Funda on CAT mocks

Now, lets talk of mock cats which is the most crucial part of your preparation. There are three main options that I looked for while preparing for cat. They were cl/ims/time mocks. None of the institutes has given me any moolah for writing this. Please use your discretion while deciding on any of the coaching institutes.
CL : I took all the CL mocks+FLT. I found the maths section to be quite good and quite close to CAT. English RC's were in general quite easy. The english usage section was easy to ok. CL people tried giving new charts/graphs but no coaching institute gave us the feel of DI in CAT 2004, which was quite tough.

TIME: I found maths easy in most of the mocks. The passages toughness level varied from very tough to very easy. The quality of english usage questions was not of cat standard though at times they tried to make it tough. The logic section of DI was really good in TIME and it came closest to DI problems in CAT 2004.

IMS: I took only two tests so my opinion should not count much. But, in general people find it very tough. If the topper scores 55 marks in any mock, you are really wasting your time in writing these mocks :))

Now, some general fundae on mocks.
When should you start writing mocks?
Start early if you are clear you want to go for cat. You can join TIME which starts the test series in june or so. Till mid-october dont be too much concerned with your rank and try out every possible strategy. Once you have decided on a particular strategy, stick to it. Even if you are performing bad in 2-3 mocks before cat, dont change your strategy in the last minute. You know never know what will be the pattern of CAT. But, it pays to have a rough idea of which section to start with and which will be your last section. Keep 15 minutes time as your spare time which you will allocate according to the toughness level of individual sections. Its extremely important to get atleast 90-95 percentile in each section. So, divide your time judiciously according to your strengths and the toughness of the paper. In cat, dont panic. If the paper is tough, everyone will find it tough. You have got these two hours, just go with an open mind. Dont put too much pressure on your self. Luck plays a big role. So, dont have too much expectations. You will really enjoy the result more if you dont have very high expectations :)) Dont make last minute strategy change in cat. Do, all kind of differential time allotment with the help of those 15 spare minutes. Give atleast 30 minutes to each section. If you get questions of varied weightage like CAT 2004, try solving the higher weightage questions atleast from your stronger section. They are not very tough compared to the lower weightage questions. You have to ace one section and this is the real chance for you. I solved all the 2 marks questions in maths except one :D So, dont go with the perception that 2 marks questions are twice as tough as 1 marks question. I will advise you guys/gals to be regular with your mocks. Taking a total of 20-30 mocks/Full length test should be good enough. But, after test atleast devote 3-4 hours for realizing your mistakes and making suitable strategies. During your mocks, at times you will find that your ranks have declined drastically. Please dont panick! It happens with everyone. Just believe in yourself. CAT is just a 2 hour game. If you have done it before, you can do it in CAT as well. It's easier said than done but having confidence in yourself pays :)
If you want any more fundaes, just put a comment and I will try to answer it. Sorry for typos and grammatical errors. I am writing all this pretty fast :))
Vikas