mystery machine

Sounds nice - let's see the money shot, Dave Do they fit inside 17" rims, BTW?

"When in Rome"

I'm totally up for parting with the 20 bucks, Gus - but because of an apparent technical problem with registration, I'm told I have to submit a ticket first... frankly I just cannae be ersed!

Thanks for the warm welcome folks - took your time some of youse, but no hard feelings! Bad news mate - the engine blew to bits Just kidding... I never did get to the bottom of that - I sold the car after about ten months and bought a Hawk STI (not because of the ticking noise, I should add). Car always ran OK - although the boost was never totally smooth, which I guess could indicate a dodgy solenoid - or could be a symptom of a dodgy cam belt tensioner! If you're struggling to have this diagnosed, and you're in the central belt, you might want to try Hypertech in Bonnybridge. The main Subaru dealer wasn't much use to me in that instance, but Hypertech seem willing to take on the trickier jobs. Welcome to the forum, BTW (from another 'newbie'!)

Nobles put Castrol Magnatec in my STI at my last service - and I think the stuff they put in mine is only semi-synthetic I can't say I was exactly delighted about this - I thought that turbos needed fully synth. I'll certainly be using fully-synth at the next service. Does yours actually say "fully synthetic" on the bottle?

Totally agree - way overpriced. I can think of umpteen cars I'd rather have if I had 50K to spend on a motor!

Best of luck - look us up once you're settled

Aston Martin DB9 Porsche Carrera S Ferrari F430 Audi R8 Focus RS Caterham CSR Some seriously lusty motors, but isn't the Focus is just a wee bit out of its depth in that list?

Ah, that's a new car then - the Impreza Cossie? That appalling rate applies during the first year only - and if it's already taxed for a year then the owner should never have to pay that rate (unless the thieving b*stard government move the goalposts again!).

Eh?

Looks like an interesting track - plenty of nice elevations. Must've been a fun day out! Zat the circuit that Fifth Gear use then?

Cheers for the replies guys. Jeez - it's so hard to compare tyres objectively, without any data on compounds, etc Currently running Avon ZZ3. Don't laugh - I know they don't have the same street cred as a lot of the other popular choices, but they at least have a reasonably soft compound, which seems to work well in a range of temperatures (wear quicker for it, mind - but you get nowt for nowt!). Think they've started to pass their best now - like a lot of tyres they seem to get harder near the end of the tread...

Curious to note that the guy in the vid describes the difference in torsion achieved by going +/-1 on the lever fixing points as equivalent to +/-1mm in bar thickness - whereas the guy I spoke to at Whiteline reckoned +/-0.5mm... I suppose when all said and done the theory is fine, but you only find out what works best by experimenting with the options (I'm on the middle "22mm" setting at the mo')

Thanks for posting that, Kenny - it helped me understand a little better the relationship between the bush fixing point and the lever end

Fair point, Marko - seemingly they're very good in damp or slightly wet conditions, but they don't cope well with standing water. I guess it should be fairly obvious, but in the latter conditions the advice is to slow down and leave a good gap between yourself and the vehicle in front! I think that would be OK for me, I don't tend to push it in the wet anyway. Just not so sure how well they grip in the cold...

Aye - in terms of how little it costs compared to a set of springs or coilovers it seems to be great value for money

Hi folks, As I seldom use the Scoob in wet weather, I'm looking for good dry weather tyres. However, they must also perform well down to near freezing temps as I like to take the car out on dry winter days too. So I'm after something that has maximum contact area (i.e. not too much tread pattern!), but a softer compound that'll stay reasonably soft when it's cold. Even considering semi-slick 'track day' tyres such as the Toyo R888: However, I'm a little put-off by comments from posters on other forums along the lines of "they need temperature to work properly", "they grip well, but when they go - they go very suddenly". Hmmmm... I'd be grateful for any suggestions, or any experiences that contradict the above Car is a MY06 STI with coilover suspension - road use only

Sounds nice. Aye, the greasy roads are a pain - even when they appear quite dry they can be a bit slithery.

P.S. In the end, it looks like even Nick himself didn't agree with Nick (student fees?)

Ah! With you now

Who is "Nick", Jock?

If anyone's interested, I had a Whiteline 22mm rear ARB + bushes fitted today - had the front bushes replaced with Whitelines too (kept the original front bar). I had limited opportunity to try the new setup today because of traffic and greasy roundabouts, but when I did have the chance to push on a bit it felt very nice - noticeably more composed and 'pointy' than before - groovy! And now I know the answer to the original question of Hawkeye OEM ARB thickness: Front: 20mm Rear: 19mm Just need to watch out for any 'twitchy' lift-off oversteer on roundabouts now...

Sounds like a braw run! Glad to hear the roads were dry - we had drizzle here this afternoon, which was just enough to re-activate some of the residual salt. And you've gotta love the rural supermarkets - good to have some place half-clean to stop for Bruce Lee when the need arises

Mod no. 1 today - Whiteline 22mm rear ARB (+ bushes) and Whiteline bushes for stock front ARB Haven't had a chance to properly test it, too much traffic and the drizzle had started to soak into the road salt - however on the few wee twisty bits where I did get a chance to up the pace a bit it felt really nice - noticeably more 'pointy' and composed than before!

Was that in the Borders or Fife?