mfnick

Brilliant thread mate! I love this type of stuff, really interesting. I doff my cap to you good man! People like you who do this type of thing at home just amaze me, I can't even begin to imagine how I'd do this kind of thing myself. But I sure would love to! Well done!

Over weekend I decided to fit my recently purchased iPod aux adaptor for the aftermarket stereo that's fitted. Was surprisingly easy :) Firstly removed the glovebox Then drilled a 32mm hole in the top of the surround. Had to be so big to fit the plug through. Due to the plastic being so thick a normal grommet wouldn't fit properly. Luckily had a 32mm locknut and bush with rubber insert which fitted perfectly. Only problem being it wasn't black, but when it's fitted in the car unless you lean down and look for it you can't see it anyway. Next I removed my radio, or at least pulled it out enough to access the rear of it. Plugged the lead in, screwed everything back and tested. Boom! Working perfectly! Not that I listen to it much when I've got that awesome burble and turbo noises, but its nice to have for longer motorway journeys to tracks & great driving roads. :)

Yea they closed it for hardly any rain at all! I was really !Removed! off to be honest. Cost me over £100 for entry, fuel there and back & the 1 run. It took them until past 10:30 to open the track up (meant to be 9:30) in the first place due to a little shower that had happened a while earlier too. Thing is I know a regular there and when he went a few months I'm sure he said he went on in the rain. I just don't get it. I can understand the dedicated, purpose but drag cars with slicks being turned away (i doubt theyd want to run in that anyway) but regular road cars on regular tyres - surely we should be allowed on it still. Anyway, I won't be going again unless its sunny I know that much.

Well it ended up being a right waste of time and money. Due to them closing the track for any speck of rain I only got one run and that one was rubbish thanks to to the guy on the line. He was pushing and motioning me to go even before the lights turned. So I did - didn't record a time and in my confusion of why I was being forced to go so completely messed up the launch. Not like it matters since it didnt record it but still... He organisation and the communication (not letting you know when they close the track, when its back open, why a handfulof us couldnt do proper runs etc.) was **** poor! Really disappointed. Definitely wont be going outside the summer months when it's dry again.

!Removed!!! Haha!! Better not get caught on a bad run mate ;) . Are you going to be running?

Ill do my best. I'm making sure my mate gets a few of mine on the strip that's for sure. Never got one of the Civic, won't be making that mistake again. May take a vid too, wont post if its embarrassing though haha!

Thanks Gambit ill give that a quick try over weekend. I didn't know they were doing drifting as well his Sunday! Ace! Ill definitely be watching some of that between my runs on the strip :)

Now then, I'm off to Santa Pod this Sunday. Thing is I've only done it in a FWD car before - specifically my Civic Type R. Now that was pretty simple, just had to balance it well enough to keep wheels pin to a minimum and change just before the limiter. But the Impreza, that's a different beast. First of all from a couple of practice launches ready for the weekend I've done I keep getting bogged down. Even when I tried to hold the revs quite high - between 3500-4000. Now I only did 3 test runs since i didn't want to destroy the clutch & didnt go mental haha! I'm guessing I just need to hold the clutch for longer? I did a little on my 3rd test but not a great deal to protect it as much as poss but even so it made little to no difference. I'm also thinking this just may be how it is with AWD? Any drag runs I've seen on TV with 4 wheel drive cars do all seem to have a split second at the start where they hardly move before shooting off. Am I right in thinking that? Also I take it its probably not the best idea taking it to the redline as I would in a N/A car and will actually be better short shifting - but making sure I'm at the correct revs for full boost in the next gear. Again, am I right in thinking that? Any other tips also welcome! Ill only be doing 2-3 runs by the way - only one of which will be a full on go. Want to keep the stress on the car to a minimum while still enjoying myself.

Now those are dream choices! !Removed! mint choice with Danger Mouse!!! I use to love that!

My last 2 cars were black before the Scoob. I say I'll never have another but I also said that after my first black car and still got one! Thing is, when its just been cleaned, polished and waxed no other colour looks that damn good!

Ah, glad it's not just me :)

Yea it's striking that happy balance with the exhaust. 2.5" bore seems to be ideal for most set-ups. Definitely wouldn't go higher on N/A. It got me around an extra 15bhp in my 2l Civic & yea you could get around 10% extra there. But for the price would you really say its worth it - especially if your insurer is a pain with mods thatll be extra too. I doubt you'd notice that extra 16bhp much on its own. It'll no doubt be more responsive but you'll be very surprised just how quickly you'd get used to it. I'd save up and upgrade it properly or for the amount it'd probably cost to do that buy a WRX.

After a bit of help on the site please guys. For some reason on a couple of sections of the forum when I click into it it doesnt show any posts and says there are no topics but on the main page it says there is. I seem to only get it in the "Subaru parts for sale" section and "Tyres/Weels & Suspension". Any ideas?

Just want to add to this. Recently took my Blob STi here for the 60k major service and can't recommend them enough. Martin and his mate Dave are top blokes, gave me loads of great advice, more than happy to talk car crap with me, gave me a great price for the works and most importantly did a thorough and brilliant job. One of the hardest parts of owning performance cars is finding a mechanic/garage you can trust to look after it. Not only to do a good job but for a reasonable price too. I've only been once so far but I feel confident saying this is one of them. I'll be taking mine here throughout my ownership (and maybe future marques depending on his experience/confidence with them) for any and all works from now on.

Got to say that's how I've always heard it to be too. Never had a Evo so can't say from experience but from what I've read/heard the Evo is at home on a track and a bit frustrating everywhere else whereas the STi can do the track - not quite as well - but can also do everything else well too. Plus the Evo costs a **** load more to run for no real public road gain. I have to admit to being a Evo fan too though. :) Obviously I'm more than happy to get involved with the war for a laugh but I do like Evo 5, 6, 8 & 9's. 9 is prob my fave followed by the 5 TM Edition.

Gutted. No worries bud.

Same here. Don't believe in God at all. Aliens however - must exist surely. The sheer size of the universe plus endless space and you're telling me ours is the only planet with life on it? Not a chance. Ancient aliens on our planet though as I understand the program you're talking about says... Can't say I believe that either, I'm sure there's other explanations for any "weird ****" that's happened throughout time.

A remap on small N/A engines will give little to no gains unless you upgrade breathing parts - exhaust, induction kit, manifolds mainly. Even then you may not make massive gains depending on the engine. Unless it left the factory in a low tune which that hasn't I don't think if it has 160 standard. Sorry for the bad news, but hey, isn't your insurance too high anyway ;)

Haha same here. Forcing people to make it a 10 is part of the fun though. Plus it'd never end if you lot were given free reign ;)

Some excellent choices there!!! Those classic cars are beauties! Like how much the 12C has popped up too. And the Lancia Delta? Nice choice!

Good thinking on the LFA! I like the idea of adding a proper rally spec car in there too. Have you heard they're now thinking of bringing the 2014 STi to us if there's enough interest? Although the spy shots of the actual model are out there now and it doesn't look anywhere near as good as that concept. They're only "re-examining" it but better than nothing - http://www.pistonheads.com/roadtests/doc.asp?c=26&i=28442 Spy shots of actual model - http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=178&i=27560

Hopefully. Doesn't hurt having a back up like you say though. Especially at £15 :) Plus itll be useful if I decide I want it to be less chavy haha. Im pretty immature and like it though so doubt thatll happen.

A staple of any car forum Shirley? Mine changes quite often and some slip my mind but as it stands at the moment. In no particular order. Ascari A10 The sound, the style, the rawness and the fact you get access to a track. Love it! Been a fave ever since I saw it on Top Gear. Honda NSX Meant to be one of the best handling cars of all time. The styling holds up really well today IMO too. Plus after owning 1 Type R and driving a few more, gotta say I love a bit of vtec. Pagani Zonda One of the only modern super/hypercars that doesn't let electronics interfere. Plus, just look at them. The attention to detail is second to none. One of my fave interiors of any car too. Only beaten by the Huayra IMO. '67 Shelby Mustang GT500 Yes, Eleanor. Might be a bit of a cliché choice nowadays but I don't care. Absolutely love it. McLaren F1 Does anything really need to be said about this one? I hope the P1 will enter this list when its out but itll never match this. Its a different approach and have to say I prefer the old ways. Nissan Skyline GT-R34 Yep, im a child of the GT generation and this car definitely left its impact on me. Jap Muscle at its best. I prefer the angular look to the R35 and I may one day own a R33 if its prices don't rise too much in the future but this is the model ill always love most. Lamborghini Aventador Its mental!! & just look at it!!! Have to admit im a massive Lambo fan and this is probably my favourite. Jaguar F-Type Has to be the V8 one. People may say the V6S is the best but give me that extra power and that noise over it anyday. Plus I love a good V8. One of the best looking cars on sale today too I think. Mercedes SLS AMG Black Edition Cant beat a AMG engine. And I love the more mental Black range. Not exactly ugly either is it? Pinnacle of the range IMO. Subaru Impreza STi Haha, yep really. Honestly dreamed of owning one of these for as long as I can remember. Just been lucky that I can now actually afford one. As for which version - that changes all the time. One day its a classic 22b. The next day its the Blobeye like I own now - although given choice and money id have a late DCCD Widetrack one with the revised interior. But yea, I can still say I own one of my dream cars :D If im really pushed I suppose another more "exclusive" car would take this place but still... Some noteable exceptions - Aston Martin. One of my favourite car brands but just cant decide on a model that really stands out. Porsche - Apart from the last gen GT3 they do nothing for me at all, find them a bit bland The GT3 is pretty special though, but just doesn't quite make it in. Ferrari - I don't know why but its not a car brand im really mad about. I like their cars - the F12, 458, F40 etc. are all great cars but I dunno. They just don't excite my soul like others. Anyway, what are your choices?

Thanks for that! What're these ones from then please Ash?

Is the recirc dump valve same across all models, ages, types etc.? If so and it'll fit mine ill have one please. Got a aftermarket turbosmart one with mine which I hear can cause problems so want a standard for back up in case it decides to screw up on me.