johns

Marc told me about this car at the monthly meet a few weeks ago. Look forward to seeing it in the flesh John

Cal, it's on the dashboard. Just run the car down to the E mark on the fuel gauge and it should kick in when there's roughly 9 litres left in the tank. Most people fill up before the orange/yellow light comes on, and some people run the car for a few days afterwards John

I've done Oulton (scary lack of run off in places) many years ago, and also Mallory Park. Cadwell I've done 3 times, and it's well worth the trip. Tricky in places, but rewarding when you get it right. Must return some day I've also done Brands Hatch. Although Paddock Hill bend was good fun, it's not really worth the effort and expense of going there. The club circuit is not much longer than Knockhill, although it is quiter a bit wider. John

Kames and Alford are both small sprint tracks (ie one car at a time). Kames is narrower than Alford (it's not two cars wide), and has a more interesting layout (think of it as a mini version of Knockhill with blind corners , lots of camber and elevation changes, tight hairpin etc). Alford uses a flat oval/figure of 8 layout which is easier for the first timer, but speeds can be higher. Alford aka Grampian Transport Museum is about 20 miles West of Aberdeen on the A944. Kames is near Muirkirk in Ayrshire. There's also East Fortune, which has most recently been used for bike racing. Don't know much more than that. They did have problems a few years ago with parts of the track/land owned by nearby farmers etc. Crail is near St Andrews on the east coast, and is mostly known for the 1/4 sprint events which are held almost fortnightly during the warmer months. They can also configure the track for circuit use by using cones/bales of hay etc. A lot of the surface is concrete and some is in poor condition, which means you have to watch out for flying stones if driving close behind other cars, and your tyres can suffer a bit as well. Plenty of run-off all round, and you are unlikely to damage the car by being too enthusiastic. I think they also run rally stages there as well, or timed sprint type events. It's also used by www.carlimits.com for driver training, and they have some slots available in May. Edzell is another ex-airfield, and they have run mostly bike racing there in the last year or so. They have also used the circuit for 1/4 mile sprints as well in the past few years. Ingliston is no longer used for much more than demonstration purposes. John

If the discs have done more than 20k miles, then it's probably better to just buy new discs, as by the time you take a mm or so off of them, they'll be close to or below the minimum wear limit on the discs. It might not be warped discs, but judder caused by the transfer of resins onto the disc. In this case, you might get away with a light skim. John

Sorry guys - I don't do this on purpose! At the start of the year, I contact KH and other places for suitable dates, and don't have much time to pick them. This year at KH there wasn't any choice - take the dates or do nothing! I do try to organise events so they about 5 - 6 weeks apart, as this means most people offshore on 2/2 or 3/3 will catch at least one of them. John

26th June I think is the date this year. Last Sunday in June. Should be the same fun day out it was last time. John

I'll pre-empt Phil's post, but we've got some excellent prices for lanyards now that would work out less than 50% of the original planned price, including P&P Currently looking into prices for badge holders as well - that way people can print their own badges if they wish, but we'll probably provide a standard template that people can work with. John

You might want to reconsider the oil filter price, as Subaru dealers now sell them for about £5 each

Welcome Darren. Quite a few in Aberdeenshire, plus quite a few in Inverness. Not sure if we've got many members in Morayshire yet, but you don't have far to travel to meet up with fellow members anyway. Hope to see you along at some of the events this year. John

Wheel alignment looks like it's a few degrees out at the rear

Marc, don't need any money from the ABZ guys - we've (well Ken has) already got a double centre section that's available. I was thinking of looking for old exhausts/cats that people have lying around in their garage, and then getting a 2nd one fabricated for the EDI/GLA guys and girls. John

Dave, yes it's to do the same as we've got up here in Aberdeen - to create a twin cat centre section that can be quickly and easily fitted to cars to get them through any MOT or emissions tests. Having two cats means it will pass even at low temps (ie no need to have the car hot to pass). It will also dampen down the noise considerably (and performance though). Having one available that people can borrow/hire for short periods is an excellent idea. I'll see if there's any possibility of getting another one made up here from the bits available. John

Just a quick note to everyone. We have been planning for some time to get a 2nd marquee base that we'll be able to keep up here in Scotland for our events. Rather than buy new (about £2k!), we're looking to pick up a 2nd hand one for sensible money. This base would be kept up here (still need to sort out the logistics of moving it between events, as it can cost £100+ to get it couriered due it's size/weight). It would then just be a case of transporting the cover, which will easily fit in the boot of any car, and doesn't cost much to transport. Having assembled/dismantled the existing marquee a few times now, I can confirm that it's not something you want to do on a day that's wet or windy Rest assured the marquee will be up here for a few events this year We're also looking into the possibility of a smaller marquee which is easier to transport, and can be easily moved around for different events. As a club, we've also recently bought some large flag pole type things, with SIDC flags on top - again which are easy to transport. Look out for these at events this year as well. Cheers John

Del, I'm not sure about the marquee. The trouble is that it won't fit into an Impreza, unless it's a wagon with the back seats folded down. It also takes the best part of an hour to assemble, and the last time we had it at Knockhill we had to take it down due to the high winds, despite it being physically tied onto two parked cars! Given the potential weather forecast for early March, and the problems of getting it there and returned again, I'd probably recommend leaving it this time until it's a nicer warmer day. John

There's currently 9 people on the reserve list!

Would love to do this, but too short notice for me this time Definitely next time.... John

We do have a local double centre-cat section that will fit on most cars in about 10 minutes. Emissions are clean, and reduces noise level (and performance) drastically.

It's 7:30pm, unless you want to spend 30 minutes in an empty car park

Ian, can you send me an e-mail please to request a slot on the reserve list. It's easier for me to keep track that way and get in touch with you if need be. Cheers John

Russs, yes indeed we have a reserve list, which currently has 6 names on it and growing by the day! IainG's slot will go to the first member currently on the reserve list. Cheers John

Probably not much in it, though your windows were cleaner than mine!

I know one for sale up here in Aberdeen if that's any help. Only mods are downpipe/exhaust and AP 6 pots. Would need a front end re-spray to cover up the many stone chips though (mostly the front lip spoiler that suffers), but the price would reflect that.

We had 40 places available to buy via the on-line club shop which is what we normally do. There's a few regulars who always like to pay by cheque, so I keep aside a few places for them, and there was a few people using a credit from a previous event last year, which will bring the total up to about 50 cars. Not as many as some track days, but enough to keep it interesting, but hopefully no queuing to get on track and plenty of space for people to enjoy themselves without feeling cramped. John

Insurance depends on how much your car is worth, and how much excess you want to pay if you have a claim. Best to speak to Competition Car Insurance on 0115 941 5255 for a quote. I'd guess you are looking at £100+ to insurance your car for use on track. Is Jamie has said, in all the 30+ events we've ran there in the past 6 years, we've only twice had a car go off and actually be damaged. The standard of driving is normally excellent, there's no racing involved, and most people drive up to the limits of themselves/their car and not beyond. John