March 2002
Aside from cost, what is the advantage ?
Other than longevity, MPG, and in some countries, fuel costs, why else would you choose to drive diesel over petrol ?
I might for towing, although I'd prefer a bloody great petrol engine. But I'd choose the petrol every time.
Anybody else have a view ? Read more
Mark,
I can see no problemo with that but as always there is a however..........
Should you get stopped and checked driving an UK registred car on a pull as it were, Producing the one of your many licences from abroad would be in order as far as I can see. Should you be a disq. driver in the UK, the Cops might pick you up on a PNC check and you would probably get prosecuted for producing an instrument (i.e. a foreign Driving Licence) with intent to decieve and dependant on the bloody-mindedness of the Officer get charged with an offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice as a worse case scenario and obstruct Police in the best case scenario.
I once represented a diver (no "r" intended he had webbed feet) on a disq driving rap ("r" intended), He had an UK passport and a Middle East Licence, he produced this when stopped and although superficially entitled to drive failed a PNC check.
DVLA will have a record of our UK driving entitlement (and in any endorsable prosecution this is always checked) so technically even though you can't find your UK licence you "have" a UK licence.(IYKWIM).
I will consult my Stones in work on Monday (Stones as in big heavy book - the one they throw at you not as in small rocky objects, Ginger Ale etc etc.) Read more
It doesn't make him any less guilty though.
Has anyone researched tyre prices on the continent? I want to buy some chunky Michelins over the next couple of months & was wondering whether they were any cheaper in mainland Europe? If so, can anyone recommend web sites, particular chains etc? Read more
Norauto are a Halfords type chain which sells tyres but I have checked prices in two of their stores in Cherbourg and in Perpignan and found them very similar to UK with the possible exception of Michelin winter tyres which were about £10 cheaper in Cherbourg but the same price in Perpignan where they get more snow in the nearby Pyrenees. They have a website and a store in Calais but do talk to them by some means before going because I found they need about 5-10 days for specific tyres (ie winter tyres). I am not totally convinced by the rather open-air element of their tyre fitting outside the two stores I visited. Don't expect top class tracking.
They are good though for Thule roof bars and racks, working out about £30 cheaper than Halfords for a BX estate fitting.
David
Someone very kindly emailed me direct to tell me that the Driven repeat has moved to 2:30 am on Monday, so it actually appears on Sundays listings.
A public thanks for that.
Secondly I noticed that the preview of next weks Corsica Rally round 3 of the WRC is not on its "usual" Thursday evening slot but is on the half hour before the Driven repeat, 2.05 am in our paper.
Just thought you might like to know because I never check the papers for whats on in the early hours.
Thanks again to all. Read more
The Eagle has landed, Driven successfully taped, Claire from Steps kept her hands to herself, dream on!
Thanks to all.
how is it that main dealers are still able to sell cars? go to a ford dealer for example, and ask for a price on a car, and for a high spec focus / mid spec mondeo, the price they qoute (after a cash discount) will be in the region of £2.5K more than somewhere like motorpoint / trade sales!! ok, typically the cheaper car will be need an extra warranty purchased to be a direct comparison, but even with this, there is roughly a £2K difference, or in other words 12%.
so do people really pay these prices, and if so, why? Read more
Yeah moosh that's the one.
I was trying to set a non-patronising tone.
I have just aquired a Ford Escort 1.8 Diesel (non turbo) and would like to know what additives I can add to the oil (ie) Slick 50 or magnatec , on its next oil change, to help protect the engine from premeture wear etc.
Do these additives really work, or are they a ploy for spending your hard earned cash ?? Read more
HJ mentions Millers Fuel additive in his column from time to time. I don't think he would mention anything with a neutral or bad effect on ones car! It is particularly useful for clearing out a diesel engine before emissions check on an MOT.. Fails are frequently given a double dose of Millers and a thrash up the nearest dual carriageway and pass with an hour, on re-test.
Has anyone been using the Sky digital F1 Channel ? If so what do you think ?
Just had a look in the paper to see what time the qualifying is on and there not showing it live on ITV.If ITV start doing this regularly i will definately pay Sky £12.00 for live uninterupted coverage of the full weekends practice/qual/warm-up/race with all the interactive features.
Think i'm already heading for the Sky remote.... Read more
I watched the FI with DSF and RTL and it costs nothing all the practice the race and after race chit chat
Unleaded around here costs 69.9 p per litre (in the deep hinterland of N Wales)
Filled up at Chester Services on the M56 the other day (within sniffin' distance of Stanlow) cost was 74p a litre now how does that work ??. Read more
I have a book called 'Just Off' which lists alternate places (including directions) to fill up, eat, etc. all within spitting distance of the motorway junctions. All motorways and junctions are covered, although mines a few years old now I'm sure there's an updated version available.
I am taking my VW off road (garaged) until June this yr and wanted to know what, if anything i need to do in order for the car to stay happy and not cause any problems in 4 months time? Disconect battery? Tyres? Or will very periodic use be a better option for the engine?
cheers Read more
Don't forget to fill in your statutory off the road notice.
My father runs a 1999 Saab 9-3 2.0i light pressure turbo which averages about 35mpg rising to 46-47mpg on long motorway runs. Does anyone know if there would be any benefits in running the car on super unleaded? If so can these justify the extra cost? Also is it worth trying this in my 1994 single point injection 1.3 Mini Cooper? I realise the engine is basically a 40 year old design with modern fuel injection and because of this I am reluctant to try it; however I would still be interested to know. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Read more
Ian,
my current vehicle (non-turbo V8) runs OK on supermarket fuel but there was a noticeable improvement when I switched to using regular Shell or Texaco unleaded. The engine idles smoother and the evidence, both seat of pants and gearshift patterns (it's and auto), indicate that there's more torque.
A couple of tank-fulls of Shell Optimax however, showed no improvement over regular unleaded. In fact the car developed an annoying and peculiar surge when running at constant part-open throttle. Switching back to regular cured it. I suspect that even though it has a knock sensor (and loads of others), the ECU just isn't setup to handle fuels like Optimax.
Turbo equipped vehicles are probably capable of accepting a much wider range of fuels, But... I think that your father will only find out if it's worth the extra cost of super unleaded by using it for a while and seeing if it makes any difference to his mpg figures.
In a '94 Cooper I don't think you'd see any improvement.
Kevin...
Browse
My wife is a dentist and likes her Golf GT TDI PD. It's not *that* small a car.
The female dentist has described the following cars:
BMW 3 Series - a bit too big (at the moment)
Mercedes C Class - too big, and old-mannish
VW Passat - too big, and it has a boot
Ford Focus - a bit common
Ford Puma - too impractical
Audi A3 - its just an expensive Golf
Audi TT - nice but impractical, but will there be a sporty diesel?
Skoda Fabia - after a 24 hour test drive, very nice, better than mum's Yaris, but it's a Skoda
Ford Ka - suitable for the dentist's husband, not the dentist, no you can't get a Fabia instead
Our next car will probably be another diesel - they're just great to drive. I hope this helps in the automotive psychoanalysis of the female dentist.