Ekona

Not yet, Saturday is looking a trifle busy now so may not happen this week. £2K is a lot of money on an upgrade, so I'm not sure I want to go there just yet. Maybe a few more months down the line.

Another dull race. A very dull race, really. Still, at least Bosrerg showed he had some balls at last. He was very aggressive against Vettel, which was good to see.

No, the dealer gets a cut too. You can also haggle the actual finance rate down as well.

Not a bad line up of cars, that. Taken yesterday during an epic 6 hour blat over the Brecons, before the Morgan PHSS today. Suffice to say, much fun was had by all. The route I made was cobbled together from three routes I found online, and was about 200 miles (!) long. I led the convoy, with the Gallardo and M3 swapping places behind me at various points. The Gallardo is a new purchase, indeed Mark's not even had it a month yet, and is an early Spyder with a very rare manual 'box: So far we believe one of just 300 cars. The E46 is an SMG car, and Aaron has had that for a good couple of years now. I've driven the M3 on track once, and the Lambo around a car park as the owner is still understandably precious about it. Aside from a mess of road works around Merthyr Tydfil and the awfulness that is the A4069 which is now all 40mph, the ultimate tragedy, we were mostly fortunate with the traffic. Sure, there were plenty of overtakes but also plenty of opportunities, and with none of the cars lacking for straight line pace other vehicles could be picked off with ease. Sadly there were still a couple of idiotic folks the English side of the border who did a solid 45mph in a clear NSL for miles, without any real overtaking places and without any thought that they could have briefly stopped for 10 secs to let us past. Really superheated my urine, that one. But oh yes, the cars. Or rather, just my car as I didn't get to sample the other two on the roads. It's really, really good fun! I mean, I know that should be fairly obvious with a 333bhp V8 and a gearstick, but it's still a BIG car with a fair amount of weight there, but it's a wonderful chassis and you can really get it working well on the roads we were on. I had no trouble keeping Mark and Aaron behind, and managed to drop the Gallardo by a sizeable chunk when I decided to really get on it. That was fairly satisfying, especially given the weight and power penalty I was carrying in comparison, but obviously I know which car I'd rather have on my driveway The brakes are nicely bedded in now, and without fear of killing them I was able to use them to my advantage. The pedal is firm, not overly servoed and with good pressure and feel from it, so you have the confidence to really lean on them when you need to. The steering has to be in Sport mode though, else it's just too light and gives little feedback, but as long as that button is pushed then it's very easy to place the nose. The reasonably aggressive geo I had done t'other week did wonders for front end turn it, although you do have to be patient with it as there's a big ol' lump hanging there and a very long nose; Fortunately I'm used to that from the 911 days, so I adjusted very quickly. The suspension is a bit of a let down, sadly. For what the car is (big GT bruiser) and the age (11years ad 101K miles) it's very good, absorbing the blows and bumps as you'd want, but when really pushing on it's just too wallowy for my taste. There were times where I was actively fighting the car and the the traction control in either mode when trying to get the power down, and even switching the TCS off didn't help. I think I need to invest in some adjustable dampers and springs sooner rather than later, probably the BC series as they've been imperious in my MR2. Granted, I don't tend to drive the car on roads like this too often, but if I'm to really bond with this car then I'm going to need more control. I'd also like to try some 888s on it, however the general consensus from my companions was that that would be ridiculously unfair and that they'd spend forever trying to keep up with me if I did that! Whilst their p*ss-taking is both flattering and funny, I never take it as a sign that I'm a driving god or anything. Rather, I've always seen it as a compliment towards the car, as a really good one will flatter any driver and allow them to make the most out of the machinery they have available. The 645 is certainly a car that inspires confidence, rather than fear. I'll be honest and say that I've wondered in recent days whether I made a poor decision in the BMW, what with Boxsters & Zeds & S2Ks etc all available for the same price and offering me much more of the sportier drive I'm used to, and that was compounded on Saturday morning with the gorgeous weather allowing the other guys to drop their roofs and enjoy the sun. After the 200 miles were complete however, I've discovered that there's something perversely unique about driving a sports barge to 8/10ths and working yourself as hard as the car, and it's an experience I'm growing to love. I look forward to the summer and many more drives like this, and learning to bond with the counterpoint of a dull silver BMW & a rev-happy V8 matched to a slick gearshift.

Zero toe out on the front on a track car? You want much more than that fella, at least 2.0 on an E46 I reckon. Other setting all look fine, that'll be lovely to steer with the extra toe. Carbon intake is lush though

The Mazda3 is a surprisingly decent car.

How many times did you spot it?!

Perfectly, thanks Colin

Absolutely, in which case you can definitely go anywhere as long as they use OEM spec equivalent parts, in terms of quality.

Utter bobbins. The reason small businesses have died is because nobody wants them. The market wants big companies and cheap prices, and that's been good for everyone as we have jobs, more facilities, and cheaper products. People have driven this, and they got what they wanted. I live in a large village/small town, and it's a lovely balance of local shops but with a mini Sainsburys and a decent size Boots. I like the small places, but I need the big chains.

I'd rather not service the car myself - I have no ramp access (london apartment dweller) and zero mechanical skills. Changing air filters is the limit of my abilities. Not sure re PCP/PCH but they threw in two "free" services with the deal and ultimately that is worth £400-500. I just didn't realise just how f*cking incompetent HPCs could be. Sorry, wasn't trying to say you should do the service yourself (I wouldn't), more that they were hugely dragging it out. Do you have a balloon payment at the end?

It's like trying to choose out of Mila Kunis or Kate Upton. Impossible.

One in the bum, no harm done?

*pipes down at the back*

First world problems, biatch.

It does matey, thanks Tbh in previous years I had been a little peeved that non-Zeds are banned from the event as I would've like to go, but also it seems a bit daft that you could have people that have done so much for this community in the past that would also be unable to attend. Right now that includes Colin, Keyser, SMD etc, and I think that's a shame. That was a while back though, and I've grown up a little bit since then. Only a little, mind Having said that, I do fully understand the stance taken and completely back you guys on it. There's lots of other events for us non-Zed owners to attend, for example. I just wonder what would happen if I did get bored, feel the need to create a bit of confusion, and rock up on the day and tag along to the back of a convoy. I would never do it as I've too much respect for everyone here, it's just a 'what if?' kinda thing, y'know?

That's the thing, I still get a say in what she drives so I choose fun things for her, knowing I get to drive them too! We'll be swapping the Mini for something else shortly, currently looking at BRZ86s or maybe a 335i if I can convince her on fuel.

Swapsies every other weekend I saw an Eagle Roadster the other week when I was down at the Caterham showroom. Oh my, I've never ever seen a more beautiful motor car in the flesh. I'm not sure it's £300K+ worth of car, but it was magnificent.

P1 on a 370 can be done in under an hour, if you put your mind to it. Your trouble was that you didn't have it booked in for 8am, so it went straight to the back of the queue. As for the scratches, this is another reason why I never let garages wash my cars. You can take it anywhere though for servicing, you have that legal right within the original manufacturer warranty. You say PCP lease, if you actually mean a normal PCP and not PCH then I'm right. If you do mean a PCH then you're probably stuck with Nissan, sadly.

£8K for a water-damaged car? No thanks. Whilst I'm pretty open at buying any Cat A-D car after repair, one thing I will not touch is anything with water damage. That's the kind of thing that can cause huge grief in the long run, with issues cropping up completely unrelated to the original thing that went pop.

That's the thing, if they're not invited then they're not part of the event, but if they're a member of the club then it's all going to get a bit interesting. I don't think the insurance covers road events anyway, only static ones so a non-issue there really. As you say, Graham would know though. Dictatorships are the way forward my friend, the fewer consenting voices the better! So let's assume the insurance thing is covered one way or another, would a joining non-Zed be formally punished on here?

Put a gun to my head, I'm not sure which I'd rather have. Both utterly stunning

So, purely in theory, what happens if a non-Zed car joins the official drive? Let's say they tag along at the back, don't drive dangerously or otherwise in a manner unfitting of the club, but are clearly keeping up with the group on the basis that they want to enjoy the drive as well? Now, I know this looks HUGELY guilty on my part now for asking this after my last comment, but I'm honestly just curious. I have no intention of joining you guys & gals as I think we're at a wedding that weekend, I just thought it might be worth exploring to know the possible 'punishments' should this ever happen. Warning point? Ban? Lifetime ban? People have been banned before but that's because they drove like a knob. You mention the reason for the non-Zed rule is because of the Club insurance, which is perfectly understandable, but at the same time I can't see the drive out being cancelled just to prevent the limit being breached. Actually, what does the Club insurance cover on a drive out? I'd guess not a lot, since everyone would be covered by their road policies anyway. Probably a non-issue on that one. Sorry, quiet afternoon at work, my mind's just running everywhere. Feel free to split the thread and move to a separate thread to stop drift here.

A- What have you bought? Link? B- What does it come with? C- What do you want to achieve?