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That’s normal behaviour isn’t it? :) I had a complete refresh planned but actually gave up trying to get the balljoint pinch bolts unseized. Paid a nice man to do it all...well worth the couple of hours of labour.

Oops - I misread as play in the wishbone bush. Yes, if just ball joint then you could just do that but wishbones are cheap and worth doing if they haven’t been done recently. These cars are at their best with fresh bushes. Bear in mind the ball joints can be a faff to separate from the wishbone...

As above plus ball joints and ARB bushes while you’re in there. If it’s a road car then go with OEM wishbones which come with new ball joints pre-installed.

Amen. I am so not a morning person by nature but come summer I'll be out at 5 am to enjoy the quiet roads.

All 172/182 springs can be fitted to any of these cars.

Same here. If you like maybe we can look into something together? Sorry Jamie for thread hijack.

Mallaig is a great shout. Getting to Skye on the ferry is so atmospheric. And the A830 “Road to the Isles” is fabulous.

Yes, or Cat cams.

Induction kit sounds good but makes no discernible difference to performance or power. You need cams or turbo to see any meaningful gains on an F4R.

Absolutely this. These are 16+ year-old cars...the difference in condition between individual examples today far outweighs spec differences (which were all relatively minor) when they were new. The exceptions to that rule are the Phase 1 172 and the Trophy which are niche models.

Mine was bought last year for a road trip (which never happened) and was supposed to be sold right after. “Lifer” is not a concept that computes with me, as life is short and there are many cars to experience, but I can see myself holding on for a while. Not much out there ticks as many of my...

For my Hawkeye I ended up with basically the RB320 suspension: RB320 springs and RB320 19F/21 ARBs, RB320 front Bilsteins and (as I couldn't source rear Bilsteins) OEM KYB rear dampers with revised bump stops. It was very good in a variety of conditions albeit too soft on track (low priority for...

Thanks! I totally agree that for the road you need the softest springs you can get away with. I’m also.a firm believer that you also need the thinnest bars you can get away with. My latest car as above came with 22F/24R Whiteline bars compared with 19F/20R OEM which I am reverting to. I’m more...

I do agree that most coilovers aren’t suited for the road. But neither are big roll bars, as even with soft springs big bars don't work on bumpy country roads where the upside of increased roll stiffness is far outweighed by the downside of reducing independent wheel movement. The springs on...

Thanks everyone! Feeling the love. It's a P reg. Great for track, but fat roll bars don't work on the road, at least for me. I've tried a lot of setups on different Imprezas over the years and they are always better on the road with smaller bars imo. Of course you do need a compliant spring as...

Thank you chaps! I knew this would be an appreciative audience. The car arrived in the UK on my birthday in 2016. It then competed in the 22b/MLR (later renamed Whiteline Subaru) sprint series each year until 2019. I'm not a track driver myself though - the car will now be enjoyed on the road...

23 years before the Yaris GR, this was built. Had a couple of classic RAs before, a JDM blob and JDM hawk before moving on to other cars including my Clio and my Megane, but it seems I can't resist a nice Subaru. This one was competed successfully in UK sprints and was only registered for the...

He just wrote about it in the Dec 2020 issue of evo as well.

Well said. It's not so much about regret and more about informing myself for future needs :)

Cash only. Yes, happy with the job but I'm frugal so never like to think I paid over the odds. Not far away as it happens.

I have a feeling this is one of those things that varies depending on which part of the country you live in. For context, the tyre places near me charge £25 per wheel to fit tyres and powder coaters £312 to refurb 4 18” wheels.

Cheers lads. I ought to get into the dent business!

Just paid a guy £250 to sort a few dents on the LY. First time using a dent man so not sure if that was reasonable or not. Four panels. He was in and out in just over an hour. He did a good job and things generally cost in London but that seems a pretty decent wedge for a hour’s work even...

So true. Facebook, IG and YT have killed the bulletin board. A few like Cliosport are still doing ok but it's only going in one direction. I also think the changes in PH reflect the wider state of the nation and of social media in general. Divided, argumentative, cynical, less about kinship and...

Have to disagree with the majority on the AC point. Regardless of whether you personally want it or not, or whether it suits the character of a Cup, it was a very rare factory option and that adds to the collector appeal.

Definitely dying. Most of the enthusiast traffic is now on Facebook, while AT and eBay take care of the non-enthusiasts.

Neither am I! At all. I usually take a long nap when I get home. But it’s the only way to properly enjoy the roads these days. It helps to have a group of people to do it with...then it becomes an event and you can’t lie in as others are expecting you.

Give me a shout if you are heading out, post lockdown of course. I also have a regular group for convoys. We all have pre-programmed satnavs with route files and two-way radios.

I stick to the back roads, am done before 8 am and don’t stop anywhere. Despite driving an attention-grabbing car, stealth is the name of the game when it comes to my recreational driving :)

Oh yes.