johns

Nice write up Scott, but a very sad way to end the season with a failure at just the wrong time. Looking forward to seeing you hopefully compete again next year if they don't bump you all up to Club Pro class, there have been some epic battles this year! John

When I first got my Spec D, the fuel gauge was awful. It would consume the first quarter of the tank in around 14 - 20 miles, but I'd still get 220 - 240 out of a tank. I had the sender unit replaced under warranty, and although not perfect, it's a lot better than the first one. Typically its around 40 miles for the first 1/4 tank now, and I'm getting around 250 - 260 out of a tank with regular commuting use (all B roads, no dual carriageway or motorways!). I have had over 300 out of a tank, but that was on a long motorway journey, when it was possible to keep a near constant speed for a few hours.

This thread has been tidied up, with the unhelpful comments removed and it will be closely monitored from now on, so please keep it on topic and constructive! John

Apparently a few people running the 2.,5 engine in the 2008/2009 model STI have experienced engine problems. This is Subaru's response to some negative comments on some forums and on facebook about Subaru reliability: http://subaru.co.uk/general/engineeringtechnical-statement

There's very little difference between them other than looks to be honest. I know of a one owner, 02 blob-eye STi Type UK with PPP and about 65k miles on the clock with FSH that could be had for about £6.5k up this way. It's not been used for a year though, so would most likely need a new battery to get it started, plus the brakes cleaned up before going in for an MOT.

Very nice indeed

I've been running a set of Michelin Aplin PA2s for the past 5 winters (this will be their 6th coming up!!). Whilst they might not be the ultimate winter tyre, they are perfect for the winter conditions we get up here. I notice a big difference in wet grip, especially stability under braking when the temperatures get lower (below about 5 degrees) and their might be grit and salt on the roads. On snow and ice the difference is simply staggering. On normal summer tyres (this includes the Goodyear F1s that I've run a few sets of in the past), you are teetering about in poor conditions with almost zero grip. The 4WD of the Impreza keeps you going under most circumstances with the traction, but braking and tunring in (or doing both at the same time) need to be done very slowly and carefully. With the winter tyres fitted, much of the time you can drive normally and barely notice the poor conditions. When my tyres were new, I actually had to provoke the car in poor conditions to get wheelspin. On normal road tyres, even in third and 4th gear on a standard car wheelspin isn't far away. The biggest difference is in braking. You can actually get reasonable levels or retardation going downhill on a snow and ice covered road. On normal tyres the ABS will just kick in and you'll follow the camber of the road to one side with little or no control. The road I drive to work has a steep (about 1 in 3 climb), and even with 6 to 9 inches of snow it's no problem to get up and down. The most memorable example was two years ago, when the junction at the end of my road had been polished to an icy sheen by the cars the previous night. It's a long downhill slope onto the main road. I approached the junction behind a very slow moving Focus (around walking pace) that was struggling to slow down and it was still 50 yards from the junction. I tried my brakes, felt I had quite a bit of grip and was able to overtake the focus on the downslope, brake safely for the junction and pull out onto the main road. The focus eventually slithered to a stop halfway across the main road when I was 100 yeards clear of the junction. I normally run my winter tyres between the end of November to around mid March. I've done about 20,000 miles on mine now and they are down to about 3- 4mm depth remaining. I'll see how I get on this winter, but might replace them for a new set. The Michelins are usable in normal road conditions as well, but the steering will feel spongy. The PA2s (now replaced by the PA3s) are speed rated to 130mph. They will understeer easily on warm dry roads, thanks to the softer sidewalls, many sipes in the tread blocks and the high silica content rubber, but you soon get used to this. I got mine from Costco, who regularly do a 20% offer if you buy a set of 4. Think mine cost £85 each about 6 years ago and it's been the best money I've spent on my Imprezas John

I can't remember when they moved over to electronic speedo's which are driven by electrical pulses, instead of an actual cable. If the sensor has been swapped out, then I would check the signals are getting through from the gearbox to the ECU OK.

It's definitely something to do with the speedo. For some delimiters there used to be a small geared adaparter which fitted onto the speedo cable from the gearbox I think, which geared down the rotations to the speedo cable. About 120mph is the top end for a reasonably powerful Impreza on the main straight at Knockhill (standard cars will be about 100 - 105mph actual) and will be faster than most of the Elises and Caterhams. You might have to back off the throttle just a second or so before the braking point so shouldn't impact your enjoyment too much Hope you get to the bottom of the problem John

Looks better than I expected. Notice there is still no rear wiper and I'm not so keen on the aerial, but overall it's not too bad and I could grow to like it.

Sounds like a lot of fun for not much money I'll need to check my diary to see if I can make it, and if I can you can count me in. I hope there's a handicap system in place to allow those of us with heavier bones a bit of a chance John

lol, may the best driver win and not end up on the podium wearing a size 0 Time Attack outfit I'll have to make sure I keep some free space on my memory cards (ran out at Cadwell!), just in case John

Pikes peak car - looks like the batmobile! Image one of these on some Scottish gravel stages

Great write-up Scott. It sure is looking very tight overall going into the final round at Snetterton. I would expect the big power cars to have a distinct advantage on the longer straights - maybe you can borrow Andy.F's engine for a day John

Well done Scott, great result! It will be a very tense and close finish to the season now at Snetterton in a few months time.

A couple of the Lateral Performance Impreza, known as "the banana" in flight over the mountain section at Cadwell Park yesterday.

It's to stop spambots from picking up the email address and phone number from the forums. Common way of stopping them getting your details. Just to add, that if anyone has a set near Aberdeen or any way on the route south, I can also pick them up on the way down for Scott. John

That's because I haven't washed my wheels in about 3 months Arch I did actually wash them this last weekend, and 95% of the brake dust came off with just soap and a sponge. Unlike the XP8 pads I had before which had unremovable dust after a week of light commuting use!

If you aren't doing track days, or regular "very fast" road driving (ie have been happy with the standard pads), then I would stick with standard type pad materials. I went for a set of Mintex standard material brake pads from Ebay. Cost me about £32 inc P&P and they have been fine. Only once have I got them hot enough to fade on the road, and then I just eased off for a while til they cooled down. John

Out of the two options, I would go for the 7D. All your existing lenses will work just fine, though the 18mp sensor might show up the optical limitations of the 18-55 lens, in which case the excellent Canon 17-55 2.8 EF-S IS would do the job very nicely. The 7D has a better auto focus incorporating 19 AF points compared to 9 for the 50D. Perfect for capturing shots of fast moving rally cars in dark forests It also has a built in spirit level in the much improved 100% viewfinder, which is handy for your landscape stuff. The new 3" screen is great for viewing images - very clear and detailed. It can also capture about 8 frames per second, and record HD video. Not that you need it currently, but it can also wirelessly control external flash guns. High ISO performance should also better than the 50D. The 7D uses a chipped battery LP-E6 to give very detailed info on the amount of charge remaining. It is also rated at around 850 shots though in real life you can expect 1000+ shots easily before you need to swap batteries (Canon originals are about £60 each). The 50D is currently about 60% of the price of the 7D as the 60D is due to be announced shortly (if you believe the rumours). It only has a 15MP sensor, but unless you regularly print bigger than A3 anything more than 10MP is somewhat overkill anyway. It shares the same hi-res 3" screen for reviewing images. You might some excellent deals on the 50D if you shop around. The 50D uses the same BP-511 batteries as many other models, and aftermarket spares can be had for as little as £5 each. Both models will offer a huge improvement over your existing 350D, which you could continue to use as a backup/2nd body. E.g. on rallies have one camera with the 100-400, then swap to the 350D with a wider angle lens when the car gets closer. I've got the Canon 24-105 lens, and to be honest it's on my camera about 90% of the time as a general walk-about lens if I'm not shooting motorsport. Great for portraits and general shots. John

Uploaded a few more photos now before I start decorating

I've uploaded some of my photos to my gallery: http://www.flatoutphotography.com/gallery3...php/SIDCGTM2010 Shiny Fast In the wet with slicks on! Big smiles from the driver John

Was a great day out, weather was 99% fantastic, apart from that short shower when I was stuck at the other side of the track Massive thanks to everyone who helped out on the Saturday and Sunday to get the site set-up, and make sure the event ran very smoothly - it just wouldn't have been possible without all your efforts. The bonus fun track time for marshalls and helpers at the end was good fun, even though my passenger got a little travel sick - a big HP laserjet printer held in by the seatbelt - I'm sure I'll find all the bits eventually I'm just downloading some photos from my camera just now, so should have them uploaded later this morning. Well done to all the show and shine winners - stunning level of car preparation! Even though we aren't allowed to time these events any more, the head to head pursuits added a new dimension to the fun track use and we'll hopefully do a lot more of them next time! We'll mark lines on the track next time in the centre to make it easier to judge the winners though John

The sun is shining here Looks like it's going to be a great day!!