October 2003
Hi
My Dad's trying to decide between these two cars; Can anyone offer an opinion?
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I hope this is the right place to ask this...
I'm looking for a used car under £7k to take me, the missus, bikes and junk up and down motorways at the weekend. It needs to be cheap to run, comfy on motorways, have ABS, Air Con and 5 doors. I've seen quite a few 306 2.0 Meridian's with about 35k - 45k on them at a Car Supermarket. Can anyone let me know if these diesel's are a bad/good buy? Or, the 1.8 petrols? Any experience / advice appreictaed. Thanks. Read more
Ben - When I bought the car I think it had been fairly idle for a while, though it had a full history. It gets new filter and semi-synth every 6K, and small doses of conditioner (~30ml) every couple of fills. Also took 1 cm of slack out of the accelerator cable, which improved response. Runs like a dream at the moment (new oil) - can only just hear the motor running (from inside!)
My revived Capri 2.8i is running happily on unleaded fuel with a lead additive. However, I saw in the Mercedes-Benz Club magazine this morning favourable mention of someone running an old unconverted Merc on unleaded with the Powerplus fuel filter. I have visited
www.magyk.com/pages/powerplus/
to see many plausible testimonials and other information.
Is this just another over-hyped gadget or has anyone here had a good experience with one?
(For the full Capri story:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=13...# ) Read more
In my posting referred to above, I said that evidence showing that the gadgets don't work (and can even do harm) could not be made public due to agreements, etc. I think I can expand just a little on this without getting into trouble.
The situation was that the FVBHC were unable to finance tests by themselves as these required a supply of not only the gadgets but also a batch of engines to test them on, and test facilities as well of course, so they asked for the co-operation of the gadget makers. I think the gadget makers took part in the tests because a refusal to do so would immediately condemn their product.
The arrangement was that the gadget makers would submit samples for testing plus a few thousand pounds each towards the cost. In exchange for this support they required assurance that no results of the tests would be made public without their agreement. The result of this was that test failures ('catastrophies' in some cases!) were kept from the public.
I'm thinking of mixing 20 parts of paraffin to one part of thin oil with the idea that this mixture would condition the fuel system. I've heard of using ATF for this, and I've got some left over from an old auto car, but when it runs out I thought I might use pump diesel instead as this would make it even cheaper.
Since mine is a 'cooking engine' based on 1980s technology, I might use a much larger quantity - say one pint of the mix to a tankful (15 gal). I certainly wouldn't be considering this if I ran a Ford Zetec for example.
I know that this will lower the octane rating of the petrol, and possibly increase the heat of the burn somewhat, but probably within limits for my engine with its conservatively set ignition.
Anyone who might also have thought along these lines, please note that I have no qualifications in the automotive sense, and I would of course welcome comments, especially from those who know much more. Read more
I wouldn't dare use ATF these days, it's very different stuff than it was in the good ol' days. EP additives can create corrosive gases upon combustion, at least that's what I'm told.
I'm sure this a really stupid question for those that know the answer (but it's always that way though!), but is there any technical difference between the 'cans'?
Apart from the very obvious potential for putting the wrong fuel in an engine, is there any difference between the green plastic for petrol cans and the black used for diesel that would preclude their use for the other type of fuel? i.e. would one type of fuel actually damage the plastic intended for another type of fuel?
Thanks in advance! Read more
Yes, the refractive index of the plastic used to make them is different and the petrol ones are easier to find in the dark. ;-)
Hello folks, can anybody enlighten me as to where the sensor for the outside temp display is on my 97 Astra?
Also want to fit an eectric aerial as fed up with fogetting to push mind down and it getting snapped off by the lovely local kids.Do i need a vauxhall aerial or are they universal fit?
cheers Read more
Blimey. I had my aerial, plastic mover thingy and motor replaced for £16 at my local dealer. Took them 45 minutes - very pleased and still working today.
I was giving advice to my daughter, who is a relatively inexperienced driver, on what to do in the event of a breakdown on the motorway and emphasising the importance of getting onto the hard shoulder. However, there are many sections of motorway with more than three lanes and I found myself struggling to think of the best advice to give if she breaks down in the outside lanes and is unable to get across busy lanes to the hard shoulder. I like to think that I have enough experience to make a 'reasonable' decision on what to do should it happen to me but I wasn't sure what advice to give an inexperienced driver. I've looked on various road safety sites for advice but without luck. Any thoughts anyone? Read more
Ah, but it's always American movies and they are all driving autos, so no chance of pulling that trick.
Just watching Top Gear and saw the bit with Jeremy extending the range of his remote control by putting it against his head - does it turn the body into an amplifier? Read more
Why would I want to increase the range of my remote control ?. Increasing the range of my remote control would give theives who steal to order more chance of picking up the remote control frequency/code wouldn't it ?
Hi,
I have recently purchased a second-hand motorbike. The frame of the bike has been powder coated resulting in the chassis number being very hard to read. In an attempt to make it easier to read, I took a wire brush to it to remove the powder coating. Unfortunately, this has scratched off the VIN number entirely (d'oh!).
How do I stand when I take this bike for an MOT? The last MOT certificate that was given to me has "not visible" entered for the VIN.
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I had an imported motorbike with no chassis number, it was on the V5 and the old MOT certs but when I took it for the MOT they just completed the cetificate and filled in N/A or Non-found and issued the cetificate.
That was it.
Thanks
Andy
Seems (according to today's Sun Times) that there are be 3 new travel super websites to bring the best flight deals to your screen in seconds, rather than having to surf.
Why not one for new cars? I am not aware of such a site currently in existence.
HJ's regular latest best offers is good, but you still have to wade through long lists.
If you could, say, type in "Mazda 6" and get an instant readout of easily comparable prices (and how long they're valid for, of course), what a boon that would be.
Time for an entrepreneur to step forward, surely....
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Motorway 75%, Extra Urban 15%, Urban 10%. I know the urban cycle on the car isn't great.