The South African Feel Good Thread

[Fish Eagle]

Please share your "feel good" stories here...
LG - Life's Good!!

Here's mine, otherwise known as the Rabid Ramblings of a Raving Mad old 86'er:

The tail end of 2013 is really starting to look up!!

Firstly, JouMaSeWhatever and Nelspruit Imperial seem to have something really cool up their sleeves for October.
Drooling in anticipation!! But I'm going to beat him black and blue if he doesn't tell me what he's planning...

Secondly, I've managed to semi-convince Lindy that it's OK to put my new(ish) car onto a racetrack and play with it - coming soon...
I found a second-hand helmet for next to nothing, and bought a bottle of brave pills, so I'm ready. Oh yeah!!
It's a Darth Vader helmet, so I must learn to say "I AM YOUR FATHA" convincingly.

Thirdly, three days after the Lowveld Breakfast Run in October, we leave for a month-long road trip around the country. Normally we'd take the Forester, a luggage trailer, a mountain of camping crap, and the kitchen sink, but this time we're just taking a change of underclothes and the 86!! Whoopee!!

What an exciting "get-out-of-the-rut" change for us old fuddy-duddies. And being serious geocachers (despite the 86 not being the best geocaching wheels - LOL), we'll be caching up a storm across our beautiful country. Huh, what's geocaching? http://www.geocaching.com/guide/

Fourthly, I'm feeling so much safer having recently invested in a radar and laser detector to warn me of possible road hazards. I've also managed to find a website with all the GPS co-ords of the pole-mounted type of road hazards, and the co-ords of known hand-held road hazard locations. Being an experienced GPS user, these files of waypoints give me great comfort especially when embarking on a long road trip through hazardous areas like the Karoo and Free State.


Fifthly, after Lindy and I having both had a wobbly run health-wise during the last three years, we're now firing on all cylinders again - so let the fun begin.....

And finally - I'm loving my car more and more every day. Initially, I thought I'd have to go the FI route, but now I'm actually 100% OK with the power. I'm crazy about my sticky tyres, and I get a serious adrenaline high in our Lowveld twisties without even getting near the redline. You really don't have to have a lot of horsepower to have a lot of fun.

I'm 10,000kms into my 86, so I reckon the novelty should have worn off by now - but it hasn't.

I've been blessed to have owned some very special cars over the years, but this one is the besterest!!
It's just so much fun.

[brian_c_m]

Good vibes and a fun read. Thanks :-) I'm just past the 20,000km mark and the novelty has not worn off for me yet either. Best part of my day is driving into the office parking lot. It has smooth concrete floors and hairpin turns that lead to the lower basement levels. Everyday I give the throttle a good thump and slide my 86's ass around the corners :-D

[NamSin]

I'm sitting at 9987km and still look back when walking away from her. Doubt the novelty of this car will wear off any time soon - if ever.

[Ryan86]

Originally Posted by Fish Eagle

Please share your "feel good" stories here...

LG - Life's Good!!

Here's mine, otherwise known as the Rabid Ramblings of a Raving Mad old 86'er:

The tail end of 2013 is really starting to look up!!

Firstly, JouMaSeWhatever and Nelspruit Imperial seem to have something really cool up their sleeves for October.
Drooling in anticipation!! But I'm going to beat him black and blue if he doesn't tell me what he's planning...

Secondly, I've managed to semi-convince Lindy that it's OK to put my new(ish) car onto a racetrack and play with it - coming soon...
I found a second-hand helmet for next to nothing, and bought a bottle of brave pills, so I'm ready. Oh yeah!!
It's a Darth Vader helmet, so I must learn to say "I AM YOUR FATHA" convincingly.

Thirdly, three days after the Lowveld Breakfast Run in October, we leave for a month-long road trip around the country. Normally we'd take the Forester, a luggage trailer, a mountain of camping crap, and the kitchen sink, but this time we're just taking a change of underclothes and the 86!! Whoopee!!


What an exciting "get-out-of-the-rut" change for us old fuddy-duddies. And being serious geocachers (despite the 86 not being the best geocaching wheels - LOL), we'll be caching up a storm across our beautiful country. Huh, what's geocaching? http://www.geocaching.com/guide/

Fourthly, I'm feeling so much safer having recently invested in a radar and laser detector to warn me of possible road hazards. I've also managed to find a website with all the GPS co-ords of the pole-mounted type of road hazards, and the co-ords of known hand-held road hazard locations. Being an experienced GPS user, these files of waypoints give me great comfort especially when embarking on a long road trip through hazardous areas like the Karoo and Free State.


Fifthly, after Lindy and I having both had a wobbly run health-wise during the last three years, we're now firing on all cylinders again - so let the fun begin.....

And finally - I'm loving my car more and more every day. Initially, I thought I'd have to go the FI route, but now I'm actually 100% OK with the power. I'm crazy about my sticky tyres, and I get a serious adrenaline high in our Lowveld twisties without even getting near the redline. You really don't have to have a lot of horsepower to have a lot of fun.

I'm 10,000kms into my 86, so I reckon the novelty should have worn off by now - but it hasn't.

I've been blessed to have owned some very special cars over the years, but this one is the besterest!!
It's just so much fun.

Just reading your thread, made me feel good

[Alang]

Try this in your FWD monster! Also ,loving it more and more every day! 6800km ����

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja4v8wPTAA4&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]Allan gymkhana.mp4 - YouTube[/ame]

[sav]

I've had mine for 1 year and 2 days today. Still loving it!!

[BentAnat]

Well, this is a great thread. And it's good to see that guys are still happy with their rides a year down the line.

I am picking mine up at 8:30 on Monday morning. Driving it from the NAM coast to the capital. Good fun, and a weekend of surf and sun lie ahead of me now. I am sure I'll contribute more soon.

[Jacques Blom]

I am on 25 000 km and still loving it.. played Action cricket tonight and stopped at McDonalds for burgers.. While waiting had some nice interest from Toyota lovers and then drive the 7 km to home.. The nice story....couple of slides and then arrive home with hot McDonalds chips...

[Fish Eagle]

Oh, what a problem...

We're leaving for the Cape on 23 Oct, and I really don't want to have to service my 86 anywhere in Cajun territory down south, so I just have to crank up 4,500 kms in the next 6 weeks so I can get it serviced here before I go.

Oh, what a problem...

[sav]

That is not a bad problem to have when you're living in Nelspruit.

[Fish Eagle]

Yes, we're blessed with some amazing driving roads.
My personal favourite is the Hilltop Pass on the R40 between Nelspruit and Barberton S25°35.417 E030°58.767
It used to be a horrible and dangerous piece of road, but it was totally rebuilt in 2009 and now it's superb!!

Coming in a close second is the R40 between Barberton and the Swaziland border. The first few kms up Saddleback Pass is badly potholed, but from there on the next 30kms is brand new tarmac build for 2010 World Cup Soccer. Stunning mountains, steep gradients and sharp well cambered corners, smooth road surface, and almost no traffic. From S25°47.870 E031°06.230 southwards to the border.

[Vladror]

happy to show you some good cape roads when you're down here...

[BentAnat]

So: I FINALLY took delivery, and immediately drove it for ~350km, through 1700m elevation change.
Dealership told me to "klap it", but I was a good boy and stuck to (well... MOSTLY) well below 4K RPM.

Just cruising around, that thing gets attention here. People rolling down windows to ask questions, hooting at me, thumbs up, etc. (helps to have one of three I have seen in town).

The feelgood story was me doing some under-4K-spirited driving through some hills here in WHK. This thing grips insanely well (compared to all my previous cars, including a Mk5 GTI) through corners. There's what my mate described as an "initial lack of confidence, and then the more you lean on it the more it tells you to not do anything too sudden, but it keeps going".

It's an amazing ride, and quite frankly. I am happy as can be...
Also, Satin Pearl White > every other colour. :P

[Fish Eagle]

Originally Posted by Vladror

happy to show you some good cape roads when you're down here...

We'll be in CT area for 2 weeks late Oct / early Nov. I know the Cape roads fairly well, but I've never driven them in an 86. My special favourites are Chapman's Peak, Gordon's Bay to Betty's Bay (where that poor guy pranged a few months ago), and Franschoek Pass. Oh, and of course that little piece of open straight road between Colesberg and De Doorns.

Where's your home turf? Maybe we can meet up for a pint and a chat sometime. We'll be staying in Kommetjie for a week, and a few days in Durbanville, then we'll start pottering back up the coast, next stop Hermanus.

Can't wait.