johns

I think they look fantastic (always liked that style of wheel), and easy to clean also!

What can i say but SUPERB!! Keep up the excellent work Andy John

Excellent stuff. See you at Knockhill in Sept!

If anyone is interested in attending this event, can they please e-mail Donald MacKenzie on dmackenzie@tidewater.co.uk Donald can also be contacted on 01224 293080 or 01224 791963 They are looking for a few people to help marshall one of the stages for a short while You'll get very good access to the stage, get to stand where other's aren't allowed etc. Contact Donald for more info. John

I'd avoid Union Street first thing in the morning. Most of the roads leading to it are heavily congested in the morning. There's two main options: 1. Stay on the main road until you reach the Bridge of Dee (expect a 5 minute delay here), and then follow Anderson drive all the way until you get to the Cairncry Road roundabout (Murdo's pub on the right, big TV mast on the left. Take the 3rd junction down Cairncry road until you get to the roundabout and take the 2nd exit along Hilton Street. Follow this road straight down (turns into St Machar Drive) until you get to King Street, where you can take a right. 2. Take the flyover road (signposted football traffic) down Wellington road, right over the bridge onto Riverside Drive and then left onto Market Street and then right at the lights onto Virginia Street (It's all the A956) and up the slight hill. Stay in the left lane and turn left and you'll get to a roundabout. Take the 2nd exit and then go into the right hand lane to go down King Street. Another option is to take the 3rd exit and follow the road past the football stadium (Golf Road) which then leads onto St Machar Drive and King Street but approaching the roundabout from the opposite direction from option 1. You'll encounter heavy traffic both ways (allow 30 minutes from the Bridge of Dee). Not sure about parking on the University site, so allow a few minutes for that as well. Google maps is quite good Zoomable Aberdeen Map John

Quite correct Dave

A track night with a difference. Very limited cars taking part (around 25 in total, so plently of free track time), and it was by invitation only. The cars taking part are very high quality (Aston DB7/9, Porsche, Ferrari etc), but I've been asked by Knockhill if I know anyone who might be interested in taking part, as there are 5 or 6 spaces remaining. Costs are slightly higher than normal, due to the limited entry list, and will be around the £75 mark. They intend just dividing the cost of track hire by the number of participants, so cost may go down (or up) by a few pounds, depending on the final numbers. Booking is direct with Stuart Gray at Knockhill stuartg@knockhill.co.uk or by telephone on 01383 723337. Could be a very memorable track night for a few of you. Regards John

Ouch I'm afraid to say that you'll probably be found to be at fault, for not being able to stop in time despite the car in front having no reason to stop. Unless of course she admitted to it being her fault. A similar thing happened to me many years ago on a roundabout in my Mk 1 Escort (not known for having great brakes or tyres!). Half way around, the car in front stopped quickly without warning and I skidded into the back (no ABS!). I had been changing from 2nd to 3rd at the time, and couldn't react quickly enough. She apparently dropped a cigarette end braked quickly so she could locate it to save it burning anything, but of course she didn't admit to that....

Some non-member spaces now available on-line. Be quick!

I was thinking about converting a few of the member slots to non-members in the shop anyway, since the last few slots aren't being taken up. Will try and get it done today John

Great work Andy Won't be long before you are into the 9's I hope John

There are quite a few people on here who work in the offshore industry, and even one who was an OIM until a few months ago. Working conditions are generally very good, though it is a 12 hour day, 7 days a week whilst you are offshore. Whilst offshore, you get all your food for free, typically free satellite TV in each room, usually a pool/snooker table on some of the larger platforms and people get on with each other very well. You also get a free helicopter flight every two to three weeks as well. The big bonus is that you'll typically get two weeks time off each month, which means you have lots of free time to sort out all those other jobs you never have time to do, or improve your game of golf for example. The downside is that you'll miss out on some family birthdays, either Xmas or New Year. It's not as though you can decide to take a day off if you don't feel like going in... I don't work offshore myself, but do work in the industry in an onshore job. I've been offshore many times though, with my longest trip being about week. There's plenty of work overseas as well in the industry, though if working out in Baku or Mexico for example, you'll typically work one month on, one month off I'm sure plenty of others will add in their comments as well. John

It is true that the MY06 cars will appear towards the end of the year, and that's exactly why this offer is good value just now, as Subaru have stocks of the existing (fantastic) model to sell. I'm not sure if the offer applies to T&C in Perth as well, but I would imagine it would. I'd contact Aberdeen to check first. They have stated in the past they offer SIDC discount, but you do need to inform them before any work commences. Speak to Gordon in Aberdeen if you have any queries or problems regarding this. John

Had a call from Gordon at Town and County last night. As some of you are aware, Subaru are offering either free PPP or 3 years free servicing on any new WRX or STi at the moment. T&C have decided to offer BOTH for a limited time (end of September). If you order a new WRX (including the limited edition WRX300) or STi and have it registered before the 30th September, then you will get both the Prodrive Performance Pack (worth £1600 on WRX and £2000 on STi), and 3 years free servicing. If you are thinking about buying a new car shortly, then this could be the ideal offer! Contact Town and County on 01224 874333 for more information if you are interested, and mention you saw it posted up here. John

Thanks Grant

Jools is out of the country on business for the next few days, so he's asked me to post up a message for him: Ian J is picking up the parts from Aberdeen tonight at around 5pm, and will then be making his way down to Falkirk. He's then going through to Glasgow at some point to collect parts from Squirrell. Could you please both contact Ian directly (believe he lives not far from Swiggi) to arrange collection of your toys Cheers Jools

I'll be there. Been offline all weekend so not had a chance to reply yet

Another excellent day out I'm very surprised that I finished as high as 8th in the B final a) Ended up dead last after a typical first hairpin incident which I initially thought I had managed to avoid. Had the biggest off/spin of the day, partially due to ©. On the old start/finish straight, clipped a tyre on the exit which span me sideways and then backwards at full speed under the remaining tyres knocking some into the middle of the track. c) Had an evil handling kart for the final, which understeered in every corner and had very little grip. On the big loop at the bottom of the track before you come onto the old star/finish straight, I had to lift off on each lap to avoid sliding off the track into the tyres. The plus side was it had fast engines which meant ai could claw back some of the lost time. it was the same kart that Mark W had in the final, which caused him to go from 2nd to 5th and lose. d) I ended up on the same place on track as two of the guys who travelled down with me. Realising that none of us were in contention for a podium place, we elected to have some (non contact) fun for the last few laps John

Dave, the exhaust is the same, but the ECU add-on would be no use for you. John

They should fit OK: They are listed in the Wheels that fit the STi thread but in a 7.5 x 18 size. Also check the PCD is correct for your car, the 05 cars have a different PCD to earlier cars due to the new hub design. John

Now available to buy in the club shop. Be quick, as places sold out in about 5 days last time! SIDC Club Shop John

Dave, it was a few weeks ago I saw it in Costco, so might be worth a phone call before dropping in past if it's out of your way. With a lot of their stuff if you don't buy it when you see it, it's not there next week when you've thought about it. We've made thast mistake a few times in the past.... John

Costco had one when I last visited, but not sure about the size.

Also a thread here about high powered cars and overheating/thermostat issues: Overheating info