Ekona

Where the whoosh parrot??!!

Don't forget though that Admiral will only replace mods with stock items if you need to claim, so if you reverse into a wall and damage your £1K exhaust, you only get OEM back. Unless you've taken their optional cover, of course,

Not really, but it's all about control. HDMI is the standard now, and that can carry both audio and visual, so there's no need to use another lead here. If you run everything via the AVR, then if you change your screen output (i.e. buy a new telly) you're only switching one cable. There's no need to run the extra optical, the idea is to let the AVR do all the switching so the TV just goes on with the one input. Doing it the other way means you need a remote to change the TV output as well as a remote to change the AVR volume as well as one for the inputs. Going via the AVR means you can ditch the TV remote completely. Irrelevant if you have an AIO remote though, to be fair. I can see why the guy told you to do what he did as it's less work for you at the start, however it's not really best practice and the AVR install guide will tell you as much too.

Why do it that way? You should be running the inputs to the AVR (Virgin, PS3) then a single HDMI output to the TV.

FSM = factory service manual? Seriously, the interval for oil on those is 3k?! Jeez, that's crazy.

Why would anyone use the low setting? Even on high the temperature change barely registers. As said, they're probably the worst heated seats I've ever used (Merc ones are the best, the high setting is like having your posterior perched precariously 'pon the sun!). Leave 'em on off or high

But then you'd have an even bigger disparity between the richer and poorer teams. Imagine the big four (Fer, McL, RB and MB) lapping all the other cars by two or even three times per race. Would that be better for the sport? I'm not so sure. Personally I'd rather see Marussia and Caterham kicked out, as they have made precisely zero progression over the last few years in terms of fighting for points. Bin them, let someone else have a go (assuming there's another team with funds to try).

I got a bucket. I was genuinely pleased at this, I've needed a new one for ages!

That's okay if you're Ferrari and have access to your own track, but what about the FIs, the Saubers, the Marussias?

Happy celebration of a virgin pushing a magical baby out of her lady garden day!

You mean bi-wiring. Bi-amping means using two different amps, bi-wiring is using one amp but two cables

Mk3 ZZW30, I'm on my fourth now Never driven a mk2, although I've had some pax rides out in some tubbies that might not have been pushing mega power (300 tops I reckon) but they still really shifted.

Do it nice or do it twice. I did my audio setup three times before I finally got it right, and I wasted a shedload of cash in the process. I tried to do it cheap, then I tried to do it cheap but with better components, and then I finally gave up and did it properly and now I'm set for the foreseeable future. I do have upgrade options left, though. What I did (and what I would recommend to do) is this: Buy some decent speakers first and foremost. If you buy good here, then you'll arguably never need to replace them. Speaker technology doesn't move forward as quickly as everything else, hence the huge costs for some vintage stuff that has depth and clarity that modern things simply cannot match, so get the best you can afford. A solid 2.1 or even 2.0 setup here will be a great base for the future. If you don't have the room to go floorstanding and have to go bookshelf, again just spend as much as you possibly can. This is the one part of the setup you really cannot scrimp on IMHO. Buy an AVR to go with it. You don't really need to spend a fortune here, as there's plenty of solid units out there that will give you the basic setup of HDMI inputs in (PS3, V-Box) and HDMI out (TV) with 5.1 audio and DTS. Sure, you can spend more and get 7.1 or 9.2 or THX and twenty gazillion inputs, but this is where technology does move forward pretty quickly. Mine was out of date about a year after I got it, but it still covers the essentials and I can upgrade this when/if I decide I need more. Don't forget the cables and accessories. Cheap speaker cable is a false economy, but you don't need everything to be gold-plated either! I think I spent £3p/m and that was good enough to give me a good balance between cost and quality. I bi-wired my fronts too, so I needed twice as much for that. You can also massively improve your sound by isolating the vibrations: I got some huge inch-thick slabs of black granite off eBay custom made to the sizes of my speakers & sub to isolate everything as my floor is cheapy laminate, and it was a huge boost across the entire spectrum to my ears. Again not a massive amount of cash, but well worth doing. As a guide, my setup cost me £900 for the fronts, £300 for the rears, £300 for the centre, £500 for the AVR, then about £200 on cables/granite/connectors etc. Scale that down to suit your budget and I'd be looking at something like this: AVR (I like Pioneer stuff) Floorstanders Bookshelfs Centre (should match the fronts ideally) Sub Yeah, that's masses over your budget I know, but pick and choose! You can get the AVR and the floorstanders for £600 and that'll give you a great base to work from, and then you can add everything else when budget allows. Anyways, that's just my thoughts based on my own experience, I'm certainly no expert and I'm sure others will disagree, but I thought it might be worth sharing anyway.

Not really meaning this to start an argument as your post was incredibly well written (seriously), but do you think the drivers of those cars thought about the families of those they were putting at risk? Or even their own families? If they couldn't be bothered, then should we? Perhaps my original comment was a little harsh, in retrospect. Perhaps I don't really mean they deserved to die, but really I cannot have any sympathy for them whatsoever for their actions behind the wheel. To say it was dangerous is perhaps stating the obvious, but how many more times does this have to happen?

10.3:1, I believe.

Better than silver or bronze

As in Millers Nanodrive oil? Very good stuff, I believe Hartech now use it in their flat-six engine rebuilds

No, a mate does! No relation to pubic wigs either!

American. Not my term, but it like it so I nicked it

And people with weird accents. Plus you're much closer to those weird Merkins than us

You said you'll be running a thicker oil until the summer, implying that in the summer you'll be running a thinner oil. I've read it twice now, and that's definitely the implication of the words you used

So a bit more on these then. Had a good run out on Sunday in the MR2, and I have to say I'm impressed. Perhaps more so than when I used them in previous years: I'd be amazed if something in the construction hadn't changed. Temps were around 5c, roads were damp but it wasn't raining, and there was some sun peeking through the clouds. Roads were some good condition DCs and associated roundabouts, and some smaller B-roads still in good nick. Grip from both front and rear was plentiful throughout, far surpassing the 050As I run on the 911, and feel was certainly more than acceptable if not stellar. There were a few moments where I had the front end wash out, but this was more to me testing the limit by being deliberately ham-fisted than any failure on the R888's part. Road noise was pretty horrendous, but the car is stripped out so perhaps more noticeable than otherwise. All in, I reckon they're still a good option for those who run their cars for fun but still want use this time of year. More updates as I drive the car over this Xmas period.

Rained a bit here too, but then it is winter so hardly surprising.

Why? A 10w40 is the same when warm as a 5w40. Really, you want a thinner oil in the winter than in the summer, to get lubricating more quickly when cold.

No-one would feel the same if it was their son or daughter, but then parents are odd folks who will often defend a murderer or rapist just because they pushed them out from their lady garden.