Church

Take note on fuel usage, that most probably work involved disconnecting battery and thus clearing learnt fuel trims, so some driving in due to relearn those. And yes, grippier tires most often mean also higher rolling resistance, no free candy.

Also aero drag and power to counter it grows at very high rate. So even if 70mph doesn't look that much slower then 100mph, drag (and power required) differs a LOT, so not sure, if worth to compare with cars/power/speed of past. From wiki, if car cruising at 50mph needs 10hp to counter aero drag, 80hp - to counter drag at speed of 100mph.

Well, if purely & exactly "wind in hair", then of course mandatory helmet will rob some. But in sense how close ambient feels and of speed feel even at relatively slow speeds, only karts ever gave me something close to motorcycle's :). Maybe "track-toy" cars like ktm crossbow/radical/lotus 7/ariel atom might be similar with their much lower seating, tight cabin/open wheels in addition to open top, but mx5, when i had a go in it, felt too much "like car". Though both times with me driving in mx5 were on trackdays (so also with helmet :D), maybe road cruising is different.

Even if open face helmet instead of integral one?

hmm, short geared? AFAIK at top speed of 145mph/233kmh (don't recall though if drag or ecu tune limited) one won't even reach redline, no? All extra cog may net (that is if limited (if stock NA) engine power will be sufficient to overcome drag at top speed but even lower rpms), improve a bit fuel economy and lower a bit noise, which still be very high due little sound insulation/tire noise/high speed wind noise, not from engine only. Otherwise it's gearing does the job improving acceleration down low. I'd think of longer gearing .. probably at most if went forced induction.

Adjusting tire pressures is nice way for simple & quick grip (or grip bias) adjusting on site, and for testing out some things, but in my book it's worth dialing suspension (alignment's camber/toe, and/or sways rates/misc adjustments of springs & shocks) right, so that when everything else is even, grip & it's bias is right on spot i want, and i can change/adjust using other means if wished both way from "neutral" or do change overall, keeping bias same, instead of keeping in mind pressure delta front/rear.

Imho relatively abnormal popularity of cabrios despite rainy climate is UK specific thing, not sure it would add that much of extra twins sold numbers world wide. I certainly know that i'd never consider cabrio to have heavier, less rigid and more expensive car that is even noisier due less sound insulation, and easier to break into. Only way i'd think of getting such if car had been designed as roofless from ground up and only option possible, like MX5 or S2K. As for good things that cabrios provide .. imho motorcycles are even better at those. Damn. That mentioned meet looks to me as enviable event i'd much love to get to. Lot's of cars i like, lot's of people with similar tastes/interests, and on top able to meet/talk with Tada san :). 👍

Well, i can only theorize that for something to be made eccentric there is less material at one side, less material on other side, so just possibly for it to wear/brake down/whatever quicker .. be it in metallic inserts eccentric drill through, and then overall less dampening material, or in eccentric dampening material, that may reduce resilence against long term abuse/wear. It's pure speculation though, and poly is more resilent then rubber, and everything is compromise, i needed to get that extra camber, and these were only other ways to pillowball camberplates, that i tried, but didn't like due NVH worsening they brought. Yes, non-eccentric bushings everything rest being same may last longer, dampen vibrations better, yes stock bolts probably are stronger then camberbolts .. but i need that camber. And bushing/mount/bolt combo i arrived to, subjectively seems best compromise to get that camber :). Pedder topmounts for our cars are not that long in market though to tell much about them in long term use, to tell how well they last with big enough assuredness, but i hope they will do the job of more camber but w/o issues of WL's. Whiteline ones were plagued with binding of their bearings imho due multiple reasons, not all related to eccentricity itself. For example stock top spring perch of twins conical center was a bit wider then that of impreza-s, so tended not just rest on inside of bearing bet also on mid & outer ring of bearing IIRC, WL com-c-s also supposedly don't have bearing in rubber at angle, so at higher strut camber angles instead of being perpendicular, they may seen extra side loads, further increasing chance of binding. Most people going for extra camber do so for more optimal alignment for track use, so more load on them. Also imprezas/wrx/sti are heavier cars then twins, so more mass/load may also reduce chance of WL Com-Cs bearing to bind.

Adi: i never tried to use just them. IIRC as advertised, they supposed to bring some 0.75 camber and some extra caster. As i need for track at least -3, previously i got that with two camberbolts + powerflex bushings, now i get similar alignment, but with one camberbolt set+powerflex bushings+pedders topmount. Both ways worked and 2 camberbolt sets + just topmount or just powerflex bushings might be a bit cheaper i guess, but current combo bring a bit more piece of heart as i'd wish for at least one bolt set to be full-thickness-and-strength stock bolts. And it's a bit less work to change to/from winter alignment imho, as only one set of camberbolts needs to be flipped to opposite position/adjusted (so i revert from -3 for summer/track alignment, to -1.5 for winter/snow/ice tracks). Also good to know, that i still have option of getting even more then -3 camber, if i'd need so, just by adding back 2nd camberbolt set, if i'd need so, still without need of camberplates. If those bushings were good? Well, they did what i wanted (with camberbolts), allowed me to get -3 without having to resort to pillowball camberplates (actually only way to do that back then sans slotting/modding irreversibly shocks or buying aftermarket shocks, as Pedders topmount was released relatively recently). Otherwise what to comment about them .. poly bushings, not failed so far.

Twigman: TRC off = for winter shortterm disabling of TRC to ease taking off on ice, autoreengages reaching some speed (don't remember which). VSC sport = most nannies still on, except VSC now allows some slip angle before engaging, and a bit more tire spinning on start (on MY2017 replaced with "track mode", that allows wider slip angle and engages in less abrupt manner), one i prefer to drive at on public roads or on unknown track in wet. TRC 3sec off = VSC off, from nannies still on ABS, EBD, e-diff. Pedal dance procedure = only basic ABS on. ABS fuse removed = all nannies off, see no sense to use unless one does competitive rallying on loose surfaces like gravel/snow . + on AT "snow mode", IIRC starts going in 2nd, to lessen torque at wheels.

Lauren: no probs if so, after all it was always my policy too, to change tires depending on wear level or three years (on car), whichever arrives sooner. .. except after buying this car and finding out joys of trackdays no tires lasted on mine that long

BTW, imho not worth to put THAT much importance on manufacturing date. Recall seeing one video/test of tires, where there were little to no difference between recently manufactured and three year old ones. From that i gather that unless some manufacturer regularly makes different manufacturing enhancements/changes in same model of tire without changing it's name, there is little "time wear" in simply stored tire (in right conditions in warehouse of course, as afaik there should be specific temp / humidity / no direct sunlight / precipitation), and that most wear by time comes from actual use/rubber wear/special additives to rubber to reach specific properties dissipating/heat cycling (especially if tracked, where it's not that hard to overheat tires) and so on. Unfortunately didn't bookmark that video, but will try to find again, and if will succeed, will add link to it. EDIT couldn't find it, but possibly it simply referred michelin studies/campaign to debunk importance of manufacturing date myth, eg. as mentioned here. One year of use in one of studies was like 10 years of storing in way of rubber compound degradation. Or what i recalled, that there was little to no difference between new/recent and new/3yo in another. So while yes, market is such that while most tire buyers try to get most recently manufactured tires they can, there is little objective reason to do so (if tire is properly stored), so one might even use that to advantage and get sweet deals of "new/old" tires manufactured year or two ago and of tires from "inventory cleaning" off season.

But you evaluate "good" only via depth of thread left or evenness of wear. State of rubber compound is not exactly what to "look" at. Though imho tire rubber doesn't suddenly go uber bad after 3 years, it's just that coincidentally by 3 years also it's worn accordingly, and together with that resulting net grip is noticeably less vs grip of new tires.

Reverse was not engaging? Sounds like slight clutch drag. It might aswell be not due clutch/flywheel, but also because of misadjusted clutch pedal travel, not allowing complete clutch disengagement.

Wait. You compare with FWD cars, and with similar throttle use in FWD as in RWD? Of course giving accel past available grip in FWD car mid turn will make it understeer, not oversteer with tail. Slightly not getting why yaris or celica were brought up for comparison at all. Normally in rwd one mid turn one should balance throttle for neutral grip bias at position at which car won't engine brake and won't accelerate, at least if car weight & grip balance is close to neutral, and one should increase throttle gradually only as going out of turn, proportionally to reducing steering angle. Try rather braking mid turn in FWD car, for mass (and grip) transfer/extra tail rotation. The less available grip or closer to grip limit one is (such as on primacies, and wet), the more careful one need to manage grip. Imho what helps well to illustrate proper grip management is drawing of available traction circle, that can be used for different things, turning, braking, accelerating. The more you use grip for turning, less for braking/accelerating, and vice versa (which is for trail braking into turn, and for accelerating out of turn). P.S. If you say that car is too willing to rotate even at slight throttle unless it's almost straight .. i'd check car alignment. Sometimes issue might be zero or insufficient toe-in in rear. My stock alignment which i did first track days with and first year of winter driving was rather off, close to zero and uneven to sides. Properly dialing slight toe-in rear helped me much with making car more stable accelerating out of corners, reduced twichiness and fighting to keep it straight, eased driving straight on lack of grip eg. ice/snow. Truth be told, OE alignment also has toe-in, but also has allowed +/- range wide enough for it to be way off, so even if car is only daily driven and on public roads, worth after purchase at least once to check actual alignment and dial it more precise & even, even on car bought new.

Too much throttle in mid turn might be one of many ways of loosing grip and getting tail sideways. One can also get rear to rotate with inertia (scandinavian flick alike in turns transition), or one can get rear sideways due grip & mass transfer mid turn with throttle off or braking. Even non-revmatched downshift midturn may make one loose rear grip. If car is turbo-ed, one can loose grip when turbo spools up. Sudden/non steady driver inputs on pedals/steering may make one loose grip when car is driven near available limit (though not all of them do that to rear, some may cause understeer or all wheels loosing grip). One should learn what/how/when to do for it to not happen or what/how/when to do after it has happened. Though if one drives with safety nannies on (which i strongly suggest to not switch off (at least leaving vsc sport on always, never going for TRC off for DD) when driving on public roads, especially when it's wet and in winter, no matter what own overconfidence (and devil on one shoulder with face of Richard Hammond shouting "I'm driving God!" ) may say), i find in most cases enough slack to correct car even with low to moderate skill (with eg. slight countersteering), and if i happened to spin or alike even with nannies on, that usually was only in rare cases where i intentially/deliberately tried to overcome them. In that particular case imho it's not fault of car nor fault of tires. And very possibly other (RWD) cars at that turn at that speed and with giving beans at that point may loose rear traction aswell (if not sooner). Just wrong estimation of available grip by driver and pushing more then at that particular situation it was possible without overcoming grip. Hmm .. i wonder if it's not because twins seemingly allow to do much more in eg. dry, and subjectively signal less in some ways of nearing limits (for example, twins roll less then generic family cars that are sprung softer for more comfort, so if one is used to rely on extent of roll to estimate how fast going is "safe" and when to ease up, it may result in mistake. Or relying on tire audial squaling of when they loose grip - again can make one mistaken in estimating grip, when it's wet) and thus maybe may cause some growing of overconfidence of getting through everywhere. If your type of driving is just to have car ride like on rails no matter what you do, one can of course just fit grippier tires. But imho it will make car loose some fun character, not chirping tires here and there, not slightly swinging rear in some turns :), at least with stock NA power, even at low/legal speeds. So if one goal is to keep fun, better tires might be not the right answer. (though i always advocate for getting all possible traction/grip via best tire choice in winter). Learning car (and tires) limits and car control, on the other hand, will help no matter what tires are fitted on.

Primacies have limited grip? Indeed. Not shining too much in wet? Yes. But even with stock primacies twins have more grip and can go on average faster in eg. roundabouts then many generic family cars. While MPS4 is better tire both dry & wet grip wise, but not sure that upping tire grip a lot is right way to situations as in opening post. Simply one shouldn't push car too much due overconfidence and underestimation of available grip. Grippier tires often mask mistakes and are not the best way for learning car limits/car control. At very same situation/same speed/same turn better tires will keep gripping .. and rise overconfidence and reduce need to learn something even more .. until something bad happens :), for example same grip loss, but now at 1.5x the speed and in more abrupt manner and less time to react/correct. It shouldn't be "unexpectedly". It should be rather expected (or intentional :)) with learnt reflexes/skills how to correct, or one should know car/grip/road pavement specifics/limits and go at that specific turn slightly slower, with steadier driver inputs to stay within grip limits. Car control and car limits is better learnt in controlled environment though, such as on track, then public roads.

Maybe lowers lifespan, but imho it's more about misdesign of early coilpacks, as supposedly updated coilpacks in later years don't show failures with them.

Purely looks wise i like CSG trackspec ones better too, then verus, but verus provide also optional rainguards & are of size to not cut over hood's strengthening ribs.

+1. IIRC from pic from Velox/Verus CFD modeled air flows related to designing hood vents extra openings there won't do much to help evacuate hot air from engine compartment. Linkie #1, Linkie #2. So rather you'll loose more, as in more rain/snow will get there, then you will gain something cooling/venting wise. BTW, windscreen vipers put in that recess also are there for a reason, to reduce their impact on drag. I suggest to make normal vents rather (eg. in same places as verus vent kit, or CSG trackspec one) in right bonnet places, where low pressure zones are. They do work/help with reducing underbonnet temps some and also for reducing front lift.

For new ones eco gas is back? Didn't know that. And price quoted seems sensible (was it for full fill or slight topping up though?). After all refill for me back then was 400eur 😕

Lauren: aren't you mistaken? AFAIK R134A is classic cheap AC gas, that was before, and was after, and is plentiful in most shops alongside hardware for it's refills, and R1234yf very expensive eco AC gas. Before, because of EU new regulation for manufacturers, and after, because EU dropped that requirement, and thus all manufacturers were happy to revert. - so for that brief timeframe it was R1234YF, not R134A. Unfortunately after one front end incident which damaged also AC heat exchanger and thus leaked it out, i found out in first person about wonderful pricing of R1234YF refills 😕

Eek. Whenever i look at that sticker and see R1234yf, i can only let out heavy sight. It was for not that much of production time, and not that long after manufacturing date of mine reverted to cheaper, but i didn't luckied out

Several tried. Suggest not to. For example google for site:ft86club.com Com-C In short, whiteline com-c eccentric topmounts failed for most (usually with binding bearing). Whiteline made few revisions, provided new ones several times, people on forums tried few "fixes" they seemed that might help (eg. fitting different conical washer instead of stock that is welded on top of stock top spring perch), but sooner or later for most bearings started to bind again, with spring skipping noises on turning wheels returning. Whiteline ended up delisting twins as compatible with Com-C top mounts, and if some shops still sell them as for twins, they don't refresh to uptodate manufacturer info/description or trying to sell leftovers (if it's FT86-only related shop. These mounts supposedly work better/fail less on imprezas, maybe due heavier car weight, maybe due lesser strut angle, maybe due different shape of spring perch). If you are searching such, fixed offset rubber top mount, recently there appeared another alternative, in way of Pedders PED-580096 top mount that i mentioned earlier. Which is similar to what Whiteline Com-C is, eccentric offset rubber top mount with a bit stiffer rubber, which (mind you, claimed by manufacturer) supposedly has fixed it's binding bearing issues, for example it's bearing now is at angle. I have now such on my car, but i still cannot swear 100% for sure, that pedders topmounts are safe to get, i simply received them and put them on car just half a month ago, still not enough mileage/track days on these, for me to claim these won't fail, but if considering such product, then whiteline is known to fail on twins in most cases and even manufacturer with delisting twins says so, so i'd think only of Pedder's which so far doesn't have yet bad history :).

And if it's particularly Ace's, AFAIK it may rub also in overpipe portion, if worn engine mounts. Just hammering tray won't help in that case. BTW, you should have read CEL code. "not able to use cruise control" CEL sounds very like what P0420 code of failed cat readiness check does. If one has aftermarket exhaust header installed, there is big chance for that to be the culprit. High chance for it to pop up sooner with catless header, but even using O2 sensor bungs/spacers on catless or having catted aftermarket header doesn't eliminate chance of it appearing. Hence why in most aftermarket ECU tunes P0420 related cat readiness checks get disabled. If you have ECU tuned, then i'd turn to tuner whichever did tune, so that to disable those cat readiness checks, how he should. (for example IIRC OFT forgot in early OFT OTS v4 stage2+ tunes to disable it. For that people posted manual fix in forum. If it's closed tune via ecutek, then one needs to turn to shop that made that tune). And another source of noise might have been failed direct injector seals, if it's one of early twins with still very first stock ecu tunes, which dealership hadn't updated with newer one, "with transient ignition retard fix", and car got tracked (gear switches near redline). But less of a chance then rubbing of header / engine mounts as noise/rattling reason.