alexb back again!

alexb · Post by **alexb** » Wed May 04, 2011 12:27 pm

Hi all,

After a long time away I'm back

It was down to various reasons but having to work ~70 hour weeks in a very stressful job at a company going down the tubes and the break up of my marriage kind of took over things.

Luckily that is behind me now. I handed in my notice and am now in a much better job in a successful company, and I'm very happy in a relationship with a lovely girl.

More to the point, I have a new daily drive - a 2010 BMW 120d M Sport Coupe. As an ex-BMW managment car it's done under 5k miles since May '10, and has a fairly nice spec on top of the standard M Sport kit:

Black leather
18" 261M alloys
Comfort pack (auto wipers, auto lights, armrest, puddle lights in door handles)
Cruise control
Professional radio upgrade
Brushed aluminium trim
USB audio interface
Bluetooth phone prep
Electric folding mirrors
Heated seats
Sun protection glass

Facelift 120d engine is 177BHP and 350Nm which makes for fairly brisk progress for a soot chucker and the Efficient Dynamics stuff (stop/start, brake energy regeneration etc) means I get about 50 MPG most of the time almost independent of driving style, and the engine still needs to loosen up which will help further.

Pics:

I've still got the EK9 Civic which is now going to become a road-legal track day car, it needs a bit of TLC though which has started with a general fettle and service before I decide on more stuff to do

Looking forward to trying new Snetterton at some point soon.

Cheers,
Alex

Rob S · Post by **Rob S** » Wed May 04, 2011 1:21 pm

Looks a cracking car mate, (it's amazing the shit people can get over with a bit of time and support.)
I fancy a hatch version myself if I had to get a grown up car.

Mr Windscreen · Post by **Mr Windscreen** » Wed May 04, 2011 2:28 pm

Hi alex, so you,ve still got the ek9, i,ve moved on to a JDM Sti also in white.

Post by **Ben** » Wed May 04, 2011 4:21 pm

Hello buddy welcome back .. sorry to hear about the rough time

... but back bigger and better, what did you do with the Civic?

RX7 · Post by **RX7** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:03 pm

Nice to see you back Alex, as I said to you before its been a rough time for you but good to see you have pulled through. Nice to finally see pics of the motor also. Looks a corker.

When we spoke last time you hadnt any intention of selling the EK9.......surely that BM wont become the track car

alexb · Post by **alexb** » Wed May 04, 2011 7:45 pm

Rob S wrote:Looks a cracking car mate, (it's amazing the shit people can get over with a bit of time and support.)
I fancy a hatch version myself if I had to get a grown up car.

Cheers mate, yeah the hatch version is pretty nice too, the 123d (twin turbo 2L) is really nice and puts out over 200 brake as standard, will probably be the next one I go for (but still as a coupe).

alexb · Post by **alexb** » Wed May 04, 2011 7:46 pm

Mr Windscreen wrote:Hi alex, so you,ve still got the ek9, i,ve moved on to a JDM Sti also in white.

Hi mate, yeah I saw that - nice

Hope you're enjoying it.

alexb · Post by **alexb** » Wed May 04, 2011 7:48 pm

Ben wrote:Hello buddy welcome back .. sorry to hear about the rough time ... but back bigger and better, what did you do with the Civic?

Ben, read to the end of my post

Good to be back and having time and inclination to be thinking about the cars

alexb · Post by **alexb** » Wed May 04, 2011 7:51 pm

RX7 wrote:Nice to see you back Alex, as I said to you before its been a rough time for you but good to see you have pulled through. Nice to finally see pics of the motor also. Looks a corker.

When we spoke last time you hadnt any intention of selling the EK9.......surely that BM wont become the track car

G - some people over on the BM forum I'm on were trying to convince me that the 120d is a good track car by showing examples of 1er race diesels. I'm not convinced though, without some mods anyway. No LSD, albeit clever but still electric power steering, so-so brakes etc means the Civic will always be my preference - plus it's worth shitloads less if I stack it!

Post by **Stuart** » Wed May 04, 2011 8:07 pm

Going for the BM on track over the Civic would be like going for some underfed, malnourished model over someone like Jenna Jameson. Sure, one is the older version but you know which one is going to give you better ride

Nice to see you back on board mate. Remember, everyone stumbles from time to time, but it's how you get back up that counts

I look forward to seeing you and either car back at the new Snetterton very soon. You will love the new infield section and your EK9 will shine around there.