johns

There was a thread in events, but it's probably dropped off the first page. Our confirmed dates for this year are: 10th March (9-1) 26th May (9-1) 28th July (9-12) - same day as Track Attack, Drifting etc which happens in the afternoon! 15th Sept (9-1) They others haven't appeared in the shop yet, as we don't normally release them unti,the previosu event is finished (causes too much confusion), but we also have new club shop software coming shortly. John

We normally allocate about 55% of tickets to member, and 45% to non-members, as this has been the rough split over the past few years. This time the members slots have sold out more quickly, so what I'll do is get some transferred the other way. In the meantime, if you book a non-members slot and produce your members card on the day, then we'll refund you the £6 difference on the day [] John

I've had quite of few of these people tailgate me in the past. By far the most effective method I have found which works 100% of the time is: At the earliest available opportunity, pull over and let them pass you. It is not your job to try and educate them in the errors of their ways, and doing so will only make them more angry and more likely to commit an act of road rage, either to you, or someone else further along who holds them up. Typically it costs you no more than about 5 - 10 seconds, which is nothing on an average jounrey time of 30 minutes+, and the rest of your jounrey will be with significantly reduced stress levels. It means you can then drive without worrying about what the idiot behind is going to do, and concentrate 100% on what's in front of you and not behind. The car/van which has just passed you, in most cases, won't get to their destination any faster, and with you sitting behind them they hopefully soon realise this. It's far easier to avoid an accident (and the insurance/police hassles that go with it) if you can watch from behind, than if there's someone 2 feet from your rear bumper and driving aggressively. My wife (not the fastest of drivers when the kids are in the car), used to get people tailgaiting her as she sat at the speed limit on single A roads, but yet when the road got twisty, she would pull away from some of them without trying!. This seemed to infuriate the tailgaiters even more, so I advised her just to make it easy for them to overtake, or pull in and let them pass. End result is much less stress all round, with virtually zero impact on journey times. It's much better to be 30 seconds late getting home in the evening by letting someone like this past, than to waste hours dealing with the hassle of an insurance claim and/or the police with a road rage incident. John

That will be the Prodrive handling pack []

Have you tried Overton at Dyce ? Someone told me there was an STi in there recently written off with front end damage. Might be worth a quick call ? Chap I know has a set of 4 for sale, condition used (no dings or gouges), but lots of brake dust. He wouldn't sell just the one. John

Is it to buy one, or a loan of one for a while ? I know someone who may have a complete set of 4 available for sale (no tyres). I've got my summer set in the garage complete with tyres, as currently running my winter wheels/tyres. John

You used to be able to order them from dealers. I know when I had my Terzo, I was able to purchase a new set of floor mats with logos etc about 4 years after the original purchase. John

I got a new battery just over a month ago, as T&C picked up that my battery was poorly whilst in for a service. I'd never had any problems with it starting at all. I phoned around a few places to see what they had in stock, and there wasn't much choice. Eventually got one from my local breakers yard (all Subaru batteries are exactly the same regardless of model!) for the princely sum of £10. Car now turns over even better than before. John

Welcome back to the fold Marc [] It's amazing the number of people who buy other cars, but return 12 - 18 months later to another Subaru. There must be something that makes them just so rewarding to own. John

I've got my Micheln Pilot Alpin PA2s on at the moment. Equally awesome in these conditions. Actually had to work to get the wheels to spin in 2nd gear ina big car park near my work, before a kind security guard asked me to stop having fun! John

Stephen, just turn up early at our next event, and Ronnie from Wheels Around will swap them over on the rims for you and balance them also. Only thing to be aware of is that if the worn shoulders are on the inside, you need to pay extra attention to them as they can wear quite quickly through to the canvas and you can't see it just by looking at them. You need to really check both tyres closely after each session on track. John

Best I've done in the STi is 320 and that was with only 4 miles on a dual carriageway (Kintore to Inverurie and back). All the rest were on A and B roads, though with quite a light throttle. I normally average about 240 - 260 per tank for about 55 litres. I've learnt I can drive home and back to ABZ (30 miles) just after the low light comes on if I take it easy. Does cough and splutter if you let it get too low though! Worst I've had is about 80 miles from a tank, but a large part of that was spent going in a clockwise direction on full throttle [] John

Everyone knows WR Blue is THE fastest colour [] Anyway, we all know the speed (or velocity) = distance / time Well my own car has now done 64900 miles in 58.5 months = 1109 miles per month, or assuming an average of 30 days per month, almost 37 miles per day. There are 24 hours in a day, so therefore my car has averaged 1.542mph over it's lifetime. Does anyone have a faster Impreza ? John

Michael, whereabout on the bonnet are they ? I've heard that if they are at the front (where mine are), then it's impossible to pop them out as there's no access from the underside, as bonnet is double skinned. Have heard that it may be possible to pull them out using some sort of suction device, but never found out any more. If anyone can offer any advice, places to contact I would appreciate the info also. John

Wathc out for pad life with the red stuff ceramic pads. I've currenty got a set on my car to try as a (lower cost) alternative to DS2500s. DS2500s would last about 15k - 18k per set, including some track use. Currently the red stuff cermics have done about 6k miles, and are worn to the point of needing replaced, and that's without a single lap of a track anywhere! OK, they were about half the price of DS2500s, but I don't want to imagine how long they would last if I had done one or two sessions around Knockhill. Think I'll go back to the DS2500s or perhaps try the PAGIDs (even more expensive) next time around. John

I'd strongly recommend a long test drive before buying. The Forester STi does have good straight line speed, but it's not nearly so agile around the corners and under braking. I recently drove a non-STi version for an hour or two, and whilst it was a fine car to drive around town, very civilised etc, it didn't have the poise and stability around higher speed corners that my Impreza has, and didn't feel as sure footed. Having said that, it is a cracking car, and I wouldn't say no if it enabled me to go from two cars to one, making a saving on insurance, road tax and other running costs etc. John

Excellent stuff []

Top job everyone [] John

As of today, there's a new Subaru dealer in Scotland. James Haugh (Dumfries) Ltd 2 St Mary’s Street Dumfries Dumfrieshire DG1 1HD Tel No:01387 255291 Fax No:01387 269182 They are not fully operational yet, but aim to be by the 8th January. THey'll be getting demo cars, parts etc supplied over the coming few weeks. John

Between £70 and £80, depending on the time of year (the last one in Nov was cheaper due to winter rates) for SIDC members Between £75 and £87 for non-members. These were for 4 hour open pit lane sessions on a weekend. We could save about 20% if we ran the events mid-week, or pay quite a bit more if we wanted to run on a Sunday. Either way, I don't think we would get as many people turning up mid-week as they would need to take a day off work, or willing to pay quite a bit extra for a Sunday. John

I don't think this is a recall on these, but I think there are some revised parts available which will perhaps cure the problem once and for all. John

I've had both my rears done twice under warranty due to clunking noises. My car is not longer under warranty, so may not be included on their recall list any more ?

Hi Martin, not much has changed really. Quite few people have come and gone, and some returned, but many of the regulars are still around and show up from time to time. We sadly lost Paul Marshall earlier this year in a motorcycle accident. John

Welcome Martin, are you the same chap who used to own a DBM Classic a few years ago ? John

Very nice! Are they any lighter in weight than the Prodrive ones you took off ? John