Photos Latest Purchases Thread: v2.0

Bazz is looking for a Gen 8 Microserver on the MP here if you're disposing of one - I can't remember what you have left! The N40L I had from you is going strong, but still not properly deployed to a separate site...

 

Cooling a coin does seem excessive.

 

Cause I'm getting too hairy lol.



Panic about where to situate my two beloved valve amps and tv recorder in the new flat over.



Got this too to save the new carpets from getting wrecked.



This "buying stuff for your flat" is all new on me. Sure is fun

 

Lots of Engelbert Strauss clothes. Mainly softshell jackets and zipped jumpers.

 

ES Stuff is pretty decent for the price.

 

2x 225/45 R17 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres (295 bhp in a FWD car = yearly front tyre changes) and:



New wiper blades too.

 

I was discussing tyre sizes with a friend recently; they're a dimension in mm, another in inches, and a third size expressed as a ratio. Bizarre!

 

It wouldn't be any fun if it was easy! Or made sense. Or followed a pattern.

 

Hope the Pilot Sport 4's are better than the pilot sports I used to have, they were like having hard plastic tyres after being used to Yoko Advans.

These days with my 1.5 diesel Ford Fastie, tyres from a matchbox car would probably be fine.

 

I really do rate them, very grippy but I fancy a change next time around. Any suggestions chaps?

 

I've rather enjoyed the Pirelli P-Zero Nero GT's on the RS. Much more so than the Michelin's that were there before.

 

Switched over to Conti Sportcontact 6 (from PSS) on the Polestar due to road noise. In terms of grippiness, I doubt there's a difference without a track and a stopwatch.

They were also a handy £50/corner cheaper when I last had them fitted, though looks like they're around the same now.

I rate P-Zeros as well, particularly for longevity compared to other high performance tyres.

Conversely, I wouldn't go near Bridgestone RE050As again, for either ride or longevity.

 

Pffft it's not the engine that ruins the tyres buddy... it's your right foot

 

I avoid Bridgestones in general - only had two sets over the years but neither have inspired much confidence.

 

I've never had Bridgestones, but I've never heard much complimentary about them.

I know the other Mk1FRS owners get a little hot under the collar for Pilot Sports, and more than a few said my P-Zero's would be shredded in months, but the pair on the rear have been to Germany twice with no threat of being useless any time soon. The fronts are a little worse for wear, but not so much that I'd be concerned compared to any other tyres I've had.

IIRC the complaint about the P-Zero's was that the compound is softer to make it 'stickier' rather than the 'superior <insert brand and model>' that they'd had good experience with. Assuming, of course, you could get them to stop screaming Yokohama, Toyo, or the originally fitted tyre - Pilot Sports (And I do mean 'original' rubber, so in some cases, 15 years old) at you.

 

Pilots regularly perform well in objective tests and reviews
+
Too many drivers of performance (or frankly, just spoilered) cars fancy themselves as a racing driver
=
Translate "wot I done read on the internet" and 0.2s lap time deltas to "personal experience"

My P-Zeros have lasted longer than any other tyre I have - ~25k between changes on the front and even longer on the rear (as in, the car has 52k on it and I'm not even close to considering replacing them for the second time), and that's only because the front suspension geometry on the 7er loves scrubbing off the shoulders.

 

I love fast fords, but boy do they breed a "I'm a racing driver" mentality that I find hard to ignore. You'd think the MK1 focus rs was owned exclusively by F1 drivers with severe brain trauma if you read the posts on the owners club forum/Facebook page..

 

That's definitely not exclusive to fords.

I think it should be mandatory for such types to be humbled on-track by a proper driver in a clapped out econobox.

Once you can hold your own you get a special license saying so, like a slightly less formal version of an ARDS test that gives you a "competent driver, but only just" card.
Oddly enough though, IME the ones that can hold their own don't seem to boast of it.

 

Used to irritate me no end the herds of Focus RS's about round my way early ones werent much bother you could hear them coming an in the old car id just deploy the right foot and they would vanish. Now no such joy as im down on power compared to them.

Tyres wise I got some Dunlop Sport Maxx recently, great so far bar in the snow obviously.