OD404

It has one now, but that was my renewal price for this time last year when I didn't one.

My bad, I obviously didn't read the thread properly

IMO physics says you can, but the engineering to obtain the physics says you can't. Though Ford are getting close..... But that's beside the point. Problem here is that while Rob has been fairly specific with what he wants (the list of cars also eludes to what he wants out of a car), everyone gets into the mode of trying to suggest what they perceive to be their ideal/coolest car. My comment about the rx7 is that if you want out and out performance, there are many avenues to explore which are cheaper than some of the suggestions previously made, plus you don't need to spend £16k for a good performance car. Buying new IMO is a false economy, if you were to spend £10k you would get a far better deal, whether it was a sports car or a fast hatch and at that amount you shouldn't need to buy any additional mods, so you are left with £6k to spend elsewhere (or £6k less loan etc). Be very clear on what you want, how much practicality, what you mean by "fast in a straight line", etc etc. It helps to cut down on some of the sillier suggestions. Out of the cars you have suggested, the only one I have experience of is the Focus ST. It was ok, it covered the miles pretty well though I felt it was a little cumbersome in the corners. Based on your own suggestions, I would throw in an imported DC5 Integra Type-R. Good ones are around the £10k mark and it is a very fun car to drive on b-roads, whilst still having a good boot, space for 4 people and reasonable fuel consumption (30mpg is not unrealistic) when required. I'd rather have an rx7, but I don't care about practicality or age I hope the above has actually been of some help to you.

For 10K you can get a 400whp rx7 with warranty on the engine and and immaculate chassis. It would certainly be more entertaining than half the cars already mentioned and if you're prepared to look around, are easier to insure than most high powered jap cars. I still get refused on EVO's but can insure my rex (with 350bhp) for £950 and that's without any alarm or immobiliser...

Only because I'm not going. If I were, you'd need a bloody good reason Nick!

Nothing, I'm just not able to make it any more.

Not going to be able to make this now guys...

Oh really? I'm removing my air pump this weekend which should reduce parasitic loads on the engine (and produce some nice flames) I'm up for meeting on the way there as I'm kind of on the way...

Yeah, here's hoping the weather is better this time round as the roads look like they could be good fun

I would say so mate

Think i will raise the front, seeing as I scraped the front lip on the A43 (dual carriageway) going to Silverstone yesterday... Twisty roads don't bother me anymore, the new coilovers have given the front end a tremendous amount of grip, it's just catching the bodywork that's the issue right now

Very nice Steve, looking forward to this! Hopefully my car will be ready by then, been ordering parts this weekend for the service. One question though, how bumpy are the roads? I might have to raise the front slightly

Two weeks before I travel down to Le Mans, so not entirely sure whether I'll have the car ready for this, but if I can, I will be there Date: Sunday the 31st of may. 1 - Tom Booth 2 - Robin 3 - Jardo 4 - Prawn 5 - Steve (od404)

Whether we do a "proper" meet that way or not, I'd like to get over that way as I've been told the roads are pretty good to drive

Good photographer (or fag as you put it) or not, it would have been helpful if you'd have circled the crack in the picture. I personally can't see anything there to be worried about. However, if you are hell bent on fixing it, I wouldn't recommend just having someone filling over the top as the stress-riser within the original weld will still exist. Cracks propagate through there being infinite stress at the very tip of the crack, and unless this tip is rounded off (usually though drilling) prior to re-welding, the crack will continue to grow.

If the truth is known, the rx7 is one of the worst jap cars to try and drift. The 50/50 weight distribution makes keeping the back end out more of a task than say an S14 and they don't have a particularly good steering lock for drifting either (this can be rectified, but it's an arse!). Where the rx7 really shines is the track, if you look at the last set of Time Attack results from Tsukuba you will find they are extremely competitive with a lot less power than all the fast Evo's and Skylines. Their low weight and well set up chassis from the factory are the main reasons for this, power, as a lot of people seem to forget, is not the be-all and end-all of racing.

Twisties

Can't believe I've risen to this, but hey ho... That's my car. Indecently I've seen videos of 400bhp rx7's beating 600bhp skylines and mine runs 380bhp. Unfortunately I've not been on the track against a skyline to prove this.

Still slower than the Mine's car though...

Worst example of a Skyline, EVER! If you are going to advocate the Skyline as a "supercar" (which I would argue it isn't) at least put up a decent one.... And if we are going to be accepting these kind of cars, can I put my rx7 up as that is as good as half that's been posted already?

1. Boumsong - Loughborough 2. Jardo - Basingstoke 3. Robin - Somerset 4. Tom Booth - Nottingham 5. od404 - Daventry

My B16 Civic used to return 30mpg on the raggedy edge, and 40mpg when just cruising... I heard that B20's generally were better on fuel (like for like tunes of course) due to the added torque meaning less time needed in high rpm's for general driving. However, I've never got round to my B20 conversion so can't say this for sure. John, I like your thinking for a drive up that way, I'd be up for that too (as you can tell my 17mpg doesn't stop me getting about )

Looks nice, but how big is the car park?

Stop crying

To be honest you won't come to a reasonable consensus on a location (or a date for that matter ). Your best bet is to suggest somewhere local-ish to you and see who can make it, otherwise you'll end up going round in a 'too north, too south' circle. That's what I ended up doing with the Mk meet. You run the risk with picking somewhere not local to anyone of not finding an appropriate place to meet. There has been a lot of talk of a southern meet, but so far no-one has stepped up to the plate to arrange... I hope to attend the next meet, as I did the last one, and am happy to travel as well.