dandan

I don't know what they are saying about it so I can't comment, sorry If they are saying anything along the lines of the only fix being a long term one then I'd say that is a good thing - they will be telling it how it is and not playing to the (arguably well justified) hype, emotion and panic. Irrespective of the knock on effects of the "disaster" then engineering and technology to rectify that situation is exactly that - engineering and technology. All the money in the world cannot create some super duper leak plugging, spill sealing, wildlife cleansing entity inside of any sensible timeframe - that just isn't the way it is. What I said about timescales is my opinion based on my experience in this industry, my understanding of the problem and my knowledge of the technology available today. It's a sh!tter of a situation but we are where we are and we only have current technology to use to rectify things. By the way, I have no affiliation to BP

Anyone who said that a solution would be in place within 50 days is either drastically misinformed, flat out lying or treading media water well out of their depth. Double that figure and you'd then be at a point where an end to the leak starts to seem probable. Unfortunately there simply is no quick fix....irrespective of where responsibility lies.

That investigation will hopefully drill right down into the technical cock ups and mal-practive along the way that led to this issue. I suspect all sort of shortcuts will be uncovered and those shortcuts will have been taken by BP, Transocean and the service companies actually doing the work. Depending on how much of the service companies short cuts or bad practice was covered up at the time will determine where the real blame lies. That may not be where the official blame is placed but my personal opinion is that there will be a number of contributory factors here that BP knew nothing about. Make no mistake - this will never be stopped properly until they have drilled at least one additional well into this one to cement it and ultimately divert all the oil elsewhere. That is the solution. A very sensible long term argument could be made for not attempting any of this capping crap, the reources and money should be better channelled into coping with the spill as it comes - capturing it as you phrase it. The only trouble with that is that the public's perception is then that nothing is being done. BP are having to attack the problem in two ways - actually try to fix it (relief wells) and also appear to be doing enough to keep the media/public/administration somewhat happy. The only long term solution is to drill up to and then along side this well, break through to it and then (put simply) plug it up. Then they'll need to intercept it again well below the plug and start the flow of oil again through another complete seabed and surface setup. There certainly are.

Good man, if everything goes well I shall give you a call probably some time around 1-2pm.

I'm headed to Guildford tomorrow for a BBQ at a friend's, if I do manage to come in the Supe (rather than the better half's car) would you be able to spare me 15mins to talk me through a few options for a detail on the Supra?

Cool, just curious as I have 8.5" with a 35 offset and 245 40 tyres. I don't get any rubbing at all but don't really know how close I am to it. My next tyres will likely be 245 35's as I'd like to try slightly less sidewall up front.

Do you get any rubbing up front with that 9" and 35 offset? Is that with something like a 255 35 tyre?

Any chance at all of a sneaky peek if I gave you my email address?

I've heard several different stories now about various balls ups along the way - I guess whoever turned that suggestion down could end up looking a little silly now. Personally I am amazed at how the drilling industry actually operates, I know they say hindsight is 20:20 but some of the stuff that goes on seems ludicrous given the money that is at stake.

Cementing is generally not as good as you might instinctively think - huge voids and channels can surround it everywhere compromising almost everything if the errors stack up against you.

I have an idea for you to sort the ride height with your existing stuff, just headed out the door now but will drop you a pm later.

A height adjustment system on these Bilstein dampers that was independant of preload would have to be another mini project I do have a spare one so perhaps I'll cut it open and see if there's any spare meat down there - it may well be impossible though if the piston stroke etc is too long.

The preload will change with ride height changes but that's no different to 90% of the aftermarket stuff out there. No change in spring rate/stiffness though. The springs are CW's - no doubt identical to yours...so if I wanted to I could set the seat to the same spot as your's for example and the preload would be the same. Bear in mind that these spring rates are quite soft so an 1/8" change in height would only equate to about 25-35lbs change on the rear springs. I'm not looking for drastic ride height changes, just enough to tweak each corner exactly as I want and get it weighted up properly....along with Chris' revalved dampers.

I got the new spring seats and spacers back from the machine shop - this is the stack of parts needed for one coilover: The business end where the ride height adjustment is done: And finally an assembled unit: There were a few delays with parts but that was actually planned behind my back between my better half and the machine shop She needed to make sure I wouldn't get them in time to miss the surprise birthday bash she threw for me on Sunday!

Cheers fellas. I did get a few comments once I actually got into work - nothing negative though

Done

If that's for the two I will take them Jay...I have a car waiting for black harnesses

Rota make a wheel that is similar to your Advans....it might be worth getting a pair of those to experiment with the banding rather than jumping in and chopping the Advans in two!

It's only a matter of time till someone needs a pair

I just did a couple of tests with the decibel meter This was outside my building at work which is pretty "built up" so I may need to try a more open space as there was a lot of reverberation....may or may not have skewed things The first two tests were measured 45degrees up and towards the centre of the car at about 500mm from the tailpipe. Exhaust bypass valve closed - quiet mode: 1000rpm - 83.5dB 4000rpm - 90dB 5000rpm - 96dB Exhaust bypass valve open - noisy mode: 1000rpm - 90dB 4000rpm - 91dB 5000rpm - 101dB Seen as the 4" dumped portion exits under the car I thought I'd try a test a little closer to its exit. The following were taken just in front of the rear right tyre at about 100mm above ground level and about 100mm from the side of the car. Exhaust bypass valve open - noisy mode: 1000rpm - 89.3dB 4000rpm - 99dB 5000rpm - 103dB I think 83.5dB at idle at 90dB at 4000rpm is pretty respectable for a single with 4" DP and MP

No problem mate - keep me posted. Do you think we'll still have time to install the new firmware, setup the traction control and tweak the map with a trip to SRR before you leave?

I'm a little concerned that you didn't say anything about the topless body and cowboy hat part...not just the fact that you weren't using the car this weekend!

Cheers guys. I'm gradually working my way through the whole lot as I get the time. The Torsen diff and Recaros have been there from the factory and they'll probably stay for good The car has Tein HA's fitted and they have always proved adequate. However, with the single fitted I can light the rear tyres up in 2nd gear without even thinking about it. Even with hot 275-35 Eagle F1 tyres and hot roads they still light up at about 4500rpm so it needs sorting. Any hint of dampness or even cool roads and third gear is a similar story....crap. Anyway, that's the main reason for changing the suspension - I need more traction and ideally want to get enough traction without switching to R888 tyres. Plus, a bit of suppleness would be nice as the Tein HA and Titan roll bars is certainly a stiff combination Once I get these fitted and get some time on the parts I will pop up to see Chris Wilson for a full corner weighting and geo setup to get the most out of the car. With this little lot the corner weighting and height adjustment should be much easier and quicker.

After replacing all the suspension arms and bushes and installing the Titan anti roll bars it was inevitable that the dampers and springs were going to be replaced. I don't quite have everything up together yet but here's a taster of what's happening next. I need to get a little bit of machining done and hopefully later this week or at the weekend my Tein HA kit will be coming off and this little lot will be going on. Revalved Bilstein dampers and custom springs are courtesy of Mr Wilson - thanks Chris (and thanks for that prop bracket/rear brace) Almost everything ready to roll: This gives you a rough idea of what an assembled unit looks like although this is missing a spacer to go under the modified spring seat and it has an old prototype spring seat fitted. The four new seats will be machined this week...

Don't give it another thought mate. When our hobbies merge into other people's "day to day" or "A to B" affairs then it's only natural they don't understand. To most people, a car is just a car - a mode of transport and that is it.