scouk

As WRXMANIA said.. It's your ONLY point of contact with the road so is vital! as such buying the best you can afford is good advice.. Goodyear Asymetric's seem to be one of the best at the moment! I've got a set of Toyo T1-r's to go on for the summer. Never tried them before and heard they are quite slippy to begin with but get very grippy as they wear down. Got a good deal on them, but will seriously consider the Asymettrics once the Toyo's burn out Pirelli's seem to be hit and miss.. Some seem really good others just lethal in anythign other than dry warm tarmac.. I'm currently running Bridgestone RE050's (as reccomended by Subaru for the Impreza) Can't really failt them TBH good performance all roudn (except snow) and are not as expensive as the big boys. Vredesteins are supposed to be decent tyres for low cost too.. Not sure I'd trust "budget" tyres though.. When I first got my scoob it has cheapos on it and, it really felt bad..Didn't feel right at all and was shifting all over the place without trying.. Fresh set of good rubber all round made such a difference.. DOn't mind putting cheap tyres on another basic car but the Impreza should really have decent shoes.. What size of tyres are you looking at?

Kenny, no idea what your plate is... But if there's odd spacing on it then an automated ANPR system may not be able to read it properly.. I.e. A123 ABC is fine A1 ABC is fine A 1ABC is NOT fine. You coudl argue that the ANPR is a pish system that cant accomodate for the odd spacing.. Bit it's not so much the ANPR this layout and spacing has been law for a lot longer than the ANPR systems have been around.. the ANPR systems just help enforce the law.. TBH - I'm all for properly spaced/sized number plates that the police can easily pick up on! My car is detected everywhere it needs to.. I'm not that fussed about the big brother effect (although nearly got caught out at hte last SIDC meet where we discovered the B&Q in elgin have ANPR recognition and fine peopel who sit in the carpark more than 2hrs ) My Plates are legal.. Even after trimming the width of the one of the front, it is still legal Sure I could space out the letters and numbers differently to make it read a bit better but it's not worth the hassle.. even with the standard spacing it doesn't take much effort for someone to know what it reads.. Especially SIDC'ers.. I do agree that if your picked up for simply not having the BS AU mark or the postcode of manufactuer on it would be takign the piddle!! If it's plain reflective white on the front and plain reflective yellow on the back with the standard font and of a sensible size and layout then I don't see a problem. What annoys me is hearing stories of people getting pulled for slight mis-alignments when there are tons of cars goign aroudnw ith clearly dodgy plates with fonts virtually illegible to humans and deliberately cluttered backings designed to confuse cameras! Yet they never seem to get lifted for it. If you KNOW the plate is illegal then as mentioned previously you must be willing to pay the price for having it. Legal regulations for UK plates: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Perso...lates/DG_181503 http://www.theplatemarket.com/display_of_r...ion_numbers.php ... Perhaps this thread should be renamed the "SIDC rant-a-thon"

Why are police in the wrong place at the wrong time! Got overtaken by a old dear in a silver Nissan Micra today in a 30MPH zone!!! Came up behind, tailgated for a while, weaved in an out three times before finally overtaking! And no I aint making it up! Sooner I get the cameras fitted to the car the better!!! [/Rant over] Bit of a sod about the #plate though... But depends what the spacing was like.. If it was reading as somethgin other than what it actually was (by letters/numbers not beign in the appropriate locations) then makes sense.. The postcode and BS mark is right enough but minor really IMHO Good argument has always been if your car is stolen or whatever, it's much easier to trace if it has valid plates as ANPR and CCTV systems across the UK can easily pick it up and trace!

Eibach and Prodrives are very similar with the prodrives beign made to a slightly different specification, slightly better comfort and stiffness, but there's very little (if any) difference in ride height between the two.. AFAIK I've got the prodrives on my bug and it's a BIG difference over standard.. But they wear our the shocks a fair bit quicker.. Looking at getting a set of BC coilovers at somepoint rather than replace the shocks.. (again) Only thing about the prodrive springs is that I managed to break one within the first year but easily replaced with no fuss from dealer.. Must have been a one off as it's unheardof for these springs to break and it wasn't a usual place it split.. BTW - Minor thread hi-jack.. Now that a couple years have passed since people started using BC Coilovers, anyone had any issues with them? Anyones needed replacing/reconditioned ? If the'll need replaced every couple years I'd rather stick with replacing standard shocks every year.. It'd work out cheaper

Maybe this is the beginning of the end for prodrive... They loose WRC, then they miss out on F1 because they wont take Cosworth engines.. Then Subaru get Cosworth to do their next limited edition Impreza! They still build Group N cars and they have the Aston Martin team.. But it's surely a big blow for prodrive! What you describe there is similar to how companies react as they are about to disappear Hope I'm wrong though and fingers crossed you get thigns sorted soon

Or maybe a legacy: http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/subaru_legacy.asp All the goodies of the Hatch without the butt ugly rear end

IIRC from previous discussions... IT depends on whether or not the grooves are straight or curved.. If curved they should be sloping back (For dispersing of brake dust).. For straight grooves they should be cutting into the wheel direction (better cooling).. In the real world away from track use it probably wont make much of a difference.. The discs I have on the front are straight and the ones of the back are curved (I think) but in order to not look odd I fitted them to sthey are all sloping back.. No complaints about the brakes not beign up to the job

If you didn't need somethign practical Id have suggested teh ToyBaru FT 86: http://www.netcarshow.com/toyota/2009-ft-86_concept/ Otherwise Fozzy STi *drool* Of course there's always the new Cosworth Hatch at somepoint.. Maybe see how that looks when it comes along

Wheely bin cleaner

Couple more idea's in for the mix: Never usually a fan of rim tape but I quite like this: (rim tape should probably be more visable )

Yeow! glad your ok mate! 306's have great levels of grip, much more than you mught expect.. But they do snap very quickly at the limit! ... Really shouldn't be pushing a car that hard until you get to know it.. Particularly if your used to an Impreza! Very easy to overdrive other cars! BTW - Roof and just behind the A-pillar looks a bit nasty for doing a repair! Normally I'd expect that to be a write off! Or at least damage logged. P.s.. You really should see a doctor after even the smallest bang to the head! Many serious injuries can go un-notice because drivers "feel" fine but then flare up a few days later!

Prefer the white.. looks sharper and suits the car better (even if it is a sod to keep clean) The Red is different and a bit mad... I like the idea but If it were me, I think i'd stick with white.. Interested to see how it looks properly if you do make the change!

your welcome! Cant say for sure as mine were on the car when I got it and it looks like a pro job.. I've worked in the signwriting business in the past, so have had experience with vinyls and also applying window films to windows in homes and businesses (not cars strangely), need a shed load of patience in order to do a perfect job! It did take be an hour to remove both sides and it did come off in bits. It was no way as quick as removing vinyl.. The window film is super sitcky stuff without being sticky and as mentioned above it's applied wet to a very clean surface which makes it stick to a very clean flat surface but without loads of gluey stuff. Becomes more clingy than sticky, but once it's on, it's on semi-permanently.. No use if it bubbles everytime the sun came out or peeled off when you put the windows down.. But yeah as a couple others have mentioned if your not comfortable removing it yourself give someone local a call that can experience with removing the stuff.

I removed mine by hairdryer/heat gun.. It easy to do.. Make sure you warm up the glass, ideally leave it in teh sub if you can find any.. Then gently warm up a section about the size of your hand and start peeling away with your finger, try not to use any sharp instruments incase you scratch the glass. Take it one section at a time.. it probably wont come off in a oner and may tear as you go along but don't worry. Just repear the warming process with hairdryer and keep at it.. Be patient with it and dont pull/tug at it too hard , as you risk flexing the glass (since there's no door frame) and breaking it! but if you peel back on itself it shoudl be fine just keep an eye on it. If it feels 'stiff' warm the film up a little and continue.. As for residue, there shouldn't be much left, but gentle cleaning with surface cleaner or WD40 as suggested above will soon remove it.. took me an hour roughtly to do both front side windows but was easy enough to do.. as suggested above, for the rear window try stickign the rear heater on a for a while to warm it up from between the glass and the film

My er.. van.. With Full Tints: With just rears Yep thats standard manufacturer tint on the front, no film! (Drivers window is down):

WoW! nice work! That looks great! Goes to show that even though you keep your car clean there's SOOOO much more can be done with a littl eextra TLC Just remember to try stay on top of it and it will last for ages looking like that Sshweeet!

I know some tinting companies have their own equipment for testing, but TBH your best bet is to go along to your local Police Station and ask if someone can test it for you.. That will be the definative answer rather than someone wanting to sell you tints..

Just remember that the standard windscreen and side windows on modern cars are already tinted by the manufacturer and often allow only 70%-80% light through from the factory.. So by the time any film is added, your goign to be illegal.. When i bought my scoob it had tints all round (Except windscreen).. The film on the front didn't seem that dark and I didn't consider it to be unsafe.. yet I got pulled (ooh err!) and they tested it and it was showing light level off less than 30% Needless to say, £60, 3 points and prohabition notice put on the car! They did explain to me that many places tint the windows calimign the tint film is legal, by the time it put onto already tinted glass it's illegal! Notice Del's hatch clearly has a good amount of tint on the front as standard! If your goign down that route, best to get it checked before and after.. otherwise face the penalty Penalty wise I think 30%-70% was just £60 fine but below 30% light and it's a sore one.. Did have pice of mine before and after but cant find them off hand..

Good job! Dont want any of that stuff going through the engine! Must'ave been damn awkward to get in there to clear it out! No problem about the code reading.. Always nice to know there's nothing lurking around.. Not every error shows as CEL... Well that's the snow cleared away after 3 months.. Had a look today to see whats involved with removign teh diff.. OMG! That's not an easy driveway job!! Goign to try a few more trial n' error attempts at re-installing the drive shaft lock ring from the outside tomorrow..

Wow! thats quite something! not heard of that happeenign before.. I guess if it somehow became hot enough the ceramic would become brittle and fizzle away Great to hear all is sorted now!

Nice! Funny how small changes make a big difference to a car.. Looks much sharper at the front! Youll have to start looking up those HiD's next What pads are you running at the mo? My rears were replaces with Ferodo DS2500's last year and a set of cheapo grooved discs and boy what a difference! Got black diamond pads and discs on the front.. When I changed them not much difference.. Will be looking to swap the fronts out for DS2500's next time.. It's been the first time I'd actualyl had faith in the impreza brakes! Was looking at upgrading to APRacing calipers but going to try the DS2500's all round first! Even with standard WRX 4 pots..

I seem to recall the speakers need to be pretty thin and even them will need a small spacer (for fronts anyway) Infinity 6030cs were the ones most people were goign for as they include the small tweeters too :thumbsup: Interested to hear what you go for. I've been considering ditching the rear door ones and sticking 6x9's in the parcel shelf Having the rear speakers so low down in the footwells seems daft IMHO..

Halfords is probably the best bet in the area.. I think there was a place in Nairn that did that sort of stuff but not sure if they are still on the go or not.. Can't remember their name.. Not sure about Inverness, but there's a place in Inverurie thats a sort of halfords ish but more car related: http://shop.autoparts-inverurie.co.uk/ Not been there but planning a trip through at somepoint.. For aberdeen there's checkpoint on George Street or I think Holburn Hi-Fi on Holburn street specialise in car audio stuff.. But selection is limited.. I've been looking at buying a JVC KD-DV7402 (already have a 7" screen in the car), but best options and prices seems to be had online.

Fair enough... Learn new things all the time on ere' Did the same sort of thing myself... Damaged a tone wheel while checking out a suspect wheel bearing and needed to replace ALthough managed to tap out the drive shaft without damaging it.. But that was the start of what's become a 3month (and counting) job.. It's all now become a long story... for another day....