Hi,
I thought I'd post an update on Honkongfooi's old car, as it's been nearly a year now and I vowed I'd keep the forum informed... I'm not good at Christmas or birthday cards either
Well, aside from serving as a daily driver for most of the winter due to our shopping car being off the road, the car's been to some fantastic places over some great roads, and even out on track. Even so, just going shopping or taking the dog to the country park, the car never fails to put a grin on my face. It's a hoot
Things I've done to the car during my ownership:
- regular oil changes with Miller's Race Oil every 3000-4000mi
- full major service including timing belt and tensioners
- new RCM cone filter as the bung in the end of the old one came loose
- OEM wind deflectors because they are ESSENTIAL
- de-blacked the Zunsport lower grill, added stainless STi upper grill
- winter tyres on Hongkongfooi's old wheels
- new wheels and tyres (OZ Ultraleggera and Yokohama AD08R) for summer, plus alignment check
- kept her lovingly clean and polished despite the winter and the stone chips on front bumper
- added further stone chips to the front bumper
- ordered some quality PU mudflaps from the States which haven't arrived yet (black, with matte 'STi' logos, fairly subtle)
In terms of upkeep and maintenance, the car's been no trouble at all. Biggest expenditure in this area was the major service at Chevron Motorsport in Stafford. Simon, the top man there is a very knowledgeable chap, and is doing a good job of persuading me to concentrate my modification budget in the suspension. First steps will be:
- rear camber bolts to even up the back
- do the 'free castor mod' for the front lower control arms
- new springs for the front ASTs as they are now a bit tatty
- may also install offset rubber top mounts for extra castor at this point too
The bodywork's in good condition, however the front bumper and possibly wings require a respray so that's on the to-do list. Paint protection film will go on after this!
The trackday was amazing, but also pretty intense for a newbie. It was also my girlfriend's first-ever trackday - but I wanted her to come to help increase her confidence driving the car. As it turned out, it couldn't have been a better opportunity for it going into winter. Blyton Park was completely, totally soaking: spray, standing water, pelting rain. I went round with the instructor right after the sighting laps, gained some confidence with trail-braking, thought I'd nailed it then spun the car marvellously at about 60mph. I avoided any harm but it took a while to build the speed back up. Even so the instructor was really helpful, and pointed out it wasn't the speed per se, rather how I'd failed to handle the car's balance in the time leading up to the spin. Kudos to those who race for a living I have to say. I should also mention we did the trackday with Apex Trackdays, who were very professional. Free instruction!
A few pics, then. The first four were taken in North Wales on some lovely roads. I wanted to simply drive, but was constantly spotting good photo opportunities and pulling over. I'm glad I took the time to shoot the car properly, it was a gorgeous morning and the pics turned out ok. I've put in some of the trackday pics which were taken by the professional 'tog working there on the day, you can see it was as wet as an otter's pocket. Then I've just added some recent snaps - engine bay detail, a clean showing the stainless grilles, and finally the new wheels and tyres being fitted and aligned
