B1 RMA

Yes I'm a big rugby fan and set the three games on record, must admit the best game so far for me was the Wales game last week.

It's a strange thing with Apple products I resisted getting an iphone3 because of all the hype but when I actually tried one in a shop I thought to myself this is just simply well thought out and have now had the iphone 4 since it came out and still think its a very good product. As a present for achieving good results in her O levels I decided to buy my daughter a Mac air book and as I was at the Apple stand thought I'd play around with the Ipad2 there are so many things it can do in relation to my business i.e taking photo's of a building survey which I can now take out the SD card from my camera and with the adaptor show the client photos which can be blown up to highlight faults and the like plus I don't need my glasses to browse the internet and send messages. The only thing that puts me off is this continual updating of models like the fact that the ipad3 will be released shortly making your new purchase seem obsolete.

Kids today are too smart!

Getting a phone call from my daughter to telling me she got 8 A* 's and 3 A's. Well all that money spent on schools fees hasn't been wasted!

Should be plenty to do in the long winter evenings this year with this one and the new Oblivion title Skyrim coming out in November as well.

The pub is holding the Pistonheads meeting on the 27th which is the Saturday from 6 in the evening onwards and on the 28th Sunday its the breakfast club meeting as well which starts at 9 am and there is probably the biggest best breakfast there for £5 or a giant one for £6. The postcode is GU32 1JX its on the A272 superb roads but there is the scamera van so take care. I'll be there on both days but won't be camping.

I'm not sure what the rules are on posting other events so if this type of posting is not permitted then please remove and accept my apologies. On the 27th August there is a Pistonheads gathering at The West Meon Hut which is on the A272 between Petersfield and Winchester (I'll find the postcode if all is o.k.) I've invited a few of the regulars from the local Club Lotus lot to this so thought if anyone fancied a blast along to this it would be worthwhile as a Lotus always creates a lot of interest at these gatherings.

Not sure if a venue for this has been decided but.... I know of a pub with a big field where in the Jap car club we held a meeting with over 150 cars. The landlord is a real petrolhead and the South Coast Pistonheads hold there meetings there now on a regular basis. Its the West Meon Hut located between Petersfield and Winchester in Hampshire. People can camp there as well, there is a fairly big Pistonhead gathering at this pub at the end of the month so if anyone fancies coming along to check it out and ask the landlord about holding a venue there it would be a good time to do so.

Not sure if i should be embarrassed about this having owned a Lotus car on and off since 1972 and have never visited the show before. The first thing to strike me was the Elise GT1 in the foyer I just couldn't stop going back and admiring it, and as luck would have it Graham sat next to me at the dinner table Saturday night so I got to know a lot more about the car. The word awesome is so over used these days it has been de-valued but the effort put into the car and the final result can only be described as awesome. To cap it off Graham removed the engine cover with a little help from me and my newly aquired friends from Holland and Germany and have to admit to taking about 30 photographs of everything on the car. I really enjoyed the whole thing and the dinner Saturday night with the members of this forum was great plus I had the chance of meeting and chatting to so many new people. Well done Bibs I'm sure you put a lot of effort into this whole thing and in my opinion it was worth it.

It must be just me but I don't like the look of these new wheels at all and much prefer the OZ Saturns which show off the AP drilled discs and AP calipers to full effect. In fact if I hadn't have bought mine and waited I'd have bought the later black one that was for sale and bought some OZ Saturns, would have had them sprayed Bronze and sold the Nova's

Thanks Mike

As time passes I'm getting to know the ins and outs of ownership, I have checked the oil level on several occasions and find that the level is at least 3-4mm over the max level on the dipstick. Now I'm thinking if this has been overfilled (not by me) its going to blow the cats and perhaps cause frothing of the oil I'd appreciate any comments.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a workshop manual that covers my current Esprit?

Thanks Mike, I've got to find out some more info on what was was done and where.

Think I'll buy two then!

There is a trader on e-bay selling this unit which is the exact part number for £10 not sure what price they would be from a Lotus agent

A problem has reared its ugly head with some work I have recently had done on my Esprit. According to the invoice 9 manifold studs were replaced (or at least thats what I paid for) so just need to know how many in total there are.

The garage mentioned does not have them in stock but can get them, having tried every source possible in the U.K. I eventually bought them fom lotusgarage.com. All attempts to replicate the additional spacer for the rear undersized one on my car lead me to swallow the high cost and buy one. If you can buy them new from this garage I would as they are very difficult to get hold of.

Just bought one, hopefully arrive before the upcoming Lotus show.

Thanks Mike, I'll steer clear of that then and just let them do my van, in all honesty the power mine seems to have is plenty for the time being anyway.

Mike, I've only just come across the you tube videos of the 5th gear car looks interesting is the chip worth doing or does it highlight any weakness elsewhere. I'm about to get my new Renault Trafic re-mapped by Superchips and wonder if the Esprit would benefit. Thanks Bibs I've called them they did one for Graham as well so may pop down and see them

Thanks for the replies, I am looking at getting a full length fabricated system to strike a balance because as you say noise or droning at motorway speeds would be unacceptable.

I'm planning a de-cat later on this year, is there anything that needs to be done ref the sensors mine is a late 2001 car

I was lucky enough to see Buddy Guy many years ago and he played a single note that seemed to last forever and I felt like passing out (could have been the smoke in the air though) That concert was superb with Jimmy Vaughn from the Fabulous Thunderbirds playing guitar as well.

Nothing to do with me I didn't strike them out!