Great Scottish Driving Roads - Craigellachie to Keith (A95)

Great Scottish Driving Roads - Craigellachie to Keith (A95)

My new steed!

So, after waiting for the first week for the news that my car was fixed and ready to roll again. I decided not to bother getting a  courtesy car. However when it turned out that the job was going to take longer than expected.  I popped in to request one. Due to typically high demand there wasn't any courtesy cars available, so I asked my dad if I could borrow his winter runabout for a few days. He agreed, on the condition that I didn't break it before its service in less than 3 weeks. How hard would that be?  As it turns out the Japanese stallion wasn't as healthy as I thought it would be. The 2003 Toyota Rav4 has lived a tough old life by the looks of things and the lack of undercoat in the factory has started to take its toll.  The underside is a sea of rust  and I pity the poor soul that gets lumped with replacing all the suspension bushes that have definitely seen better days. Almost all the bolts are either rusted solid or slowly rotting away so an angle grinder will probably be the only solution. On the plus side however the 2 litre N/A engine is rock solid and hasn't skipped a beat although the sump gasket needs replaced as it has started to perish and leak very slightly.  Also the passenger side wheel bearing probably needs replaced as it too is on its way out.
I have to say however, despite all of these slightly alarming flaws. I am growing to like the little Rav. It's high driving position and great visibility remind me of my Ford KA. The absence of any turbo lag is something that I didn't know I missed. Who knows, maybe my next car will be a little Japanese 4x4!

My turbo blew up!

So, after a mere 36,500 miles and two and a half years of proud ownership. My Seat ibiza fr edition decided that having a turbo was no longer cool! And so it chucked it out (along with the entire contents of my oil pan) straight through the engine. In the middle of nowhere, at half 11 at night....

Stupidly I didn't have roadside assistance because, you know, it's a new car. They're really reliable now! Right? RIGHT?!?

Anyway,I'm in the middle of getting it transported back to civilisation so my garage can (hopefully) fix it under warranty! 

Wish me luck!

Idiot on a motorbike

Great Scottish Driving Roads - Banchory to Fettercairn

New look on the Ibiza fr

So I have been toying with the idea of adding more red onto the car somehow. So I stole an idea from the Mercedes A-c lass and put a red highlight on the car. I found some red carbon fibre wrap online but it wasn't a  great success as the wrap is too thick and doesn't sit well on the car. So I am possibly going to redo it in a slightly darker matt red.  What do you think?

Gumball 3000 in Scotland

So, did anyone else see the madness in Edinburgh at the weekend?

Summers Coming!

So as it does every year, the days get longer, and the weather gradually improves so we can start to get all the amazing cars that we have been lovingly nurturing over the winter back on display for our fellow petrol heads for admire and enjoy with us.

I was through in Elgin yesterday for the Speyside Stages rally which kicked off in Cooper Park and it filled me with pride to see such a large turn out for the event. As it was Scotland, the weather was hardly favourable however, all manner of ages turned out to brave the elements and enjoy what was a great spectacle! The cars were great and there were some real drama, with  burning rubber to get the blood going!

its great to see events like these in small towns around scotland and not just in the big cities! I urge anyone who can, go along and support these events!

I will post my video of the day soon!

Who was at Top Marques?

Wish I could have been there! Top Marques looks like such an amazing event! Hopefully make it there in the next couple of years! For now ill just live with views like this...

Thanks guys!

My first grown up car.

So, after the devastating loss of my ford ka. I used the insurance money to put a deposit down on a new car. When I say new i don't mean new to me, I mean brand new. 15 miles on the clock when I got it. And what was this new, new car? Why, it was a VW polo of course! A 1.4 polo match to be exact and it was possibly the most grown up thing I owned, exept maybe the 21 year bottle of scotch I got for my christening when I was 5 years old.

It was just such a sensible car. Great, please don't think it was a bad car because it really wasn't. But very sensible. The layout of the cabin was exactly as you would expect from a german car company. Very logical and well presented, and the outside was very serious but very modern. I loved it. I was split between the polo and the fiesta but I found the fiestas dash too fiddly. So I went with the adult car.

The polo was a world of difference to the hoot of the KA. Much more comfortable, much better built and way more refined in every way. I could cruise down to Glasgow without my ears bleeding and my palms sweating. I got to test it in every way over the 2 and a half years I had it. I got my first speeding ticket in it. I did the west coast and northern Ireland. My girlfriend did her first lessons in it. VW really did an amazing job with the polo.

However, I discovered I may have been a little hasty in my need to grow up. I found myself looking around at the dash in traffic, wishing there was just a little bit more fun around. Also when I was around town the engine just didn't quite have the grunt the KA did. It was still a strong puller but I had become used to the force of the little KA.

In an attempt to get a little more life of the engine I fitted an induction kit. And it worked, to a point. Certainly the engine sounded a better and the torque band was wider. However it still lacked the ungency I craved. So I decided to go for something a little more wild.

The importance of the right tyres.

So,  I thought I would share with you, why I think tyre choice is so important and also why it is so massively overlooked by so many people.

When I bought my seat Ibiza in April 2014, I was the happiest person in the world, it was a cracking car and we had an amazing summer together. however as winter drew nearer I became slightly apprehensive as I was living in the middle of nowhere at the time and I knew the weather could get rather cold and snowy. Also, the previous winter was pretty bad, and my previous car never got winter tyres, which I discovered was a seriously big mistake! So I decided to price up some winter tyres. as I was looking around, it quickly became apparent that if I wanted to keep the original wheels on the car I would have to fork out well in excess of £400 for the tyres and for fitting etc. At the time I dint have a spare £400, so I started looking at other options. I finally decided to buy a smaller wheel and have winter tyres fitted to them, Even though they were a full set they were significantly cheaper! 

I chose a 15 inch steel wheel with 185/55 profile winter tyres on them, although the overall size was fractionally smaller the speedo was on an extra 1mph out so it was an easy adaptation. Now winter tyres have a harder compound so are meant to last a lot longer, however when I specced my tyres I didn't look at the speed ratings, so my tyres were only designed to a max speed of 110mph, My car can do 140mph but of course in winter you would never get close to that, however the tread of a cheap tyre can't take the acceleration forces inflicted my a powerful engine and so after only 8000 miles my tyres started to lose chunks of tread. As it turns out, instead of lasting the recommended 40000 miles, im having to bin them after less than 20,000. so a word of warning, although the tyres might be cheap and you may only be using them for wintry conditions, always go with the manufacturers recommendation, it might seem like they are just trying to rip you off, but each tyre is made to a certain tolerance and if you buy a cheap tyre, best case scenario, it loses half its life, worst case, you could end up worse than leaving your summer tyres on.

That being said however, for the 2 seasons I had my tyres on, they made a marked difference in poor conditions and I would highly recommend anyone who lives in a climate where there is a good chance of bad weather for half the year, definitely shell out for winter tyres. The difference will almost certainly save your life! 

I GET TO DRIVE A FERRARI 458!

My day with supercars!

Learning to Drive

I'm not too sure how it was for anyone else, but I rather enjoyed my driving lessons. Don't get me wrong, those first couple of lessons were pretty damned nerve racking, and of course there's the odd moment like first time you arrive at a busy roundabout. that all being said and done however, I realised very quickly how to relax into the drive and just enjoy the sensation of driving. Really I'm a firm believer that the teacher makes the pupil. I actually had 2 different instructors while I was learning to drive. the first one, I would get in her car and would say absolutely nothing to each other after the first 30 seconds of awkward small-talk. the only sounds in the cabin would be the occasional direction change we would make and the sound of crunching gears from a very tired gearbox. the second one however was a world apart and if you are  ever looking for a driving instructor in the Moray area of Scotland then Learn with Lilian is who I would always recommend.

Another thing I would recommend is try and stick to a decent sized car, it worries me when I see a massive big 4x4 or people carrier with L plates on. I know running a second car can be expensive but, with a little bit of research there are 1000's of cheap runabout that you can pick up for a couple of hundred pounds just to see you through the test. If it fails its MOT, no problem. it will have done its job anyway. If you are teaching a reverse park and the clutch slips and you end up pranging it off the wall, no worries - it was £200. If you nudge someone else's car then its just their car you need to worry about because yours ain't worth the trouble. Also, learning to drive is a daunting prospect. i would have hated to do my lessons in my dads X3 or Renault Espace. In fact the first lesson he ever gave me was in his Ford Galaxy where, as soon as i started moving my foot slipped and I went straight over a rock, bending the side sill in the process. £300 later, my dad had learnt his lesson and bought a little ford fiesta.

That Ford Fiesta is still going strong to this day, now being run about by my little sister who also passed her test in it. i would say it probably still has at least another 30-40 thousand miles left before she gives up the ghost but my point stands. a little runabout is always better to learn in. I remember learning to reverse round a corner in that car. it took me 2 or 3 tries to work out exactly where my points of reference were and once I had that I could race round. To this day I still find that car the easiest to back into my parents driveway. The rear visibility was just spectacular, to be fair, the all round visibility was great in that car. in fact i think the only 2 things i didn't like about the car was the seats which were about as supportive as a picnic bench and the dash, which was as exciting as wallpaper paste. thankfully when i went to test drive the new fiesta those 2 issues had been well and truly addressed.

What are you experiences on learning to drive?  I would love to hear some views and experiences.

Thanks for reading.

So what's it like to drive a Ferrari 458?

So after a couple of days to reflect and calm down after the rush of my day with the Sspercars. I figured I would let you know what it feels like to drive a supercar.

First things first, since I have only driven them for a day this is not a definitive review, I have no idea what they are like to love with, however I can certainly guess from my short time with them!

Thinking of a Ferrari 458? Good choice sir! For a sense of drama and presence the Ferrari absolutely nails it.from the moment you walk up to it, you know there is heritage and passion built into every curve of the car. Climb inside and you find a very driver focused cockpit, everything you need is right at your fingertips, Ferrari being one of the first companies to start put the controls on the actual steering wheel. the seats, as you would expect are figure hugging and firm but not uncomfortable.

Start her up and that engine growls and snarls, begging to be let loose on the open road. Be warned however, mess with her and she will bite your head off with no hesitation. This is a machine that has been tuned to exceptional tolerances and you can feel it with every move you make. Steering is done with only the lightest of touches, jerk the wheel and it will send the back end swinging out in no time.

By no means is this a beginners supercar, if anyone is planning on buying one of these if they win the lottery, i would strongly urge them to reconsider. This car has been built for drivers who have experience in handling performance cars and know how to react when the car gets out of shape, although there are electronic aides to help keep you on the road, they have been designed to only kick in at the last minute and for most people that's too late. However for those who can, it is hugely rewarding to get it spot on and the car will give you everything if you treat it with respect.

Moving onto the somewhat controversial topic of gear shifting. I suddenly realised why all these cars are fitted with paddle shifters. The simple fact is, these car provide so much drama with everything else, the paddle shift is actually beneficial. it means that you can get on with the business of getting a move on. something that these cars do fantastically well. Between watching my speed to listening to the amazing sound of the engine and exhaust to making sure i got the steering right and measuring out the throttle.At no point did I think "I wish I had to worry about changing gear manually" the instantaneous response meant that there was no loss of power, no crunching gears, no heavy clutch, just constant and unending power and noise which is what you really want from these machines.

Would i take one if someone offered me? Hells yeah. Would i buy one myself? I'm not sure, as much as i enjoyed my drive, i couldn't shake the feeling that the car was going to kill me. Which i didn't mind as a one off experience.  its certainly made you sit up and focus a little harder however, having that as a common occurrence, I think I'd rather go skydiving.

Ferrari 458 Cold Startup!

Supercar Day!

Wow!

What an amazing day! I knew it was going to be something special but thanks to Performance Portfolio for possibly one of the best experiences of my life!

So for those of you who have no idea what I'm rambling on about, i spent the day with a company called Performance Portfolio. these guys have possibly one of the best jobs in the world! Basically they take paying punters like you and i out on the open road so that we can live our dreams in cars that cost more than the average annual salary!

To be fair to them I don't think they stopped all day from poor Michelle manning the phone to take booking for the next 6 weeks to Chris, Kenny and Allan all running the cars and making sure everyone had the time of their life! They all made the day great and so very special!

The show-stoppers however were definitely the cars. From the moment you rolled up to the front doors of the hotel, the four of them were sitting proud glistening in the morning sunshine (briefly, between the clouds). i got the privilege of taking all 4 out for a blast and a huge thanks to the guys for letting me take my Go-pros and stick them on the paintwork! I was terrified of marking one of them! thankfully i didn't however and the footage i got was amazing! please head over to my YouTube channel to check it out!

I was amazed at how different each car was, it  was like each one had its own personality.
The Ferrari was the fiery one that would bite if you stepped out of line.
The Lambo was the spaceship that made you feel like you could do warp speed.
The GT-R was the most car like...Until you put the hammer down, then it just shot you into the horizon
And the Mclaren could easily be a daily driver, as long as you had nice smooth roads. (Its the lowest of the 4).

I have no idea which one is my favourite....so I'll just take them all!

Thanks again to the guys at Performance Portfolio, they really did make it one hell of a day!

Supercar day tomorrow!

So for those of you who haven't seen my video yet, tomorrow is going to be quite a special day for me. I have managed to get to spend a full day with some of the most amazing cars that are on the market right now. They are:

Lamborghini Huracan

Ferarri 458 Speciale

Nissan GT-R R35

Maclaren 570S

The guys at Performance Portfolio are bringing these beauties up to the beautiful banks of the River Dee in Aberdeen this weekend. So if you see them give them a wave!

There will be loads of footage coming as I am filming the whole day, so please stay tuned!

Which one is your favourite? Comment below....

Ticket to freedom

I guess this all starts back when I was 17, you know, that great age when suddenly the world becomes your oyster and you are deemed responsible enough to control a large metal box capable of much speed and potential damage.

Actually as fate would have it, I didn't get that chance. While all my friends were revving about in there 1.2 Clios that they had bought for £30 from a guy at work and their mums 1.4 Fiat Punto active with manual wind windows that never actually shut properly. i had to make do with scabbing lifts everywhere as it was deemed that my eyesight wasn't good enough. Really i cant blame the system, the test is put there for a reason and it just so happened on that particular day,I was the reason. For a 17 year old man with no wheels it was bloody frustrating though!

Fast forward 2 years and some experimental new drugs and i retook the test and passed first time. Thank god! My prize for all that hard work and perseverance? my very own little pocket rocket. i had been learning to drive in my dads 2003 1.4 ford fiesta zetec and as a new driver i thought this was a cracking little car. Until the KA came along. when my dad told me that he would buy me my first car i was ecstatic!

I started learning to drive in my dad's 2003 ford fiesta 1.4. He bought it when I was 17 but of course I took so long to pass the test he kept it for my sister  and she still has it today. I have to say, It was a cracking choice for a learner.  Great all round visibility and really easy to drive. As soon as I passed I got myself a little runabout.  A family friend was selling her ford KA. It was in a pretty good condition having only been used for running about town all its life. The only signs it was starting to show it's age was the usual bubbling on the rear quarter panel around the fuel cap and on the bottom sill. Wasn't going to complain however as it was a great price. Now the Ford KA has a reputation for being a little old lady car or really girly. I think that's slightly unfair. True, it is quite cutesy but, that engine! Ford created a gem with that 1.3 duratec. The low end torque is something that  engines with twice the displacement  will struggle to reckon with. I read somewhere  that  the  KA has one of the best 0 to 30 times under 50 grand. I have to say, they may have a valid point.  I don't know how many times I minced boy racers and vans off the line around town. That torque is something I  have only just matched in my Seat Ibiza.

Thankfully I spent most of my life running about town as once I got onto the open road the engine struggled past 80 mph. Fine if your cruising but overtaking was a bit of a chore. Happily the gearbox didn't have a limiter so I could bang it into 3rd until the pistons were dancing on the bonnet, then change gear. That gearbox was pretty sharp too. I was surprised actually as the fiesta could be vague at times however the KA faithfully locked into gear with no issues at all.

Handling was always the Ka's strongest asset. It drove like it was on rails, something  you got used to very quickly.  You could chuck it into any corner you liked and it would just turn. No hassle, no jumping, no nervous twitches. Just direct and sharp. It was epic. With its wheels right out at the corners there was nowhere near as much body roll as you would expect either. However due to the tiny dash, being a passenger was a somewhat nerve racking experience as you constantly  felt as if you were about to be sent sailing through the windscreen.

All that handing did come with a price though. When you did push it too far it bites back. Hard. Twice I spun that car. Once due to it not having modern ESP. So when i rapidly had to abort an overtake it just spun out. (I really pushed it mush further than most sensible people ever would). The second time I caught a patch of black ice with the back end on a roundabout. Thankfully it was 1 in the morning so I was the only one there, but it taught me more about car control than the previous 15000 miles i did in the car.

So, I have rambled on about my first car for long enough. I have made this blog to talk about cars, and my experiences of them, and why I love them so much. Please feel free to comment and discuss.

My final piece of advice for learning to drive. Your first car should be a small ford! @forduk

Thanks for reading

Seat Ibiza FR Edition and Performance Portfolio!

B9077, South Deeside Road, Aberdeenshire

Keith to Elgin back road