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TomB

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Posts posted by TomB

  2. Posted

    Only a few 'after' shots I'm afraid, I did have the opportunity to purchase shots of the Corrado cocking its rear wheel, but there were only a couple of good photos, and I didn't want to pay £20 for the privilege!

    If you'd like to see them though, I'll post them up...

    Cheers,

    Tom

  3. Posted

    A friend had a GTI-6 which I used to drive alot and they are very impressive cars, make a great noise too.

    The rallye is basically a lighter GTI-6 isnt it?

     

    It is, keep-fit windows and everything. Weirdly however, the one in this photo has air con (along with a superb exhaust & I agree about the noise).

     

    Cheers,

    Tom

     

    Post Hoon Shadows.jpg[/attachment:tq3ciduk]

  4. Posted

    It sounds like it could be the tensioner bearing going rather than the belt. There's a very good looking thread on the wki (under knowledge base) on how to change the bearing rather than buying a new unit. I hope it's a good guide, as I'm about to do it myself for just that reason! Mine has started squealing under load above 4K rpm.

    If you do use the article, the price of the bearing has gone up to about £7 + VAT rather then £7 including. The extra expense nearly put me off :)

  5. Posted

    Good eyes people, it is indeed a GTi-6 Rallye driven by my Capri co-conspirator. 3corsameal, its a standard 2l n/a pushing out about 170bhp, and will I'm ashamed to say knock the spots of my VR. That's partly down to the talent of the chap driving it (or his willingness to press on harder than me) and partly down to its excellent handling and weight distribution. He was keeping up with (and passing) all sorts including an Impreza, a Caterham, an old Maserati and a number of other things!

    The S2 Elise is in a different league though. I've driven it on the road and it's superb, but on the track, it is just phenomenal. It was probably the quickest thing there (including the spaceframe V8 with a Mondeo shell & the M5).

    I'll upload some more photos in a bit.

     

    Cheers,

    Tom

  7. Posted

    Well worth it i must say, and the most important thing to remember is that there's nothing to prove to anyone. I spent the morning short shifting, gently washing out to hints of tyre squeak, and just getting a really good feel for the car that in a way that I wouldn't do on the road. The afternoon session was a little more...active, but nothing that upset the car (kept a constant eye on oil & water temps) etc.

    I recommend doing an open pit lane session rather than one in 20 minute stints. That way you can can do as many or as few laps as you want.

    Cheers,

    T

  8. Posted

    Well after a fun Saturday at Elvington, I now feel happier with what the VR can & can't do. I'm also happy that out of the 3 of us that went, I came away with the smallest repair bill (so far). I was easily the slowest of the 3 of us, but then I wasn't prepared to go absolutely all out in the pursuit of the fastest lap EVAH (that's what the Capri will be for) :)

    Here's a photo for the car nutters among you to identify the other two:

     

    3 amigos.jpg[/attachment:1pzwj8qo]

     

    Cheers,

    T

  10. Posted

    I like a thread I once saw on Pistonheads about how to prevent valve cap theft.

    Put on a thick set of welding gloves and grind up some glass to a nice shiny (but sharp) powder. Coat some ordinary valve caps in superglue and roll them in the glass powder. Refit the valve caps and put the welding gloves in the boot in case of a puncture.

    Await pikey scumbags trying to pinch shiny, sparkly items from the car and send blood samples to police for evidence.

     

    Sorry to hear about your incident man,

    T

  12. Posted

    No problem, I'm sorry to hear you had a bump & good luck with getting it sorted. When I had a debate with the insurance company, I backed up up my argument with adverts of similar spec cars from Autotrader & the forum.

    It may take a while, but you'll get there!

     

    Cheers,

    Thomas

  13. Posted

    Stick to your guns & get it repaired. Get your insurance company to take the other driver to the small claims court for the repairs:

     

    From http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=33

     

    DAMAGE TO YOUR CAR: What are your rights if someone damages your car in an accident and their insurer attempts to write it off, compensating you with a derisory amount and refusing to keep you on the road in the meantime?

     

    If the other party is judged to be wholly and negligently responsible for the damage than you are entitled to be put back where you were immediately before they did you the damage.

    That means for your car to be repaired or replaced so it is of exactly the same quality as it was before the other party did you the damage.

     

    It also means you are entitled to an equivalent temporary replacement car either until your car is repaired or you receive a settlement figure allowing you to purchase a direct replacement.

     

    The relevant case law is Clarke v/s Ardington in the Appeal Court, 1 May 2002, in which their Lordships said:

     

    Sect 127 "A defendant who damages another's car should not be surprised to find that he will have to pay for a replacement car if it is needed by the claimant. A wrongdoer must take his victim as he finds him."

     

    Sect. 148 "the fundamental principle is that a person whose car has been damaged is entitled to compensation for the loss caused. In a case where such loss includes loss of use and he establishes a need for a replacement, he is entitled to the cost of hiring a replacement car"

     

    Hope this helps,

    T

  14. Posted

    spooky that youve put a review up of an Exige as I was looking at them at the weekend LOL. Nice to hear you had fun mate and that u rate them highly. I didnt realise they had major unreliability issues though :confused4: ..thats depressed me :sad: .

     

    So how much qicker than the caterhams are they?

     

    Well, the breaking down was something that could have happened to any car, it just munched through the last of one of its brake pads, and would have started scoring the disk if driven much further. Not much you can do about that at 5pm on a Sunday! Everying else, brakes, transmission, engine performed flawlessly despite the fact it was a hot day out on track. The 2.3l Cosworth engined Caterhams were catching us, but you'd probably have the edge over the older 1.6l Crossflow engined ones!

    The top speed is just over 130mph, but it doesn't stop pulling until it gets there. The acceleration and handling are just something else.

    My friend uses it as his daily driver :D

    Cheers,

    T

  15. Posted

    What an astonishing piece of kit!

    Went to a track day yesterday with a friend who has one of these, and I'm still gobsmacked. I've driven it on the road and been a passenger in it on the road, but NOTHING compares to what it's capable of on the track. In all honesty, I didn't think we were going to clear some of the corners, but it just kept gripping and gripping. The only things that were catching us where the Atoms & a couple of Caterhams.

    As to keeping up with him on the way to the track, well, good luck with that! 220hp & 4-odd seconds to 60.

     

    /Awestruck groupie. :D

     

    P.S True to form though, it did break down!

     

    Cheers,

    T

  18. Posted

    As has been said, there's plenty of choice out there, but check if you can get it through your insurance as it works out cheaper (& better). I pay £40 for full UK & European including home start & onward recovery! I'd avoid the RAC like the plague (the UK is not part of Europe according to them, so if you break down on the way there or back...tough). The AA just did a good job for my friend's Lotus Elan on Monday though on the way back from Le Mans. £50 for the cover and when it spat out its dummy (and most of its oil) they had it recovered to a garage, when it was diagnosed as un-fixable sorted out a hire car & recovery of the car to a UK address. All of this on Bastille Day, so not too bad!

    They did squirm a bit though, so stick to your guns if they start being slippery!

     

    Cheers,

    Tom

  20. Posted

    I've owned both and on a personal level preferred the 2.0l valver over the 1.8. I liked the character of the engine more, as you could be lazy and pootle should you wish, or you could drive it hard and it would respond nicely. I always felt slightly like I was having to beat the 1.8 with a stick even when pottering.

     

    I could be biased though as only one of them blew a hydraulic tappet taking the head and cams with it, and it wasn't the 2.0l!

     

    Cheers,

     

    Thomas

  21. Posted

    With the VR6 appetite for fuel, I'll take it out for fun an necessary journeys only! I'd much rather enjoy the times when I drive it rather than sitting in traffic.

    Travellling everywhere at maximum attack on the bike is superb fun anyway (especially when it's busy).

     

    Cheers,

    Thomas

  23. Posted

    All, a quick question about the dizzy on my (early '92) VR.

    I broke down on Sunday after driving through about a couple of inches of standing water (maybe more) and getting water in the distributor cap. No problems after the application of WD-40 and a cloth, but my question is should it really be that easy for water to get in or am I missing some form of seal?

    There was a plastic slightly convex cap behind the rotor arm, but nothing else to prevent water ingress. Is this a common problem, or is something amiss? If it is a common problem, how have other people solved it? A spot of sealant? A plastic bag? An undertray?

     

    Any/help suggestions gratefully received....

     

    Cheers,

     

    Thomas

  25. Posted

    I'm in a similar situation as I have my CBT & Theory, I'm just looking for a suitable 125. I've gone for an old Honda CM125 (1983!) to potter around on, with my eye on a full licence later this year.

    I was looking at (and rode) a 125RS and found it to be fantastic fun, but opted for a 4 stroke rather than a 2 on noise grounds! That and the fact the Aprilia I was looking at had a bent con-rod...

     

    Good luck with the hunt (and make sure the previous owner hasn't filled the tank with water like they had on the one I was eyeing up :D ).

     

    Cheers,

     

    T

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