bmwhere?

Welcome to the club

Welcome

Would probably have to say the 22B, its the ultimate special edition! Having owned an RB5, they also have a very special place in my heart! But the hatch is by far the best quality impreza I've owned!

You mean like this.... http://www.sidc.co.uk/membership-benefits

Sounds like a Series McRae special edition. Only 111 were made IIRC, there are still a few good examples knocking about, but very rare!

Welcome

Welcome

I was at the Hobbiton set in New Zealand last year, just before they started shooting. Can't wait for the film

Nice pictures! Already had a go at that a few years ago

Welcome to the forum! Good luck finding your new car

Welcome

At this time of year, I'd recommend Pirelli Sottozero Winter tyres!

I'm not really bothered about the quality, I just want to support the club in anyway I can so that we can move forward and get back to the great club we used to be! Any feedback, positive or negative, is always welcome so that we can improve in the future, but at the same time, we all have be realistic and accept the current financial constraints of the club. With everyone's continued support for the club, hopefully in the next few years we will be able to produce top quality calendars, ordered in bulk and for a great price. In the meantime, thanks to all those involved for the many hours of hard work to make this possible Just to leave you with this thought.... When was the last time the club was able to offer any sort of a calendar?

From the video point of view, they're very good, but if you're using it as a helmet cam for skiing/biking etc., they stand out a lot and really make you look like a c**k! I personally use a Contour HD, the video quality is a good as the Go-Pro, the sound quality is just as bad and they cost about the same. However its weather resistant as is, unlike the Go-Pro which needs to be packed in a waterproof case - I've used it in some pretty extreme, cold and wet conditions while skiing and never had a problem (apart from the lens icing over, but that would happen to any camera, and it still recorded the ice on the lens!). Its also a lot more discrete looking when mounted to a helmet, so you don't look quite as much of a c**k wearing it! The latest versions now have GPS logging which can be used to insert a map in the corner of the video during editing. They can also no connect to your phone (Android or iPhone) to stream live video over bluetooth so you effective have a viewfinder. The latest Contour+ version also has an external mic jack for much improved audio! Personally, if I was buying again, I'd stick with the Contour!

eh up Lee, hows things going?

About time the press started reviewing winter tyres. Unless the info is out there, then they will never catch on! The safety benefits are immediately clear to anyone that's tried them, but getting the message across to other people is really difficult!

I have a set for the scoob, but with winter tyres I've never needed to fit them so I really can't say if they work well or not! From what I've heard, the original ones were pretty pants, maybe an improvement on summer tyres, but actually degraded performance of winter tyres! The second gen versions (came out about 3 to 4 years ago) and were a vast improvement and actually improved grip over winter tyres although still nowhere near as good as chains. I don't know if they have been improved again since then! My advice would be to get a set of chains rather than socks unless you have a clearance problem. You can get special chains designed to fit on alloy wheels which don't damage the rims. I'd only go for socks if you don't have the wheel clearance for fitting chains (as is the case on my Scoob!). Winter tyres are also a must, but on a RWD car you'll still struggle up hill in the snow!

ordered!

You're welcome Very good point! As with any new tyres, Winter tyres require a little running in before they start performing well, so when you first fit them, they could feel worse than the summer tyres until they're fully run-in! Once they're going though, in normal conditions, you may notice a fraction more understeer due to the larger tread blocks, and they can get a little soft on warmer days (>15 degrees). Generally though, they have massively better grip than summer tyres, they don't need to be warmed up before they start to work and in the wet the grip is unbelievable!

Good to see there is finally some positive commitment to winter tyres in the UK. I've been using them for over 10 years now and wouldn't dream of not fitting them, wherever you live in the UK! I was actually amazed to see an advert for winter tyres on the telly the other night. Never seen them advertised on UK TV before. Think it was for Goodyears. It really does seem the UK is starting to wake up to their advantages. It seems Nokians have always been really popular in the UK (although virtually unheard of over here in Germany). My guess is they are now starting to cash in on their popularity. Personally, I've been running 235/45R17 Pirelli Sottozero's since getting the 08 STi. They were one of the few manufacturers that actually make a winter tyre big enough to fit the 08 - in Germany I'm restricted to using only officially approved tyre sizes and that is the smallest I'm allowed to fit Still, I'm not too disappointed by that as their performance is absolutely unbelievable!!! Way better than the 215's I had fitted on the 03 STi despite 20mm extra width. Normally the thinner tyres give better performance in the wet and snow, but the Pirelli's really kick ass! Its always difficult to recommend winter tyres of different sizes than you want as different manufacturers perform better in different sizes. So if you read a review or take advice, always consider the tyre size reviewed and the size you want. I can only really recommend the Pirelli's in 235/45R17 profile as I never used them in any other size. In 215 or 225 width on 17" rims on the 03 STi, I used both Michelin and Goodyear, I really wasn't impressed with the Michelin's but the Goodyears were great, although I heard that the newer Michelins are a big improvement. Back in my classic days, I only ever had one set of Vredsteins in 205 on 16" rims and was very impressed, but that is going back a long time and things have moved on a lot since those days

Horrific crash! Very terrible news! RIP Marco!

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the club

Welcome to the club