Pashley26

I feel like I've really found myself in Italy, I just feel so free to the world. Oh wait, no I don't. I'm still just as much as a fanny as I was before.

Had a guided tour of the FIAT Lingotto factory yesterday, followed by a free bar and a party in the hotel conference rooms in Turin. Super cool place!

I'm flying to Milan for three days in the morning, then staying at the W Hotel in Leicester square on Saturday night in some all expenses swanky 'arsehole' party. I'm tempted to skip the flight, have 4 days off work and play with the Golf

I could convert to manual steering for free. But I want a quick rack and the Quaife kit only works with aftermarket Meyle racks so for the sake of £55 I might as well buy one.

Potentially bought a quick rack too, got offered one from the CGTI group buy. A new Meyle non PAS rack is £55, the 2.9 rack and pinion is £105, new lower arms are £50 the pair, new track rods are £28. So for under £250 I can convert from PAS to manual, fit a new quick rack and replace everything for the front steering. I love how cheap Mk2's are.

I'm wheely impressed with Adams speedy delivery.

It is. I could take the Golf, it will be 90% done. But my worry is that it won't be mapped so I won't be overly happy about driving it two hours to thrash it for a day to drive it two hours home. If Mike wants to bring his camera gear and set me up somewhere I could bring the golf and be the papper for the day?

The Mk2 won't be mapped by the time this comes around. So I'm going to commit to taking the Panda.

GOWER'S AGREED TO MAP MY MK2 IN EXCHANGE FOR A REACH AROUND! YES.

Got home today. Exhaust gasket is here. 710N is here. Twin light grille is here. Woo.

They did look nice to be fair.

Yeah, apparently reasonable cars are immensely expensive. I've heard that a few times. Nothing to tell really, she come home, wasn't the same, nor was I. So we split up. She kept banging on about how she'd found herself and never wanted to work again and carry on traveling the world for the rest of her life, and she just expected me to stay at home and lap it up for her convenience. I told her to stop being a c*nt. She said no. We both realised this wasn't a relationship that was going to work. I thought we split up too soon and should give it some time for each other to adjust to being home, then quickly realised she was just a total arsehole so I just put it to bed. Went on a tinder binge, then started shagging customers at work again. Now my life's back to normal. Hence the Mk2 and the cat. Yup. Everyone told me so. I was naive, love blind, whatever you want to call it.

Ever since my now ex girlfriend came home and I realised that absolutely everybody who goes traveling turns into a "travel wanker" and are intolerable to be around I've had a huge dislike for anybody who either goes traveling, has been traveling or buys things from people who have been traveling. I wouldn't buy it if I were you, the blokes probably a "free living" arsehole who's had his eyes "opened to the world." That cars probably been on a "journey of discovery" at some point in it's life.

The selfie stick?

Shit wheels though, it'll feel right at home.

The map on George's ECU isn't any better than the map on my current setup, probably worse infact. My car has a stage 1 K03s map, and since then it's had a bigge turbo, bigger injectors and a bigger MAF as well as a front mount and a 3" downpipe. So it's running waaaaay out of spec. If I'm correct, which I think I am... My ME3.8.2 ECU only has a EPROM chip which can only be flashed once then has to be de soldered and bench mapped. Just like my first A3. George's old ME3.8.3 ECU has an EEPROM chip which can be port tuned and rewritten multiple times. There are probably more features and benefits to having George's later ECU which I don't know, but I think it's basically that the ECU can be mapped in a much more modern way rather than old school chip tuning. It can't however be live mapped as I believe it. Might be total bollocks, I'm way out of my depth here. But that's what I believe to be the difference.

I have sourced through the power of Prawn a CJ code ECU which is a little upgrade on my current ECU. Except for the fact it used to reside in Mr Seamons A3

My tarty delivery has been dispatched

Welcome to the real world. That's how almost everything that isn't a sensor or consumable works.

Confidence. It's lacking. Hilarious on the road where it's immensly irresponsible and dangerous I'm monster fast on roads I know. But it seems to take me far too long to feel comfortable on a track. I don't know why. It's stupid really. Hopefully the much slower Mk2 will help me be a better driver and make up time in the corners, I should have enough power to make up for my shitness in the corners, but I will probably spend most of my time indicating right to let people pass; my friends are all a LOT faster than me. I just seem to take every corner far too sharply and not use enough of the track on exits and entry. "It's not a race." Haha.

I LOVE Donnigton.

I haven't ever had a problem getting tires fitted to wheel

Stupid crossover circuit bollocks.

BRAWWWWPAPAPAPA BRAWWWWWWWWWWWP Advice to everybody doing Curby. Watch loads of videos. On the hairpin 180 bend before the straight, stay as far left for as late as you possibly can. Getting the earliest, straightest, fastest exit to that corner is hugely important. I'm excited.

Just saying... http://circuit-days.co.uk/event_info.asp?id=560