sparky_sj04

Nice one Grant, cheers for that..

Grant, do you have ducting from the cover running up inside the wing to the standard airbox then? Any reason for choosing the Green panel filter over the hundreds of other options? Cheers Mark

Hellish mate.. made even worse by the fact it wasn't caused by anything you did wrong.. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!!!

Just wet tarmac dude.... fairly well sealed though... not like we get on the roads!!

Mine actually went for a service and came back a day later feeling a lot more slippy!! weird.. I think they've put too much air in the tyres (purely speculation) and i'm back in Brazil now so can't check... defo a few slippy roads about the now though........

Alright mate, What have you done to your car from standard? And what remap did you get? Stage 1, 2? Just so I know roughly what to expect if i go for it...

Hi mate, I've done the skid pan course at Knockhill last year... Starts off with collision avoidance and cadence braking using a Vectra with slick front tyres, and a switch to turn the ABS on and off, so you get a taste of both.. Then moves onto the proper skidpan and a bit of understeer and correction - still in the Vectra. After that you get into the Sierra (with slick rears) and do a bit on oversteer and correction. I think that's pretty much the course, but because i was the only one there and we had lots of time we did a fair bit of powersliding round the figure of 8 as well! That was amazing.. Needless to say the oversteer stuff (and the powersliding) was the best craic, but generally the course was pretty good.. suppose you never know if it's been a benefit until something happens on the road and you come out the other side - but can't do any harm!! Oh and the instructor was telling me one of the guys up there had a scooby and they took it on the skidpan, but the only was they could un-stick it was with the handbrake!!

Hi mate, I did it myself and it's fairly easy... Assuming you are buying the grille kit complete, you will have decent instructions and also an aluminium template for marking the holes for the extreme left and right holes (for the lower grille). Mind and check the lower grille is centred before you drill the holes, and check all your markings are correct. Also when you drill the holes for the self tappers along the top make sure your fairly spot on and have the right drill size so the screws get a good grip. For the top 3 sections, you have to take all three out at once, because after you have done the sides the centre one won't come out on it's own. Just be careful removing these because the little plastic clips are a bit of a nightmare, but do come out with a bit of persuasion... Sorry mate that's not very technical... it was pretty much trial and error when I fitted mine. Make sure the new stainless bits are located correctly before you screw the sections back together as well. BEST tip I can give you is when you are fitting the top 3 sections into the plastic surrounds, either wear gloves or be careful because the cut edges of the stainless grilles are roughly cut and well sharp, I tore my hands up a bit. As for the badge I just fitted the STI badge to the new grille, in roughly the same place. It was hard to remove from the old one but looks good on the new one. Good luck, looks awesome when it's done!! Mark

I had a Bailey on my last Blob STI and eventually took it back off because it was starting to get annoying, no improvement anyway, just made booting it more jerky. Keeping the standard valve on my Hawkeye STI, heard a while ago that Prodrive reckoned the standard valve was perfect until seriously high power - can't remember the figures exactly..

Hi mate, I've had a bit of tramlining with all the cars i've had with Bridgestone REO-70s, especially the first blobeye STI, and they all had about 5-6mm on them, but never noticed any big differences in where they were worn unevenly right enough. Then changed to Goodyear Eagle GSD3s on my second one and didn't really have any (and they are V-treaded). Now have REO-70s on my Hawkeye and it's not much of a problem, apart from knocking teeth out every time you hit a bump because the sidewalls are so stiff! I'm not an authority but i would say it's mainly down to the type of tyre...

Absolute beauty mate. That's the exact double of mine, wheels included.. I've got a (almost) full Hayward & Scott system on now - only problem being when it rains i get soaked because the windows are always down. It sounds immense. Have a good one..

Rock on. Case closed I reckon. Cheers for the reply, Mark

That's good to hear! I'll be making sure it's fully synthetic i get when it's changed anyway.. Cheers dude.

As above, does anyone ever feel their gearbox a bit sticky to get into 1st gear when it's cold? Sometimes needs a bit of a push? I've had 3 now and they've all been similar so no reason to think it's a problem unless somebody can tell me otherwise? Also there was a post on here a while ago talking about a (possibly) teflon additive for the gearbox oil that helped smooth things. Anyone know about that? Or more to the point where to get it? Car is due a service soon so if it's worth it then i'll go for it.. Cheers people..

That looks absolutely brilliant.. Pity you're not doing anymore, because i'd definitely want you to do mine next time i get back from work!!

Lovely... Wonder if i could fit one in my spare room!!

I've had two sets changed.. most recent were a warranty job but on my last car i had to pay for them.. Can't remember exactly how much but i got a great price from Charlie, and that's why i started to use Grieves and will continue to. APPARENTLY there is a temporary fix, and it involves removing the strut and turning part of it 90 degrees.. It could then be ok for a good few thousand miles... (but before anyone comes along and shoots that theory down, it is just what i have been told by a proper reliable source..) Good luck!

Spotted it today as well, ironically in a petrol station (Esso near Ibrox).. Was going to get some banter with the guy but i was washing my car at the time.. Nice looking car, black 57-plate.. I didn't think any were coming here in Black??

I did it a couple of months ago mate, was absolutely awesome and i'm thinking of just doing it again for a laugh.. I was out 10am on a Friday and the only thing on track was a couple of the Leon Cupras, and the Ferrari briefly, but they all moved out the way and it was never a worry at all, the whole thing was just a great laugh, and the track was bone dry... There's not really far you can go wrong with the instructor there so no worries!! Just make sure you have a proper full tank of fuel before you go on... I used about a third of a tank in 25 laps, and soon as the tank got to about halfway i was getting fuel starvation coming out of the hairpin..

Brilliant mate you'll love it!!! You know it makes sense!! Had a look at your plate in the for sale section but doesn't suit me quite well enough i'm afraid, sure somebody will come along and be interested in it though, takes time thats all.. Good luck with the new car!! ps. Mind and stick up a photo and your first impressions when you get it!!!

A Hawkeye STI (2006 on a '55 plate) Got it from Ian Grieves. It's an awesome car, much different to drive from the '03 STI. That was good but the power delivery is a lot more linear in this one, and when you boot it you just hear the turbo whistling and she takes off. Engine sounds immense as well.. Also i've found this one MUCH more confidence inspiring in the bends than the old one.. Not putting my old car down AT ALL but i've been well impressed by this one...

Is she thinking along the 911 route or more towards a Cayman or Boxster? Obviously more choice with the former but would get a much better Cayman or Boxster for the money.... (I take it by "new" you mean 'new to her' and not brand-new??)

Afraid that's about the going rate mate (obviously not seen your car though).. I traded my black 03 STI 3 months ago and it wasn't far off that.. (bearing in mind it did need some work)... it's a bit of a hit to take but it's pretty fair and thats the way things are just now.. Get the white hawkeye, it's a beauty!! and IMO the 2.5 is night and day compared to the 2 litre... it's an awesome engine..

I've seen them as well, the white one looks absolutely awesome... If it was there 3 months ago I would've had it in an instant!! (not that i'm not still WELL chuffed with what I got!!) Bugger the credit crunch, a car like that is worth a little financial hardship!!!