johns

Yes, the next SIDC event at KH is on Friday 9th June from 1pm to 5pm. It's called the Mexitowers event in the club shop, as the Elise owners have an event by that name that whole weekend (tour of Scotland, overnight stay, big BBQ/party on the Saturday evening). If the weather is anything like Saturday, then this too will be a fantastic event. Places are selling quickly though after Saturday, so if you are wanting to take part I'd book up soon. We do have a small number of slots that will be available to pay by cheque after the club shop sells out. John

Superb stuff [] Can't wait to see it in action! John

Oops, sorry Paul - filed your email before I had a chance to reply and thought I had sent it. Consider this official confirmation that you ARE the Central Region RO [] John

That's the info packs emailed out to everyone who has booked up through the on-line shop, or used a previous credit. Looks like it's going to be a top day out, and even the weather is looking very promising [H] John

Yes, lets go for 6am at Asda Portlethen. I'll need to leave a few minutes earlier than everyone else to get things set-up, but you should aim to arrive at KH around 8 - 8:15 John

The PPP has been announced for the 2.5 models. 320PS, but a big increase ion torque for the STi. £1600 fully fitted and no impact on your warranty either. John

Jools, the Elise guys have been meeting up in Portlethen Asda for recent events. Big empty car park at that time of morning, and no-one to bother you. Suggest that we meet there at around 6am to head off for KH. John

Sptted a silver BMW 5 (maybe 7) series this morning on the road between B&Q and the AECC.

Superb!

My two pet hates are people who: a) Stick in the left lane, indicate that they are going right (often as they approach the roundabout), then go straight ahead. It means you can't pass them on the right on a dual carriageway, and have to crawl round wondering if they are going to turn into you or across the front of you. Don't indicate at all, stick in the left lane and then go right around the roundabout until the 3rd or later exit. You assume they are going straight ahead, and then they do cut you up or nearly drive into you. I've had so many close calls over the years, that now I am extra careful on roundabouts when anyone is alongside or likely to join. John

Top job !!!

At the end of the day, the increase in road tax is less than £1/week. Compared to the overall running costs (fuel, tyres, insurance, depreciation etc), it's an insignificant drop in the ocean so to speak. I don't think it will put anyone off potentially buying a new Chelsea tractor, through further punitive rises over the next 3 - 4 years may have an impact on 2nd hand prices. The biggest culprits on the roads are older cars (Ford Cortinas, Orions etc), which churn out huge amounts of black smoke and noxious fumes, run without cats on LRP. I rememerb reading once that a 2 stroke petrol lawn mower produces something like 200 times the emissions of a modern clean car, and you don't see those being taxed. All those old two stroke mopeds etc with dodgy exhausts are also big culprits. Even though they do 50 - 100 mpg, vast amounts of emissions can be produced. John

I love driving on snow and ice also [] http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=61...mp;q=ssi+on+ice If only we had enough cold weather to do the above (56k modems need not attempt the above file!) John

It's not just limited to the classics. Both my classic Imprezas suffered, as does my current STi.. Worse when cold, and normally just really limited to 1st gear. You can: a) Get used to it - you can soon learn to drive around it Do a few full bore standing starts with a bit of clutch slip. Cleans up the surfaces a bit, but it's a short term fix and it will return in a few months. c) Get a new clutch and flywheel fitted. This is normally only done under warranty, as there's no real need to do it when the clutch still works fine. I've lived with my current clutch judder for two years, and it will get sorted when I eventually change the clutch (currently 52k miles!) John

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that my standrad MY02 STi was running a bit "flatter" than normal. I put it down to a bad batch of fuel. Let the tank run really low (warning light on for 20 miles), before filling up with a full tank of Optimax from a busy station (main road somewhere south of Stirling), and it's been fine since. Used a tank since then, but due to the snow this past week, not been anywhere near full boost! John

I fully agree with Rob. Got my Michelin Alpin's this year since I'm living out of the city centre, and they transform the car in the snow and ice. I've got a video of me accelerating on a very slippery road surface (compacted snow and ice). I get up to just under 60mph in about 9 seconds or so (don't start accelerating until almost 3 seconds in), and then lift off and coast down to the 30mph speed limit ahead. OK, it's not super fast and I don't hit the red line in each gear, but it's still faster than the majority of cars can do on a dry road, let alone snow and ice! John

I guess most of you are aware of these changes but Iain (Zeolite) is now the offical RO for the Fife area, and Ken Ross has taken over from Jools in the Aberdeenshire and Highlands area. I'm sure you'll all take turns to welcome them to their new (several months in some cases!) roles, and offer them all your support. John

Checkpoint on George Street are usually very competitive, and take very good care when fitting and balancing your wheels. One of the few place I trust in town to fit tyres without damaging the alloys or using knock-on weights. John

Could well be footage from "The Subaru Impreza Story", which is a video/DVD produced by Duke Video about 5 or 6 years ago. It was indeed an SIDC event that they filmed John

I'd also get the strut checked out as well, and the front wheel bearing may also now be damaged. Unfortuantely, you might not be able to tell until it's all put back together again, so given the relative low cost of replacing the bearing at the same time, I'd opt to get that done now. I had a similar incident about 6 years ago, where a local council had failed to remove a large rock at the side of a B road (right on the apex of the corner). They had in fact tarred up to the rock, around it and behind it. I didn't notice it (it was a dull, wet November day) until I went back to look. I had to replace wheel/tyre, front ABS sensor, wheel bearing, lower suspension arm and strut (replaced both fronts actually). Cost me about £450 in total, which I couldn't claim from the council, as they had inspected the road within the past 18 months which is their minimum legal obligation. John

Welcome

Everyone, we have been here before with sort of thing. It's not nice for those involved, and it's not nice for anyone looking in. There are many owners out there who look through these forums, but who never post, through fear of being picked on, aggressive "banter", in jokes that only a few who know the meaning of etc. We should try and make this a happy place to visit, where people don't dread what they are going to read next. We have an excellent reputaiton as a club that we should be trying to promote and build on. From now on, we are going to take a much stronger line with this sort of thing, which has included the tidying up of one recent thread. We won't make a big fuss of it - posts will simply be deleted to keep things clean and tidy. Does this mean that you have lost the right to free speech ? Not at all. Just keep things factual, on topic and keep any personal opinions, differences and insults to Private Mail, email etc. If anyone spots a thread that has gone too far, or is going that way, then please send an email to committee@sidc.co.uk and someone will have a look at it. Don't always expect an immediate response or a reply - we may just look at a thread and monitor it With this place being so popular these days, it's impossible for everyone to read every thread and some things can go un-noticed unless it's brought to our attention. Don't always assume that someone else has reported something also, or that we are already looking at things. The committee thanks everyone for their support and understanding John

<< Considering most track days at KH are £45-55 for half day this is a bargain for all SIDC who fancy trying a new track! >> I wish we could offer half days at Knockhill for that price. Last year was about £65 for members, and about £75 for non-members unless it was "off-peak" season where we got the hire at short notice with some discount. I've got some prices from Knockhill for this year, and it looks like another increase will be required, just so we can cover our costs. A full day for £85 is a bargain, so snap up the places whilst available. John

Just a side note, the SIDC are registered with the MSA, so anyone who is a fully paid up member doesn't need to join another motor sports club to participate in events. We've had quite a few people over the years compete at various events. John

Yes, once we get some confirmed dates for things, we'll get a stick for 2006 events sorted. They'll also be added to the events on the SIDC website as well. Two day run, there were some thoughts on this last year, and it's best to hold this before midgie/tourist season. Perhaps late May/early June, or late October onwards so the roads are still nice and empty. If it is held during the summer, then it would be best to do minimal driving during the day (just too frustrating due to slow moving tourist traffic), and take advantage of the long sunny evenings and virtually no traffic after 7pm. John