My friend Tom has just been round to show me his new purchase: a 2008 Impreza STI. Typically I didn’t take a photo of the whole car, but I did take a picture of its brakes.

Ok, so they’re not floating or drilled like the 330d’s, but that is a multipot caliper, so I was pleased. I was significantly more pleased to be given the keys for a test drive. Turning from a T-junction onto a trunk road, let there be no doubt that despite a 100hp disadvantage, this car would ruin the M5. Grip grip grip grip grippy grip grip all the way through 90 degrees to the speed limit all in just a passenger’s gasp. Nice solid brakes, sharp steering, joyous.

It’s got a fancy trick variable centre differential. I tried to molest this in such a way that would, shall we say, make it behave more like the M5. Instead it just got a bit twitchy, and eventually my mechanical sympathy made me stop.  Having calmed down, I decided it’s a lovely place to be, despite not being as opulent as the big 5.

The turbocharged 2.5 litre engine certainly seemed to drink as courageously as the M5 too – around 21mpg for a mixed bag it would seem.

I love the way that the rpm dial takes centre stage on the dashboard, with the speedo as an apparent afterthought. The seats are dead comfy, and the controls are nicely driver focused – I especially liked the short shift gearbox.

The power all lurks relatively high up in the rev range and there is of course some turbo lag, but this is without doubt an extremely fun car, and on the road, undoubtedly a quicker A to B machine than the M5.

So bravo to Tom – it’s been over 7 years since his last Impreza, and indeed about 3 years since Smith moved on his WRX wagon, so I’ve certainly missed these machines.

I wonder if we might see this, the M5, and a certain E46 M3 at the Nurburgring later this year…?

Yesterday marked my annual trip to the Wyedean rally. Last year I took Brenden, the year before Robin, and prior to that Diane, but this year I took Snoop…

… to meet Barden…

I got up at 5:20, was out the door with the dog by 6:15, and met Alex at the Shell garage in Monmouth at 8:25. Alex had certainly done his homework, and we headed straight to Speech House to park up and find a tasty corner on SS3 where the first car was due to run at 9:51. On our way to what on the map looked like the best bet, we stumbled upon a chicane which, as a navigator (and indeed I imagine as a driver), would have shocked me. Foolishly I didn’t take a wide angle shot of the situation, but here’s an attempt:

So you arrive from the right of the photo in the distance, and the notes will tell you that you face a right-then-left chicane.

The track curves about 70 degrees right, then curves left again which is the track you see in the foreground. However, that’s roped off to the tree, as you can see, and the correct line is, as demonstrated by car 327 here, to continue right and then do a 90 left around the tree. However, let me assure you that at competitive pace that red and white tape from the tree isn’t really obvious at all, and it looks like you’re supposed to pass to the left of the tree. Which happened repeatedly, as demonstrated here:

Sometime people would get it right. Sometimes people would plough under the rope, then turn right around the tree, get confused, and then get stuck. Sometimes people would realise too late that they needed to turn right more, and oversteer into the tree. That happened twice. As a spectator, this was fantastic; I’m sure the competitors weren’t quite as happy about it.  Still, we saw some of our old favourites:

And then the really pacey cars were out:

There was one rather interesting point where some deer crossed the track, but fortunately they got out of the way before the next car arrived.

In the afternoon we moved to SS6, and found a more traditional corner, hoping for some tasty sideways action. We weren’t disappointed!

There were even a couple of E30s out to play – sorry about the blurry photo Robin!

Finally, right at the end of the day, I got to do what I love best – car rescuing:

This chap had managed to get the car to turn 90 degrees right okay, but simply slid off the edge of the track where he got wedged on his belly panel. A team of around 10 spectators got him going again, although he lost nearly 10 minutes in the process.

On the way back we encountered this sad sight – I hope they get it re-shelled okay.

Overall, another great day out. Thanks to Alex for his hospitality again – I’m already looking forward to next year!

Unless this is the first sentence of mine you’ve ever read you’ll know that despite being a BMW fan-boy, I am eternally disappointed by their brakes. It’s not that they don’t stop well enough, or that they overheat, it’s that the discs warp, and that happens well before the pads are so much as half worn. It was an ongoing problem with my E36 M3s, it was an issue with my E36 328i (until I upgraded to drilled discs) and with this 330d, the situation has been chronic. Here are relevant excerpts from my 330d maintenance list:

• 26/09/2010 – front discs replaced (warped)
• 11/06/2010 – rear discs & pads replaced
• 11/06/2010 – rear right caliper replaced
• 25/10/2009 – Front nearside caliper replaced
• 24/10/2009 – Front discs & pads replaced
• 27/09/2008 – Rear brake pads and sensor replaced
• 18/08/2007 – Front brake discs replaced (warped)
• 24/03/2007 – Front discs and pads replaced
• 01/04/2006 – Front discs & pads replaced

We got the car in March 2006, so in 5 years and 50,000 miles, including today’s episode, I’ve replaced the front rotors 6 times. Good going, eh? In the past I started replacing with genuine BMW items, then as the tedium set in, I reverted to ECP’s finest. This time, thanks in part to advice from Jim Marren, I’ve “invested” in BMW’s new drilled and floating disc offering for the 330d. So this morning, I set about the replacement job. Before – standard massive rotors:

Up we go – by now an all too familiar pose:

Wheel off:

Caliper off:

Carrier and disc off:

On the near side (the side that seems to warp worst), I’ve elected to also replace the caliper as I suspect it of sticking (it is nearly 14 months old now after all). ECP offer a Pagid refurbished item for only £97.20 if you give them your old unit, so I taped up the hose and nipped into town to make the purchase.

Now we get to the good bit. How’s about this then for a bit of bling brakey-brakey action?

So, what are they?

They are obviously drilled, but they are also “floating”, which means the outer disc part (that comes into contact with the pads) isn’t the same piece that the wheel is clamped to on the hub – the two different materials are connected by a series of “bobbins” that reduce heat transfer and permit some adjustment as the disc changes shape subtly with temperature. This is supposed to reduce the chances of warping. The drilled holes help with heat dissipation, removing gases that are created under braking, and even stopping a film of water developing on the disc surface in wet weather.

My E36 M3 Evos has floating discs; their brakes warped all the time. However, I fitted drilled discs to my 328i and the brakes were just lovely from that point on, so here’s hoping! Final information about the discs:

B34.11.2.282.871 – left disc – £144.17 + VAT
B34.11.2.282.872 – right disc – £144.17 + VAT

Pricey. Time will tell if they’re worth it!