December 2003

Ian (Cape Town)

Down here in the southern hemisphere, everybody takes most of December off, and all the inlanders head lemminglike for the coast, resulting in an average of 2000 (yes, two thousand!) road deaths during december...
Having built up a huge amount of days off/leave owed, i have decided to take from now until january 4 off, spend some time with the family, relax, drink lots of beer, and sit beside the pool.
So, I won't be popping in much, if at all, so a very early "Happy Christmas to all our readers" to you all. Read more

BobbyG

Groovy Chick, from one retailer to another, Happy Easter!! When are your eggs due in.....

BaseRSXmanual

Does anyone know if Top Gear or 5th Gear has done a road/track test of the new 190 Elise against the older 135HP Elise? Also I know the 190 is a Toyota 1.8L engine. Was the 135 engine also a Toyota? That 55HP increase came at about a 450 lbs. gain. I am wondering which will be faster in a track lap time. Read more

blank

450 lbs weight gain. No, no, no!

45 lbs perhaps, with only some of that associated with the engine change.

I think the Toyota engine is only destined for the US car for now, with Europe sticking with the K-series.

Andy

foxbat

My 2002 2.0LX Mondeo Hatch has been excellent since purchase from Ford Direct - but there has always been excessive wind noise around the central pillars which my local Ford garage cannot fix - also I hear rumours of a design fault.
My car has been excellent value - but does anyone have a view on how to fix the noise
Read more

brianrh

A friend has a 2003 Mondeo ST220 which had annoying wind noise from the n/s rear door area. When I sat in the back to try to locate the noise it seemed to be from the rear doorseal.

However he complained to the Ford dealer who had it back for a couple of days and cured the problem by, according to the paperwork he saw, refitting the rear quarterlight glass.

Pugugly {P}

Well - we did it today. Struck a deal on a Honda CG125 for SWMBO.
2.5 year old example a the right price. The next trauma is its collection from its previous keeper, and delivery (by PU) to PU towers for a gentle renovation over the winter.

Now this will attract the attention of the Police no doubt - being ridden by an middle aged brief in leathers (yes they still fit) no L plats (cos he's passed his test.) Do you know what I am looking forward to it - is that the sign of a true petrol head ? Either that or it'll get slung in the back of the Landie ! Read more

martint123

Well done and a good choice in the end... Should get a fair price back when confidence has built up and she may take to something larger.

I think the quote from Mark Evans when he finally rode his rebuilt Triumph "I can't believe I've waited 40 years to have so much fun" (or something like that)

Wrap up warm and you don't notice the cold (hmmmm)

perplexed1

Has anyone got any ideas.
When the colder weather arrived the engine didn't always start first time. Checked the glow plugs - all gone - so thats why the engine management light was coming on then going off after a minute or two.
Changed the glow plugs but then the engine turned but didn't fire at all. Disconnected glow plugs- still didn't fire.
Remembered that last hesitation on starting was when engine was warm so renewed the fuel filter and seal and all the drain pipes which were hard, difficult to pull off but rotated easily.

Still no joy. Check fuel present at pump input but not present at output.
Rechecked all fuses - OK. Today a friend tells me the engine management system is reporting no faults. Read more

Dynamic Dave

As mentioned in Discussion, press function key F5 to refresh the page. That is of course if you\'re using Internet Explorer (or AOL. ND.).

The matter of the pop up is in hand, but won\'t yet be sorted for a few days, due to the Christmas break.

DD. BR Moderator.

Question VW Oil gauge
Borafeck

Has anyone else experienced a fault on a VW, when you are driving and it displays the Oil warning light and stop!!! consult you workshop. It scares the living daylights out of me this, I last got the car serviced about 5,000 miles ago and obviously the oil and filter were changed. Does anyone think this is consistent with using up this amount of Oil in that mileage. ????????????????? Read more

borasport20

A quick search of this site, and others, will make it clear that the VAG 2.0 litre petrol engine uses an awful lot of oil, particularly when used for short journeys.

You would be wise to get in to the habit of checking it weekly. But if high oil consumption is all you've got wrong with it, count yourself lucky....



Bora - what Bora ?

Borafeck

Anyone got any advice with regards to the above, I have a 4yr old VW Bora and have a full service history. Would it be just as cheap to go somewhere else to have them fitted or would I be better going to the likes of Stop & Steer.

Any help would be most gratefull.

G. Read more

Cyd

DL

What pad & disc combination were you using? I found that neither the Tarox nor EBC discs wore much when combined with Green Stuffs. This is despite them having to stop a 140+mph 1450Kg car driven with a hefty right foot and hardly renowned for being over braked! The Taroxs lasted 50k (the last 20 with Green Stuffs) and were replaced because I cooked them one night in the lanes.

Although it's very much a generalisation I have found that brake parts sold at factors are sold on price, whereas motorsport competitors (like myself) buy on quality, so hence my suggestion to use a motorsport oriented outlet. If your local factor is different...great.

Question spark plugs
pug_306_xsi_8v

hi could anyone recommend and good set of spark plugs for performance and reliabilty....


thank you
Read more

Sooty Tailpipes

For info:
Q: Should I use "never-seize" compound on the threads?

A: Not with NGK Spark Plugs. Our spark plugs are manufactured with a cold rolled thread, ensuring smooth, burr-free threads that are safe and will not cut new threads, even on aluminum cylinder heads.
Many other spark plug companies still use machine-cut threads, and the burrs and sharpness of these threads can cause cylinder head damage. With spark plug brands other than NGK, the use of never-seize is probably a good idea. Be sure not to get any of this coating on the spark plug's firing tip, or it will not

I have felt these on BOSCH Super 4s.

Adam {P}

Hi all. I felt that everyone could do with a great laugh and here is one.

THis morning, I started the car to warm it up before setting off. Although the car was in the drive, I thought I had better lock it and whilst the driver's door was opened, pushed the central locking. (Those of you who know Ford Central locking systems will perhaps understand) Anyway, realising this was a stupid thing to do as it was central locking, the locks automatically flipped back to unlocked as the door was open. Or so I thought....

As soon as I closed the driver's door, *clunk* Whoops. What the hell's happened here? ALL of the doors had locked with my keys in the ignition and the engine running! Before you all think...Spare key, I had been informed by Ford that to get a new master key and recode it would be the sum of £150. Needless to say, I laughed in the guy's face and left without the spare key but £150 in my wallet! ANyhow....I was knackered for want of a better word. After hastily ringing up Ford, I was told "Oh yeah - we get a lot of them. But I don't know how to do it. " So I rang up Green Flag but my car wasn't covered for Home Start. THe fee was £72. I had to pay it as the car had been running for 1 hour now with the heaters on. 1 hour later, a guy came out and it was impressive watching him use the tools of the trade to effectively break into my car. ANyway, he did it and I got my keys back. The car had been running for 2 hours on the drive, the heaters had been on. But I was happy if not £72 out of pocket.

Just thought you could do with a laugh.

Ha

--
Red light? Hold on...that means.......Go? Read more

John Shelton

Amazingly the Skoda survived its near miss by a torpedo but what finally caused its demise was going over a bump too fast, the front of the car took off and when it landed there was a sickening crunch from the back end........the rear seat had lifted off its mounting and was somewhere near the roof,.............the offside rear suspension swinging arm had broken off the rusty floorpan , pierced the floor and come flying up into the cabin.

greenhey

Mostly we talk here about practical subjects and pretty much by definition people who are interested enough to participate take their driving fairly seriously .
But if you look at some of the threads that repeatedly crop up under one name or another , what we are frequently talking about is morality in driving.
What I mean by that is, that driving is probably the most responsible act most of us perform each day in terms of its consequences for others. For a few , or for some, many, hours we directly risk the safety of others in what we do .It deserves to be treated seriously and thought about at least as much as what we do to earn a living .
But in fact for many people it is one of the least thought about actions in their day .They regard the time spent in driving as wasted and have no regard for their responsibilities towards others .I could give a dozen examples of what I have observed in a few hours on the road today.
If our airlines produced the loss of life ,livelihood and happiness that our roads do there would be a major outcry .But for some reason we just accept what happens on the roads .
I don\'t know how we change this but I think we should
Read more

matt35 {P}

Smokieand others,

As a PS - I am up for retest in two months with RoSPA - here is the standard expected;



At present there are about 200 examiners covering all parts of the UK and a test can be taken anywhere in the country at the candidate's choice. All examiners have a minimum qualification of an advanced police certificate and most are also police driving instructors. The majority of examiners are serving police officers, usually on traffic patrols.

The oversight of the test system is the responsibility of the Regional Senior Examiners, one of whom is responsible for each area of the UK in much the same way as are the GAP members. Within his/her area the RSE is responsible for the oversight of individual examiners, ensuring that standards are maintained and are consistent with RoADA standards and that tests are carried out as promptly and professionally as possible. They also deal with any problems arising locally with tests or queries from members or GAP members. The test itself lasts about sixty to seventy minutes over a route covering a wide variety of traffic and driving conditions, and is designed to detect any weaknesses or potentially dangerous driving habits. It may be taken in cars, commercial vehicles or on motor cycles. The successful candidate must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the Highway Code and Roadcraft - the Essential Police Driver's Handbook, both in the driving and in the question and answer session at the end of the drive. On completing the test the candidate is graded Gold, Silver or Bronze. If the standard is lower than that needed for a Bronze the candidate will fail. All candidates receive from HQ a comprehensive report on all aspects of their test.

As the standard is far higher than that taken by learner drivers, a person is unlikely to achieve the higher grades without assistance. These tough standards ensure that the person who gains a Gold award has succeeded in gaining the highest award open to a civilian driver in the UK, and probably in the world. One of the strengths of the RoADA is its requirement that all members must take a retest every three years. This is unique in civilian driving. If the retest is not taken, the person ceases to be a member. These regular retests are free of charge.

© 1996-2002 John Skilleter & Keith Bamford


Matt35.