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Test Drives Unlimited

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  1. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Montatron in ****Over 100k in just over 5yrs Ownership****   
    It is really good to see that a few guys have gone over the 100k mark with no major problems 🙂 it give me hope when mine goes that high 😜
  2. Haha
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to nerdstrike in ****Over 100k in just over 5yrs Ownership****   
    It's alright Nigel, non-rotaries can usually tell when the sparks are not happening. It only gets troublesome when you have more than one plug per cylinder.
  3. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited got a reaction from Church in ****Over 100k in just over 5yrs Ownership****   
    Well my car has now covered 101,330 miles which have been faultless apart from the Smart Locking System that went wrong last year
    Have renewed the Service Contract for another 30,000 miles which is 1.5yrs servicing covered
    A couple of photo's taken at Spa last Tuesday..........
    Just a quick question : How do you know when the Coil Packs need replacing on this car ?


  4. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to gavin_t in ****Over 100k in just over 5yrs Ownership****   
    Hope you are still enjoying it.

    Hope you enjoyed spa as well. My mate was on that day and thoroughly enjoyed it despite the rain
  5. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Lucas in ****Over 100k in just over 5yrs Ownership****   
    Usually you'd get an engine check light and/or slight misfire. 
  6. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to gavin_t in Committee members wanted!   
    Can vouch for the car limits days. I have learnt alot doing a couple.
    Can also book a club "activity" day through them. Not as much learning but alot of fun to just go and explore limits ;-) can be upto £50 to 100 each depending on numbers there to split the cost.
    Nice cafe on the airfield too so would be a nice club day out.
  7. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Adi in Committee members wanted!   
    @VAD17
    1) Yes, CarLimits are worth doing at least once. Their are unique in that you will push the car over the limit at 70-80 mph, loose control, spin, and not crash into anything. You then learn how to feel when the back lets go and how to control the spin and recover.  It is the only place I know where you can realistically push the limit at these kind of speeds (there is a big difference between drifting at 20mph in a skidpan and involuntary loosing the back mid-corner at 75mph - especially in the brown pants arena ).  It is £ 225/person on a 4 person day and they have the whole year calendar on their website, easy to book. The people running it are very friendly.
    2) Also, if interested, I personally know a very good career race-driver and race-team instructor who is happy to do deals for groups on trackdays. Unlike the "20 min for 25 quid" experience, he actually puts his heart and soul into it, pushes you to your limit, and you will probably have a big smile on your face by the end of the day.
  8. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Deacon in Help! Committee Members needed to help with the club   
    I'm suing for unfair dismissal!

    Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

  9. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Lauren in Help! Committee Members needed to help with the club   
    Rob, Keith, Alec and I started this club over five years ago now. I am pleased that it has gone from strength to strength, however five years is a long time and Rob has now sold his car and Alec by his own admission does not participate in the running of the club anymore. Keith and I are still around of course, though it seems like I'm the ever present director these days. 
    I feel that I'm doing most things these days and I could really use some help! This is mostly with the events side of things and I know we have some excellent regional organisers, like @Leevsfortyone, @will300 and @Deacon, @VAD17 to name but a few. Not to mention the great support from @smudge for his help with running the Facebook page. I couldn't do it without him. 
    I totally understand times change and we cannot expect even the directors to own their cars forever. Life changes and people move onto other things, unless you're me of course, 120,000 miles in my car and still going strong, which is great and all that, but I feel that we need to prepare the club for the future. 
    So what am I proposing? 
    Well I'm looking at forming a committee as such for the event organisers where we can have our own forum to discuss and organise events and delegate who will be doing what. Alec has said that he's happy to stand down as a director and I understand that it's far easier to effect these days. If someone feels that they would like to take on the heinous responsibility of being a director for the club, do please let me know! 
    I would really like to hear from those enthusiastic members that would like to get more involved in the running of the club. There's no pay of course as we are non-profit and we all do stuff in our spare time when we are not earning a living. 
    So who do we need? 
    Well I'd really like to reinforce the regional event organisers we already have, so there is the South East/West, Midlands, possibly East Midlands and of course the North West and East. We are lacking in the Northern part of the country and should do more up here. 
    We also need someone to liaise with the Owners Club. I've built this relationship with the help of Rob over the last year and after a good chat with @Kesler at JAE we are going to work to promote even more events together across both clubs. This is great news as I believe that all owners irresepective of whether they are on this club or the OC should all get to benefit from the events we organise and vice-versa. We had a great collaboration at Japfest Silverstone this year, but more work needs to be done on other events such as Japfest Donington and JAE if we continue to attend. We also have a great relationship with Toyota UK again through @Kesler and are trying to coordinate factory tours at Burnaston through @Riceburner. Really we have some great people already on board and great contacts in this respect, but it needs working on to ensure that we have some great events. 
    I would absolutely welcome new ideas and a good injection of new blood is definitely needed. 
    Please reply if you have any questions and wish to get further involved. @rob275 and I have agreed that we will have a meet up somewhere central in the coming months with those that are interested in taking the club further and getting more involved. It will probably be around the midlands. 
  10. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Lauren in Reliability putting me off the 86.   
    I really wouldnt be put off by those issues. Providing you buy a car that has been properly maintained, about the only issue you are going to experience really is the coil pack one. I would not count that as a major issue. You will rarely even notice a coil pack going apart from the EML coming on. They cost £87 for a new one and if you've still got warranty that shouldn't be a problem to get it replaced. 
    I have done 119K miles in five and a half years. I stick to the service schedule, I am never late with this. I have gone through all four coil packs in that time. I had a slight oil leak on the cam plate fixed under warranty at around 60K miles. I've had a CV joint go and replaced under warranty, though that is probably caused by lowering. 
    My under bonnet strip is rusty, but I don't really care about that. Cheap to replace anyway. 
    Engine failures are rare and as everyone else has said, relate more to cars with forced induction which is always going to be a lottery on a car that was designed to be NA. Also there are a lot of numpties out there who dont get their cars serviced on time, don't use OEM oil and don't let their car warm up properly before booting it. My experience of having one of the highest mileage cars in the UK that has included four years of sprinting, track days from when it was run in and a tuned engine with remap, manifold and all that, is that they are hardy cars indeed, providing you look after them. I would still think nothing of driving to Italy to mine with the mileage it has, which I have done twice already. Last year I drove right out to the Harz region of Germany at high speed in places on the autobahn. No problem. I use my car every day, it has never let me down. 
  11. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited got a reaction from gavin_t in Forge show at castle coombe   
    I won't be there Gavin, will be in Scotland getting ready to attend the Paul Walker Tribute SLS at Knockhill Circuit on Sunday 9th September

    The RX-8OC will have a Stand at Forge as per usual though

    Sent from my ASUS_A001 using Tapatalk


  12. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Dave86 in DAB   
    Today I installed DAB on my Touch and Go....delightfully simple for anyone fancying it.  The part number is:  PZ473-T0210-A0.
     
    The module integrates seamlessly with T&G with a nice simple interface when you select DAB from sources.  The part is about £380 from Toyota.
     
    In short:
    Remove bezel around front of radio with a trim removal tool.
    Remove the 4 Phillips head screws retaining the head unit. Pull the unit towards you.
    Disconnect all of the cables and remove the unit.
    Take the dab module and using cable ties fix it to the circular tube running along the firewall, making sure to allow the connections available.
    Run the DAB aerial from the module behind the glove box lid and out through the panel that allows you to switch off the airbags by the nearside door.  
    Using a trim removal tool  level out the a-pillar cover. Disconnect the green plastic thing by turning it 90 degrees and pulling.
    Run the aerial cable up the door seal and in to the a-pillar.
    Locate the metal bracket that retains part of the curtain airbag with a single Phillips head in to the a-pillar.  On the aerial cable you will notice a metal earth tab. Secure the tab using the Philips screw and replace the metal bracket.
    Leave the aerial dangling for now.
    Take the included 1 in to 2 cable and plug the single end in to the DAB module.  Take the other 2 ends and find the connectors that they splice (plug) in to at the back of the head unit, And plug everything back in.
    Power the ignition on and wait for it to boot. Go to audio....then sources and make sure you have DAB listed.  If you do, good!
    Next, take the plastic aerial thing that sticks to the windscreen, peel off the backing and secure on the windscreen.  I placed mine an inch from the side of the glass facing vertically.  You only get 1 go so don't mess it up.
    Take the end of the aerial lead with the plastic end and press it on to the connector you just stuck to the windscreen, both should now stick together.
    Power on the head unit and check you are receiving DAB!
    Replace the a-pillar trim...don't forget the green thing.
    Tidy up the cables at the rear of the head unit, and reinsert the unit in to the dash.  There should be enough room for the module and head unit if you have got it right.
    Replace the 4 Phillips head screws on the head unit, then replace the bezel.  
    You now have DAB! 
     
    Took me a couple of hours whilst I tried different cable routing.  No photos unfortunately, too hard to do both!
  13. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Church in Thanks, time for me to leave.   
    I actually don't get this aswell, why to remove profile and all posts one has made. It's doable, but why? If one decides to not visit anymore one can always just never visit/never log in. And if one does that for some privacy reasons, one can change to some fake email registration address and remove any personal info in profile.
  14. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited got a reaction from smudge in Hampshire meet Sat 7th July 12.30pm   
    What a friendly Club this is and no wonder I don't spend much time on here !!!!

    Sent from my ASUS_A001 using Tapatalk

  15. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to McDude in Essex Crew Summer Midweek Meet   
    Don't take a wrong turn - that's a dogging hotspot round there!
     
    Or maybe do! You'll have a different sort of evening as the gents (and it is gentlemen only) may not be interested in discussing Japanese sports cars. I did a work event that way early morning once and there was an awkward moment where I had clearly given the wrong (or right depending on your point of view) signals to a bloke who followed me down a footpath!
  16. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to VAD17 in Event Organisers   
    Apologies, my bad about Beaulieu. Was trying to be helpful and put few events in the diary, but was not sure about etiquette if not attending it myself. Thanks @Leevsfortyone.
    The rule "you put it in the diary - you "own" it" is right and I will organize stand for Summer Action Festival @ Castle Combe (already done for JDM Castle Combe & Tunerfest South).
    I think it may also be helpful to put forward events people would like to attend or thinking about well in advance and for those accessing forum on mobile decides with no calendar having some way to suggest events (hence the topic I started)
    @rob275 and @Leevsfortyone - very happy to help with events south or within 2hrs from London.
  17. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to rob275 in Event Organisers   
    The issue is I used to do 80% of the work on most events. Which i'm fine with but I haven't been around as of late due to simply barely having a life at the moment. With regards to beaulieu, I was PM'd about this and @VAD17 offered to take the reigns with it. As far as i'm concerned, the person who starts a thread should be the one arranging things. I thought this was the case with this event so nothing has been done. 
    Kevin messaged me about Japfest and I asked him to discuss with Lauren as I wasn't going to be there. Though i'm not surprised Japfest parking didn't go to plan, nobody listens and leaves their cars wherever they want! The club does need some help organising events and if anyone wants to they can certainly put their names forward. I did ask in the survey I put out last if people would be interested, I pm'd those that put their names forward and for the most part the response was they couldn't be arsed or don't have the time. This does make me wonder why they offered in the first place but hey ho...
    @Deacon The system demoted you, you aren't actually demoted lol.
    @Test Drives Unlimited your comment is part of the reason why i've taken a step back as of late. A prime example that my efforts aren't appreciated by most. I've had thanks from many people over the years for organising events for the club, but them thanks come from the same people each year and they are the same people that are happy to help out. There is a huge chunk of people here that expect a load of stuff and really don't appreciate the time & efforts put in. But they are happy to complain when things don't happen. 
    It's clear that as the club expands more help is needed, and i've asked before and got little response. @Leevsfortyone thanks for putting your name forward for helping it's appreciated. Feel free to drop me a PM so we can make the south great again
  18. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Leevsfortyone in Event Organisers   
    My concern is and I use Beaulieu and Silverstone as an example, members have been putting their names forward to attend these events.
    (Beaulieu) Yet unlike previous occasions when Rob organised this, it appears no one has booked a stand causing a possible problem with us all arriving and having no where to park.
    (Silverstone) I noticed in the run up there was a lack of preparation in planning the stand layout, myself and Kevin had made plans to get to the stand in advance of members arriving to control the parking and attempt to make a great display, unfortunately a large number of cars had beaten us there and parking as per the previous year was disorganised.
    We definitely need a team of people to step up and take the lead in controlling these events. It can be a lot of work sometimes especially when the collection of funds are involved but if the club has a dedicated area representative working with event proposers the work load can be shared.
    I am happy to assist others in the southern area creating events/ social meets for the members and help with the planning.
    We do need some more people in the south to take a lead with events and social meets.
    It can also be great fun creating a event and seeing it through, our members do enjoy a get together and I’m sure will support the club going forward.





    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
  19. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Rich in 29th September 2012 Space Saver Spare   
    I've had one puncture and the tyre kit was useless (2" sidewall tear), luckily it was during the day so I was recovered to a local garage and on my way in a couple of hours. Since then I carry a space saver.
  20. Haha
    Test Drives Unlimited got a reaction from Mike in 29th September 2012 Space Saver Spare   
    I really don't care what you think Lauren as I will always carry a full size spare wheel in my car !!!!

    Sent from my ASUS_A001 using Tapatalk


  21. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Paul in Maxton Designs Skirts/Splitter   
    My car is lowered 20mm on coilovers, my HT Autos lip does occasionally meet the tarmac over larger speed bumps but very rarely.
    Steep multi-storey ramps are where the problems arise...
  22. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Subota Boy in March Sussex meet   
    Sorry to hear that Nigel.  Wishing you a speedy recovery.
  23. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Subota Boy in March Sussex meet   
    And the white cars were the most popular by a whisker.  Thanks again to those from this forum who attended, and to Mark from Abbey Motorsport for lending his technical expertise.  






     
     
     
     
     
  24. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to Yotast3v3 in Specialist garages for 60k service   
    I did a bit of research before going to look and noticed the mileage, so when I went to test drive it, managed to get the price down a bit due to it needing this service. Guess this is why the previous owner decided to chop it in!
     
    Just spoke to RRG and they have quoted £600 inc vat for it, said they are doing a lot of these recently due to the first cars coming up to the 5/6 year’s mark, which makes sense, at least they’ll be well rehearsed!
  25. Like
    Test Drives Unlimited reacted to MartinT in Servicing   
    Thanks, all. Time to book, looks like I'll hit 12 months and 10k at around the same time.
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