it's cold outside -

it's ruddy cold outside and I've noticed a few things and below I have gathered together a few of these musings..

an MR2 isn't terrible on snow / ice it's just far better than me
ABS is quite happy to lock up all 4 wheels in snow on ice and ignore the car itself is still doing 20mph!
gearboxes and heel and toe gearshifts work better in snow than brakes
the above does require a tap on the brake pedal otherwise the guy behind gets one hell of a fright!
sideways in your works carpark doesn't always upset the security guard - he now thinks I'm 12! Generous of him I say lol
bolt together modifications very rarely are that :( more money down the pan

Take it easy out there folks

disc's ordered -

indeed have ordered the new 315x28mm Lexus LS400 discs so hopefully they'll be here soon. Also got some standard caliper bolts from Toyota but alas they are too short to fit through the adaptor bracket into hub / new caliper's. So will need to source some M12 x 1.25 x 30mm 12.9 screw bolts just to make things a bit more secure. Can't have the brakes bolted on with a wing and a prayer. Seems to be the season for brake upgrades though I'm doing it the hard way

Not going to be able to fit all this together til Feb at the earliest, got a few things on with work so no time to do anything else.

cold slimy roads + 2nd gear at 16ish psi =

wheelspin and the tail sliding out. Mmmm I won't be doing that again with quite the same free and easy not paying attention attitude. This was in a straight (wasn't so straight afterwards) line lol. A quick feather of the throttle and it came back into line. Funnily, the beemer behind me stayed a lot further back from then on. Ho hum

Messenger Live Multiple logins at once -

having been forced to update to Live Messenger I started the trawl round the internet to find how to get more than one login running. Turns out MS already provide a way to do this without using third party software. Perfect! All that's needed is a registry hack.....er ok I can do that. It is very simple and I found it on this blog and yep it works. The steps are listed below but check out the blog for more info. Obviously you need to have more than one login account otherwise why would you need to have more than 1 messenger running :-)

Run Registry Editor (regedit).
Navigate to the following registry key:
KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Live\Messenger

For 64-bit (x64) OS, go to following registry branch instead:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Live\Messenger

In the right pane, right click on any blank space, select New on context menu, and then click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new registry value entry as MultipleInstances.
Modify the MultipleInstances and set its value data as 1.
Start as many Windows Live Messenger windows as you want from Start Menu.

MOT passed -

brakes still feel a bit funny but it's pushing me to get the bits for the BBK together and then in the new year get it fitted. Got a bit on over the next 2 odd months with work so messing with the car isn't an option. That and the pish weather we have!

Kumho KU31's? yeah the 255x40 certainly are sitting good on the wheel and do fill the arches. Obviously haven't had a chance to push them yet but will bed them in nicely and see if they rub with cornering load. Not likely in this weather though at least I have a full tread to lean on!

excel tip for changing month text to integer -

indeed found this little gem to change Jan into 1 and it goes like =month(1&A1) where cell A1 has Jan in it. Full acknowledgement and explantion found on this website . Has a nice description of what that code is doing and why and we all like to know why something works!

MOT time -

er it failed lol. Rear tyres on / below legal limit which is fine I have no complaints about that at all. Coming into the winter with on the limit tyres is plain dumb and it's forced me to actually pick a tyre brand / model! So after much deliberating and trying to find someone with tyres I've plumbed for a completely new brand to me but recommended by folks running the same car as me.

Choices were for widths

245x40x17 - I know they'll fit without rubbing but waste of a 9 inch rim
255x40x17 - now you're talking and it **shouldn't** rub - note the use of shouldn't

Uniroyal Rainsport 2 - couldn't get them in any size I wanted
Goodyear F1's D3 - not impressed with the last set I had
Hankook RS'2 - not on sale anymore
Falken 452 - got good feedback from folks using them


Kumho KU31 - again good feedback from folks using them and I know someone running them


Bridgestone SO2 - Porsche fitment with the real aggressive tread wear


So I plumbed for the Kumho's in 255x40x17 so hopefully they'll be good - usual new tyre warnings apply - they'll grip like a wet bar of soap on lino til they wear away the mould releasing film!

Steering gaiter split and front brake balance dangerous. Ho hum, all getting fixed as we speak. Bloody cars

amazing day out! -

was such a sunny day I had to go out for a drive. Jet washed then polished car then drove it for 180 miles. 100 of which were in brilliant sunshine though not always warm, that's what the heater is for eh! Bunnet and sunglasses were used, I must have looked some state hehe. The drive back was in the dark, car behaved perfectly throughout the trip, ripped past traffic when asked and gave me one hell of a ride. The A85 from Tyndrum to Dalmally is an amazing stretch tarmac

Some pics below
on the road to Crainlarich



beside Loch Fyne




front fogs have been refitted, front end looks great

some pics -

taken from the caravan after the rain in Inveraray



after a jet wash and polish

rain X and sun -

before the IMOC drive I put some Rain X on the windscreen and boy was it fabby. Really makes a huge difference to when you need to put the wipers on. Weirdly the slower you go the more likely you are to need to put the wipers on. Go faster in the rain and it's all clear. Reality 1 logic didn't


Been sunny today so I went for a wee drive. Loved it. Jet washed car, wee run stopped up and gave the car a quick polish. Then drove home hehe. Sad but I enjoyed it

on another note -

seems like some people like linking to other websites pictures and claiming them to be their own, or at least own the item in the picture. Due to this I've had to add some copyright info to the pics and that's a real bind. I don't have the software to make it neat or tidy or even quick so it's all manual. I am however tempted to change the pic that's being leeched to something off the scale. Any suggestions, keep them clean but Carry On style most welcome....

And all because folks don't credit the original source, pah

Trip to Inveraray -

just before I did the IMOC run I spent some time in Inveraray. Usually I chill for a bit then head into Oban one day and the other head to Crinan. This year I decided Oban and Keillmore, except the road doesn't go to Keillmore. it kinda stops before it but how was I to know. Anyhow, it was a sunny day out which was nice and I took some of the usual dodgy pics, see below

trip to Ullapool and Skye -

a wee trip away to the sunny delights of the North of Scotland. First off meeting the guys at the Carnigorm carpark which of course was shrouded in mist pretty much all the time we were there but I got some pics, usual disclaimer - I take crap pics :-)





a three drain of water from the mountain


the 2 miles away in the carpark


After a run to Ullapool, put the tents up and then went to the pub. Woke up in the morning to this view, darn it was pretty with the sun cutting into the day


A beach on the coastal! road to Applecross


Applecross beach


er no more pictures as I kinda didn't take any. Bad me, but I had a great time away and as usual the folks from IMOC were a great bunch to hang out with for a few days.

valeted and polished - weather pants

been a while since I posted updates but that's because the weather has been so pants I haven't done anything! Anyhow I decided to get the car valeted and I've even treated it to a polish. Scary I know. My camera skills are still rubbish but I'm sure you'll be able to appreciate how clean the paintwork is, apart from the usual scrapes and city dings. Full set of pics can be found at the usual website but I've included a few below. Car feels good, really good since I changed the dizzy car and rotor arm. Boost heh heh







I will be removing the wiper arms taking the rust off and giving them a paint as they really bug me! I can see through the screen

new number plates added -

the rear which was lost in action has been replaced, looks near enough the same as before lol. The front has been replaced with a more er obviously legal double lined plate. Still only 13" wide and not the 20" UK style but then I have an Import Officer. Hopefully the fecker will stay on as it does hang down a fair bit past the holder. Darn having a full length number plate with full width lettering. Grrr

Trip to Skye May 09 -

hubba hubba. Weather was perfect, I mean perfect. Scorching hot weather for 3 solid days, clear blue skies ( hehe ) and bone dry roads. T-bars out first thing in the morning and only back in when we parked up for the night. Stunning stunning stunning. So anyways, on with the story.

Left Friday am and drove to Portree via Tyndrum and Cluanie Inn, where we had to stop for a lager shandy, it really was that hot. Stopped in Portree for the night, had a chippy by the harbour. Bloody brilliant. A couple more beers then off to bed.

Some photos of the friday







THE pint at Cluanie complete with condensation on the glass. Ahhh





Up early for breaky then over to the Applecross. Stunning stunning, first time I've done it in clear brilliant sunshine and it's awesome. Worthy of a special trip in anyones holiday.












then onwards to Ullapool via Gairloch



All in all, just fabby. Burnt me scalp as I didn't wear the cap I took with me. 2 days of sunshine, realised I was burnt then wore the cap on the 3rd day. Now as I type this I have flaking skin from my head, nice mmmm you like? No I didn't think so :(

fugging brakes! -

sigh, the front calipers are giving me some grief. Front passenger one is sticking which is er not so handy. Both fronts getting stripped down and rebuilt this bank holiday monday so hopefully solve the issue for a while. Plans are in motion for er upgrades........... Should be interesting to see how the ABS works that lot out lol

ignition all fixed - for now at least

indeed a temporary fix until I can source a newer coil ignitor. Original one was well dead as below. Cheers for giving up your Friday evening Calum, as ever a star.





Just to fix the brakes

a funny thing happened on the way to dinner -

was meeting a friend for dinner and was driving there, nice evening for it so was happy enough. Was stuck behind some slower moving traffic so first chance I got to power past I took it, er then it all went a bit funny..........

Down into 3rd, pull out and nail it 17psi. Got past the first car then a huge POP / BANG then the dash lights up.......... then nothing. So I dip the clutch and the revs just drop to zero. Clutch back up and the car just kinda farts and not a lot else. Clutch down turn over starter, nada nothing zip neit. So with that, I look over my shoulder at the car I just overtook and thought right I'm clear so I pulled over and flicked on the hazard lights while trying the get the darned thing to fire up again. Nope, it was dead :( Kinda embarrassing and the guy I overtook didn't look too happy either. Not like I planned it pal! Lucky I had enough momentum to get some distance and going by the pops and bangs from the exhaust he'd have known all was not well.

Single carriageway back road no laybys but at least it was on a straight section. So I get out and check under the car - no leaks, no oil and no shiny broken metal bits either. Try to start the car, just spinning over so I know the batteries fine. So after a bit I realise it's electrical but something serious. All fuses check out then I smell burning - then I see smoke

So I phone my dinner companion and explain the situation, phoned a friend for advice / options and then AA. AA man turned up in about 40 minutes and yeah the ignitor has gone = no spark no go fooked. So car gets towed back home, the shame of it all. Hopefully it's just the ignitor that's died in a very smoky fashion and not something else that's caused it to check out. Hopefully get it sorted this week but yet another expense just when I'm looking at new toys...........

and that fecking passenger front caliper is still sticking.

car manky - had to clean it

then went for a wee drive. No banging from the rear of the car, front brakes felt nice and strong though a tad juddery. Front discs still looking a bit marked but hey ho. 17psi is bloody strong lol, cars feels really good and peppy. Need to get the front fogs in and then undertrays on. Also need to keep checking the rear tyres, they are wearing down fast but then it can't be helped with the power going through them.

exhaust fixed - kind of

turns out it wasn't the exhaust banging on the subframe. It was the passenger rear caliper moving around on the top pivot. As it happens the bottom bolt that locates the caliper onto the pads and carrier was er missing. The clunking was the caliper moving about on the carrier. Ho hum. It's now sorted and no more banging.

Sunny day so got the t-bars oot. Bliss

front brakes now actually work -

indeed pressing the middle pedal seems to make the car slow down, a lot easier and quicker than before. I still really need to clean up the discs as they are not fully polished like they should be. A wee back road trash should sort that out nicely. Need to give the car a good run to clear both it's and my cobwebs out.

Must also fix the banging exhaust! It's hitting the subframe, bloody thing

front brakes looked at -

inside passenger pad and outside drivers side pad jammed solid in carrier. So with a file I removed some metal from the pad edges and now they move freely inside the carriers. Once the retaining springs are in place they are snug, but still movable. Nothing left over after putting it all back together again, I'll test the brakes tomorrow - was too hungry to do it straight away.

Looks like the S02 plan all round for replacement tyres is no go on the fronts, they just won't fit. The rears still should but what the heck do I put up front?

horn works -

and it's a bit loud. Far better than before. Going to have to look at the front brakes, something not right there :(

115k completed -

er that's it lol. Lots of miles on the car but it still scrubs up nicely.

Been looking into tyre choices as I'm not really happy with the F1's. Goodyear just aren't making them like they used to and I'm not the only one to feel this. The new Asymmetric or however you spell are not lighting many fires either and the old GD3's just well aren't cutting it. So the current thinking leads me to Uniroyal Rainsports 2 which have an excellent set of reviews for dry and especially wet road holding / Hankook RS2's a track based tyre but is pretty good in the dry or the daddy of road tyres Bridgestones very own S02. With a little massaging of sizes I could get these puppies on the car again and motoring heaven should be returned.

When I talk about S02's I mean these beauties, the Porsche OEM N3 KZ

I had a set of these on the mr2 when I bought it, previous owner fitted them and dear god did they grip. Wore down pretty quick too and even today they are not the cheapest of tyres but they grip like sh1t in the dry and aren't shabby in the wet either. But they stopped making them for the std 15inch wheel size so I eventually went to Goodyear F1's. See 1st paragraph for circular discussion lol.

It's not an issue at the mo because the current fronts are really not looking used (clearly I'm a straight line junkie with no corner speed ) but the rears, well they could be finished by end of summer. Straight line boosting does wear them down lol. So who knows, might even buy new wheels for them heha

not much news -

er weather's been pish, roads are slimy and the brakes are squealing now. Might actually need new pads! Decided on a 2nd gear pull to see what boost it was after turning down the Gain on the EBC - got a bit squirrely but bugger me it was feeling quick . Nothing like modern cars though, old and clunky

fun fun fun -

so I had a new passenger sill fitted and painted to replace the bubbling old one. Turned out the underseal on the car had trapped some water against the sill and we all know what happens given enough time after that. Pah

Also had a wee play with the boost controller as it didn't seem to be spooling as quickly as I'd like it.

Pre change:
Gain : 18
Ratio : 35 => ish 13psi
Ratio : 58 => ish 17psi

The above settings held a steady boost and all was good but watching the boost gauge you could read the boost as it came in like 10, 12, 14, 17 psi. Which is fine but loses out that instant hit not to mention midrange acceleration. After some playing I now have

Post change:
Gain : 40
Ratio : 35 => ish unknown - never tested it
Ratio : 58 => ish 18psi certainly hold high 17's

I think I may have to turn the Ratio down but bugger me does it hit that boost level real quick. 10, 17, 18 lol I think 16 or 17 should be enough for a 115k mile motor. Besides, now it's snowing lol. First week of spring too

had a wee run oop north -

sun was shining, it was still 0DegC but boy was it nice. Clutch held, mate's PVR not a success. Happy days, :)

boooooooooosssssssssstttttttttttttttt -

wow, today I managed to hit a whole 17psi. It felt good, real good. Been over 6 weeks since I tried that. Sadly with the weather being what it is I didn't hold it for very long. However a few points were clear

* the clutch held at moderate revs - still need to test 4krpm +
* the BOV pipe held and isn't too loud on lift off, which is nice
* the intake kit is more vocal than std - expected and it's fine
* the er farting habit of the std BOV is louder - tubby owners know of this habit lol

Got a quote to repair the bubbling passenger sill so I'll have that sorted in March. Even saw some nice wheels the other day.................

BOV pipe fitted - just

not due to diameter issues. That was perfect. I just cut it a bit er neat. Darn near had to cut another length but it's fine. Unless I blow the fecker off of course lol

proper sized BOV pipe has arrived -

but weather is crap so it's not getting fitted today :( I can't even cut the pipework until I measure it. Pah pah

pipe arrived -

and it's the wrong size :( Turns out the pipe I used as a guide wasn't a pipe at all. It was a coupler meaning it's bigger than the big that bears the mark. Ho hum. Builders merchant at weekend.

I did hit boost even with the crapo VTA setup, felt good. Very good.

BOV recirc pipe on order -

was hoping it would be here for this weekend but alas not. Pity as the weather today was cold but very dry. Ah well, always next weekend I suppose.

Have driven car once since clutch change, yep it worked fine. Going to add some boost soon....................

Clutch - Day 2 - finished

OK, I've updated Day 1 with pics and some video, Day 2 as below.

Now I have to confess, I was veggin in front of the tv all morning while Calum and Larry were working on the car. I got picked up around 130pm as there was nothing I could do before then. My spannering skills are well known, ie I hold the spanners cause when I use them I break stuff. Anyhow on with the story.

Day 2

All torque mounts nicely tightened up so that part is ok.

Induction kit nicely fitted but er at the mo it's Vent to Air as the existing Recirc pipework is too short. One wee trip to B&Q coming up in near future.







Oil Pan No 2 changed and new non rusting unit in place. New oil filter in place too. A point of note here, even after draining the oil there was still about 0.5Litres of oil sitting in the sump. Turns out to remove it all you'd have to jack the front of the car and just the right rear corner up to clear out the oil pan. Of course, no one ever does.

Gearbox very nearly had to come off again as there was an issue with a plate that sits between the box and engine block. Fortunately this was dealt with by just slackening some bolts and then the problem bolts went in ok.

Once front bumper was removed I then set about removing the old chargecooler pre rad. Broke the horns as well so another job in the near future. All chargecooler pipes removed, pain in the butt that was. Will re visit the chargecooler theme in the future but not this year.

Sheared bolts from the old front fog lights removed from the bumper bar. Sadly I don't have video of Larry getting all personal with the angle grinder. Sparky 2....

Clutch slave cylinder refitted and removed then refitted. There was a bolt that was missed on the gearbox so er remove and try again.

Starter motor refitted - question is would the blighter work!

There were some issues with the gear linkage bushes, basically one was gubbed the other had a fair old slack in it. One was awkward to fit one was okish. Something for future replacement but ok and connected at the mo.

Drive shafts refitted after some cleaning of the suspension struts.

Both rear brake pads and carriers cleaned up, sliders copper greased as they were both er solid. That explains why the handbrake was so crap.

All under trays fitted after the removal of the chargecooler pipes. Yup that took ages as more bolts had seized and snapped. Ho hum.

This was quite late on in the afternoon so it was time to start refilling the coolant system and the gearbox and the oil. Much gnashing of teeth and bruised knuckles it's all ready to fire up.

First start, check for leaks, gearbox, engine and coolant. Once we were happy nothing was leaking we then topped up what we could and Calum went out with the car to ensure everything worked as expected. Of course, we left the exhaust off as it would get removed should any problems have been found. Must admit, it didn't sound bad at all. Oh, the starter worked as well :-))




No leaks were found so exhaust refitted. Should point out here much cleaning was done of the mating surfaces and yeah I ain't looking forward to that being removed in the future.

The coolant system was then properly bled and that took forever, as it always does. That and a huge 13Litres of coolant to fill the blighter.

Exhaust ready for intermediate pipe



Larry checking nothing is amiss. Can't fault his attention to detail



The clutch is quite low to the floor and the aforementioned shifter bushes have made the gearchange a bit notchy. However, Kenny had dropped by and suggested a slight adjustment on the clutch pedal as it had some slack. Hey presto clutch has slightly more travel and no slack thus gearchanges are really smooth now. The clutch feel itself is very light so no doubt I'll stall it a few times til I'm used to it again.

All in all I'm very happy with the job and I can't thank Calum and Larry for the time and effort they put into it. Cheers guys, I'll get a round in this year at some wee drive ;)