Kenny.S

If you decide to go with Rac windscreens i hope you have more luck than i did !! Some of you might remember the nightmare i had a while back Still haven't got the car sorted, been too busy with starting work offshore and trying to find a new workshop. Dont want stir things up just sharing my experiences, draw your own conclusions......... My Nightmare Kenny

Managed 6 before i lost the plot with it, not easy trying to the touch pad on a laptop!

Not got any new ones but i'd forgetten about the night time ones i took not long before the windscreen saga happened. and an oldie Kenny

For a time i was really into my car stereos and like wise bought a top end Kenwood cd with the mask front panel must be a similar age now. It's now in my old run around! It worked perfectly for 2 1/2 years but then it started playing up ie face going blank but still playing etc. I bought the unit from Car Electronics in Derby and have always delt with them for any stereo or alarm stuff. When the fault developed i rang them and spoke to a guy called Richard who i now know quite well. He was pretty certain it would be the ribbon cable that conects the front panel as it was a very common fault on this era of headunit and can cause a whole manor of faults to occur depending on exactly what tracks break and when. The cable was £9 plus fitting (cant remember how much it was) but he knew i was ok with a soldering iron and told me how to change it. It was a little nerve racking taking apart a £500+ head unit but it is quite straight forward. All you need is a very small soldering iron ie 1-1.5mm tip, small watchmakers screwdrivers and a steady hand. It's worked perfectly ever since must be getting on for 18 months ago now although i think it's starting to fail again but for £9 i cant complain. When it gets really bad i'll do it again. Kenny

I'm definately going to make sure i'm off that weekend so ill be heading down from Glasgow area. Might not be in the scoob though depends on how i get on with the re-spray and pending mods but one way or another ill get there! Kenny

That sounds awesome! Arguably the best sounding engine ever? Wish it was easier to get that flutter/chatter sound from a scoob! Count me for the trip to Croft!! If you can find out the dates as soon as and ill make sure i'm not offshore, ill put in for a few days holiday if need be!! Kenny

I had to go through the insurance company to get anywhere in the first place so they are well aware of the situation. RAC eventually offered to come out and re-do the window at a convenient time but after this fiasco i politely declined their offer and told them i would rather pay someone else to recitfy the problem. Kenny

As far as i know everything that has been said so far has been factual. As for insulting language i can only apologise for anything i've said but i didn't think i was being over the top considering the grief and hassle i've had regarding this over the past few months but if i over stepped the mark i'm sorry The car has been looked at by the guys who are going to paint it and they said it is a factory defect. When it was painted at the factory they most probably use wet on wet primer which means the top coat must be applied before the primer fully dries for it to bite. This saves them having to rub the primer down between coats. They recon that it must have been left slightly too long between coats and since the hotest areas in the oven are likely to be at the top this explains why the problem is around the roof area. Their attitude towards the problem really had to be heard to be believed, even after the insurance company got involved they didn't have an easy time reasoning with them either. Still doesnt change the fact that the window is glued in too high! Noticed the other day while stripping the interior that the gap between the dash and the window is now big enough to get your fingers in, previously you couldnt get the cable for a set of Defi's in it! I know this because i tried when i was fitting them! Kenny

Well what the hell they've agreed to pay me £300 and the bodyshop have been authorised to carry out the repairs. Not had it booked in yet partly because i've just stared offshore and because they're in the middle of extending their premises. One good thing has come of it though, i've decided im going to use the opertunity to get the whole thing re-sprayed. The worst company i've ever had the misfortune to deal with.............................. RAC Windscreens As far as im concerned they're complete and utter tossers, fair enough paint shouldn't come away that easily especially not factory stuff but they're attitude towards the issue was nothing short of appauling! They just couldn't give a s**t. If they'd said at the time we'll waive the excess and give you £50 i would probably have left it at that but for the hassle and crap they gave me ill happily take the £300 and still be able to sleep at night Happy new year to you all when it comes Kenny

Merry crimbo to you all just got back from the pub suitably mocket!! Hope Santa brings you lots of nice toys & mods!!! One rather pi$$ed Kenny hic......hic....

If i remember rightly thats what he gave me for them when i part-exchanged them, cost me £270 fitted when i first got them. He's a really decent bloke not many places will go out there way like that. Ill def use him for all my tyres in the future, he's the cheapest i've found and it's pretty handy for me too only 20 miles up the road. Russel.. i'm trying not to think about it too much the anticipation will kill me It'll be March/ April time before the cars out again, got one or two bits and pieces to do it over the winter. Kenny

I've not manged to get many miles on the car since i got it in August(for various reasons) so ill admit i probably dont know it well enough to be comfortable sitting the tail out. Should really go somewhere like crail for a day and practice going sideways and generally finding it's limits and mine too no doubt I know it's not the same as driving on the road but it would help me get to know the car and be a bloody good laught too kenny

I put Yoko Spec 2's on my car when i bought a set of RL7's from Wuz. They were really good in the dry, made the car react to every slight steering input so it was very responsive and precise feeling but it almost made it a bit twitchy sometimes. In the wet however i wasn't overly impressed, i did about 700-800 miles on them so they were well scrubbed in but they were just so unpredictable. Ra's can be a bit tail happy so that might have exagerted things but i think the main factor was the really hard sidewall. They didn't give any warning when they were about to let go, they would grip fine right up to the edge, then breakaway and were not talking about high speed stuff. I got them from Iain at Auto Image who very kindly agreed to buy them back off me for a good price when i explained the situation to him providing i bought more tyres from him, which i rightly did. I went fot the tried and tested GSD3 instead. The car feels totally different with these, you can feel it moving around a lot more so some of the precision has gone. The fact that the tyre moves around obvioulsy helps it in the wet by generating heat. The last run i went on up by Dunoon it was wet for the most part and the heat on the tyres when we stopped was amazing. Just my experiences other may not agree but hope it helps in someway. Kenny

Maybe I'm going to be offshore when it turns up though. I figured i might as well just get one instead of thinking about it at least now ill be able to offer everything up and see how much room i need to make. If the worst comes to the worst and it doesnt happen i'm sure ill be able to sell it again. With regard to the amount of work involved to fit an Sti8 ic, no such thing as too much work in my book My time is free and i've got the patience of a saint, the Sti8 tmic is more than adequate for the power i'm looking for. Kenny

I removed it when i did the fuel rail mod, the PFC doesnt have an output for it anyway. Doesnt do much with the standard ecu either! I've got a few ideas brewing just now, one of them being making a new manifold to allow me to fit an Sti8 ic. I'd like to use the original manifold as the risers are much better looking but if it all goes wrong i'll have screwed up a perfectly good Ra manifold. The wrx manifold will tidy up with a die grinder and some time, i could also use a set of you're spacers to help match it to the inlet ports. I know i could use a phase 1.5 manifold but even that's a tight fit, this way hopefully ill be able to make it fit without bashing the hell out of the gearbox mount and the iscv can be mounted out the way. Kenny

You could be onto something with regard to the RA manifolds Carl, i've got a normal phase1 wrx manifold in the shed and compared to the one on the car its rough as hell! I had the manifold off the car when i did the fuel rail mod and the inside of the risers look much better finished, the outside looks better too, the casting is much smother. A very hungover Kenny

I'm at home too with a seriously bad hangover! Figured since i couldn't go i might as well do something this weekend, getting wrecked out my tiny mind seemed like a perfectly good idea last night. Kenny

Looking very nice mate, i like the subtle look. Been thinking about putting a small rear spoiler on my Ra. Think i'd need to put some mud flaps on it though to complete the rally slag look Kenny

Unfortunately i'm not going to be able to make it The car's lying in the garage looking sorry for it's self right now, it's partially stripped down in preparation for it's re-spray and i'm starting work offshore soon so doubt i could even make it as a passenger. Hope it all goes well Cheers Kenny

Cheers guys, formally handed in my notice today felt good but a bit strange too, i've met a lot of people in there and ill miss not having access to lathes, mills and all the other fancy machinery they've got Kenny

More money for mods wasn't my sole purpose for going offshore but it sure was a major factor! First pay check is going on a full re-spray, doors off, wings off etc. All the door slams, boot opening and as much of the engine bay as i can without taking the engine out. While it's in bits i think i'll take the chance to fit a front mount and re-route the intake through the inner wing, then........ the fun begins Kenny

My last day down in Faslane is the 18th and it cant come a day too soon! Had an interview with Dowding & Mills on Tuesday morning, they seem like a really down to earth bunch and willing to provide all the training i could ask for. They phoned me back later that day and told me i had the job I've been looking for a start offshore for the last 5 or 6 months but every time i applied for a job i was asked the same thing "do you have any offshore experience" I'd done my survival, had a medical and a few other courses i was recommended to get but still nobody was willing to give me a break, until now. It's nearly double the money i'm on just now so the RA modifying fund has just doubled too Kenny

Well i've been off work today but rather than chilling out, i've spent most of the day on the phone to a certain Windscreen company! trying to get some money out of them but they're standing firm on their initial descision not to give me a penny! I'm just of the phone to my insurance company for about the third time today and they're now going to take it as high as they can to try resolve this mess. Got an interview in Dyce tomorrow for a job offshore so i should be consentrating on that not pi**sing about trying to get money out of a faceless, incompetent, pathetic excuse for a windscreen company! Kenny

I will name them but would rather wait until the mess has been sorted out and hopefully get some money out of them. Kenny

I'm goin to ask my insurers to look into this local windscreen fitter and ask that any future glass repairs be delt with through him, they're the best insurance company i've ever delt with and going by how heplful they've been with this problem i'd like to think they'd be willing to do this for me after all it'll save them any future hassle when one of the so called big companies make a total b**ls up of it. Kenny