October 2001
hi
i've got to replace the 165/70 r13 tyres on my car and was wondering if anyone would care to recommend an particular make/tread pattern.
the car has michelin energy tyres on it at the moment, and whilst they seem reasonale (but not great) in the dry, i think their wet grip is pretty poor. i had michelins on a previous car, which were replaced with bridgestones, and they were notably better in all conditions, but these were 195 r15s.
so basically any suggestions, with a viable argument, would be appreciated.
cheers
p.s. do "energy" tyres actually make an ounce of difference? i've never noticed any after making the transition on previous cars. Read more
the longest string of answers that is.... following my being rude about cat converters the other day Read more
This was how Auther Scargill got voted 'Man of the Year' on the Radio 4 listeners poll a few years ago
I have just bought one of these devices. Basically its a GPS position locator with a database of fixed speed cameras loaded in to it. I have to say it is fantastic! I have had detectors before but they are no damned good as they give way too many false alarms. OK I can not detect mobile speed traps but for everything else I'm covered. Buy one now! Read more
Andy
I have a handheld GPS (it works great with Autoroute on the laptop) but loading all those waypoints and keeping them up to date is a pain, and you cannot easily set an alarm around every camera waypoint yourself, the Geodesy does this automatically via it's own modem. Users send updated positions by pressing a button when you go past an unidentified camera, they verify it and send the first "caller" £50.
The guts might only be a £100 GPS, but the integration and database recency is what you are paying for.
Colin (no I don't own one!)
Does anyone know if these things provide any useful improvement to turbodeisels? Read more
Just a shame then,since its so simple,that nobody has tought to test these things on a rolling road or dynamometer.
But a filter optimised for flow should be OK in the Hdi,as theres an awful lot of induction piping to keep it quiet.
I have been reprimanded for suggesting that these may not be necessary.
I must make it clear that they are essential,like clocks are essential.
But like clocks they are only of any use if they are accurate..which is my point.
I want to know the temperature in the cylinder head of my engine in real time.Thats coolant exit temperature,by the way.
I would also like it expressed in some internationally standardised unit of measurement.......degrees centigrade will perfectly well suffice.
I have several thermometers about this place for various purposes even the inexpensive ones manage to be accurate to less than one degree,so this is hardly a matter for another million dollar development programme. Read more
ROBIN wrote:
>
> For the life of me I cannot see what the thermostat has to do
> with this.
> It is a revoltingly crude and inaccurate device which merely
> stops water from entering the radiator until such additional
> cooling is necessary.
> Unless I have not been keeping up with developments it is
> either open or shut,which cannot be right.It is prone to
> un-noticed malfunction,and has no bearing whatever on the
> normal running temperature of the engine or the recording of
> the magnitude thereof.
> I repeat.this is a no-brainer,we need to know the coolant
> exit temp. from the head and we might as well have it in
> degrees C as anything else.
Well excuse me for misunderstanding how cooling systems work but the purpose of a thermostat is according to my education
A) To control the flow of coolant into the radiator so as to ensure the engine reaches design operating temp as fast as reasonably possible, and
B) Once design operating temp has been reached to release sufficient coolant through the radiator to ensure the engine CONTINUES TO OPERATE AT IT'S DESIGNED TEMPERATURE.
If one has a stat which is stuck fully open for some reason the usual symptom is that the engine runs too cold with all the consequent ill wills that follow if that situation is left too long. Therefore one should realise that in normal operation the stat is part open and alters its opening according to the temperature of the coolant flow across it. It is not just an open or shut case. Engine heats up it opens a bit more, engine cools down less cooling is needed so it shuts a bit and cycles around this point.
Clearly there are two schools of thought, those who want an accurate reading in degrees C, and those who don't particarly want to know the absolute number of the temperature reading but want a gauge which reflects the situation with reasonable reliability. One opinion is not right and the other wrong its just a different opinion.
Quite agree that it might not be too difficult to sort out, so if I am in the minority I presume Robin will put inventiveness to good use and we can expect to see an after market kit produced so those who wish can see an accurate calibrated coolant temperature readout in real time. I wish you every success in your venture.
Got something new to try: www.crimesite.co.uk
Apparently it contains, or will contain, a comprehensive directory of stolen vehicles by VIN number. It's run by ex-plod.
But the site is in development and I couldn't get into it tonight.
Lets all keep each other posted as to whether or not it's working. Maybe we can help it work.
HJ Read more
Couldn't see anything at all 12:30 pm 10/10/01
In 1950, 30% of the land on Earth was covered in forest. What do you think the figure is now? Please don't look for the answer yet, just have a guess. Answer later.
Another thread has made me think of this, and I apologise if it seems slightly off-topic, but if you're interested in being able to spout facts to destroy the Greenies' arguments, you could do far worse than invest in a copy of "The Skeptical Environmentalist".
It's written by a Danish statistics professor, Bjorn Lomborg (ex-member of Greenpeace) who set his students a project to prove that the environment was indeed getting worse. He wanted to refute an article written by an American that said Green arguments were rubbish. Much to his surprise, his students found the "wrong" result, so he wrote the book.
Using the same statistics as the Greens, he proves that in all measureable aspects, the world is in a better state than ever, e.g. with larger known reserves of every mineral and element than there was 20 years ago. The poverty gap between rich nations and poor nations is smaller than ever, as well.
And the forest figure? It's now 31%. Not what you were expecting, I suppose. Read more
Nuclear power. Now there's an odd one. There is more radioactivity in the output from a large coal-fired power station than from Sizewell B. Why? Because the coal contains small quantities of radioactive materials that fly straight out of the chimney after the coal is burnt. No effort is made to stop them, unlike nuclear power stations.
Read the book, by all means with a critical eye, then see what your views are. It would tell you, for instance that we have over 60 years of known oil reserves.
And, on a tangent, what a great argument the old "x years of reserves of" is.... Look in my fridge, and you'll find that my reserves of food are around a week or so. The greens would tell me that means I'm going to begin to starve in eight days. I would say "no, I'm off to Tesco for some more food".
Look in my fridge and there'll always be around a week of food in there on average. There'll always be fifty or so years of oil reserves for the same reason, and as John Slughter rightly points out, if not, the price will change until it's worth looking for new reserves.
Anyway, I've now had enough of this.
Vin
In an unrelated thread last week, a comment about manufacturers adding new bits just to make us change to a new model caught my eye. Yes, yes.
So, let's hear it........... Which new modification(s) in recent years have been wholly superfluous ... or worse, just a darned nuisance? I'll start the ball rolling with infuriating electric windows which I find I always need to wind down justt after I've switched off.
Colin Read more
Its not related to cars, but why is there an eject button on the remote control of a VCR ?
Its not as if it takes the cassette out, puts it in its box and places it on the shelf for you.
Do we want to rid Britain of Caravans? Or make them pay for the disruption they cause?
Discuss!! Read more
Rid them, absolutely. An anachronistic menace: dangerous, obstructive.
If you want to live in your car get a proper RV.
Does anyone know how to turn the traffic announcements on / off on a VW Gamma or Beta radio ? I know that you can kill the announcement after it's started by hitting the TP button but how do I turn them on / off permanently ? The manual says you can do it and then changes the subject.
Thanks,
John Read more
To refine this answer further, when you change channel, the TP is switched off. When on a FM channel and the TP button is hit, the traffic announcements will remain set until you change channel again. ('97 Gamma)
Browse
Strangely,my 405 wagon has had many of the tyres mentioned but works best on Michelin Energiies.They also hold the long life record.