[Looked good until pic 11...GT4 on PH]

Been advertised for more than 3 years - surprising there haven't been any bites at £8500. I bought a similar car (except it was a 1999 car) in the uk for £3450 - go figure lol.

[Cheapest place for Goodyear F1]

£280 a set is pretty impressive. Best I can do locally (Bristol) is £304 (fitted / balanced / disposal of old) for asymmetric 2s

[Anyone on 235/45/17s?]

235 profile is outside the 'acceptable' tread width for a J7.5 on every rim width calculator I can find (225 being max recommended). Tyre diameter is about 4.5% greater than standard so your speedo is going to read off by a fair bit.

The tyre being too wide for the rim wouldn't put me off dramatically particularly if you're just trying t get the use out the ADO8s and then fit something more appropriate (215/45R17 or 225/45R17).

LMAO at 225/45R17 being like 'balloons'!

[anyone tried waterless coolant?]

It solves some problems and causes others. If you don't know any good reasons that you should be using it you probably shouldn't.

[cost of refurbing diamond cut alloys]

You should be able to find someone to media blast and powder coat for less than about £180 for a set of 4 (I know of someone who gets it done locally for £160 / 4 wheels).

No idea about the cost of diamond cutting - probably depends on how much you have done, but I had the very outer edge of the rim done on and it cost me about a tenner a wheel.

[Tyre Recommendations / Buyer Guide]

+1 on the Nankang NS2-R being a fantastic track/Summer tyre. On the subject of treadwear ratings a Nankang employee posted the following on another website:

The NS-2R is designed to be a fast road / track tyre so wet capabilities

were priority when designing the tyre.

The compound differences and characteristics are as below:

180 - a very compliant compound that works well in dry / wet etc, It can

take a lap or so to warm up however will provide grip needed for the

endurance of your race

120 - the compound is no 'softer' than the 180 however characteristics are

very different. It warms up very fast from the get go, built for sprint

racing more than endurance

100 - the newest compound in the NS-2R range, softer than the other

compounds. Designed to give you optimum grip from the get go however still

provide the longevity needed to finish a race

The number relates to the tread wear rating, the 80 / 100 ratings are the

same compound however they work out at different tread wear ratings because

of the sizes.

I hope the information above helps, let me know if I can help with

anything else at all.

Regards,

Ben

Nankang Tyre UK

[Cheap Tyres]

the prices on Goodyear Assy 3 are amazing - just a shame I don't need any at the moment 4x 225/45/R17 = £102.40 :-O

[Toyota Long Life Red Coolant]

If it looks like for life coolant (i.e. clear and red) - NO

If it looks like minestrone soup (i.e. brown with vegetables in it) - YES

[Someone is having a bad day.......]

So what do we have to do to keep our precious cars safe?

Make sure it's insured for what it's worth. Drive it. Try not to worry

[Goodyear Eagle F1s New compound]

You don't mention the size but I guess 225/45R17 taking into account the price you quote. I can get that size fitted in Bristol for £80 a corner which I reckon is pretty good. They are an excellent 'performance' road tyre for daily driving, don't know if the new compound means you'd get existing stock any cheaper but good luck looking.

[Carbon Fibre Bonnet and Painting]

Put it on unpainted and see if you like it / can put up with it.

If not, remove and apply 040

[Tyres]

Anybody tried the Nankang NS2R in medium road compound?

Using the soft compound at the moment. Firm sidewall and lots of grip when warmed up, but usual rules apply for using them when there is standing water around (i.e. take care).

Currently on offer here http://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/nankang/ns-2r/225-45-r17-94w-247458 for less than £76 each (225/45/r17 - Medium compound)

and 225/40/r18 here http://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/nankang/ns-2r/225-40-r18-92y-248977 for less than £81 each

Those prices are both pretty good - I paid almost a ton each for R17s middle of last year.

[uprated crush tubes]

Think TBDevelopments supply them too.

Edit - in case you need them urgently in MK's absence.

[Plugging braided brake lines]

Baggies easiest, suitable sized nut and bolt with a couple of fibre washers shouldn't be a problem either. It's a good opportunity to change the fluid if that hasn't been done recently, and it's not much more effort than a quick bleed through (which you're going to need to do anyway) if you have an assistant.

Think that banjo bolts are m10.

[Foam pads for TRD spoiler]

I bought a sheet of 2mm thick neoprene and cut two new pads out of that. Worked a treat

[What came in the Post Today?]

10 extra long wheel studs (BBK means that the wheel nuts are only on about 6 threads)

[tyres 17" width]

Maximum tyre width for a J7 rim is usually 215. You need to know what offset the wheels are for starters, more to make sure that they will clear the brakes rather than fouling the wings. Very unlikely that they'd foul the wings with the sizes of tyre you're looking at anyway. If you haven't got the wheels already then best to check that the offset is suitable (about et35), but you really have to trial fit to be sure they clear the brakes (at least you do with a faff - not sure about an ST202, where the brakes aren't so large).

If you want the wheels flush with the wings you'll need lower offset or spacers.

On my faff I've run 215/40R17 on a J8 rim (et35) but the ride was absolutely horrible and they tramlined like crazy. At the monent I run 225/45R17 on a J7.5 rim (et30) and 225/40R18 also on a J7.5 rim (et35) all with no spacers and dropped about 20mm from standard ride height on BC coilovers and find both tyre sizes fine although the ride is better on the 17s. Although that's on a faff I think that it applies to the other gen6 models too.

If you know what size the standard fitment tyres were you can use one of the online calculators to choose a replacement with a similar rolling diameter so you don't affect the gearing too much (most of the calculators suggest that you stay within 2.5% of the original rolling diameter).