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ABP don't seem to have any expertise on the Zed from their website, they look more like CTR experts to me. That doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing, but be aware that just because somewhere has a Hunter machine it doesn't mean they're any good. It will help them get the numbers in the right place, but if you want a track setup then you DON'T want the numbers simply in the right place! You need to tell them how you want the car to handle, and what your priorities are. They will ask you the right questions hopefully to give them the info they need, and then they'll work an alignment out for you based on that. No good people giving you their numbers as everyone like their cars to handle differently: For example, I like mine with plenty of toe out at the front and not a lot of camber in the rear, which makes it very twitchy and easy to provoke but for most people that would feel very unstable and awkward to control. Most prefer a lot of camber on the rear and toe-in to give stability, but that feels horrible to me. Without knowing how you drive and how you want the car to feel, giving you a set of numbers is ultimately pointless. You need to have a lot of trust in the garage and make sure you go back if what they give you isn't right: I'd be amazed if they got it bang-on first time, very rarely can people do that and when they do you pay through the nose for it. I've done that once with Center Gravity and it cost me £300, was well worth it though. DMS were great with me when I had my Zed, we had a few issues and managed to get the exact setup I wanted after a good few attempts, and I appreciated their efforts more than if they'd just said "Oh yeah, that'll be fine" and sent me on my way. Take your time, tell them what you want and let us know the results.

PlusGas or nothing. WD40 is like the Duplo brick of stuff that frees stuff, PlusGas is like the Technic expert set.

Don't speed, regardless of how safe you think it might be or that you can't see any police. Really not worth it. Check your car over thoroughly as well, paying special attention to how much tread you have left as it can be a right pain trying to source tyres over a weekend in Europe!

I was just under 17st at my biggest, then went on a mental health binge of diet & exercise for 12mths and go down to 12st. Best thing I ever did, that was three years ago and I've kept the weight off as well as added a little muscle for toning. Steve, good luck matey, keep it going for longer than a month and you WILL feel amazing about yourself. Grundy, good on you for helping along too, I reckon even a couple of stone off you and you'll be well chuffed. Very positive thread, hope you both do really well

That's utterly crazy. What they should've done is say yes, as long as you donate a couple of quid to a charity of their choice. Costs a lot less than a days work with some ply, and is great PR for them too.

Is the car still dropping fluids, or is that an old stain? If it's fresh, then run your finger through it and smell/feel it: It'll be pretty obvious which one it is. I don't mean that sarcastically, it's genuinely how I figure out what fluid my car is dropping at any given time! It could be coolant, but IIRC Mini coolant is pink so I wouldn't expect that kind of staining. You're all going to tell me it's the green stuff now, aren't you...?

I can see both sides really. I've done the same in the past, although not moving (just revved the engine a bit in Bluewater car park, with a K1 mind) and noise sounds awesome. No argument there. It is, however, very anti-social, and could easily see you on the wrong side of a s59. Arguing with a guy who is accusing you is likely to get him to call the police, and you're going to get that s59 no question. I'd probably have apologised, placated the guy then called him a banker under my breath as he left. Sometimes, that's the easier solution.

It might be worth considering a set of Rays, as not only are they cheap but they're also very light, which means that your will improve in the following areas: Handling Braking Acceleration Fuel economy (minimal on this one though!) Worth bearing in mind.

Tyre pressures as well, too high can make them slip if the car isn't strapped down properly. Very unlikely though, but no harm in making sure.

Nothing really, just make sure the engine isn't stone cold when they run it. Give it a quick run for a few mins before hand to get it up to operating temp, and leave it running for a few mins before the dyno itself. Other checks as usual, oil, coolant etc.

We also had major issues with Mini customer services and their tech departments, but that's another story... I can't see either how oil loss could come from the water pump, the two systems are not remotely linked. There must be another cause for the oil leaks, are we talking big drops? Whereabouts from the engine is it coming from (if you can tell)? What engine is it btw?

Well done, you're picking it up! When you're grown up it might get fully developed I second that - always immature comments Right, apologies if I've taken that comment the wrong way, but I think you're a little out of line here fella. I wasn't the one who decided to make a crass comment about my avatar not being the car I actually own, but a car I still remember fondly. What that has to do with anything, I've no idea. I responded with a sarcastic comment because that's exactly what the original remark deserved: Contempt. The following reply then confuses the most basic of English mistakes so I jokingly corrected it, hence the winky face. No malice was intended. How does it then come up that I'm the immature bad guy in this? Perhaps you could explain that one to me? We had a laugh about the lack of comments to deride my current choice of vehicle with, did we not, so why the sudden change in aggression?

Especially because of that! Maybe it's less a case of me mellowing, and more a case of you getting harsher which has brought you up to my level

Like the difference between your and you're, apparently.

That's a horrible thing to say

RFT? As in runflats, yes?

If on the lower end of the scale, then Falken 453s. If on the upper end, MPSS. The MPSS will be cheaper in the long term though, due to how much longer they last. Coupled with amazing feel and class-leading grip in wet or dry, I see them as a no brainer.

You need to chill about a bit Steve, that's some serious issues you've got going on there. Why you've felt the need to drag me into it I don't know, I've not disagreed with anything you've said in this thread, have I? I've not picked on you, had a pop at you, quoted you, argued with you or anything, so I feel a tad aggrieved that you've brought my name up in a disparaging manner. Granted, we don't always agree on things, but I didn't realise you thought that we were at loggerheads all the time: I never felt like that. I kinda see you in the same light at Docwra, in that we don't always agree on everything in the motoring world but I respect your opinion massively, and make a note to always read your posts as there's a lot of stuff I can learn from you. Sometimes I do state that people are outright wrong, but it's either that they clearly are (four seats into a 350), or in a joking way that I clearly don't mean (if anyone dares suggest that Curly Wurlys are anything other that amazing). I'm quite hurt you feel that way about me, I always thought we got on pretty well on here. My mistake. Anyway, TCS probably helps more people than it hinders, and common sense will always be more useful than a button on a dash.

If you want to do it accurately, you'll need some expensive gear. First off, the tech inside a smartphone isn't sensitive enough, so you'll need a higher res GPS device to connect it with. You can then connect that to some software and away you go. Harry's Lap Timer is superb on iOS for this, and very well supported. On the other hand, you could just video your speedo and run it in slo-mo on your PC to get a pretty good idea of your time. Depends on what you want.

Yes.

Man, I know it's tough to park round there, but that's a bit extreme.

The EA Vault will be for older games, at a guess 6-9 mths old, so no new stuff. It's still great value, and I'll probably get in on it too.

Wow, I'd never noticed that before. Thanks for pointing it out!

I've had it too, on a Walshy day where it was left on on purpose for that run.

Assuming there's nothing wrong with the car, then if the TCS is being activated during normal driving then the driver needs to make smoother inputs. No real reason to either turn it off or leave it on really, it's all down to driver preference. Sometimes I turned mine off when I was in the mood for a more focused drive, sometimes I left it on when I wanted the Stupid Dan Safety Net on.