Your fleet running reports

[JLv3.0]

No need for walnut blasts judging by my recent decoking experience - just turn it over by hand to close the exhaust valves one piston at a time, half a can of carb cleaner per intake, and a patient mechanic with a picking tool and a toothbrush. Hoover the crap out and move on to the next one. Should be a doddle with only the six cylinders rather than the more manly eight like mine has

[DeskJockey]

Unfortunately for DeskJockey that didn't make it to lunch this also means I have to deny ever having met him.

So any damage my kids did to the car will be untraceable!

[GG.]

Remember where the heads are on a 911... The engine would have to be dropped I expect, hence $$$ in labour.

@Rev I’ll most likely get whoever it is to stick a camera down when I get the coil packs done rather than buy a DIY scope and faff taking the air box off on the street outside my house... scope sounds like a fun toy to have though

[GG.]

Unfortunately for DeskJockey that didn't make it to lunch this also means I have to deny ever having met him.

So any damage my kids did to the car will be untraceable!

They seemed to have fun - that’s what counts! I think we escaped with only some oddly aligned air vents

[DeskJockey]

Unfortunately for DeskJockey that didn't make it to lunch this also means I have to deny ever having met him.

So any damage my kids did to the car will be untraceable!

They seemed to have fun - that’s what counts! I think we escaped with only some oddly aligned air vents

They did indeed. Thank you for sharing the toys!

[duncs500]

Unfortunately for DeskJockey that didn't make it to lunch this also means I have to deny ever having met him.

So any damage my kids did to the car will be untraceable!

They seemed to have fun - that’s what counts! I think we escaped with only some oddly aligned air vents

...and wing mirrors.

[JLv3.0]

They seemed to have fun - that’s what counts! I think we escaped with only some oddly aligned air vents

Won't someone think of the handling!

[Sundayjumper]

How does the Vantage compare to your 996, performance wise? The 996 has ~80 fewer BHP, but weighs something like 200kg less, right?

Actually on the basis of SJ's RR results for the 996 and Vantage - more like 110hp between the two.

Even worse - 121.2 difference ! 382.7 for the Aston, 261.5 for the Porsche. Not far off 50% more in fact.





The two cars are very different to drive, not surprisingly. The Aston is much heavier and you can really feel it. It's wider too which I found a bit worrying at first. The ride is definitely tuned towards comfort, I think it's actually more comfortable than my BMW. The controls have a nice mechanical meatiness to them much like a TVR. In fact the whole car feels like what a TVR could be if they had applied any kind of any QC to them. The overall balance of the car is surprisingly good thanks to the use of a transaxle. Power delivery is lovely and smooth. Plenty of torque and V8 woofle changing to an almost machine gun bark at the top end. It doesn't feel faster than the Porsche but now I've seen the difference in power I think I need to do some tests, I'm wondering if the smoothness and refinement might be insulating me from the real performance. Deceptively fast ? I know some people track them and race them, but they're really not the right car for that. Too heavy. It makes a lovely GT though. And my wife loves it, which is good !

Switching straight from the Aston to the Porsche is a bit of a shock. It feels small. The steering is incredibly light; 911s naturally have very light steering and it's doubly noticeable after something like the Aston that can probably be called "manly". It's far more responsive all round. I think the brakes on my Porsche might need a refresh, both cars have nice big 4-pots all round but on the Aston they're firmer. Everything else about the 911 is just 911. Weight at the back that you can really feel through corners. Not in a scary way, mine has never really frightened me, but you know the weight is back there. I've given my car a tiny bit of toe-out at the front and this helps with turn in. I'm not exactly sure why that works but it does. I also like my front tyres slightly on the soft side. On my last Autosolo, which was a bit damp, I had the fronts at 28psi and rears at 34psi, and it seemed nicely balanced to me. 911s are a bit weird tbh. Everyone should try one

Finally, my wife does not like the 911. Which means she has never wanted to drive it, and doesn't care that I'm ruining it with buckets, cage etc.

Without wanting to sound too smug, I reckon the Aston / 911 makes a great pair of stablemates. I just need a minor lottery win so I can upgrade to a V12 Vantage and a GT3. That would be FG.

[scotta]

Golf just back from its M.O.T..

Delighted to say

[Marv]

How does the Vantage compare to your 996, performance wise? The 996 has ~80 fewer BHP, but weighs something like 200kg less, right?

Actually on the basis of SJ's RR results for the 996 and Vantage - more like 110hp between the two.

Even worse - 121.2 difference ! 382.7 for the Aston, 261.5 for the Porsche. Not far off 50% more in fact.





The two cars are very different to drive, not surprisingly. The Aston is much heavier and you can really feel it. It's wider too which I found a bit worrying at first. The ride is definitely tuned towards comfort, I think it's actually more comfortable than my BMW. The controls have a nice mechanical meatiness to them much like a TVR. In fact the whole car feels like what a TVR could be if they had applied any kind of any QC to them. The overall balance of the car is surprisingly good thanks to the use of a transaxle. Power delivery is lovely and smooth. Plenty of torque and V8 woofle changing to an almost machine gun bark at the top end. It doesn't feel faster than the Porsche but now I've seen the difference in power I think I need to do some tests, I'm wondering if the smoothness and refinement might be insulating me from the real performance. Deceptively fast ? I know some people track them and race them, but they're really not the right car for that. Too heavy. It makes a lovely GT though. And my wife loves it, which is good !

Switching straight from the Aston to the Porsche is a bit of a shock. It feels small. The steering is incredibly light; 911s naturally have very light steering and it's doubly noticeable after something like the Aston that can probably be called "manly". It's far more responsive all round. I think the brakes on my Porsche might need a refresh, both cars have nice big 4-pots all round but on the Aston they're firmer. Everything else about the 911 is just 911. Weight at the back that you can really feel through corners. Not in a scary way, mine has never really frightened me, but you know the weight is back there. I've given my car a tiny bit of toe-out at the front and this helps with turn in. I'm not exactly sure why that works but it does. I also like my front tyres slightly on the soft side. On my last Autosolo, which was a bit damp, I had the fronts at 28psi and rears at 34psi, and it seemed nicely balanced to me. 911s are a bit weird tbh. Everyone should try one

Finally, my wife does not like the 911. Which means she has never wanted to drive it, and doesn't care that I'm ruining it with buckets, cage etc.

Without wanting to sound too smug, I reckon the Aston / 911 makes a great pair of stablemates. I just need a minor lottery win so I can upgrade to a V12 Vantage and a GT3. That would be FG.

Cheers for taking the time to write that up Steve

YK was kind enough to let me drive his 996...felt a bit more than 260bhp, which is only ~30bhp more than my 968 (well, I haven't had my 968 on a rolling road, so can't be sure. It might be down on power too!)

[JonMad]

Great write up Steve, Bedford is going to be really interesting seeing how these cars go together.

[integrale_evo]

Something fell off the compact today

Road I normally use was closed, so thrashed it back down onto the bypass and as I did so the exhaust got noticably louder and vibratey.

Pulled into the services, gave it a wiggle and all seemed attached so carried on. It sounded pretty horrendous at certain rpm, though it may have split at a flange. Anyway, pulled away from some traffic lights and there was a clink and a thump. Looked in the mirror and couldn't see anything in the road, and my noise and vibration had gone. Everything still working and driving fine.

Guessing it was a resonance damper block or something which had broken off and wedged itself against a heat shield before dropping off completely and bouncing to the side of the road.

No ill effects on the way home, will have a look under at the weekend if I remember...

[ste]

LESS>

[Coaster1]

Cheers for taking the time to write that up Steve

YK was kind enough to let me drive his 996...felt a bit more than 260bhp, which is only ~30bhp more than my 968 (well, I haven't had my 968 on a rolling road, so can't be sure. It might be down on power too!)

Of course it felt a bit more than 260bhp. It had 12.8 more!

[duncs500]

FAO speedingfine and ste:

Embarrassing question lads, but what are the type of wheels on my car actually known as in Caterham circles?

[mik]

FAO speedingfine and ste:

Embarrassing question lads, but what are the type of wheels on my car actually known as? In Caterham circles?

Yeah - they are known as "In Caterham Circles". HTH.

[speedingfine]

FAO speedingfine and ste:

Embarrassing question lads, but what are the type of wheels on my car actually known as in Caterham circles?

8 spoke CSR is my first thought...

[scotta]

Firewall on the elise needs some attention. I had a jumper in behind the seats last weekend and it melted a poo bag i had in the pocket it got that hot. Presuming its not going to be a cheap or easy job.

[ste]

I've heard them referred to as '8 spokes'. Dunno if they have a proper name. They seem quite desirable, always at least 1 wanted advert for them on L7C. I have a set that came with the car, think they are 6" front 8" rear. Currently got Ao21r (I think) wets on them.

[ste]

Firewall on the elise needs some attention. I had a jumper in behind the seats last weekend and it melted a poo bag i had in the pocket it got that hot. Presuming its not going to be a cheap or easy job.

Firstly, ewwww.

It's quite probably just the heat shield, it breaks down over time. A bit of nimbus in the right place should sort it.