GravelBen

Could well just be that, they do it sometimes especially if they've been driven on 95 for a while.

Any fault codes in the ECU, and does it still run nicely other than that? Try swapping the MAP sensor over if you have access to another one.

;D Light flywheel, race clutch, lumpy cam, noisy car... everyone thinks you're a knob trying to attract attention when really you're just trying to drive the thing slowly without stalling or doing a kangaroo impression!

Its not just about speed/acceleration, overly heavy wheels also tend to screw up handling and ride quality - ie the rock solid thump over manholes (also made worse by the incredibly low profile rubber on the oversized wheels ), or the suspension struggling to keep wheels planted on bumpy roads at speed. Basically the more unsprung weight the harder the suspension has to work to do its thing. Its much more apparent on a lighter car, ratio of sprung vs unsprung weight is probably more relevant than the absolute weight. Agreed that its up to the owner to choose how they want their car though.

Yep thats right. I'm using valvoline 5w40 in the (02) GTB, I found Edge 5w30 gave noticeably more turbo noise.

Here's one:

There is an improvement in throttle response (which can apparently help with turbo lag as well)... on the downside they can be a bit of a pain in the ass to drive around town - ie when was the last time you had to blip the revs to smooth out an UPshift? Agreed about the stupidity of putting big heavy wheels on a car though.

Sure is, I was up there a week earlier and it was ok-ish going up but real nasty coming down. Nice panos though This is what happens when autostitch gets confused by a 360° pano... (taken from the top of Single Cone) Pano360 Single Cone by gravelben, on Flickr

Might need to brake slightly earlier and ease the brakes on (rather than slam them on), that uses the forward weight transfer to your advantage instead of triggering ABS too early. Then fade off the brakes as you turn in rather than releasing completely before turning. Hard to say just based on a description, but most often major understeer is driver induced, sometimes its as simple as being overenthusiastic and trying to carry too much entry speed.

That should help, or a pointier alignment spec should help too - more front camber, less toe-in etc as standard alignment specs are generally very conservative. Other than that (and this is just speculation as I've never seen you drive) but the issue could be due to driving style as well, especially if you're used to Rwd cars.

Rev-D refers to the final revision, made from mid '01 onwards. Rev A, B and C were before that. TSR is 160hp from memory so a bit faster than the basic 2.0 as well as having a nicer interior and better suspension etc. But once you go turbo its hard to go back!

Except the autos, which are only 260 The Rev-D is very good for responsiveness and lack of lag etc though, and more economical as well.

Depends on what sort of track car you're after - if you're wanting to have fun on track days etc then a road car with a few tweaks is fine, and to have a track-only when you only do a few track days is a bit of waste because you'll never get to enjoy it on the road. Its only if you're entering time attack or racing or something that making a car competitive will compromise it a lot for road use. And then there is the angle (which I suspect plenty on here might disagree with) of starting out with a more suitable car for track use instead of using a relatively big/heavy/practical road car then spending your money working against those characteristics. Everything is a compromise!

Do they go faster than regular golf balls? ;D

You'd be wrong about that... my Rev-D GTB E-tune sits on ~2600rpm at an indicated 100km/h, and the speedo isn't that far out.

May as well join in... you can't quite drive to these ones though: This one you can drive to...

: This thread really is a load of... what others already said. If you're worried about costs (including the potential result of aiming for ultimate lap times on your first few track days in your $25k car, after buying sticky tyres to try and make up for your lack of experience/ability) then I suggest... Sell the expensive car and buy something older and cheaper to own/run/thrash, at least until you actually have some experience. If you want to keep doing track days and learn how to drive properly then I suggest a lighter, more involving sportscar like an early MX5 or MR2 - they're pretty bulletproof, parts and tyres are cheap, and they're bloody brilliant to drive. There is a tidy looking Mk1 MX5 on TM at the moment for $3k, buy that and go nuts. Seriously, a lot of people have given you some good advice on here, might be worth listening to...

5w/40 fully synthetic - currently valvoline in mine but not too fussy about brand. Castrol Edge 5w/30 gave me noticeably more turbo noise. 10w/40 is fine for BD/BG but newer cars prefer the thinner 5w.

Seal the doors up and fill it with helium.

Running a different offset will affect handling too whether its done by spacers or different wheels. Exactly how much and in what way will vary depending on details - I haven't tested it on a Subaru but going from ET45 to ET35 on an MX5 you could feel the difference in scrub close to full lock, and slightly more tendency to follow bumps. Depends how fussy you are I guess, and to be fair many drivers wouldn't even notice.

Who does the 2.2 conversion then?

If you're only getting 7-8psi then chances are something is wrong and switching to different turbos isn't likely to change that. MAP sensor maybe, when mine cut to 7psi but otherwise ran smoothly as usual that was the culprit.

As a person who does many more miles than most on gravel/snow/ice I'd prefer not having it on gravel and snow, it tends to get confused - I'm sure the newer systems are better, but most of us aren't using those. I've had ABS make cars accelerate driving down snowy hills, not a good feeling! Off the brakes and back on gently enough to prevent ABS trigger, slow/stop no problem. Slowly increase pressure to the point where ABS triggers and I get the old ABS pedal vibration but the car accelerates again. (the pulses are too sharp and just lock/release each time whereas I can modulate more gently myself) Similar story on gravel, it pulses at you but won't bite through the loose stuff to the harder layer underneath, I can stop much more quickly without it. Corrugated gravel is the worst though, many times I've had ABS trigger coming downhill into a tight corner and give me no braking whatsoever, sometimes its early enough to slow the car with the handbrake without sliding, otherwise you handbrake it round the corner. (every time a wheel is momentarily off the ground on the bumps the ABS thinks its locked and releases it, then before it reapplies useful pressure its off ground and released again) On those surfaces its something I really have to drive around rather than benefiting from.

Agreed, I'm quite happy buying cars without it but wouldn't go removing it from a road car that does have it. Much better off without ABS on gravel, snow etc though.

This. They are not designed to be used as a normal road tyre - they will be noisy, not grip very well when cold and aquaplane much more easily on standing water. If its between those two options go for the RE11 no question. Out of interest what other tyres have you tried to make you decide you don't want anything less sticky than the RE11?