Ekona

Lols, you know what I meant!

Amen brother. Amen.

Ah, not quite the exact thing you quoted then

Exactly. Whilst I've no doubt that the GT-R is a great bit of kit, remove a couple of hundred kg from it and it'd be even better, Thinking about Mizuno-san's statement: Best for speed: Determined by power and drag coefficient. GTR has plenty of one, but is lacking on the other. Best for acceleration: Power to weight combined with driven wheels. GTR is poor on PtW (relatively speaking), but has immense traction from the 4WD. Best for performance: Heh, define 'performance'! Yeah, I'll give him this one alright, no doubt the GTR has stonking performance figures. What we really want is a sub-1000kg car with 500bhp and 4WD that looks like a Very Smooth Thing.

Nope, not on 9x7 cars onwards.

He's also got a vested interest in selling something that weighs as much as a small battleship. If a heavy car was the way to go, they'd be racing them everywhere. For speed, add lightness.

This is my exact point, coat the inside of waste pipes/toilets/urinals/traps in that stuff and you would never, ever block it up as it would be 99% impossible to do. Okay, so it'd put me out of business, but I reckon there's a good line in installing waste pipe like that instead.

There's a lot to be said for a big car with a huge amount of power, or more importantly torque. Look at something like a Phantom: Over two tons, but it will pull without effort. Weight though, I can never get rid of enough in a car. Especially unsprung weight, it can make all the difference and certainly does on the 350Z as anyone who's gone from OEM 18"s to the Rays will confirm. It's like night and day.

Looked into that stuff recently. Sadly it doesn't last very long right now, however I'm very excited for what it could mean in the future if they can perfect it. Imagine car paint made of that stuff. You'd never wash a car again! Other non-automotive uses would be kitchen worktops, bathrooms, waste pipes (they'd never block!), spectacles... The list is endless really.

Your username is awesome

The 911 is also on 20K/2 year intervals. No way do I leave it that long between oil changes though.

And you're surprised an impressive bit of delicate engineering is expensive to replace when it goes wrong? If you stick with the main dealers, the cost is always around £100p/h, regardless of brand. Kyle is spot-on when he talks about comparing service costs between marques, as they're not that different anymore. Granted, an annual service on a Ferrari is going to be significantly more than on a Micra, but a Zed, a Cayman or a 135i are all going to be in the same ballpark.

Ah, you found the guffinsprocket!

Without a shadow of a doubt. The STi has a better constructed engine, a 6 spd 'box and not made from chocolate, different chassis bits, better brakes etc. You could tune a WRX up to give similar power to a stock STi, but you'd need to do the gearbox and brakes too so it would be cheaper to get an STi in the first place.

No sweat mate, I like people who can argue their case whilst keeping either a sense of humour or backing it up with reasons. You did both

Yup Drove both WRX hawkeye and STi blobeye before we bought ours. I expected to prefer the newer WRX but it was slow and dull and felt like a repmobile. The STi felt bonkers and mega and zany, and as they were the same price we bought the older STi. One of the most fun cars I've ever driven, although also the least subtle. You hang on rather than drive it unlike a Zed, but it's just different ways of getting a thrill really. I'd rather an E36 than a WRX, but an STi over anything. They are very, very special cars, much like the way an M car isn't just a normal Beemer.

I can get a Black one for £310. I think I'm going to go for it, just before Spa next month.

I said 'equivalent age'. That pic you used was from an original Impreza, not a new age one. Like for like, I don't think there's much in it, sorry. And yes, 996 interiors are chuff, as is the PCM2.1 on the 997.

For £35K there's a whole load of other cars I'd be looking at. They don't seem to hold their value any better than anything else either, at £18K for a less than three years old 30i. I suspect you're going to buy one anyway because you like BMWs, like you did with the 320i, not because it's actually a decent car at a decent price. Well, they're good cars, but like the 320i they're not sporty cars.

About as exciting as a parsnip. Nice interiors though. What is the budget?

:lol: :lol: Expected £40K :lol: :lol:

Agreed. The Zed isn't noticeably any better inside than an equivalent age Impreza. Certainly the STi seats are much nicer, despite not being leather or heated.

The majority of buyers out there don't know their arse from their elbow. They'll only check tyre tread, not type or age.

This. If I know I'm buying a bit of a shed then I'll cope if it has Nexens on it as I'll haggle the price down to compensate, but if I'm buying a minter I want to see at least 050As on there.

Just remember folks, Admiral do not cover mods like for like. You have an accident and smash your nice bumper or posh wheels or tasty exhaust, you're only getting OEM items back. This is why they can be so much cheaper than the specialists like AF. I don't think I'd class a FWD Mini in the same league as a RWD M3 either! Bearing in mind that AF are just a broker, and the terms they impose are imposed upon them by the insurers they use.