Ekona

Drove another one today Not great colour representation there from the iPhone, but that's actually the most gorgeous pastel orange (or Rosso Dino if you prefer, although it's definitely more orange than red) and looks stunning in the flesh. Wasn't planning on driving that today, but a phone call this morning inviting me up for a spin out with a pro driver kind of convinced me to make the trip. I have to say, it was well worth the effort. Chatting with someone who understands the dynamics of the car rather than just the sales side (no disrespect meant to my salesman, who's a really nice guy) brought out a whole different side to the car. Interestingly setting the mode to Wet and the dampers to soft made the car far more usable and a lot more planted on the roads, without losing the edge you need in a car like this. The softening of the throttle sensitivity also removed my last complaint about being unable to find a stationary throttle position for cruising, and I enjoyed the drive a lot more. This one felt a bit quicker than the last one too, that might be a mental thing though as I was driving the truck today not the 911. Gorgeous weather meant that the roof stayed off, and we managed to find a short underpass where I was encouraged to give it some stick... Let's just say that between 7K and 9K RPM in an enclosed space with the roof down is an absolute moment that I'll never forget. It was almost too loud, but with a tone that I could never call deafening. I have to say, my opinion on Ferraris has definitely changed. I used to despise the flat-plane crank rattle, but it's more refined here in the 458 and I now love it. I always found the brand to be too up tight, but actually if you get the right set of guys it's a hoot. The more I drive the 458, the more I can see the appeal, and tbh my previous post referring to being disappointed with it now seems a tad harsh. I think it's a car you need to live with a bit more to really understand how good it is. I'd be happy with one of these I think, and it's a shame the next car with have two turbos strapped to it. Now, if they'd just make a Speciale Spider...

Not me. Going with 1st a Tickets and have taken their tent package, so they erect the 4 man tent for me and include a chair, airbed, lantern etc so I don't have anything like that to pack More room for beer!

What did you think of the 235i Doc?

That's broken. Either attack it with the superglue, or replace it.

Well yeah, pretty much! It's bloody awful, and they'll usually have much less grip everywhere as well as killing their tyres in about 4 miles.

So is every speedo ever, unless you have a HUD like the M5. I'm not talking about checking the exact speed of 33mph or 34mph, but the dial will be marked clearly enough that just a split second glance will tell you if the needle is on or past the 30 mark.

Camber is used to adjust for the amount of tyre put down to the road on cornering, AIUI. That's why race cars run excessive camber, to maximise grip through the corner. You need to strike a fine balance on road cars though, as you don't want to kill the tyres too quickly (aka 'do an Octet' ). Extreme camber is purely for show, although much like many things that's very much subjective.

I don't get why it's so hard to believe that people don't speed. Really, you should be glancing down at your dash every few seconds (I won't put a number on it, but every decent driver will know what I mean) to not only check your speed, but also to check on temp & press gauges, along with other warning/info labels. Doing that, and having relatively basic throttle control, means it's virtually impossible to speed unintentionally. It's not a case of staring at the speedo, nor saying that everyone does it so it's okay, it's actually perfectly possible not to speed ever. Its a conscientious decision in the vast majority of cases, whether that's because they want to go fast or because they're not paying any attention to the dash because they can't be arsed. The worst thing to claim when you're speeding is that you didn't know speed you were doing. That's just as bad as staring at the dash all the time.

You can always cut them off.

As long as it's not a blue shell, I'd be okay with that. No one likes a blue shell.

I'd be asking for written confirmation that the holiday you booked is still available, tbh. In case things go wrong, be nice to have the info now. So where are you going?!

So the reason they couldn't give you a room is because they lost the contract for the bulk supply of the rooms in that hotel?! Jesus wept, I'd never go near them again.

As much as I hate to be the one to say this, this is why cheapest isn't always best. Not trying to rub your nose in it Bradders, I can only imagine how awful/angry you feel, but if nothing else it'll serve as a warning to others with regards to booking up cheap holidays. Hopefully the new hotel will be much better and you'll end up having a lovely time in spite of all this Where are you going anyway?

You know I love you really

You're kidding, it sounds just like a Lego Technic car if you hooked it up to the mains! And that's not a good thing.

Correct.

Manual will be quicker, assuming you're happy being brutal with the transmission. There is no 'better', only different.

I do. I know you're a bit of a knob, for example. I've done a fair bit of driving in Wales over the years, and I just so happen to know where that one is located as it's very famous and was pointed out to me years ago before I went there for the first time. Apologies for having a bit of knowledge and not speeding where the police sit.

The Zed does suffer quite a lot, and if you're running the 040s (you don't say which Potenza) then you've got the worst tyres on there for that.

Utter joke. Dead before it's even begun.

Then assuming everything else is up to date (address on the V5, not in a hire or company car) you'll be fine. 77 on a speedo is about 73 in real terms, I very much doubt you'll ever get pinged for that. I set my cruise at 75 when on NSL DC/M'way, as that's pretty much bang-on 70. Makes good progress, no chance of ever getting caught.

VXR220, with 260bhp and 280 lb/ft in 860kg. There was no such thing as an overtaking space too small.

No chance, LCH just put a flight & hotel together, they have no representation at all. Basically they're like Expedia et al. Are you saying that they've withdrawn their offer of another hotel?

Don't complain about the attitude, it takes away from the fact that you're really complaining about the ticket. Write the letter as above, leaving out the attitude bits, then wait. If you hear from them before the 28 days, then great. If you don't, then pay the fine and then write another letter complaining about the lack of communication. If you still don't hear anything then you can write a further letter saying that they appear to be as rude as the coppers that stopped you

That's exactly right, and it's been the case for years. You can be done for speeding if one police officer forms an opinion of you being over the limit. Corroborating evidence isn't actually required for that.