mystery machine

I had an airlock in my WRX's cooling system after Grieve's changed the coolant. Sound of water sloshing about when cold, etc. In fairness I took it back and they managed to remove it. Similarly, I still have a small airlock in my STI's cooling system after Noble's changed the coolant ages ago. Occasional slight sound of water sloshing about when cold. Mentioned it to them at a subsequent visit but the mechanic insisted it was very slight and nothing to be concerned about. Not totally happy about that, TBH... might ask Hypertech to take a wee squatch next time I'm in. Anyway, moral of the story seems to be... don't let a Subaru Main Dealer change your coolant Hope yours turns out to be just an airlock, mate.

True of course that 3" gives better gas flow, but the chat seems to be that 2.5" is good for about 350-400bhp... certainly the chap at Stainless Creations didn't foresee an issue with 2.5" for the kind of figures I'm after (about 340bhp max). Depends on your plans for the car I guess, but maybe worth mentioning that the 2.5" is supposed to be quieter inside the car... that may or may not be desirable, but I'm going for the quieter option

Fair enough Gaz, but I'll be surprised if it works out that way for reako... E.g. Another year's NCB at 24 should reduce his premium a bit from £1800, and then if it were to halve when he reaches 25, he should be paying less than about £800 by that time. In that case, I'll be asking him to let me know who he's with because that's not a huge amount more than I'm paying in my mid-thirties with 12 years NCB, zero points, zero at-fault claims and not staying in Glasgow! I don't go for big excesses (think mine's £250 in total), so perhaps that's one reason why mine isn't lower, but I do always shop around!

Greig and Bobby: Just wanted to thank you for putting me onto Stainless Creations – spoke to Graydon today. They seem very willing to accommodate and reasonably-priced too. Been quoted £640 for a 2.5" bore two-part system – sports cat pipe up-front and a dual-silencer pipe behind that. Almost certainly going to go for that. Thanks again!

Try holding it nearer the end, mate

At least there's some chance of sunshine where you are (assuming you can get up on deck from time to time!) I guess it depends what's meant by 'part decat'. Seems that, for quicker spool-up and maximum power gains, ideally you want to replace both cats with a sports cat pipe (or even a full decat pipe if you're happy dealing with that at MOT time). Don't know if it's of interest, but these guys are based in Falkirk making stainless-steel exhausts to order: http://www.stainless-creations.co.uk/ Spoke to one of the guys who runs the shop today about a turbo-back system for my Hawkeye – been quoted around £600 (that's including the sports cat, but not the optional centre silencer). Almost certainly going to go for it.

Oh ya jobby! Mind you, back in the mid '90s I used to pay the best part of £1K to insure a Vauxhall Calibra (8v non-turbo, wow!), so relatively speaking your premium doesn't seem too outrageous considering the performance of the WRX TBH, I don't think it really works that way... at least I never saw any significant reduction when I turned 25 or 30. Just gradually went down, save for a couple of blips caused by an at-fault claim and a hefty speeding fine (you live and learn, eh?). Maybe stating the obvious, but the best thing you can do is avoid crashing or having your license endorsed... Look on the bright side, that's a helluva nice high-performing car to be driving at 23!

I'm looking for a set of silver centre caps for the same type of wheel, so would be really interested in any replies Subaru want the best part of £80 for a set

Cheers for the info Bobby Do Stainless Creations not do sports cats then?

When do I get to meet the one they call "the leader"? Can't wait to receive my white gown in the post

I believe it's now a 330d Touring

...of paltry 'non member' status and joined the cult—I mean—club

Crickey, the more I see, the more I like! http://www.stainless-creations.co.uk/shows.htm

Hey, looks like they did this Scoob that I posted about in the 'was it you' forum (Mr 'Bigot'): I thought it was a Spec D when I passed it, but of course it's a WRX.

Cheers, SM didn't know they existed! Just had a Brands Hatch at their site think I'll give them a bell tomorrow

Cheers for the input, Dave. I'd love to roll into the Meercat one-stop-shop, but TBH I just can't face the thought of taking the Scoob through to the other side of Glasgow... what are the chances of getting down there these days without driving through some huge pothole? Where is C and C then? STI Genome... I'll need to check that one out, cheers You didn't keep your Prodrive box, by any chance?

Yes, exactly the same symptoms as I had.

"Big blue member", eh?! I wonder if it's one of those that keeps this guy looking so happy?

P.M. sent, Andy. I may not be a genius, but I can complete a web form without error

This is the only post on this thread that comes across as tetchy to me. Did you mean to be ironic?

Nope, just tried both forms again, no luck...

Lucky you I'd love to join. I might try again soon on the off-chance they've fixed the 'sign me up' form...

Thanks again for all the replies... roll on some dry and warmish weather, eh?! Cheers Colin – if it's good enough for you, then it's certainly good enough for the likes of me

Facetube clip of a 2.5 hatch with H&S turbo back system: Sounds nice, but too loud for me I think... don't want to attract too much attention to myself when I'm hoofing it around the back roads P.S. Guess the driver in that clip must've been pretty confident that no-one was coming other way as he appeared around that blind bend halfway onto the wrong side of the road...

Looks like the Cobrasport sports cat downpipe is 3" bore, and I notice a lot of the 'cat back' systems are 2.5" or 2.75", so I might just have to mis-match bore sizes...