Lauren

Looking good. So similar tyre sizes to Rob? Love that blue colour, though not of course on an orange car. Keith, I reckon blue or pink would look great on your car.

Nice! What size/offset did you do go for?

Welcome, Stephen! You are well placed to come to some events as there is a lot happening around your way with the sprint series. Any plans for the car?

Quick vid Mark knocked up of the meet. Some odd stuff going on with Rob's Sprintex in the slo-mo bits! http://youtu.be/_kEr2E_-LUg

What did you order, Ian?

Reims is the old race track, well worth a stop: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims-Gueux I'd consider, Monaco and Nice. If you're feeling ambitious why not come back over the Alps?

They do look lovely, pity they are not available in 17's. Not crazy bonkers on price either by the sounds of it.

LOL! I like both, but for different reasons. Dave's is just bonkers and there's a lot of fun in that. But Ian's is smoother, not as bonkers, it does strike a good balance I think.

I might clean it a bit! I did notice that when I posted the pics.

Had a quick hour and a half at it today. Got the engine ready for mating to the gearbox next weekend. Torqueing the Inlet manifold: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr New injector seals on: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Injectors in until I realised it would likely be easier to push them onto the fuel rail first. What a fiddly job on your own. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Dizzy in: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr I might look at getting a new O ring. Couldn't find one amongst my new parts bag. Also can't find one of the bolts for the distributor so will order another from Toyota. Might be ordering a few lost bolts at this rate! Alternator on. Was interesting that I found that when I bolted up the lower brace for the inlet manifold it didn't seem to fit right. If I did the bolt up to the block it would have been under tension. Turns out the AE86 has a different brace which is shorter and bolts off one of the lower block strengthening brackets. Not that interesting, save for putting the fan/alternator/water pump belt on, it's pretty much ready for bolting the gearbox up. Next weekend this can go on: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Then hopefully we'll get it all back in.

Good stuff, it's a slippery slope this modifying game, but it's good fun.

Ah, I think running with the heater on was the issue here! So you had it with the ignition on for 20 mins?

No worries, you're welcome. I think if you're going to do it, may as well have a punt at doing it properly as it's well worth the effort.

Hello Paul, was it you I showed off my audio setup to?

Great pics, Will. It was a really nice little meet. A few rides and drives of cars, good company and good food. Great to see everyone again.

Well, from Sandbach to J16 Shell garage is about ten minutes. So it is pretty close. I know, it's my daily commute! But, we have made plans to meet at Sanbach at 8.30am so we may as well do it. Can't change it at the 11th hour! We'll meet up and head over to meet Mark at J16. If nothing else, it'll look good.

Have got to say, am seriously tempted by the steering wheel, it's slightly smaller at 350mm and feels so good in the hands.

Toyota reveals partnership to use BMW diesels will include several models and different engines Toyota is best known for its commitment to hybrid cars, but Auto Express has learned that the company has agreed a deal with BMWto use "a whole family of transverse diesel engines" on various different platforms. The first model to emerge from this partnership is the Toyota Verso 1.6 D-4D, which uses the same 109bhp engine as the MINI Cooper D to help cut its CO2 emissions without affecting performance. However on the launch of the new Verso, Vice President for European R&D Gerald Killmann confirmed that Toyota was already developing other models in the range to use this engine, including the Auris hatch and estate, and the RAV4 crossover. When asked how extensive this deal for engines was, Killlmann told us that "several platforms" has already been agreed, which opens up the possibility of several more BMW-powered cars, and could mean that a large 2.0-litre diesel is also on the agenda. These engines are set to gradually replace the current models in the range, and will help boost sales for the brand in Europe, where buyers are still skeptical about the benefits of petrol hybrids. The new Auris is already performing well for the brand, as it is currently the fifth best-selling hatchback in the incredibly competitive C-segment, which includes cars like the VW Golf and Ford Focus. However the bad news for fans of sportier Toyotas is that Killmann told us that the GT 86 Coupe was flagging behind its sales targets in all major markets. This poor performance is creating doubts about whether to develop a more powerful version, and Killmann told us, "A faster version of that car would be at the top of most people's wish lists, but like the cabriolet, it is hard to justify a business case to push either model into production based on the current sales." He also said that Toyota was unsure of what the main factor behind the slow sales was, especially given that the car has been a huge hit with the automotive media. "Personally, I think that engine could use a little bit more" he explained, but whether that car will become a production reality now looks in serious doubt.

Yes at 3/4 max rpm as a rule. This is how most circuits measure it IME.

Not necessarily. I recently had some Rays wheel nuts via Nengun and had them delivered by Fedex. Received the goods, no problem I thought. About five days later got an invoice for VAT which was £8.88 and processing by Fedex which was around £10.50 or so. Very annoying! Mine was delivered to my home address too. The courier said that they kindly paid the import tax and processed it for me. So I'd give it a couple of weeks before you know if there any other charges coming.

It never made production.

Okay there are those of us who will be relieved at not having a cabriolet (awful thing and best way to ruin a tin top). But, they are also saying poor sales mean they might not develop a more powerful version. Obviously Autoexpress speculation.

Cheers, but that won't suit a red wheel.

Well, I wasn't going to but the chance of a set of Volks TE37s coming up in the right size and offset that I wanted for a very good price, was too good an opportunity to miss. So I took a punt. I was also quite worried about spending what would seem a lot of money on second hand copies and after scouring the web there are a lot of fakes out there. Satisfied when I saw this on the back of all the wheels: To be fair, I got them for a good price and one rim does need a little bit of straighening, but it's not too bad. It also looks like they've been powder coated so I will have to decide what to do in regard to this. Mark suggested getting the powder coat removed and then getting them re-anodised. Of course if I do this I could pick any colour of my choice. It all depends on cost of course, but quite fancy this: I'm guessing anodising might be difficult if I have any chips filled in. The wheels are at least three years old and have been on at least two previous cars, so whilst they'll look fine from a distance they do have a bit of weat and tear close up. I intend to put the stock tyres on these.

I've only seen these centre caps and not in black: http://www.nengun.com/rays/a-flat-type-center-cap But in saying that: http://www.evasivemotorsports.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=EM&Product_Code=VR-WCGTHCB&Category_Code=VR-CC Damn doesn't fit my wheel size.