nerdstrike

I swapped over on Saturday. The ride is a little squidgier but it won't be as big a difference as you'll feel from gaining an extra half-inch of rubber to the rims. The softer ride might equate to how much sound conducts through the structure into the car, and the extra convolutions on the surface will damp the acoustics of the wheel arch a bit. They do whirr a bit at lower speeds.

The regulation document specifically stated full power at the highest revs available for that power, i.e. 6500 rpm on the GT86, but that might be quite a way from redline on small turbo cars. It's stated that way to accommodate hybrids and such I think.

Wow, some the testing regime for new cars is done under full power! Those are some tough regs. I guess that means aftermarket exhausts will need extensive testing. Sounds expensive.

I'm getting a coil c CEL, which I infer implies the coil pack is not correctly seated in place. The car ran fine on its first journey but I'm pretty sure it's firing on three on second start. Very uneven idle. Q1: which one is coil C? The Americans say passenger side rear, which might be drivers side over here.. Q2: during the change we're not sure we used the right bolts for the right things. There are short 10mm ones, and longer 10mm ones with a tapered nose. Which ones hold the coil packs, and which ones hold the injector ECU to the side of the engine? It was a nasty and slow job, so I'm not pleased to have to go back down there! Hope you can help me clarify this! I have also noted that the HKS plugs supplied by Fensport have only one prominence compared with three on the Denso plugs that came with the car. I don't believe that will be an issue, but it's interesting.

Here is a brain dump of all I have learned while trying to do this: Firstly, the process takes ages. Unless you have magic tools, it will be incredibly slow, like an hour a plug or more as you get tired or drop things 3/8" kit is well suited. 1/2" ratchets are too large. 1/4" helps for the coil pack bolt and other ancillaries that must be removed. Vortex/through sockets are your friends here too as they increase your options. They might let you get a longer handle on a small job, you're going to want that! A flexible magnet on a stick is absolutely indispensable. Ideally not too magnetic to help with threading the needle. You *will* drop something eventually. Otherwise you need to get the car up on stands so you can poke around the drainage holes or take the undertray off! Otherwise small bits of cloth it towel can be jammed underneath, but I couldn't get full coverage. There is a tonne of thread on the spark plugs so the combo of socket and extension that works initially can be too long to get out once the plug is loose! Nicely worn extensions will be easier to detach than new ones, and a long flat bladed screwdriver might help depending on your stuff. My halfords advanced 3/8" short extension was too long to separate with screwdriver so I had to man up to detach it from the socket with fingertips of one hand. Each spark plug requires slightly different tricks! Driver's side is most accessible and the passenger side is always difficult unless you care to mess with fuel lines or aircon. Taking the battery out gives you more elbow room to come in under the hardlines. I've used a mixture of the following tools while trying to find the easiest method: 1/2" ratchet + 3/8" adaptor plus very short extension in to deep 15mm socket. Then remove the insert to get it all the way out before you run out of length to remove anything. Stabilise the turning with a finger to make the ratchet click 3/8" ratchet + short wobble bar plus deep 15mm socket. Crack it loose with the ratchet, then twiddle with fingers. From certain angles it is possible to grip the extension with thumb AND finger! What a treat.

I got some enjoyment out of the movie, and the theatre was loud enough to really give you the howling madness of being inside a GT40, but rather like Days of Thunder it suffers from rev and gearchange-itis. The sound and cutting room guys managed to arrange more than one full-throttle before the apex. I did enjoy the dead-eye rivalry between drivers, and I liked the portayal of car development, but the overall quality of the movie was mixed in my view. A grudging 7?

Well the bolt holes are fine. Double-check my math, but the tyrewall height will be 94-ish mm, similar to the 97mm side wall 17" 215/45 standard fit, but it's a 16" radius, so it'll be smaller radius by about 10mm after the smaller tyre wall. I'd be very wary about putting that across the rear diff. There will be a 5% difference in circumference, and I reckon that's a lot of yaw... 1867mm circumference versus 1966mm (ignoring squash, which may be increase the problem on the space-saver). The primo in some markets does come with 16" wheels, but without offset, you're guessing if it will fit.

The previous notable racing rivalry film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1979320/?ref_=nv_sr_2?ref_=nv_sr_2 . It was good fun, there could have been more focus on racing. It wouldn't surprise me if the two films have a lot in common.

Work has booked out a screen at the local Vue. Will it be poor-man's Rush, or will it be something else?

Seriously, the integral satnav is at best quirky and offers confusing instructions. It also zooms in very close on big roundabouts so you can't tell which exit you need at a glance. It also costs a small fortune to refresh the maps, and the DIY process is hilariously convoluted. If there are roadworks or heavy traffic on your route it will prompt you every five minutes whether you want to change route, but can't offer much insight as to what the redirect will do. It also likes to inform you of heavy traffic just after you've passed the last possible escape. Many of these criticism can be levelled at Garmin devices too, but at least those cost less than a map update. All these things are overshadowed by the capabilities of Google Maps. Basically, buy the right car, not the one with satnav.

They should be called "The Reverb Guys".

Follow-up! Tapered bolts are for the injector ecu, standard bolts for coils, one short bolt for the fuel rail cover. One of my coil pack cables wasn't quite clicked in it seems, as when I tweaked it, it clicked. Cleared the code on the ecu and the car got back into the mood. Coil C is rear most on the UK driver's side.

How tragic! My cars have sustained more damage while parked than on the move. People suck. FWIW I don't hold high hopes for carbon fibre repair. You can't exactly knit the fibres back together, but it might be possible to hide the damage to a casual observer.

Yes you did. Yes you did.

Ooh, I love a bit of fettling!

Cretans ain't got nothing on Sicilians.

Enjoy the Izzard! I'm sad I couldn't get tickets to this show, but all the good acts sell out the Corn Exchange very quickly. The Queen Ann carpark is cheaper than the Grand Arcade FWIW. It's a bit tight though!

I like those orange inserts. Not entirely sure why though.

I'm sure you'll want to buy a lovely MG while you're there 🤢

We can form a Steven Eagell Appreciation Society...

It is possible to get stiffed by tyre retailers who fit old stock, but the primacy is largely indestructible. I swap tyres in winter so mine miss a third of the year, but I reckon mine have gone 20k miles and are down to 4mm. I wasn't nice to them, but it would take more special events to kill them. I think your tyres are past their best and that is amplifying the cornering issue for you. Continuous burnout to the tyre fitter for you sir?

If it's damp/greasy, this car plus Primacy tyres loves to snap oversteer. I don't enjoy driving it on these tyres in winter at all, so I change tyre. Greasy roundabouts can surprise, and even slight uphill pull aways can be challenging if you are impatient. In a traction limited scenario, the car with the most weight on its driven tyre contact patch wins, so the FWD cars feel a lot safer. You should come to expect a bit of twitch anyway especially at low speeds, but if you're triggering VSC all the time then something is off. Perhaps check the production date of the tyres? They definitely lose plasticity after 5 years.

Shiny!

Pah, be thankful you didn't own a 231 RX8. Those put about 160bhp down to the wheels despite claiming 228 bhp. 60 horsepower lost in the transmission? I think not. I reckon 155 at the wheels is to be expected with a Jap car notionally rated at 198 bhp. Only the Germans (and the Supra) tend to overdeliver on their stated outputs, but compensate by being heavy...

I have a new entry: Fiat 500X with 1.3L diesel. It's big and lardy, the boot is quite small, it seems to have a steering lag as well as turbo lag. It struggled and did not feel settled at 130km/h on the superstrada, it struggled to pull away with any urgency and then piled on boost after it was too late, its turning circle was lousy, and its traction on a dirt road was dismal considering the rufty-tufty looks. It provided speed limit prompts which were completely wrong for much of the journey. While the interior materials were surprisingly high quality, the driver interface was quirky (I'm looking at you, wiper controls) and the rear right passenger door insisted on being opened only from outside unless the front passenger pushed their door unlock button (and not the driver's door unlock). The keyfob was needlessly massive. For a four person agriturismo gettaway it was just about fit for purpose but much too chunky and lazy for Italian driving. May those who bought these on purpose wallow in their own misery!