Magazine Issue 1.pdf - SEATCupra.net
Magazine Issue 1.pdf - SEATCupra.net
Magazine Issue 1.pdf - SEATCupra.net
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•FOR THE MEMBERS BY THE MEMBERS •<br />
THE UK’s LEADING SEAT SPECIALIST<br />
Many new products now available for all SEAT Models from early 1988<br />
Ibiza to the very latest new model range.<br />
With a huge range of new bodystyling, suspension and exhaust<br />
components now available, nobody can offer as many different ways<br />
to individualise your SEAT.<br />
Please contact us at the address below with your requirements for a<br />
speedy honest response, or visit our new look website at<br />
www.sjbsport.co.uk<br />
9 Brookfield Road, Baddeley Green,<br />
Stoke on Trent, ST2 7LQ<br />
Tel: 07976 620772 Fax: 01782 253594<br />
Email: sales@sjbsport.co.uk www.sjbsport.co.uk<br />
TANGO CONCEPT<br />
DANCES IN AT<br />
FRANKFURT<br />
ALL THE LATEST INFO INSIDE<br />
TRAX 2001<br />
OUR FIRST CLUB SHOW PICTURES INSIDE<br />
• PREVIEWS • REVIEWS • HINTS & TIPS • CURBOROUGH TRACK DAY •
• ISSUE ONE NOVEMBER 2001 •<br />
INSIDE THIS ISSUE<br />
COVER FEATURE<br />
TRAX 2001<br />
See the pictures of<br />
our first club show,<br />
at one of the UK’s<br />
largest car club<br />
events. Held at<br />
Silverstone during<br />
September.<br />
See Page 26<br />
Get the lowdown on<br />
the latest concept<br />
from SEAT.<br />
See Page 22<br />
IGNITION Page 4<br />
Message from the club<br />
CONCEPTS Page 6<br />
Whats Hot and Whats Not<br />
C ONTENTS<br />
MEMBERVIEWS Page 8<br />
Morpheous Geodesy Review<br />
Forge Motorsport Dump Valve<br />
V6 Lookalike<br />
Stuart’s Ibiza Diary<br />
DRIVING SEAT Page 14<br />
All the latest developments in the industry<br />
and the SEAT Motorsport scene.<br />
CLUBEVENTS Page 32<br />
Curborough Track Day (November 2nd 2001)<br />
HOW TO GUIDES Page 36<br />
K & N Induction Kit Fitment Guide<br />
PITLANE Page 38<br />
Lifestyle section.<br />
CLUB CLASSIFIEDS Page 39<br />
Buy and Sell find it here.<br />
WEBSITE LINKS Page 39<br />
Find approved dealers, Seat specialist, Web Links
I G N I T I O N<br />
CLUB CONTACTS & INFO<br />
Well, as you can see the SEAT Drivers club magazine has undergone a lot of changes. Many<br />
things have changed due to the magazine not been published for a while, unfortunately this<br />
has been due to lack of time on my part, and lack of contributions.<br />
Due to this, the club has undergone some changes. The new look magazine is now being<br />
edited and designed by Mark Forbes, and as you can see, the new look has been worth the<br />
wait. But, we need the input to keep the magazine as good as this. So please if you have<br />
anything that you think may be of interest to fellow SEAT owners, please either e-mail, fax or<br />
post it to us. If there is a product you think we should review, then again, please let us know.<br />
There will also be a member’s car featured every month, and if you want your car featured,<br />
then please get in contact.<br />
All the club events for the next year, are now been planned by David Arthurton, and Mark<br />
Phelps. If you know of any events in your area, or any other events of interest, then please<br />
get the details about it to one of them, there contact details are enclosed in this magazine.<br />
We are also looking at getting a stand for a couple of shows in Europe, as well as in the future<br />
a meet up of lots of SEAT clubs throughout Europe.<br />
Accounts and club administration will continue to be done by<br />
myself, and a copy of the clubs accounts will be made available<br />
on the Inter<strong>net</strong> for you to download.<br />
We hope you enjoy the new look to the magazine,<br />
but please remember this club needs your<br />
help, without input, nothing happens.<br />
John Burton<br />
For anything related to the <strong>Magazine</strong>, including letters and the submittal of reports,<br />
reviews and pictures. Ideally supply pictures in a digital format if possible as prints make it<br />
costly for us to return, but anything goes. If your interested in writing an article please<br />
contact me to dicuss it, though pratically anthing goes.<br />
Any views you may have or comments on the new look of the club magazine, its design or<br />
content. Please contact:<br />
<strong>Magazine</strong> Designer & Editor: MARK FORBES<br />
EMAIL: markf@zboyd<strong>net</strong>.freeserve.co.uk or zboyd@seatcupra.<strong>net</strong><br />
MAIL: 37 Legh Drive, Woodley, Stockport, Cheshire. SK6 1PT<br />
To contact the club for info on forthcoming events, and membership inforrmation.<br />
Please contact for the SEAT DRIVERS CLUB enquiries and account information.<br />
Club Chairman: JOHN BURTON<br />
EMAIL: seat@cwcom.<strong>net</strong> PHONE: 01782 860 337 MOBILE: 07976 620772<br />
FAX: 01782 253594<br />
MAIL: 9 Brookfield Road, Baddeley Green, Stoke on Trent, ST2 7LQ<br />
OTHER KEY MEMBERS FOR CONTACT.<br />
Please contact for general club enquiries and events information, including event<br />
suggestions.<br />
Events Organisers: DAVID ARTHURTON & MARK PHELPS<br />
EMAIL: david_a@annsummers.com PHONE: 07984 782003<br />
EMAIL: mark@markphelps.<strong>net</strong> PHONE: 07740 362742 Evenings Only<br />
Club Webmaster: MARTYN THOMAS<br />
EMAIL: martyn@seatcupra.<strong>net</strong><br />
Club Website: www.seatdriversclub.co.uk<br />
SEAT DRIVERS CLUB IS 100% INDEPENDENT. NO ASSOCIATION WITH VOLKSWAGEN GROUP, SEAT CARS<br />
OR THEIR SUBSIDIARIES IS INTENDED. ALL COPYRIGHTS & TRADEMARKS ARE RECOGNISED
✬✸✷✬✮✹✽✼<br />
Here we will cover the latest general interest items related not only to SEAT’s but to anything<br />
in general that effects motoring or modifications.<br />
If you have something to preview or news related that will be of interest please contact us.<br />
SEATCUPRA.<strong>net</strong><br />
<strong>SEATCupra</strong>.<strong>net</strong>® The Worlds No.1 Source For SEAT Information<br />
<strong>SEATCupra</strong>.<strong>net</strong> was formed around 6 months ago now. I finally got the company car that I had been<br />
waiting for although I only needed to wait 2 weeks, I was told that I got the last “Cupra” in the UK, it<br />
was the colour I wanted, it had all the gadgets on it (auto wipers, Electric Leather Seats etc etc) I was<br />
well chuffed.<br />
When I get hold of something that I really enjoy I invariably make<br />
a website, this all stemmed from a site I had called Snipers Alley,<br />
it was gaming related and really took off, Gamepy then took me<br />
on as a UK correspondent and that’s what really got be me all the<br />
contacts in the Inter<strong>net</strong> Industry I have today.<br />
Anyway, so I thought I would make a website for SEAT’s , I bought<br />
www.seatcupra.<strong>net</strong> and myself and a chap who you might have<br />
seen on the bulletin board called Anthony set about building it.<br />
Anthony an Inter<strong>net</strong> developer himself made a damned fine job of<br />
it and I set about filling it up with info and pictures, we chucked a<br />
forum up and then hoped for the best.<br />
There are not really any other good websites about for SEAT’s, I have searched high and low as you<br />
must have done in the search for information but there is just nothing out there. I think this is what<br />
drove on to make it into what it is today.<br />
Anyway, with the help of the Drivers and me spending some money on getting the site registered with<br />
search engines the site became an overnight success. The Bulletin Board that is the hub of the site<br />
has nearly 600 members now and there is always someone posting on it no matter what the time of<br />
day, a bustling community. 90% of the users are from the UK, but we do have a worldwide<br />
membership, people from Israel, Greece, Hungary, Mexico, Spain, Holland etc, the list goes on.<br />
It’s exactly what I had hoped for. We are getting anywhere between 46,000 and 52,000 hits per day<br />
(as I write this) we take 10GB of Bandwidth per month over the <strong>net</strong>, so much in fact we had to move<br />
hosts.<br />
Of course the site does not run itself, we have a team now. Myself, Martyn Thomas, Mark Forbes<br />
(ZBOYD), Flapper (AKA Darren James from Amethyst) and others too who help out in the Chat room<br />
or moderate on the bulletin boards. The site would not be what it is today if these guys did not get<br />
involved.<br />
So, the site is a raving success. But where are we going? Martyn has<br />
the site under redesign at the moment and it looks bloody good. All the<br />
same features, pictures, articles will stay, along with some new features.<br />
Users can register on the site and then post details about their cars, this<br />
will create a database of “who’s got what” what mods they have<br />
added, how much, where from so if you see a bit of kit you like, you can<br />
tell where abouts in the world it was bought and for how much.<br />
The new site will be faster and slicker, it will be database driven and will<br />
load almost instantly, rather than having to wait like you do at the<br />
moment. That’s the trouble with having so much content.<br />
✬✸✷✬✮✹✽✼<br />
All in all it’s been a good 6 months, I have made a lot of very good friends. The Drivers Club gives<br />
the chance to meet up at regular intervals through track days, and the local meets that are<br />
arranged on <strong>SEATCupra</strong>.<strong>net</strong> see, to be taking off now too. I would like <strong>SEATCupra</strong>.<strong>net</strong> to stay the<br />
No.1 source for SEAT information and would estimate that by the end of the year we will be close to<br />
1000 Bulletin board members.<br />
I must say however thank you to everyone who uses it, without you taking an interest, the site would<br />
die.<br />
Regards Lee Shand<br />
SHELL OPTIMAX PETROL<br />
A new fuel has recently been introduced by Shell that boasts octane levels above 98RON<br />
rating. This is a first for the UK, up until now the highest rating of fuel available to us has<br />
been Super Unleaded 97 RON fuel.<br />
Optimax is now being introduced to selected garages around the UK in place of or alongside<br />
regular Super Unleaded fuel, some stations only have one or two pumps serving Optimax at<br />
present, but Shell are promising to bring it to many more forecourts this year and next.<br />
An average price of 73p per litre in my area its on average no more expensive than Super<br />
Unleaded fuel, but promises much better engine response, Shell claim to increase you cars<br />
efficiency and also that the added ingredients actually clean and protect your engine.<br />
Im presently using it in my 210 bhp Leon, and have already on its third tank, noticed a really<br />
big transformation in throttle response and overall power. Others have noted differing results,<br />
some have reported no differerance, but many have claimed remarkable improvements.<br />
I find that the added benfits come to those who’s cars are running higher levels of boost and<br />
or power connected to tuning that may have been done, where as cars still running standard<br />
configuarations may get less of an improvement.<br />
Let us know what you think about it anyway.<br />
A list of Shell stations currently offering OptiMax can be found on their website.<br />
www.shell.co.uk
MORPHEOUS GEODESY<br />
Even before I bought my Ibiza Cupra I knew that I would need some form of radar detector to help<br />
me hang on to my licence.<br />
This is the review section where the club members can review something they’ve seen or<br />
used, whether it is to praise it or hate it, this where to do it, so GET WRITING.<br />
Remember we need your input, without your support it doesnt happen.<br />
see the contacts infomation for details of where to send your reviews or letters.<br />
FORGE MOTORSPORT DUMP VALVES<br />
Forge Alloy Dump Valve (FM DV-006) – Recirculating version for 1.8 20VT, both Leon and Ibiza.<br />
If there is one mod you should get for your 20 Valve Turbo it’s this one.<br />
Fitted for less than £90 from various suppliers, mine was<br />
from RSD (Road and Sport Developments).<br />
The throttle response is much better, the boost stays up thru<br />
the rev band much longer, don’t get it wrong you wont get<br />
more power with this, but it makes the power these cars do<br />
have much more usable.<br />
It keeps the turbo spinning thru gear changes so making the<br />
uptake in the next gear much more fluid.<br />
Most of all they look great and gives you something to point<br />
at under the bon<strong>net</strong>.<br />
The Bosch standard ones, are basically very cheap small plasticy things that are prone to failing,<br />
these have already been warranty return problems for some VW/AUDI and Now SEAT owners, the<br />
only thing a dealer will do is replace it with another badly made replacement.<br />
They are fully serviceable so if it ever needs something replacing its a simple job, not a complete<br />
replacement.<br />
This is a recirculating dump valve or its proper term Diverter Valve, this means its quiet, it doesn’t<br />
whoooosh or anything so you don’t look like an RS Turbo nonce<br />
And for those that do want a whoooosh there are those types available, but be WARNED, you will<br />
lose power possibly several BHP and your Turbo will under perform, the reason is that VW Turbos<br />
are quite small, and rely on every bit of compressed gas they can get to do their job, by replacing<br />
the diverter valve with a release type you lose a lot of boost pressure as well as getting fault codes<br />
appearing.<br />
In cars with larger Turbos’ for instance an Escort Cosworth, they benefit form release valves as the<br />
higher gas pressures can cause the fan blades to stall between gear changes, these can result in a<br />
worst case scenario of the blades shattering under the stress, but this is not an issue with which<br />
these smaller turbo’s suffer.<br />
SO WHAT YOU WAITING FOR GO BUY ONE NOW<br />
Take a look here for more info http://www.forgemotorsport.co.uk/vehicles/audi.html<br />
By Mark Forbes<br />
I bought a ‘Snooper 815’ but really didn’t feel it was good enough and didn’t give me enough warning.<br />
It was definitely not worth the £250 I paid for it. I had heard about the ‘Geodesy’ but never gave it<br />
any thought as I intended to get the Snooper. I found a supplier through EVO magazine and ordered<br />
a Morpheous Geodesy unit. Apparently it should take between 24 and 48 hours for the unit to be<br />
delivered but due to “excessive demand” my unit took almost 3 weeks to find it’s way to my doorstep.<br />
I got so fed up with waiting I nearly cancelled my order but I am so glad that I didn’t!<br />
Ok, it’s not the cheapest toy at £380 but I can say that it really is worth every penny.<br />
The unit finally arrived and I was well impressed with<br />
the stuff you get with it. There’s the Geodesy itself, 2<br />
power cases (1 cigarette lighter, 1 for hard wiring), a<br />
desktop interface, modem connection leads and a<br />
manual.<br />
The first thing to do is download the most up-to-date<br />
information by plugging the unit into the desktop<br />
interface and letting it automatically dial into<br />
Morpheous and download the most recent Speed<br />
Detection Device’s (SDD) whereabouts. This takes<br />
around 2 minutes to do and costs the same as a local<br />
call.<br />
After this had finished I went out in my car with the unit plugged into the cigarette lighter socket.<br />
Straight away it told me that I was within the preset distance (0.6 miles) of a SDD. As I drew closer to<br />
the GATSO camera the lights came on one by one telling me I’m nearing it. When 5 out of the 10 lights<br />
are illuminated, the unit begins to beep slowly and flash to alert you even more. When you go through<br />
the SDD range the unit is flashing all 10 lights and beeping loudly. Almost as soon as you’ve passed<br />
the SDD the red lights turn green to tell you you’re now moving away from the device.<br />
The benefits of this system are that it will inform you of all recorded fixed SDD’s in the country. It is not<br />
a detector, it works on Global Positioning Satellite signals to tell you when your global position is near<br />
to any recorded SDD. As it is not a detector, it is 100% legal and always will be.<br />
The unit was originally devised for motorbikes, which is why it can handle intense shocks, the casing<br />
is waterproof, and the only button is gold plated.<br />
The button is used for 2 things; muting the unit’s beeping when passing an SDD and recording new<br />
SDD locations.<br />
If you happen to find a SDD that is not in the database, pressing the button will log it into your unit.<br />
Then when you next download the information through the desktop interface, it sends the location of<br />
your found device to Morpheous who will confirm it and send you your reward of £50.<br />
The unit’s GPS engine can cope with speeds in excess of 500m/second and handle a search of over<br />
16,000 locations in 1 second. >>>>
Being just what i wanted i was intrigued to know how well these items<br />
would fit, it took some time for Darren to source most of the parts, but he<br />
managed to get the main bulk of it and was able to try it out on a UK RHD<br />
Leon at Amythest’s custom built workshop.<br />
The fitment worked, i was impressed and was extremely keen to have this<br />
done to my Leon.<br />
Geodesy in Standby Blue Light<br />
It’s easy to hard wire with just 2 leads needing connection. I just ran it round the side of the<br />
dashboard, in under the glovebox and wired it up there.<br />
I know £380 is a lot of money to spend but it is honestly worth it. Morpheous even offer a full refund<br />
if you’re not happy with the unit.<br />
If I had to sell my unit then I would not take less than a grand for it, just because it’s so easy to use<br />
and will save me losing my license. J<br />
Personally I think the unit is a great idea and should be considered by every driver. Every speed<br />
camera is based at an accident black spot, right? So, this unit is simply informing you when you are<br />
on a dangerous stretch of road. It gives you plenty of warning and therefore you are less likely to<br />
have an accident as you are more aware than the next driver.<br />
For more information, email info@Morpheous or visit their website at http://www.morpheous.co.uk<br />
by Alex French<br />
V6 LEON LOOKALIKE ?<br />
As I type this im sat in a fine hotel in Redditch (The Abbey Hotel) for<br />
those interested. :)<br />
Redditch I hear you ask, why is he in Redditch? well to cut a very<br />
long story short, I was sent on a software course for work, but while<br />
I was here an opportunity arose.<br />
Geodesy warning lights at SDD<br />
For a while an idea had been in the back of my mind, i like my Leon<br />
but it never really looked agressive enough, unlike the Ibiza Cupra’s<br />
do out of the box so to speak, with their honeycombe grilles and<br />
stylish front spoiler, the Leon Cupra though a fantastic motor seem to get the short straw when it<br />
came to a motorsport style look. That was until the boffins at SEAT penned the V6 Cupra 4WD.<br />
Unfortunenatly it seems that this great looking car wont see the light of day in the UK, but some of<br />
you may know of the Amethyst Motor Company., if not let me tell you about them.<br />
Amethyst of Cheltenham as im sure many of you know are undoubtably one of if not the best SEAT<br />
Dealership in the country, and their staff are the most courteous ive had the pleasure to deal with.<br />
Several months ago, Darren James the parts manager at Amethyst and myself were chatting about<br />
the possibilities of getting hold of European parts, well Darren being the guy he is, took it that step<br />
further and managed to get the part codes for the Leon V6 Kit.<br />
Well as i said earlier the opprtunity presented itself, coming from<br />
Manchester, Cheltenham aint exactly a local drive out for me, and this isnt exactly something you can<br />
just have bolted on in 5 mins, if i was to do it Amethyst were going to need the car for a few days for<br />
all the paint work involved etc.<br />
Well my company came to the rescue, we had decided to purchace a new piece of specialist software<br />
to aid me in my job, but it involved a week long course in Redditch, something clicked with me, i<br />
wonder how far Cheltenham is? :)<br />
As it happens Cheltenham is only around 40 mins from Redditch, BONUS i thought, i can get my car<br />
done, but it needed to be cleared with Amethyst.<br />
Well the boys didn’t disapoint me, in fact they blew me away with they offer, to not only do the job for<br />
me, but also do my first service and a few other jobs that needed doing, all in all a total road check<br />
and service as well as a kick arse V6 Front bumper and Grille Kit, and on top of that they even threw<br />
in some nice Xenon Blue Bulbs to boot.<br />
And if all this wasn’t enough, Darren drove 20 miles to meet<br />
me half way, and brought me a courtesy car, filled to the<br />
brim with fuel so that i could carry on in Redditch as normal<br />
for the rest of the week, without any worrys.<br />
For the rest of the week i was on tenderhooks, couldn’t wait<br />
to see the results, finally Friday came, i packed up the<br />
course early and headed south on the M5, a nice drive<br />
other than being cut up by some idiot in a Vectra :( Like to<br />
have seen him do that if i was in my Leon the git. :p<br />
Arrived at Cheltenham was a little lost, so phoned up Darren and he guided me to Amethyst, as i<br />
arrived on the forecourt not only was i impressed with the garage the look of the place is superb very<br />
professional looking.<br />
BUT then I SAW IT, my car just being put in pride of place right outside the showroom, Graham<br />
Swinburn the service manager was just parking it up, and he noticed me drive up, all i could do was<br />
beam a big smile at him, now that i was completely speechless, the car now looked just right, in fact<br />
better than i imagined, the aggressive look ive been after since day one really suited the car, and the<br />
lads at Amethyst had done a superb job.<br />
I had a bit of look round, smart showroom with all the trimmings, I would of liked to have stayed<br />
longer, but i had to get moving to travel back home before Birmingham turned into the usual Friday<br />
afternoon shitstorm.<br />
On the way home back up the M5/M6 i was greeted with many admiring glances and in fact at<br />
Birmingham i was behind an Imperial Blue Leon, and the bloke looked in disbelief and even pulled<br />
along side me while we were in traffic and mouthed the words very nice to me. :D<br />
Amethyst are a superb dealership i wish more could take a leaf out of their book, if i buy another SEAT,<br />
i will travel the distance to give them my business without hesitation, and i’d also consider doing the<br />
journey for future servicing.<br />
by Mark Forbes
BIG STU’s IBIZA DIARY PART ONE<br />
Two blown head gaskets in six months, one new cylinder head, one new starter<br />
motor and ring-gear, one noisy timing chain, one blowing exhaust which dropped<br />
off at the down pipe on the motor way at 80mph and 4 bald tyres and seasickness<br />
every time I went round a corner. My inherited Skoda favorit estate just had to go,<br />
and with £5000 to play with, the hunt for new car had begun.<br />
The new car had to be a 3-door hatch with an insurance friendly engine and was<br />
big enough to fit my 6ft 4” 20 stone frame (hence Big Stu) and it had to pull my fat<br />
arse around town and take mother to the garden centre. And the other thing the<br />
car had to be was fun and was full of modifying potential. My short list came down<br />
to the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, Citroen Saxo, VW polo, and the Seat Arosa and<br />
Ibiza.<br />
First one up to cross off my list was the Dagenham Dustbin, lots of potential here<br />
but how ever you went about moding it, it would look more or less the same as the<br />
rest of them, plus I vowed not to buy anything with a blue oval unless it was a<br />
GT40, RS200 or Escort Cosworth. Next was the learner drivers favourite, the Corsa<br />
which I have liked since I was at school and when the time came to learn to drive,<br />
this was my ticket to freedom and was I glad to pass my test because I hated it<br />
after 4 months driving it! Then on to the Saxo, nice looking car, lots of potential,<br />
but my area was full of them plus it was French, which was a good enough reason<br />
alone!<br />
The next car on my list was the sturdy and VW Polo, reliable, well-engineered, good<br />
equipment and lots of potential, but it was let down by the plain looks and would<br />
have cost £100s to put right. Onto the Seat Arosa and Ibiza, well-engineered using<br />
VAG running gear and components, spares easy to obtain (HA! which was not the<br />
case with some parts as I was about to find out later) and both looked better than<br />
the polo. The Arosa looked good and had a good spec, Parts to modify it were a<br />
bit thin on the ground at the time requiring a bit of improvisation. But when I went<br />
to test drive one, with the seat all the way back, tilted and reclined, the law of<br />
physics came into affect and my knees were wedged onto the dashboard and it<br />
took me 5 minutes to get out.<br />
Then at last the Seat Ibiza; admittedly I have always had a soft spot for this model<br />
because of its motorsport heritage and being a motorsport nut myself, the<br />
prospect of owning a car that was the basis of one of the most successful F2 rally<br />
cars of all time was appealing. Mean looks as standard, again built using VAG<br />
parts, good equipment levels, full of potential, lots of room for mothers shopping<br />
and most important of all,<br />
I fitted!<br />
So the hunt began for a 96-99 1.4 sxe 3door low mileage Ibiza, trouble is with such<br />
an underrated car, that used ones are a bit thin on the ground, particularly in my<br />
century if you ask me.<br />
area.<br />
I reckon that if it had a ford badge on it,<br />
there would be loads around.<br />
And eventually I found the perfect Ibiza<br />
only 15mins away from home and sure<br />
enough there it was on the forecourt,<br />
mint condition, light metallic blue, the<br />
exact colour I wanted, reliable 1.4<br />
engine, 18K on the clock and with leccy<br />
windows and a decent Kenwood stereo<br />
all for £5995 and £750 part exchange<br />
for the old Czech tank –bargain of the<br />
Mother stumped up the cash as a loan and I was now a proud owner of a Seat<br />
Ibiza with implicit instructions not to do anything to it, that didn’t stop hatching<br />
a cunning plan with a demon tweeks catalogue he-he!<br />
PART 2 IN THE NEXT ISSUE<br />
First mods, 3 month wait for alloys and a conversation with a kerb on icy roads,<br />
ouch!<br />
FEATURE YOUR MOTOR<br />
What were aiming to do with the new look Drivers Club <strong>Magazine</strong> from now on is<br />
each issue try and feature a club members car.<br />
This would include a feature written around the car, and a writeup of its mods and<br />
styling, and anything else thats noteworthy.<br />
So if you want to feature your motor put pen to paper and tell us all about it, take<br />
some nice photos of it, try taking it to a nice loaction and take some good snap<br />
shots of it, cause we’ll be using it on the front cover and dont want the neighbours<br />
cat in the background.<br />
Now go to it, its your magazine, and without your help it just wont happen, the<br />
organisers do this in their spare time, we dont get paid for it. We do it cause we<br />
enjoy it and want this club to be the best it can be, so help support it be part of the<br />
club make some effort and we’ll make it the very best we can.<br />
Regards Mark F.
Latest News and Views from the SEAT & Motoring World<br />
NEW IBIZA SPOTTED!!<br />
Based on the Salsa concept car shown at the Geneva Motor Show last year, the styling<br />
of the new Seat Ibiza is even sportier than the current model. Designed by Walter De<br />
Silva, formerly of Alfa Romeo, it also bears more of a<br />
resemblance to the recently facelifted Arosa city car.<br />
Many of the Salsa’s features will make it into production, such<br />
as the windscreen wipers concealed in the A-pillar and the<br />
side indicator repeaters in the mirrors; like the Salsa, the Ibiza<br />
will have access to the fluid fillers under a handy flap, so that<br />
you can top up oil, coolant and screenwash without having to go right under the bon<strong>net</strong>.<br />
The engines offered will range from an entry-level 1.4 litre<br />
up to a 1.8 20 valve turbo and rumours of the 2.3 Litre V5<br />
engine also.<br />
The new Ibiza will share its platform with the next<br />
generation Volkswagen Polo, due on sale next year, and<br />
the Skoda Fabia, though it will be styled and tweaked to be<br />
the most sporty of the VAG family.<br />
Expect the range topping Cupra and V5 models to appear 12 months after the initial<br />
models.<br />
Some press circles are rumouring that an annoucement could be made soon regarding<br />
the launch of the Ibiza, as always we’ll keep you posted.<br />
FRANKFURT<br />
MOTORSHOW<br />
As well as SEAT’s New Tango Concept which we have featured on the cover this issue and devoted a<br />
feature to on page . SEAT have also introduced a couple of inovations based on the New Arosa at<br />
Frankfurt this year.<br />
RACER<br />
The Arosa Racer is a genuine mini-sportscar with<br />
dynamic looks and a bright future –and it is<br />
rumoured to become the basis for a one make<br />
racing series too.<br />
Following a weight reduction programme and<br />
stripped of interior elements such as the rear seats<br />
and side panelling, the Arosa Racer is sportingly<br />
minimalist and is clearly designed for driving pleasure. Essential equipment such as bucket seats, four<br />
point racing harnesses and 15" exclusive alloy wheels are some of the details that underline its Racing<br />
nature.<br />
Developed jointly by the SEAT Technical<br />
Centre and SEAT Sport Research &<br />
Development, the Arosa Racer is<br />
powered by a 125 hp (92 kW) 1.6 MPi 16<br />
valve engine. Drive to the front wheels<br />
is via a 6-speed gearbox. Sports<br />
suspension and larger wheels help to ensure an exhilarating drive.<br />
CITY CRUISER<br />
The Arosa City Cruiser is a daring proposal for those who<br />
demand luxury in a compact city car. Although designed as a<br />
two-seater, the City Cruiser does have space for a junior<br />
member of the family when a special child’s seat is installed.<br />
At first glance it looks like a<br />
conventional Arosa, the only<br />
noticeable difference being its<br />
exclusive Shadow Grey colour. But<br />
inside it is anything but.<br />
The modular design of the interior sees the<br />
passenger seat moved to the rear, where it is flanked<br />
by a long list of purpose-designed accessories, including a child’s seat, a<br />
fridge-cum-bottle warmer, a PC "desk-top" surface and a removable storage<br />
chest that doubles as a suitcase. Using an easy anchoring system inspired by<br />
that in the Alhambra, all these accessories are kept securely in place when the<br />
City Cruiser is on the move.<br />
The Arosa Racer and City Cruiser represent much more than just simple exercises in style. Through<br />
these models, SEAT aims to emphasise not only the versatility of the Arosa, but also the non-conformist<br />
ideas of the young team of designers and creative directors of the Martorell Technical Centre, where<br />
SEAT’s dreams and emotions are brought to life.
PISCHETSRIEDER TAKES CONTROL<br />
Bernd Pischetsrieder, former boss of BMW, has been named as the<br />
new Chief Executive Officer of the Volkswagen Group. He will take<br />
over from retiring chief Ferdinand Piech next April; Piech will<br />
probably continue as chairman of the supervisory board.<br />
Pischetschrieder came under criticism for his handling of the<br />
ownership of Rover when at BMW, but he is respected for his focus<br />
on shareholders and investors. He has also worked within the VW<br />
Group since leaving BMW, as head of the Seat brand.<br />
FORMULA ONE RUMOURS ??<br />
Bernd Pischetsrieder, has shown interest in allowing the Volkswagen Group to enter<br />
into Formula one especially as the groups long time rival BMW is now involved.<br />
Piech the outgoing CEO of Volkswagen has always been distanced against a move,<br />
wanting to concentrate more on the consumer business, though its common<br />
knowledge that Pischetsrieder has shown an interest in Formula One and<br />
expanding the VW name into F1.<br />
If Volkswagen group was to enter into the Formula One fray some press believe<br />
they may enter under the SEAT Brand, being the sporty marque this seems to make<br />
sense, and SEAT Sports experience in the motorsport world, though the Audi brand<br />
may also be possible, due to their dominance in the sportcar field at LeMans.<br />
We’ll keep our eye on developments and report back the latest news if and when it<br />
happens.<br />
TOLEDO NOW BUILT IN SPAIN<br />
EXCEPT FOR THE ALHAMBRA, THE ENTIRE BRAND RANGE IS MANUFACTURED IN SPAIN<br />
SEAT starts production of the Toledo in Martorell<br />
Production of the Toledo model has begun at the SEAT factory<br />
in Martorell (Barcelona). Until now it had been manufactured<br />
in the Volkswagen Group factory in Brussels, Belgium. All of<br />
the Spanish brand’s products (Arosa, Córdoba, Ibiza, Inca,<br />
León and Toledo) are now currently being built in Martorell,<br />
except the Alhambra, which is being manufactured in<br />
Portugal.<br />
from SEAT.com<br />
AURWINS FIRST TITLE FORSEAT<br />
ROMANIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
Constantin Aur / Silviu Moraru has won the Romanian Rally<br />
Championship with two rounds to go. By winning Banat Rally<br />
-the 8th round this season, the Seat driver has succeeded in<br />
becoming the first champion for the Spanish manufacturer<br />
this year in Europe.<br />
“I am happy for the result. This success is very important for<br />
the project that we are trying to develop together with Seat<br />
and Porsche Romania in my country and rewards all the<br />
support that I received from my sponsors. Also I have to<br />
thank to Seat Sport for their support and all my team”, said<br />
on the winner’s rostrum Constantin Aur.<br />
During the event Titi Aur was in command all the way from<br />
start to finish. He won 9 SS from the total of 11 and crossed<br />
the finish line more than 1 minute ahead of his next rival.<br />
By winning the 37th rally in his career, the Romanian driver<br />
becomes for the 6th time national champion adding the<br />
2001 trophy to those won in 1995,1997,1998,1999 and<br />
2000. This way he becomes the most successful driver in<br />
Romanian motorsport history.<br />
Final Rally Classification<br />
Championship Classification<br />
1. Aur / Moraru (SEAT Cordoba WRC) 52.42,6 1. Aur 60 puntos.<br />
2. Marisca / Itu (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6. 1 grN) 53.48.6 2. Leu 36.<br />
3. Ungur / Berghea (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6. 2 grN) 54.17.5 3. Ungur 28.<br />
4. Gartofan / Lazarescu (Subaru Impreza. 3grN) 1:00.00.7 4. Grigorescu 20.<br />
5. Graef / Hard (Ford Escort RS Cosworth) 1:00.16.9 5. Marisca 20.<br />
6. Preda / Carstea (Renault Clio Williams) 1:02.45.4 6. Gollner 16.<br />
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interest in Styling and Performance tuning of SEAT vehicles.<br />
RPM SEAT Hotline: 01823 664181 • EMAIL: rpm@richardsons-group.com<br />
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LEON & TOLEDO SILHOUETTE SUPERTOURING<br />
BOTH PERFORM WELL ON FIRST OUTINGS<br />
FRENCH SUPERTOURING CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
The SEAT Leon achieved a<br />
double podium in its debut<br />
The SEAT Leon Silhouette<br />
entered by the Snobeck team<br />
debuted last month in the<br />
French Supertouring<br />
Championship, achieving two<br />
podiums in both races along<br />
the circuit located in Albi.<br />
Snobeck’s team SEAT Leon, supported by SEAT France and SEAT<br />
Sport finished both races in third position driven by Christophe Bouchut, current FIA GT World<br />
Champion and winner in 1995 of the 24 Hours of Daytona and in 1993 winner of the 24 Hours of Le<br />
Mans.<br />
Classification race 1 (saturday, 1st Sept)<br />
Classification race 2 (sunday, 2nd Sept)<br />
1.Dayraut (BMW M3) 16.05.4 1.Dayraut (BMW M3) 28.08.2<br />
2.David (Peugeot 406) + 1.1 2.Sarrazin (BMW Coupe) + 4.4<br />
3.Bouchut (SEAT Leon) + 4.3 3.Bouchut (SEAT Leon) + 15.8<br />
4.Helary (Peugeot 406) + 7.1 4.David (Peugeot 406) + 17.5<br />
5.Tarrés (Opel Astra) + 7.8 5.Hernández (Ford Mondeo) + 22.9<br />
SEAT achieved a fantastic two fold podium the next weekend in its second participation in the french<br />
Supertouring Championship, this time with the new Toledo Silhouette supported by the Snobeck<br />
team, SEAT France and SEAT Sport. The driver was also new and instead of Bouchut, who was<br />
participating in the FIA GT in Madrid (Jarama circuit), Alain Cudini drove the Toledo and finished<br />
second in both races along last weekend.<br />
Cudini and the new Toledo Silhouette improved the first result achieved by SEAT in its first race in this<br />
Championship some weeks ago in the Albi circuit, where Bouchut and the Leon Silhouette finished<br />
in third position along the two races.<br />
Cudini drove superbly in both races but in the second one (sunday), after qualifying in sixth position<br />
after a little drove out, was the fastest car and finished second just a few seconds behind the winner.<br />
Alain Cudini: „I’m really impressed with the performance of the SEAT Toledo Silhouette. I’ve testing<br />
similar cars but the Toledo is fantastic and very easy to drive. I’m very happy with the result“<br />
GERMAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
SECOND CONSECUTIVE TITLE FOR SEAT & KAHLE<br />
Late last month SEAT won the Saarland Rally and became for consecutive time the German Rally<br />
Champions. The german driver Mathias Kahle was driving the SEAT Córdoba WRC and achieve third<br />
title in the German championship.<br />
Kahle and his Córdoba WRC have shown that they make<br />
a good couple, and here we have the results. They have<br />
won five of the six rallys, and when is only one race to<br />
finish Khale and his co-driver, Dieter Schneppenheim,<br />
obtained the second title of the season for SEAT. As<br />
Constantin Aur did in Rumania a few weeks ago.<br />
The ex-official driver of SEAT Sport, Erwin Weber, has<br />
managed the german team who has worked very well.<br />
They have taken the best of the Córboba WRC and they<br />
have shown that they are quite superior than the rest of<br />
his rivals.<br />
Mathias Khale: “ I’m very happy with this new award. It’s very importmant and significative that we<br />
have obtained this title for second time. Two years with SEAT, it means two victories. When you drive<br />
the Córdoba WRC is a grate sensation because it has an incredible potencial. The truht is that we<br />
haven’t got any problem with car, the only thing we know is that we have obtained five victories<br />
which has driven us to the top. I would love to thank everybody of our team because this is an award<br />
for every single person who has been working hard during the all season.<br />
Erwin Weber: “ We are very glad for again being the Champions of the German Rally. This was a<br />
very exiting rally for us and was<br />
very important to win. Mathias<br />
did a very good job and the<br />
mechanics made a great effort.<br />
We are feeling very proud to<br />
have achieve the first position,<br />
it’s fantastic.”<br />
Race 1 classification<br />
1.Radermecker (Opel) 12 laps on 22’12’’174. 2.Cudini (SEAT Toledo Silhouette)<br />
a 3’’271. 3.Dayraut (BMW) a 6’’694. 4.Hélary (Peugeot) a 7’’273.<br />
5.Orgeval (Peugeot) 14’’016. 6.Verbergt (Audi) a 16’’753.<br />
Race 2 classification<br />
1.Radermecker (Opel) 17 laps on 33’15’’666. 2.Cudini (SEAT<br />
Toledo Silhouette) a 3’’615. 3.Hélary (Peugeot) a 4’’225.<br />
4.David (Peugeot) a 4’’486. 5.Tarres (Opel) a 5’’161.<br />
6.Verbergt (Audi) a 12’’118.<br />
We’ll try to keep up with the latest happenings in the<br />
Silhouette camp, a very interesting series.
COVER FEATURE – SEAT TANGO<br />
“You’ve Been<br />
TANGO’d”<br />
By Mark Forbes<br />
the Tango being unveiled at Frankfurt in September<br />
Seat has revealed a new roadster concept, the Tango, at the Frankfurt<br />
Motor Show during September.<br />
Tango “has evoked the spirit of 50s and 60s convertibles through the use<br />
of pure, no-compromise design”, says Seat, yet also showcases new<br />
developments in lighting technology.<br />
So is it the next best thing or just a can of fizzy pop?<br />
'We'll build it if reaction is good enough,' says Seat, and judging by<br />
interest the Tango roadster has got at Frankfurt, it looks likely to go into<br />
production. An unusually retro Seat from the team headed up by ex-Alfa<br />
man Walter da Silva, the Tango 'interprets the essence of '50s and '60s<br />
sports cars from a 21st century perspective'. >>>>>
And 21st century it is: with a tubular structure<br />
taken from Seat Sports World Rally Car and a<br />
high-tech finish, it is certainly no throwback to<br />
the old era of open top sportscars.<br />
Its exoskeletal chassis remains visible in many<br />
places in the passenger compartment,<br />
contributing to a back-to-basics look with no<br />
unnecessary embellishments. Instead, you get<br />
rough metallic finishes and painted aluminium.<br />
This construction means that the Tango is light<br />
too, - the familiar VW Group 1.8 20VT 180 bhp<br />
engine can propel it from 0 to 60 mph in seven<br />
seconds, helped by a six-speed manual<br />
gearbox.<br />
Minimalist and functional, the Tango is more stripped out than the Audi TT and its formfollowing-function<br />
design includes waterproof leather upholstery, an adjustable pedal<br />
box (so that the driver's seat can be fixed into position) and bright fibre-optic tail-lights<br />
that do away with the need for separate bulbs and units. LEDs are also used for the<br />
foglamps, which are situated in the air-intake vents.<br />
The Tango could be marketed as a more affordable alternative to the Audi TT and a rival<br />
to the Mazda MX-5, MGF and Fiat Barchetta. Whether its design is suited to the<br />
British weather, im not so sure but its a bold statement and<br />
proof that more great things are to<br />
come from SEAT.<br />
If SEAT were to produce the<br />
Tango, i would’nt expect it<br />
before 2003, as the press are<br />
reporting most think the price<br />
would be competive ranging<br />
between £13,000 & £18,000.<br />
those softdrinks adverts, it sort of puts you off. But then again, now when you burn someone<br />
off the lights, you can truly say You’ve Been Tango’d!!<br />
If you’ve got any comments on the new Tango concept or anything in the magazine you<br />
want to talk about, or make your opinion heard write or email<br />
to the drivers club, remember its by the<br />
members for the members, so we<br />
need your input.<br />
The contact information is on<br />
page 5.<br />
My general feeling towards it is i<br />
like it, the design is fierce and<br />
bold, more Lotus Elise than<br />
hairdresser car, im not keen on the<br />
name too much, maybe in Europe<br />
its a choice name but after all
TRAX 2001<br />
Report by Mark Forbes<br />
Photos by Martyn Thomas<br />
contributions by<br />
Alex French<br />
Mike Smith<br />
Christian Middlemiss<br />
"What do John and Dave Clark have in common in the<br />
above picture? They're both turning sausages!"<br />
At the beginning of September the SEAT Drivers Club members<br />
attended our first proper car show event. But not wanting to do<br />
things small we decided to attend one of Europes biggest shows<br />
for car clubs which attracts a wide selection of cars, that being<br />
TRAX 2001 at Silverstone Racecircuit in Northampton.<br />
This is the first time a real SEAT gathering has taken place at Trax,<br />
and we generated a lot of interest as a result. Even Dave Clark<br />
friend of the club and top GT Racer popped along to say hello.<br />
It was a superb day and all who attended had a great day out, i’d<br />
like to thank on behalf of the club, everybody<br />
who made the effort to attend i hope you<br />
enjoyed it as much as i did. We plan to<br />
attend many more next year<br />
Over the next few pages are a couple of<br />
personal accounts of the day and a selection<br />
of the photos taken by myself and Martyn<br />
Thomas, thanks to him for his excellent snapshots.<br />
"Paul looked concerned as the silver<br />
ibiza slowly crept up on him"
By Mike Smith<br />
‘Ten more minutes’ I thought as I pressed the snooze button on my alarm.<br />
Half past three is early by any<br />
standards, and with a three hour<br />
drive ahead, the thought of actually<br />
getting up was getting less<br />
appealing. After hauling myself out<br />
of bed, getting showered and<br />
dressed, I went to see if my freshly<br />
polished paintwork had been<br />
vandalised during the night by the<br />
local Albatross. Luckily, my early<br />
start was too early for that early<br />
bird and my car had escaped its ritual dirtying for a change.<br />
Meeting at Towcester services, we turned into the car park, full of neatly<br />
parked SEATs with time to spare, enough to enjoy a welcome “Maccy D”<br />
breakfast. Dave and John gathered everyone up to hand out tickets and<br />
parking passes. We had twenty passes and twenty one (or twenty two<br />
depending on who counted) cars. Somehow everyone managed to get a<br />
pass, causing a puzzle which no doubt no-one has solved yet. With the<br />
formalities dealt with, we started the short journey onwards, in procession<br />
to hallowed Silverstone circuit.<br />
The trek from the entrance to where our stand was situated was a slow<br />
crawl. Passing through the tunnel leading into the inner grounds of the<br />
circuit caused some excitement to many a Nova driver, deciding to show<br />
their joy to all by sounding their horn, and echoing the sound of their Peco<br />
Big Bore’s off the tunnel walls. Reaching the stand was met by probably<br />
the same reaction as all of us – “how the hell are we going to fit twenty<br />
cars in here”? With careful parking and<br />
much debating on colour coordination, the<br />
stand was ready and people could begin<br />
the chore of cleaning their car.<br />
TRAX 2001TRAX 2001 REPORT 1<br />
With my car gleaming, a couple of us<br />
decided to take a tour of what lay beyond<br />
our little stand. The club stand area<br />
seemed awash with Vauxhalls and Fords,<br />
with little deviation. Reaching the main<br />
trade area, magazine stands dominated<br />
the section with many a familiar car parked<br />
in front of them. Some of the cars that I<br />
had previously idolised were disappointing<br />
yet other looking even more appealing in<br />
the flesh. Its amazing what photography<br />
can do for you motor, I guess cars can be<br />
photogenic too!<br />
After paying a small fortune for a burger and a<br />
coke we headed back to the stand. Luckily, I<br />
mean unfortunately, we had already eaten as<br />
the barbeque was in full swing, bellowing<br />
smoke over the shiny paintwork of nearby cars.<br />
My dad started begging me to take his newly<br />
AmD chipped 20VT Ibiza up the 0-60 sprint,<br />
who was I to disappoint? With the tickets sorted<br />
and the shuffling of cars, I was in the queue and<br />
the nerves setting in.<br />
My dad had set a target of getting a sub seven<br />
time, I was planning on using the old “I’m not used to this car” as my back up if I failed.<br />
Not long after, it was me up next, and the Corvette in front of me had just done a blistering<br />
5.4, struggling to put traction down. I rolled up to the starting point, traction control off.<br />
Waiting for the green light I held the revs at 5500rpm. Lights turning to green, I dumped<br />
the clutch to nothing. Using the same technique for a good start in my 16v clearly didn’t<br />
work, as me and the car sat there taking months off the tyre tread. Seven and half<br />
seconds was the best I managed this time. I had three tickets left. After another half-hour<br />
queue, I was up again. I thought I’d try it with traction control this time. Revs held at<br />
4500rpm, lights go green and I’m off, I see the traction control light flicker and could feel<br />
the power being cut. I remember seeing six seconds as I passed the display last time, and<br />
sure enough it was six seconds again. I phoned my dad to see what I had this time:<br />
another failure, 7.3. The third run pulled a similar time.<br />
On my last run, I’d started to get a feel for the car and was confident enough to try it with<br />
out traction control again. I pulled up at the lights with considerably less revs this time.<br />
Again I dumped the clutch as the lights changed from red to green and the wheels<br />
immediately started to spin. I lifted off the throttle slightly and was off. The power band<br />
on the car is amazing and completely different to my car. There’s no waiting for the revs<br />
to build to 4000 for that 16v magic. This<br />
time the car feels much faster and I fly<br />
past the display with five seconds<br />
showing. Grinning, I phoned my dad<br />
only to be told I’d managed a 7.1.<br />
Disappointed, I parked the car up and<br />
waited for him. The bugger had lied and<br />
I’d done a 6.78.<br />
The day was getting late and we<br />
decided to have a last wander round before we left for a dreaded journey back up North.<br />
Seeing nothing new, we returned to the club stand to see most of the others had buggered<br />
off without saying bye. Leaving Glyn’s car all alone we made our way out. The journey<br />
home saw the rain downpour, thankful for holding off for so long we made our way up the<br />
M6 with wipers on full speed.<br />
Bring on Trax 2002!
TRAX 2001<br />
TRAX 2001 REPORT 2<br />
By Christian Middlemiss<br />
At 10:30 on a Saturday morning<br />
what a time to get up never<br />
normally see the sun before 12 but<br />
hey it was for a good cause, have<br />
brekkie go out and wash and wax<br />
my baby ready for the 4 hour trip<br />
south to Trax. When we arrive at<br />
the hotel i’m reminded of the pub<br />
from American Werewolf in<br />
London, what a complete dump in<br />
the middle of no-where (Fox and<br />
Hounds in Whittlebury don’t go "You see this finger??? That's why Martyn's smiling..."<br />
there). No toilet or cupboard in the<br />
room no facilities as you can imagine the good missus was not amused. I thought<br />
never mind a few bevies in the pub and all will be fine well after the 3 mile walk<br />
to the pub I forgot which one to meet in and my phone address book was<br />
knackered so I couldn’t contact anyone fek could it get any worse! Still started to<br />
watch the match and several pints later wasn’t feeling too bad, it was only<br />
Mark’s good foresight, in that he rang me to see where I was and luckily enough<br />
I picked the same pub as the rest of the crowd. England winning against<br />
Germany Saul nearly getting in to a fight with someone kicking a ball at his car<br />
and a Ruby later things were looking up.<br />
Early Sunday morning and we are up and out ready to meet at the Towcester<br />
Services for the convoy to Silverstone. The dual carriageway outside the Services<br />
was turned into a bit of a makeshift racetrack with a long procession of modded<br />
motors tearing past the services showing what they’ve got making me wish<br />
everyone would hurry up so we could get there and experience everything that<br />
is TRAX.<br />
Despite the fact it was early<br />
Sunday morning and everyone<br />
was feeling a bit worse for wear<br />
the drive into Silverstone soon<br />
woke me up the road was a bit<br />
rough to say the least and all the<br />
hard work of cleaning the<br />
motors was out the window as<br />
we travelled down the roughest<br />
dirtiest bit of track ever to get to<br />
our stand sorry Mark you may<br />
have spent the longest time I’ve ever seen in a jetwash but it all went out the<br />
window after the dust of that track. (Not as long as Saul) *Mark<br />
We all got parked up in the right order “eventually” and it was time to<br />
experience all that is trax. Once we had fought our way through the sea of Novas<br />
and Fords, I couldn’t believe how many there were the sad b*rds there were<br />
several smart cars that stood out though, the Purple modded Scooby (Redline cover car) was mint and<br />
have you ever seen so many Evo’s and P1’s in one place ever! I was in petrol head heaven. The two<br />
things that will remind me of Trax are the mental Porsche that flew through the sprints and the stoopid<br />
ass in the p1 that totalled his car on the track tee hee<br />
what a spoon.<br />
For my first southern car show I was well impressed<br />
with the quantity and quality of most of the cars<br />
(excluding the obvious), but out of all the stands I<br />
would say ours was one of the most professional a<br />
lot more so than some of the larger big named clubs.<br />
John did a superb job of playing the wife and<br />
cooking on the BBQ, the car spec sheets and sign<br />
were of such high quality that everyone noticed how<br />
professional the club is and they brought some much<br />
needed attention to our ever-growing club. A top shout goes out to everyone involved in the<br />
organising of the event (you know who you are), for a perfect day infact it was soo good even our pet<br />
monkey was well behaved tee hee.<br />
All that’s left to be said is roll on the Three<br />
Sisters (no not one of Dave’s fantasies), so we<br />
can prove that we are as cool and<br />
professional on the track as we are at the<br />
shows, infact I bet we surprise quite a lot of<br />
people with how swift our cars really are<br />
See you all there for another top day.<br />
"i tell you - I<br />
need balls this<br />
big to go out on<br />
the track"
CLUB EVENTS<br />
Gerrofff mahhh<br />
Larnnndd<br />
Curborough<br />
Track Day<br />
WOMBLE<br />
FREE ZONE<br />
The group gathered to see David<br />
perform the famous monkey dance<br />
Well another day, another few millimetres of rubber gone from<br />
everyone’s tyres. Yet again, another hugely successful track day<br />
was held on the 2nd November at Curborough Sprint course. A<br />
new venue for one of our events, but a very challenging circuit,<br />
with plenty of opportunities to out brake yourself, as<br />
demonstrated by a certain yellow Ibiza 16V and a yellow Leon<br />
1.8T.<br />
A wide range of vehicles were there<br />
from 1.4 Ibiza’s to modified 1.8T Ibiza’s<br />
Everyone thought Johns<br />
impression of Chaz and Daves<br />
rabbit.rabbit.rabbit sucked.<br />
But Kylies Spinning around<br />
was better<br />
as well as many Cordoba’s and a couple of Leon’s, with one of the<br />
Cordoba’s making the long trip from Ireland, that was also the<br />
favourite to spin off, but more by luck than judgement somehow he<br />
managed to keep it on the grey stuff, but plenty of others made<br />
quick trips onto the grass. Steve “Nutter” Hutchinson was his normal<br />
self, put a rear wheel onto the grass and spun out at the chicane, while<br />
Mark Jones and Phil Parker, both managed to out brake themselves at the<br />
end of the long straight, but both got away with nothing but a few blades of grass in the<br />
suspension.<br />
Running the track clockwise to start with, each car went out one at a time, then later we ran the<br />
track anti clockwise, and in hindsight, that was not a good move, as there was plenty of drivers<br />
with very worried faces at both the top and bottom bends as there car understeered closer and<br />
closer to the grass each lap. Just before the end of the day, Bob Nash took the SEAT Drivers<br />
Club sponsored rally car out on track, and put in some very quick times, entertaining everyone<br />
at the same time.<br />
Scott’s Jap Look Cordoba, was an<br />
eyecatcher. Seemed to get John all<br />
excited, he just couldnt help himself.<br />
As usual many thanks to everyone that helped in both organising the event beforehand, and<br />
helping to run the event on the day (Mark P, Mark F, David, Pete, Saul) and anyone else I’ve<br />
forgot, now we start to work on next years track days.<br />
A big thank you goes out to the people who came on the day, hope you all enjoyed it and we<br />
hope we can organise bigger and better events in 2002.<br />
Now feast your eyes on the photo’s and a report by Saul too. >>><br />
Usage of oil was<br />
optional. ;-)
CLUB EVENTS<br />
Mark leaves it late and proves the<br />
Ibiza is indeed a Rally Legend.<br />
in first then booting the throttle, trying to get those precious PSI's into<br />
their tyres, and the temperatures through those EBC's.<br />
Well, im awake on a Friday morning at 7am to go and wash the<br />
car and try and get some final adjustments done (like changing the<br />
cd's in the changer etc)<br />
However by 8am i realise i should have been out of bed an hour<br />
ago, so have to bypass the "thorough" car wash and settle for<br />
the express one. Im meeting Mr Forbes at 9-30 so dont want to<br />
be late.<br />
At 9-23 i leave my house for the 10 mile trip to our meeting place at<br />
Knutsford to find Mark rather damp, "she told me the end was a bit<br />
dodgy," OK mate, each to their own, as we decided it would be better to<br />
not wash the cars anymore as our attempts were<br />
failing miserably, we set off for Lichfield/Curborough.<br />
Hitchhikers were a<br />
constant problem.<br />
Prayers were said to<br />
the tyre smokin god.<br />
Fought the usual friday M6 traffic, down the speed camera infested<br />
A50/51 and on towards Halliards Cross, which is now Fradley Park for<br />
those who like us, missed it the first time.<br />
We turn up to Curborough to be met by a man resembling a monkey<br />
with a strange London accent swearing at us, ok i thought, bit strange,<br />
but we gave him some peanuts and he let us pass onto the circuit. The<br />
low down hum of 2.0 engines, rattly cams and whining turbos greeted<br />
Zboyd and myself, shortly followed by a loud cheer and ferocious<br />
clapping, "oh yes" i thought "they have realised that 'Saul Senna' and<br />
'Mark Mansell' have arrived"<br />
Alas the cheers were not for us, they were for our founder and leader<br />
Mr Burton, not for displaying his excellent car controlling abilities, nor<br />
his knowledge of the Curborough track but for spinning his passion<br />
wagon at the first corner on his first attempt. "Its my tires!" he<br />
proclaimed wildly, ok John, we believe you. By this time anticipation<br />
has taken hold of the group, we say our hellos and the meeting is<br />
called to a point, we get the usual "be sensible" and "take it easy on<br />
that corner" speech from said spinner, and we take to the parade lap.<br />
This is now beginning to resemble an F1 warmup, people are crawling<br />
Then we all peel off and decide to go for a bacon butty. However,<br />
shock takes over the camp, word is passing through that the nice<br />
lady operating the "restaurant" has only brought 20 buns, panic<br />
starts to set in among the competi.....ahem, i mean fellow drivers<br />
club members, This panic is raised to a feverish state when glyn is<br />
spotted prowling the butty area like a lion on his savannah, i can<br />
read his thoughts "Im the daaaddy naah!"<br />
We all decide to let Mr H get the food in first to save bloodshed, and one<br />
by one we pile onto the track.<br />
down the straight.<br />
Save of the day for me was Bill Brockbanks mate in the<br />
Mk1 Golf, major sideways after a new Anti Roll bar, and<br />
a great recovery.<br />
The light started to fade as Bob Nash in the rally car go<br />
for a full run, after a few more laps it was decided that<br />
we were all still alive and able to drive our machines<br />
home, so it was as good a time as any to call it a night.<br />
A great day was had by all, it made an interesting and<br />
fun track day compared to Alconbury, however i hope<br />
we are back in Peterborough next year as the run offs<br />
are much bigger and the bars stay open later :)<br />
Its all going well, no major offs, people beginning to find their<br />
lines throughout the tight and twisty tarmac. Then we get<br />
a little more confident, and things start happening.<br />
I see a black flash and blood curdling tyre squeel as<br />
Brendy pulverises his car into submission, Steve H, by<br />
some act of god, manages to keep his car the right way<br />
up, and Mr Mark Jones clumps his sump in masterful<br />
fashion in an immortal conquest of late breaking.<br />
Others are having fun too, Mr P takes the TT for a spin and<br />
turns in a very respectable time. The 16V lads are having<br />
fun with their new cams, and their cars sound great belting<br />
Thanks to all who helped on the day and in organising the event, im sure i convey everyones thanks.<br />
Saul<br />
PS Anyone know if that monkey is available for hire?<br />
Can’t be any worse than a BurgerKing kids party..... eh Saul. :-) (Mark)<br />
Brendy needed parts<br />
so set about<br />
stripping the TT.
(8) Take your new cone filter and insert the plastic L-piece in the<br />
small hole in the rubber base of the filter.<br />
How to fit a K&N 57i induction kit for Seat Ibiza 1.4-1.6 MPI 96><br />
by Big Stu<br />
Want to gain more power from a standard engine? An induction kit is one of a few simple<br />
modifications you can make to unleash more power and is easier to install yourself than<br />
you might think.<br />
You will need:<br />
K&N 57i induction kit (57-0193-1).<br />
Small head Phillips screwdriver.<br />
Long flat head screwdriver.<br />
Wire cutters.<br />
Carburettor cleaner.<br />
Piece of rag<br />
(1) Release and open bon<strong>net</strong>.<br />
(2) Identify the OE air-box; it’s the big black thing sitting on top of the engine.<br />
(3) Disconnect the warm air pipe<br />
from the exhaust manifold, which<br />
feeds the intake neck of the air-box.<br />
(4) Undo screws on the top of the<br />
air-box marked with arrows using a<br />
small Phillips screwdriver.<br />
(5) Pull the air-box upwards, you will<br />
find an oil breather or pipe<br />
connected to the base of the air-box,<br />
disconnect this pipe,<br />
(6) Withdraw air-box from engine<br />
bay.<br />
(7) Clean and degrease the neck and inside of the airflow meter which sits on top of the<br />
inlet manifold with carburettor cleaner (don’t worry if the car will not start first time after<br />
using this) for higher mileage cars it might be worth buying a can 10K boost as well while<br />
you are at this stage.<br />
(9) Fit the short length of hose supplied, to the L-piece in the filter.<br />
(10) Place the filter with the jubilee clamp on to the airflow meter, with the L-piece and<br />
hose closest to the cam cover, making sure that the K&N logo is straight and parallel with<br />
the cam cover.<br />
(11) Push the end of the hose from underneath the cone filter into the oil breather pipe that<br />
you disconnected from the OE air-box.<br />
(12) Position the jubilee clamp so you can easily adjust it and tighten it.<br />
(13) Make sure and Check that nothing interferes with the operation of the throttle cable<br />
and mechanism.<br />
(14) Take the cold air hose and stretch it out a little.<br />
(15) An ideal place to position the “inlet” end of the cold air hose is an aperture directly<br />
behind the grill next to the radiator; use a cable tie to firmly secure the hose to the<br />
radiator, using a handy bracket on the radiator itself. Don’t over tighten the cable tie or<br />
you may crush the cold air hose snip off any<br />
excess cable tie<br />
(16) Route the cold air hose around the side of<br />
the engine right next to the cam belt cover<br />
and secure the pipe to the bracket once used<br />
by the warm air hose on the OE air-box with a<br />
cable tie, then secure the cold air hose to the<br />
dipstick tube using another cable tie, not<br />
dipstick itself<br />
(17) Angle the “outlet” end of the cold air hose<br />
towards the cone filter, the manufacturer<br />
states that the outlet of the hose must be no<br />
nearer than 10cm to the cone filter. Positioning the hose closer than this or right up against<br />
the cone filter itself will be more beneficial, but the filter may require more servicing as it<br />
will be prone to clogging up. The choice is up to you.<br />
(18) Make a final check of everything that you have done, remove tools, close the bon<strong>net</strong><br />
and go for a drive. Job done.<br />
If you’ve fitted a new toy or have done something to your car and wish to<br />
share the experience good or bad with the rest of us. Please contact us<br />
so we can publish it.
PITLANE<br />
This is the section of the magazine we dedicate to something related to<br />
lifestyle, whether that be movies, videos or the very latest computer<br />
games.<br />
CLASSIFIEDS<br />
GOT SOMETHING TO SELL? OR TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING?<br />
THIS IS THE PLACE TO PUT IT.<br />
The<br />
FAST &<br />
The Furious<br />
The film has been in cinemas for a few weeks<br />
now and has succeeded in pulling in the crowds,<br />
just as it did in its American release.<br />
Starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker and based in the world of illegal street racing the action<br />
packed storyline includes lorry hijacking and gang warfare.<br />
The main stars of the film however are the cars they are mainly Japanese imports and<br />
include Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and VW. With big wings,<br />
carbon fibre bon<strong>net</strong>s, extreme graphics and engine tuning to<br />
make them ‘Ten second cars’. There’s nitrous by the<br />
bucketload with the effects being amplified by the<br />
camera speed. At the push of a button these<br />
amazingly quick motors turn into road rockets! You<br />
will definitely want a Supra by the time you come<br />
out of the cinema!<br />
There have been mixed feelings towards this film<br />
due to the slightly unrealistic cars and race scenes.<br />
It is a boy racer’s dream and is fairly obviously<br />
aimed at a 20-something audience. It does<br />
however have a touch of class and the cars are<br />
definitely something special.<br />
-40mm Terra lowering springs 96-99<br />
Seat Ibiza £offers or swap.<br />
contact: stuart.brewer@talk21.com<br />
WEBSITE LINKS<br />
DRIVERS CLUB OFFICIAL SITES<br />
SEAT DRIVERS CLUB<br />
SEATCUPRA NET<br />
APPROVED STYLING AND MODIFICATION DEALERS<br />
SJB SPORT<br />
RPM (Richardsons Motorsport)<br />
Badger 5 Throttle Bodies<br />
Automotive Developments<br />
APPROVED DEALERS<br />
Amethyst Motor Company<br />
Richardsons<br />
OWNERS WEBSITES<br />
Cupra Sport UK<br />
www.seatdriversclub.co.uk<br />
www.seatcupra.<strong>net</strong><br />
www.sjbsport.co.uk<br />
www.richardsons-group.com<br />
www.badger5.co.uk<br />
www.auto-amd.com<br />
www.amethystmotor.co.uk<br />
www.richardsons-group.com<br />
http://cuprasport.cjb.<strong>net</strong><br />
If you’ve not yet seen the film then you should but if<br />
you’re still not sure, visit:<br />
http://www.thefastandthefurious.com<br />
http://www.maxpower.co.uk/thefastandthefurious<br />
http://www.nira.com<br />
By Alex French<br />
SEAT<br />
SEAT UK<br />
SEAT (Spa) MAIN<br />
SEAT Sport<br />
OTHER LINKS<br />
www.seat.co.uk<br />
www.seat.com<br />
http://seat-sport.seat.es/