn't the ideal route but it worked in the end.

Side note on hose clamps in general - people seem to use t-bolt clamps alot on high boost aftermarket stuff. Over the years it has become a thing that is said all over the place, replace jubilees with t-bolts to hold high boost. But I have seen a convincing argument on how they are better at holding a hose on. Seems to me they will take repeated removal and refitting better due it using an actual nut and bolt to tighten rather than a little worm drive. But they don't really do the equal pressure thing they claim, they still pinch at the point the tighten up (why hose clamps just leak if you tighten them too much).

Fuel line clips do a pretty good job at equal pressure, but clearly they are all really small.

Murray Clamps though, correct name 'murray constant tension clamps', they really are equal pressure. You rarely see them though, i think i've seen like maybe 3 or 4 people ever use them outside motorsport. Jubilee is basically good for anything on a car except perhaps fuel lines.

^^just my opinion

It was only something I had read once about jubilee clips not having equal clamping force and it was the reason the other, more awkard to remove... clips exist, if I find myself removing them again I will replace with jubilee I suppose.

 

[StevenRB45]

Not sure what boost pressure the Copen runs but the C3 is 11 pounds as standard and can be turned up to 17 pounds with no changes.

As standard I highly doubt you'll trouble the clamps much, but obviously one of those things where unless it needs to come apart again there's no point messing with it.

 

[Didge3]

Not sure what boost pressure the Copen runs but the C3 is 11 pounds as standard and can be turned up to 17 pounds with no changes.

As standard I highly doubt you'll trouble the clamps much, but obviously one of those things where unless it needs to come apart again there's no point messing with it.

Copen pushes a mighty 15psi, I'm unlikely to remove the intercooler again (will I hope not anyway) so they can sit there until they rust away probably

 

[blu73]

Yes those, good to know. I just fought with them, they were unbelievably stiff and quite sharp so if your pliers slide off they can really bite you. The small ones are easy to remove, it was just the two large ones on the intercooler that were too wide for my pliers so I had to use a combination of pliers and a worm drive adjustable spanner thing, it wasn't the ideal route but it worked in the end.

I tend to go for mole grips, awkward to get them on sometime but once its clamped its clamped. Failing that water pump pliers work well on the big ones.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Yes those, good to know. I just fought with them, they were unbelievably stiff and quite sharp so if your pliers slide off they can really bite you.

we’ve all been there, we all feel your pain and bare those same scars.

Worse still when you’re trying to squeeze something like pliers really hard and they slip off and literally the pliers bite you by then suddenly trapping some skin in the handle just behind the hinge.
It’s making me wince just thinking about it.

I now change all clips to the jubilee type where I can these days, cheap clips can be prone to breaking

 

[blu73]

ah yes, the pliers blood blister, we have indeed all done it

 

[StevenRB45]

I suppose the question is have you done everything you wanted with it?

The only cars I've regretted selling were ones I had "unfinished business" with. As then you end looking at them in a few years and wishing you hadn't sold it looking at the prices/man mathsing storage solutions then hopefully going to bed before pressing buy it now.

If you've done what you wanted to do and it's not bringing you joy anymore then perhaps let it go and find something else?

It's possibly a little old and rare these days for an only car, parts availability is only going to get worse.

 

[Didge3]

I suppose the question is have you done everything you wanted with it?

The only cars I've regretted selling were ones I had "unfinished business" with. As then you end looking at them in a few years and wishing you hadn't sold it looking at the prices/man mathsing storage solutions then hopefully going to bed before pressing buy it now.

If you've done what you wanted to do and it's not bringing you joy anymore then perhaps let it go and find something else?

It's possibly a little old and rare these days for an only car, parts availability is only going to get worse.

When I first got it I envisagend modifying, perhaps just a remap really. But on further research the EUDM and JDM cars have completely different ECU's so all the JDM remapped examples do not apply to the cars we got here. Nobody has mapped an EU 660 car, the only real option is to go full custom ECU which is expensive & complicated, plus it seems the factory turbo can't push much more than it already does so gained are realistically limited to about 80hp. Bigger turbos that fit are available in Japan but again cost would be crazy for maybe 100hp or so.

Parts have generally been a nightmare, oil filters are wrong so you have to go to specific websites to get the correct stubby one, the alternator took me weeks to find and was silly money and now the coil spring (should've done them in a pair but cost was also a bit silly).

I love it on a sunny day on a winding back lane with the roof down, unfortunately that is probably at most about 30% of my driving. I think I am slowly falling out of love and the vandalism (however minor) is the straw that broke the camels back. The big problem is replacing it... whatever it is needs to be as fun to drive ideally but not too impractical for longer journeys or winter usage...

 

[StevenRB45]

From what you've said it doesn't sound like you need a "Toy" car right now and the parts availability will always mean it's a bit of lottery if anything breaks how long repairs take.

I'm in a similar position in that I like something a bit odd ball but it also needs to be transport so if it's a pain it's more of a thing than if it was a second car.

I'd not prefer to offer car advice on the basis a green C3 means I've got no idea what I'm talking about really

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I think you need as golf everyone needs a golf





R

 

[blu73]

There are defo better dailies out there than a Copen, cool as it is lol. If its time its time, don't feel bad about it, be excited about potential new cool car.

From what you've said it doesn't sound like you need a "Toy" car right now and the parts availability will always mean it's a bit of lottery if anything breaks how long repairs take.

I'm in a similar position in that I like something a bit odd ball but it also needs to be transport so if it's a pain it's more of a thing than if it was a second car.

I'd not prefer to offer car advice on the basis a green C3 means I've got no idea what I'm talking about really

This is why i love the cube, its different but its still just micra parts, not particularly old micra parts at that. The Ignis is amusingly much harder to get bits for than the car we actually imported lol. Something imported might not be a bad shout tbf @Didge3 - loads of quirky cool options.

 

[Didge3]

There are defo better dailies out there than a Copen, cool as it is lol. If its time its time, don't feel bad about it, be excited about potential new cool car.


This is why i love the cube, its different but its still just micra parts, not particularly old micra parts at that. The Ignis is amusingly much harder to get bits for than the car we actually imported lol. Something imported might not be a bad shout tbf @Didge3 - loads of quirky cool options.

Yeah true... I just wanted it to work out, I've really loved the car previously but I think it has now fizzled out. Something imported could be cool, as with the Cube it would have to be dependent on whether parts are compatible with something that was actually sold here.

I'm in a similar position in that I like something a bit odd ball but it also needs to be transport so if it's a pain it's more of a thing than if it was a second car.

I'd not prefer to offer car advice on the basis a green C3 means I've got no idea what I'm talking about really

Tbf I like the C3, well I like the colour and I'm sure its mildly entertaining at time, anything small with a turbo can be fun, saying that I'm not sure I'd want one but there are far more boring cars to own than a green C3!

 

[StevenRB45]

It would be an entirely worthy and forgettable save for the colour and the engine. I've had none turbo ones and hated them...so dull.

All it needs is an engine the chassis isn't really set up to take and it becomes fun to try and helm it about without putting it on it's side or making your passengers ill.

Other than that the fun comes from my sense of mischief..and playing with people's expectation of how fast it is. Not fast...but significantly faster than most expect.