johns

Steve, I would advise that you use either 205/45x17 (not too much choice in sizes), or 215/40x17. These are the closest in rolling diameter to the 205/50x16 or 205/55x15 tyres that your car was designed for. The RE-070s fitted to your existing wheels do have hard sidewalls, so they will ber very twitchy on roads thwre the camber changes a lot. Very grippy and superb feedback in the dry though. Most other tyres will be quieter in use as well as being better in the wet. John

Numptie posts on here regularly. He's an STi owner who also runs a Westfield in the Scottish Hillclimb championship. He does most of our track events. I'll point him to this thread. John

I believe that Numptie has a set that might be for sale. They are a set of OEM gold 17 inch alloys that came off an STi with Brembo calipers. I don't think they have any scratches or kerb marks, but may need a bit of cleaning to get some brake dust off John

Just a short note to say that the event we had at Alford today was absoutely fantastic! We had a great selection of cars both on display and on track. Some very keen and impressive driving taking place! We had loads of members of the public come along and admire the cars, both on display and around the track. The weather of course was superb - I don't think we hardly had a cloud in the sky all day. Hot sunny and barely a brezze of cooling air. What more could we ask for! We also raised a lot of money for charity as well - almost £600 is going to Northsound Radio's Cash for Kids appeal. A huge mention of thanks must go to Rosie and Ali who very kindly persuaded people coming into this free event to make a generous donation. They actually raised more from donations on the gate (£348.47 I think), than people using the track. Special thanks also go to those who help run the day, Jools, Shaun, Mark, Rob, Russell, Jamie, Spooks, Ken, Simbo who did marshalling, helped to set things up and also run things on the day. Apologies if I've missed anyone outThe day wouldn't have run nearly so well without all your efforts - it really was very much appreciated. I'd like to thank PC Gary Donald for coming along in the police Impreza, and taking time out to talk to loads of people abut the car, particularly rasing safety awareness on the roads amongst our younger drivers. I'd also like to thank Glenburgie Subaru for coming along, and giving out lots of free advice on the cars, parts etc. Finally, I'd also like to thank the staff at the Grampian Transport Museum for letting us use their excellent vanue. We're already going to look at getting another weekend later this year, and we'll try and get booked up again around the same time next year. Let's make next year a really big and special event. Although we must have had about 50 - 70 Imprezas in total throughout the day, we've got space at Alford for easily 100+ more. I'm sure the first of many photos will be published soon (I'l have to wait to upload mine at work tomorrow), so everyone can see what a superb day it was. Cheers John

For those coming from south of Aberdeen, the best way to come is to turn off at Stonehaven and take the "slug" road to Banchory. At the uphill T junction in the centre of Banchory (traffic lights), turn right and then about 1/2 mile along the road, take a left uphill towards Raemoir, and then take a left at the T junction, through Torphins and Lumphanan before arriving at Alford. It avoids the hassles of coming into the city centre which may be slightly busy. When you get to Alford, there is a small road opposite the Royal Bank of Scotland which leads you to the correct entrance. it is signopsted public parking and Grampian Transport Museum. If you prefer the main roads, then just head into Aberdeen, go over the first bridge (Bridge of Dee), and continue up the dual carriageway. You'll go straight ahead through two roundabouts, a set of lights, another roundabout, and then turn left at the Queens Road roundabout (probbaly signposted for Hazlehead Park). Continue out this road for a few miles until you come to a smaller roundabout at the end of the dual carriageway. Take the right fork for Elrick/Westhill and then keep on this road (the A944) and it will take you directly to Alford. Please note that the police do monitor this road from Westhill onwards, so keep to the speed limits at all times. As above, pass the Shell petrol station and then the 40 and 30mph speed limits. Then take a right opposite the Royal Bank of Scotland into the area. Please have your charity donations ready We've got a special parking area for the cars in the show and shine competition (ask when you arrive there), and also special lanes for cars going on track (sign on at the control tower). The track won't get going properly until about 11am (licence restrictions), though there may be a few runs by "quiet" cars before then We've done most of the set-up work today, and the weather was perfect (cloudy, warm and no breeze), and it's promising to eb the same again tomorrow. John

Would you believe there's an Optimax petrol station in Alford. It's just on the outskirts of Alford (beyond the 40mph) limit on the Aberdeen side. I've got a feeling it's going to be busy tomorrow

A bit or re-arranging of schedules has meant we're now setting things up in the morning at 11am if anyone can come along to help John

Grant, the Braemar road is well worth getting up early for. No traffic, superb bit of road etc. Should only take you about 2 1/2 - 3 hours, (possibly less ), so a 5am start might not be needed. However, a few miles out of Braemar, if you take a left (signposted Tomintoul) before you reach Crathie, then go Tomintoul, Dufftown, Rhynie, Alford then you'll have the most fantastic drive Please take care when approaching/leaving Braemar. There's always extra police in the area at this time of the year near Balmoral Castle etc. John

Ideal conditions for Alford this weekend Not sure if this link will work or not ? Alford Forecast Basically a warm dry day, light winds some cloud cover with sunny intervals. (ie we don't get soaked or burnt to a crisp ) John

Russell, it goes without saying that those who help out on the day don't get charged for the track time John

Is anyone available to assist me with setting up at Alford on Saturday afternoon. I'll need assistance for an hour or two from about 3pm onwards to set-up the fencing, cones etc. We'll also need some assistance early on Sunday morning to get a few other things done (like set-up the PA, sweep any loose stones off the track etc). We'll also be looking for a few volunteers to assist for 30 - 60 minutes during the course of the day, to stand beside a fire extinguisher, hand out leaflets to people arriving, collect donations for charity, judge the show and shine competition etc. All assistance will be greatly appreciated. Let me know by replying to this message if you can help in any way. All efforts will be greatlyu appreciated. John

Cal, I'm hoping there will be a big turn out We will indeed have a burger van there again this year, though it's a different chap. John

Hi Stan, there are so many fantastic roads around the West Coast you literally are spoiled for choice! The A82 through Glencoe is very scenic, and ideal for photo opportunities. Watch out for police on this road though, there is an almost constant police presence as it's a busy tourist/commuting road. I can recommend the Isle of Glencoe hotel as a good place to stay for a night or two. Always had great food and service there. The coastal road north of Oban is great. As you've got some time to spare, the trip up to Mallaig is well worth it, even though it is a dead end and you have to come back again (unless you take the ferry to Skye!). The road from Fort William up to Kyle of Lochalsh is a cracking road. Open, fast flowing and excellent scenery. Remember to stop at Eilean Donan Castle on your way up. A few places in Kyle/Plockton (where the palm trees are!) for lunch/dinner etc. You must go over to Skye and spend a day on the roads there as well. On the way back, go over the road to Lochcarron. This starts off fast and flowing, but climbing rapidly. It then gets very tight and turns into a single track road with passing places. Views from the side of the mountain are superb. There's even a tunnel as you near Strathcarron to exercise your car along!! There's an art gallery/restaurant before you reach Strathcarron itself which was very good the last time I was there a couple of years ago. When you get to the T junction out of Strathcarron, turn left to go through Lochcarron. There's an excellent seafood bar selling fresh local seafood a few miles along the road at Kishorn village. Out of Kishorn, take a left to Applecross. It's a single track road, but very steep and great views at the top and the way up. Good coffee/cakes etc at the cafe place in Applecross. Then continue along the coastal road to Shieldaig (reasonable pub lunch in the hotel there). You can then go along past Torridon and you have a choice of routes. I'd go left along the coastal road to Gairloch (say hello to JK who has a cottage there!) and onto Ullapool, but you can also continue right through to Achnasheen and on towards Garve. Here you can drive on one of the amazing stretches of fast open road in the UK. Nice wide road, smooth tarmac, excllent visibility and endless gentle sweeping bends. At Garve turn left and head up to Ullapool, again a great driving road. North of Ullapool is my favourite driving road of all time on the way to Laxford Bridge. It starts off slow, but then opens up into an amazing fast stretch of road with lots of gentle corners. The single track road from there down to Lairg is superb. Very quiet, and very surreal, almost lunar landscape to start with. I'd recommend this on the way back, but on the way up, head north to Lochinver, and once you've had lunch there etc, you can head further north to the NW corner. Some great roads (mostly single track), and some of the best beaches in the UK (I kid you not!). The road from Tongue across to John O Groats is quite dull in places if truth be told, and I wouldn't bother visiting JoG unless you really want to say that you've been there. If coming down via Lairg to Conon Bridge, and onto Inverness, then take the short-cut mountain road, instead of following the A9 around the coast. Much more interesting, and usually faster! Watch out for police on the A9 though, and stick to the speed limits on it at all times! Those are some of my favourite roads in the area, and I'm sure the others will add in their favourites as well. John

Only 30 slots will be available on the day, and these will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The cost will be only £10 for as many runs as you can fit in during the day. There will only be one car permitted on track at any time for safety reasons. Cars will form up in lanes in the parking area behind the control tower. Each lane will be numbered, and we'll call out the lanes numbers over the PA system. That way when you come off track, you can form up in the lane again and then spectate, have lunch etc without having to stand next to your car and push/drive it forward every few seconds As we are doing passenger laps for charity, anyone willing to take a passenger out around the track, will be entitled to join a special lane after they have been out on track, so you'll get at least twice as many runs Each car will be issued with a number which they need to stick on the inside of their rear window. That way we can keep track of how many runs each car has done to ensure that no-one is lane jumping Once you have done enough runs for the day, simply return your number to the control tower, so someone else can have a go John

We've got 4 splendid trophies to give away at the show and shine competition at Alford (along with much Kudos and bragging rights on the forum ) The categories are: Best Classic Best New Age Best Modified Overall Car of the Show So as not to be seen as biased, I'd like two volunteers who aren't taking part in the competition to assist with the judging. A modified classic can be qualify to win the best classic, best modified and/or overall car of the show for example. All you need to do is to register for the competition on arrival (at the control tower). We'll judge all the cars around lunchtime, and arrange for the winning cars to get a prime spot (photo call) at the top of the hill after the announcements John

Been looking through my photos from last year. Also got a photo (sorry about the poor quality) of the trophies that are up for grabs in the show and shine competition John

Just had confirmation that the Grampian Police Impreza will be there for a while on the day, and the PC will be happy to talk about the car, road safety, advanced driving etc. We're also going to be getting coverage by the local radio station (Northsound 1 & 2), so there's a chance to be famous by taking some of the reporters out in your car around the track if you want. Best brush up on your interview skills! We've also had confirmation that Glenburgie Subaru will have a stand on the day, and will have various bits and pieces for sale. If you need any advice on modified your car, buying 2nd hand/used parts or even building a rally Impreza then please have a chat with them during the day John

We are pleased to announce that two local companies are now offering discounts to SIDC members on the production of a current membeship card Firstly, Dave Andrews of Motorsport Juntion in Kilmarnock is offering a 10% discount on most products He had a great response from the members who attended the recent show at Galston & was most generous with the large discounts he gave on a wide range of car care and other products for the duration of the weekend. Dave can be contacted at Motorsport Junction Secondly, Derek Barr of Autoguard Paint Protection is offering club members fantastic deals on car protection products, notably the superb Armourfend range from 3M If you are interested in protecting your car from those inevitable stone chips, then this clear almost invisble film is just the thing for you! Contact Derek on Derek Barr Happy shopping! John

Just a reminder for everyone that this event is happening this Sunday at Alford. We're looking for a superb turn-out of cars, both from the local area and from across the country We've got some superb trophies for the show and shine competition on their way up in the post. Track action on most of the day as well, for those who want to try their car on track (one at a time, so very little risk). See you all there. John

I presume it's Sunday 10th July I might be interested, but will need to check the diary. WIll let you know soon. John

Can't make tonight, got something else on I'm sure a few others will be up for it though

Welcome Karl, hope to see you at an event soon! John

I'll just add to the comments above to say that you are very lucky that you haven't seriously damaged the engine by running at peaks of 1.8 bar and not had the ECU remapped to cope. The hesitation could be due to det, and the noises are most likely the turbo, as it wasn't designed to be run at that boost pressure and will be well outside it's efficiency range. The fuelling and timing will likely be well off, and by default the ECU will most likely pour in lots of fuel to try and make it safer, which in itself will cause hesitation and poor running. On the standard turbo, I'd recommend no more than about 1.4 - 1.5 bar peak (when properly mapped), dropping down to about 1 - 1.2 bar at the top end. John

David, we may well do that. I'm planning to produce a single page flyer to be handed out this year. It took us a long time and lots of hassle to do the multi-page ones last year. Advertsiign space will be limited, but it is available if you have anyone in mind. So far we are struggling to get any suppliers along on the day!!! It may just be the show and shine competition track time, plus other bits and pieces. It will still be a good day out though! Cheers John

Nice video