Captain Duff

Deacon is right about the balance to aim for with winter tyres for the UK, on the whole snow is not the main worry but low temperatures, morning frosts and black ice all are. Most winter tyre treads mean that wet grip is worsened compared to summers. That said as someone based in the north who often needs to drive into Cumbria for work I always fit winters on a 2nd set of OEM rims (Yoko ones in my case). They certainly stopped me getting stuck in the hills around Blackburn last Dec when a snow storm hit and I was the only car that could get up a steep incline (passing a seriously struggling 4x4 on the way up), but it is very much a swings and roundabouts issue as for much of the winter I'd have still preferred to be on my summers on wet roads.

GPS tracker or lower insurance black box transmitter? Although you'd be mad as a box of frogs to want to fit the latter in our cars so a security tracker would be my best bet but not 100%, it is certainly after-market though!

Yes, the EU regs are little known but they helpfully reinforce and supplement the better known UK Sale of Goods Act. As your claim would be against Apex who are UK based then ultimately you could go down the small claims court route as the fees for this are still reasonable (and if you win will be added to the amount owed to you), but trading standards will let you know what you need to do before lodging an application as regards giving the company a chance to respond/negotiate, but I would start with a hard copy letter sent recorded/signed for delivery (and when it gets signed for take a print of the signature for your records) that states you believe you are covered by the standard 2-year EU guarantee (they may not be aware of this which may explain them ignoring you so far) and that if they continue to refuse to talk/negotiate/refund then your next step will be legal action. Some info here: General principles: http://www.thompsons.law.co.uk/factsheets/thompsons-small-claims-court-consumer-problem-factsheet.pdf Fees: http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex050-eng.pdf

Assuming you got them from within the EU time to make a legal claim under the standard 2 year warranty regs - http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/shopping-abroad/guarantees/index_en.htm - although as it is now more than 6 months since purchase you will need to try and show that the packaging used for sending was at fault by showing it wasn't adequate etc. Your local trading standards should be able to point you in the right direction of how to enforce this.

Remal, yes the alternator will charge but probably not as quickly as you think as it is a trickle charger and there are a lot of variables - the revs, what other drains are on at the time (lights, radio, A/C etc.), but the main thing here is that the biggest drain is the ignition itself, which is what the real battery killer is when doing a lot of short trips. I use my trusty CTEK MXS 5.0 charger every couple of months to check and keep my battery charged and would recommend it.

Yes, I never really fancied Conti's after a similar experience with Conti 2s on a previous car, the wear rate was shocking, and I feared that the 5's may be similar.

I think stocks are down nationally, possibly waiting for a container ship to arrive. Black Circles did have them but now don't (but have other Yokos still), mytyres are showing very low stocks (just 13 left nationally), National who had them the other month in stock now don't, my local indy fitter also had them the other month and don't any more. I'm guessing they are still there to find if you look hard enough but they are not as as easy to source as they were until recently.

Couple of points. First - and assuming the OP has OEM rims - we are just over a week to the next new 65 plate and a slug of new GT's and BRZs will be sold. One or two of those may just be to someone who wants to upgrade their tyres very quickly so you may find some Primacy sets with very low mileage become available shortly. Failing that, and assuming again the OP has OEM rims, there is not a huge price difference between shite and premium tyres, and if you value your safety, and that of any passengers, why would you want shite for the sake of saving less than a ton? In any case there are always deals and offers out there. For example currently Black Circles have got a great deal on Goodyear Eagle F1's with the standard load at £80.30 and the XL at £82.80 a corner (fitted), plus you even get some Tesco clubcard points thrown in. And on another point, the Yoko Advan 105's (in OEM rim size) seems to have virtually disappeared from most tyre sites and are extremely rare, not sure if that is due to supply problems or something else...

That's a great head to head test and video. Seems to come down to weight more than anything else that gives the MX5 the edge on speed, although you can foresee that stiffer suspension will possibly the first mod enthusiast owners make to it given the terrible body roll. For me subjectively when you see them side by side the Toyburu wins on looks, although a convertible option would have been nice. The MX5 short shifter looks great too, but as I said previously with a young child I need a rear seat so...

Yes, that's a central thing to take into account here, the MX5 was always about trying to recreate the classic British roadster like the MG Spitfire where speed is secondary. The GT86 was trying to recreate the classic Japanese sport coupe like the 2000GT. There is crossover and overlap for sure, but at the same time it's like apples and pears, you may like them both and use them for similar things but they are... different. I still want a proper road/track head to head with the 2 litre sport though!

Given the 2 litre Sport has on paper very similar performance figures (and price) to our car it's crying out for a head to head road and track test. I like the idea of convertibles in the summer, but small as they are with a child I do also like having a couple of rear seats so currently it's not really an option for me.

Love the new blue, love the seats! I was in my local dealer earlier getting some coolant and they had a new black aero on display and I thought that looked great too (wheels and skirts in particular) aside from the big wing which I've never been a fan of!

My bay is all red, same as my car, though Rob? Duller/darker shade of red (I assume it hasn't got the top coat/lacquer), but still red

I love this forum! Set off to the shops yesterday and had a little smoke and a burning rubber smell coming from the engine, so checked oil and while a little low it's still between the two dots, but then thought about coolant (although dashboard temp gauge was normal and no warning lights came on), and when I looked I saw that the level was below the minimum mark and then read this thread as to possible causes (nice in a way that I wasn't alone). Luckily I've a Toyota dealer 5 mins away so phoned up to order a 1 litre top up and at first was fobbed off with using the pink one, but it was only because I had the part number thanks to this thread that I was able to show them that they can get Toyota branded blue stuff too (I restrained myself from saying that this is the reason any local GT owner with any sense uses RRG Macc and not them for servicing!) so should be able to pick up and top up tomorrow. I'll certainly be keeping a better eye on coolant levels in the future though and did notice that the rubber tube that goes into the plastic reservoir at the top next to the yellow filler cap is quite loose in the hole and so there looks to be lots of opportunity for evaporation (which I'm hoping is the reason it has disappeared, particularly as unlike others I have not done any track stuff!). Think I'll tape around it to seal it up after I top up. I'm assuming that there will hopefully be no damage done given the engine has not overheated?

I remember many years ago when I still lived in Liverpool being refused house insurance because of my location by Liverpool Victoria of all people...

10mm according to the Fensport site which is the first place you should look - note you also need the uprated top mounts on the pre-2015 models, not sure about the current 2015 update as that has uprated suspension all round anyway (and so you may find the TRD kits does not make a massive difference - be worth speaking to Fensport about this I would suggest).

Couldn't honestly say, I've always loved the E-Type, but Suzi was my first love and will always hold a special place in my heart...

You need one of these Bobby

I always wanted this package

Given the GT86 plus full Cosworth pack is I think roughly the same sort of price as the Mustang V8 I would really love to see a direct head to head comparison taking in both road and track.

Have you got a picture? When you say 'torn' do you mean that the plastic is split?

You should actually be covered by the EU enforced 2-year standard guarantee period - http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/shopping-abroad/guarantees/index_en.htm - although it is a bit harder after 6 months as the onus moves from the retailer to automatically replace faulty goods to the customer proving the goods were faulty when supplied. Hopefully 'goodwill' will prevail here!

Yes, I replaced my OEMs with the Aerotwin earlier this year, but while I liked them a lot on my old car, and have found they do wipe a lot better than the OEMs, I also get quite a lot of annoying wiper judder at the tips so wouldn't mind trying something else like these Michelins.

Well I think I could have a very good guess at who one of the Toyota dealers is that this referring to, anyone know the other one?! I think though that Toyota is missing a trick by not officially endorsing the Cossie upgrades and selling them as official dealer upgrades (by one or two selected main dealers) as I suspect it would have an increased appeal in that the higher prices of Cosworth would be justified by the warranty cover, and of course Toyota boost their sales with no added development costs of their own.

I've been interested in a test drive for a while, as it is one of those rare cars where the badge really does mean a lot in terms of heart. And while I strongly suspect I will find it far too big given I find the 86 'just right' most of the time, the bigger factor is that I believe that there is already a 1-year UK waiting list!