January 2004
Hello again - I have a rather stupid problem. I have a mark 4 Fiesta with alloys and low profile tyres. The ones on now are Firestone (no idea as to the model number) and the previous ones were Pirelli P500 Z\'s. Recently when going at high speed (usually 65 onwards) the car has occasionally felt that it\'s lost grip - so much so that you can feel it in the wheel and then it seems to grip again. I\'ve looked at all tyres and they seem fine - probably because they\'re relatively new. The roads it does it on are obviosuly high speed ones but I\'ve not had any problems before. Could this be weather conditions (although sometimes it is dry when it does is)or something more serious?
Sorry for the stupid posting
Adam.
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\"Give Way\"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute Read more
I'm surprised no-one has picked up on this one. The Sunday Times car supplement today has an article on a car powered by compressed air. The driver plugs it into a source of air, waits a few minutes while the carbon fibre tanks are filled, and then drives up to 100 miles at up to 60 mph beofre it needs recharging. Alternatively the driver plugs it into an electric socket, and waits four hours while an onboard compressor charges the tanks. It's a two seat job like the Smart Car and will cost a bit less. Strikes me as the perfect second car for driving around town and shopping. If compressed air sources were available it could even do long range journeys. Servicing costs are also said to be much lower than a 'real' car. Over a five years you could save many thousands of pounds in fuel and servicing costs.
Pie in the sky? A joke? Impractical? Read more
A junior version of the fireless locomotive? There could be a heating element in the receiver for home charging.
gold.mylargescale.com/MichaelAnderson/fireless/hei...l
Is it illegal to park on the zig-zag and then solid white lines that are placed around road humps? Read more
You spent the entire morning yesterday looking at the regs for parking on speed humps Mr DVD? You are commited to us!:)
Hi all,
Just a little query before i put some oil in my motor... been doing a little research and basically i want a second opinion on whether it would be ok to use Castrol GTX Magnatec 15W-40 (Synthetic) in my Corsa...
thanks for any help
tyrone Read more
castrol most unfriendly web site is at
www.castrol.com
good luck finding info about magantex.
15W likely to be dino stock oil (dino = dinosaur = fossil).
best castrol synthetic: castrol slx longlife II.
recomm by audi and bmw.
audi say:
Audi owners need not be inconvenienced by traditional fixed service intervals. There is no predetermined mileage for a service. Depending on how you drive, the interval will be up to 19,000 miles /24 months for petrol engines, up to 22,000 miles/24 months for the V6 TDI diesel and up to 30,000 miles/24 months for 3 and 4 cylinder TDI diesel engines.
Long Life oils such as Castrol SLX OW30 Long Life 2 must be used (please refer to owners handbook). They have been specially formulated for Audi and are a new generation of ultra high-grade synthetic oils designed to withstand ageing and high loads without deterioration. Using ordinary high quality multigrade oil will not cause any engine damage but it will defeat the object of the new technology and cause a service to be needed at 10,000 miles. In addition, compared with conventional oils, Long Life oils gives exceptional levels of engine protection, are kinder to the environment and deliver fuel savings. In recent tests carried out on vehicles in Germany SLX Long Life 2 resulted in a fuel saving of 2.72%.
Yesterday I sold my car (honda prelude) privately. The buyer paid me by cheque, and (on their advice) I wrote them a receipt sold as seen and tested.
The test drive went really well, and they drove the car away fine. Today I received a call from them complaining that they couldn't start the car this morning, and they have discovered the engine oil was extremely low, and the spark plugs badly corroded. They told me they wouldn't have bought the car had they realised I'd not bothered to top up and check the oil regularly. (I'm not a mechanic). I gave them all the paperwork I have including receipts for the previous oil change (In 2002).
I am worried they may now cancel the cheque, and try and return the car to me (assuming they get it started). Can anyone advise me what my (and their) rights are.
I'm delighted to have sold it and really don't want it back.
Thanks
Pete
p.s I know cash or bankers draft would have been best, so please don't remind me of this.
Read more
As this has now been resolved, and the outcome a happy one, I'm write locking this thread to prevent further *misinterpretations*.
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Dynamic Dave
Back Room Moderator
mailto:dave_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
I have recently noticed that when using the heated rear screen on my 1998 Mondeo that I get radio interference. Any ideas on how to solve this - if difficult/expensive I would probably not bother as it doesn\'t annoy me that much.
All help appreciated,
Thanks,
Andy.
Read more
Check the earth connections to the boot/hatch.
Hi,
Further to my post about insuring a fictional car. I've given up on that idea now.
When I left my old insurer (about 4 years ago) I had full NCB. I've since been driving a company van for the past few years with just one recent claim, a scratch on a neighbours car door parked on the driveway. Would they take this into account when I try to insure another vehicle, or would I have to start from scratch again with zero NCB. Read more
I got full 70% NCD from Direct Line when going from company to private car. I had to get a leter from the lease company (or insurer) to say 'no claims' and also one saying I no longer had a company car (can't have both with two lots of NCD).
But if you've had a claim recently why expect a no claim discount?.
Hello
I'm considering buying a used XK8, either convertible or coupe, with a budget of around £25,000. Does anyone have any advice, "do's or dont's", or generally want to add to my database of knowledge on the topic. Comments from existing owners particularly welcome.
Kind regards
KD
Read more
I know a four people with these cars and so far two have had new engines due to cylinder corrosion and one person, who has since sold his, had three steering racks in 2 yrs.
Other than that I personally like them, well built, quick, an air of sheer class about them and a feel good factor when driving them.
An observation.
Why do the vast majority of manhole covers/services covers, call them whatever, have to be positioned in the road so that vehicle wheels always drive over them?
It means a bumpy ride, can't be good for emergency vehicles driving fast, must wear the covers down and causes "clanking" noises which upsets local residents.
Why can't they be placed in the middle of a lane? Read more
And you think we have problems? What about this from Thailand.
Shabby drain covers need replacing
Dear Sirs,
In this week?s Pattaya Mail there is a photo of Pattaya Mayor Pairat inspecting and condemning the drain covers in Jomtien Beach. We have a much worse situation that has existed since drain covers were installed in the street formerly called Moo 6 Naklua, but lately called Soi 34 Sukhumvit, and the street running from North Road from the bus depot to Center Road.
The drain covers installed on both sides of these streets were evidentially fabricated in the contractor?s backyard, as they would not comply with any building code in the world. Concrete with two PVC holes for drains in the cover, these started collapsing immediately after traffic was allowed.
There have been many accidents with cars and motorcycles hitting these exposed holes after the covers disintegrated. The covers are then replaced with another ?Band Aid? cover that is another home fabricated steel atrocity. The correct covers should be factory fabricated steel covers that are approved for vehicular traffic. Who inspected and approved these hazardous drain covers?
Lately, these approved covers have been installed on the extended road from Moo 6 to Third Road.
Mr. Mayor, please inspect these hazardous covers and have them replaced with the approved covers.
Frank Mack
I was recently was talking to someone who drove a stretched limo for hire in London, the length was a staggering 40ft._the length of an artic trailer.Does anyone know if there is any form of rear wheel steer on them to assist manoeurability? Read more
"FIF, you mention urea injection. What is it, how's it work and where they get it from? Do you have to take a piddle into the fuel tank at every fill up?:) "
OP !
Not quite, but not that far off actually ;)
This is basically all about reduction of NOx emissions.
Hitherto exhaust gas recirculation has been and still is used. The purpose is to reduce peak combustion temperatures by recycling a certain amount of exhaust gas back into the cylinders.
This of course reduces power and efficiency plus gives the problem that various nasties such as particulates acids and so on are contained in the exhaust gas giving the engine oil a harder job.
Now as emission limits are lowered further there is a bit of a debate. Can the new lower limits be met by increased control of the engine itself, or is it better to keep the engine operating as efficiently as possible and rely on exhaust after treatment.
Urea injection is one way of doing this. Does one have to piddle into the tank? Well not quite but not that far off. Basically an aqueous 32.5% solution of urea is injected into the exhaust gas stream, the urea decomposes to form ammonia which then reacts with the NOx to form N2 (nitrogen) and water.
Ammonia could be used but is difficult to store, deliver and is toxic. Urea is non toxic and apart from certain easily solved corrosion issues in the delivery, storage and pipework systems, is readily handled.
Of course what this means is that a separate small tank has to be added to the vehicle, and there needs to be an infrastructure to enable operators to refill the urea tank at refuelling time.
The USA Government actively dislikes SCR and urea injection because it does not trust the operators to keep it topped up and operational. However the position in Europe is that SCR & urea injection is the way things will go.
For more info see this position paper from ACEA > tinyurl.com/yr6eo
You also might like to read this > tinyurl.com/2wg7f
Hope that answers your question,
FiF
Browse
Wheel being loose ie wheel bearing would explain it.But am surprised that you had no braking probs with it.ie brake judder
as a loose or badly worn bearing would cause the disc to become out of straight or out of line.ball joint is connected to stub axle and not connected to hub.Although that will cause it. wheel bearing`s do this.so it must have been that?