Ekona

There are two issues: Early cars had oil ring problems which caused hot oil to pass onto the precats, which in turn broke up and got sucked back in and knackered the rings more which cause more oil to pass etc. The other problem is that the precats were made of very cheap ceramic material, and tended to break up very easily on their own. They then got sucked back in, etc. FL cars don't have the ring issue, but they'll always have the precat one. 2ZZ option would've been useless, at the time the MR2 was already more expensive than the MX5 and was much less practical, no-one bought them at the price they were up at and a 2ZZ would've been at least £5K more. No-one would've bought that either! Well, you and I would, but Toyota would've lost a fortune on it. If the TTET kit had been out with the FL then that would've helped, but it didn't launch until just before they stopped selling the car, and even then only in a handful of places.

Or you...

Ah, but did you remove the precats Codders? I'm guessing oil ring failure then. Shame, but not uncommon sadly. I had to write to head office to get my manifold changed on a FL car, as my local dealer wouldn't cover it.

It's rubbish. I've seen some really big guys (25 stone plus) in cars on track, and I've yet to see one of them resting his arm on the door. I mean, I could forgive him that if everything else was fine (after all, if it works then so what?), but he's a driving calamity on track.

Kinda what I figured. I really should have a drive in one, out of curiosity what kind of MPG were you getting?

How barge-like are they? Really wallowy and not that quick, or are they actually pretty sporty for what they are?

Beautiful.

In terms of who I find technically superb, then someone like Mark Knopfler would get my vote. In terms of someone who has a distinctive tone and can really make a guitar sing, then Slash or Joe Perry (criminally underrated!). However, in terms of someone who actually inspired me to pick up a guitar and start playing, I would go with Kurt Cobain. Whilst he was a better guitarist than many give him credit for (probably due to the simple nature of a lot of Nirvana songs), he also knew how to play with a passion and an intensity that made him compelling to watch and listen to.

Hopefully, have Lewis giving Nico the finger

The AA are not what I would call 'real specialists'. They're as generic as you can get: If you're buying a decent car, get a proper specialist to check it over.

As long as you have it all in writing, and give them a fair chance to repair, you're covered. Remind me again how old the car is? You did things right, just sometimes these things are a proper PITA. Name & shame I reckon, I wouldn't want to be dealing with someone like that. We'll have to catch up soon bud, been too long and we've still not met the twins yet!

I clicked to find out what you were reading Welcome along!

What a thoroughly despicable thing to broadcast on TV. I hope he feels bloody terrible about this, I really do.

Yeah, the snare is the same but the toms differ. Doesn't bother me as a practice kit, but ultimately would it hold someone back? Maybe. Even then mesh heads are so different in feel to an acoustic kit though, so I'm not convinced.

I use a Roland HD-1, which is surprisingly decent for the little it costs. It's lacking on actual feel for the kick pedal, but otherwise I'm quite happy with it. It's now been updated with a more intelligent control box so worth a try before jumping into the higher end. As always though, try before you buy, if she's that talented then you may have to cough up sadly.

Some of my favourite songs ever are: Before I Forget - Slipknot Biology - Girls Aloud Lose Yourself - Eminem Drain You - Nirvana Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits Gangstas Paradise - Coolio Silence - Delirium My tastes are pretty varied.

I'd tolerate her for four or five minutes ! Are you doing it twice then Hugh?

We're drunk and plating SingStar, so probably just as bad as X-Factor but without having to tolerate the Cheryl Fenendaezezescedk-Versacekininikiki woman

I'm not sure which is more full of egos that need massaging

Even you couldn't get through that much!

Put a guitar in it and I'm happy enough.

It's a fair comment, and an interesting POV. Unfortunately my family will never ever do money for gifts, they struggle if I dare ask for gift vouchers, so whilst I quite like the idea I don't think its a goer sadly. For me, just spending time with (some of!) my family is enough of a present

And mix with the great unwashed? Urgh, no thanks!

That card thing is a brilliant idea, I reckon I might give that a go too And yeah, prob best to stay away from the question of sanity