January 2004

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Question Euro 4 standards

kenwebb on 4 January 2004

having read about this in the column on saturday i am most interested to know what it means? is this something that will effect older cars, or will it only apply to new?. more importantly what is /are these new standards please?. Read more

dieselhead on 7 January 2004

Euro 4 regulations requires in effect catalytic converters on new cars to operate within a few seconds of the engine being fired from cold. Previous to euro 4, a typical catalyst would take several minutes to heat up and start working when the vast majority of pollution is caused.

To achieve this faster warm up the catalyst will either be mounted directly onto the exhaust manifold or in the usual underfloor location provided a double skinned exhaust downpipe is used to reduce heat losses. Additionally at start up, the engine is run for a few seconds in effect like a burner - the ignition timing is severely advanced and/or the exhaust valves are opened early to force burning exhaust gases into the exhaust to 'light off' the catalyst more quickly.

Offcourse the result of this will be cars with a higher fuel consumption which will be more expensive to maintain and repair.

Question renault espace running problems

nanotm on 4 January 2004

i have a problem with my renault espace although i have cured the starting fault by replacing several parts it now refuses to run correctly, the revs keep dropping and then it will lose all power and stall. not amusing doing 70+mph on the autobahne with a truck up your backside. can anyone help please? ihave been to 3 different garages and still no fault found. your help would be appreciated Read more

nanotm on 4 January 2004

im not sure what they did or didn't do as i had to leave the car each time but thanks for the info will get it checked asap

Forum Am i being silly- buying a E34 530 V8?

Ben {P} on 4 January 2004

I have seen a few last of the line 530 V8's advertised and selling for around £3k. These cars have the M60 Nikasil lined V8, which can lead to bore wear. How much of a concern should this be when contemplating a purchase? Will all those likely to fail have done so by now, and are problem cars easy to spot-how? I onlt intend to keep for about 6 months if i buy, and wondered what people here thought about the idea.

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trancer on 6 January 2004

The Nikasil issue is really a petrol issue as in the Nikasil lining didn't play well with the sulphur in certain petrol supplies. In locations that had petrol with high concentrations of sulphur you had a "Nikasil issue", in other areas things were just fine. As high sulphur petrol is all but non-existant now, chances are that a Nikasil engine that is fine now, will continue to be fine. Having said that I still wouldn't gamble with one unless I was getting the car so cheap that the cost of a replacement engine would already be "factored in".

Older 535s had a 12v M20 engines with belt driven cam, the M50 engine was 24v with chain driven cams.I don't know if having a belt or chain driven cam matters to you, but it certainly does to me as such I wouldn't be interested in a 535 even though from a driver's POV many BMW fanatics still consider it the better engine to the newer chain cam M50.

As for fuel consumption, I have a 520 with the 2.0 litre M50 engine and I average about 23-25 MPG which is actually quite good for that car from what I have heard. Many 520 owners struggle to get 20 MPG, though they probably have a heavier right foot than I do. The bigger 2.5l gets better fuel economy than the 2.0l, but not enough to make fuel economy the reason for getting one. These are big, heavy cars, you just have to accept that you will be spending quite a bit on fuel.

Forum annoying volvo ad

epaul on 4 January 2004

HJ get rid of it I have a popup blocker but it gets through it. It spoils my time on here , anyne else have this prob with it..the annoying volvo ad Read more

Dynamic Dave on 4 January 2004

Sigh,

I *do* wish people would pay attention in class.

Nothing can be done until the advertising agency returns from their Christmas break on Monday, the 5th Jan.

However, in the meantime if you use Internet Explorer as your browser, then by pressing the function key F5 will refresh the page and remove it.

PhilW has provided the link to the thread that should explain it all.

This thread has been write locked. Please continue discussions in the other thread if you need to.
--
Dynamic Dave
Back Room Moderator

mailto:dave_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk

Forum Thanks

Adam {P} on 3 January 2004

It could just be me going soppy - or the alcyhol talking but I just wanted to post a thanks to everyone who posts on this site. It's not long since I joined but every post I've had a query on has been answered swiftly and accurately.

Thanks again and keep up the good work!

I'm now going to bed..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
--
"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute Read more

PhilW on 4 January 2004

Hey - come on Adski, I've just poured myself another whisky and need some company! Have another - too early for bed yet! Plenty more posts to get through!

Forum Check your tyre pressures...

JohnM{P} on 3 January 2004

Trust you all do this regularly, but...
Checked bonnet fluids in wife's car today, all ok, walked around and looked at the tyres, all appeared ok, but despite cold weather, checked them with gauge anyway... o/s/r had just 12 psi - jack out, found nail through tread...
Point is, tyre looked didn't look even slightly flat despite just 40% of pressure, so regular checking is vital... Read more

pienmash on 4 January 2004

heres a fail proof way to check your tyres..its called a kick...just kick the tyre ,if your foot hurts,that means its good,if your foot bounces back with a mild spring ,there a couple of pounds down,if your wheel comes off then get a new jam jar.another good check is the wife test get her to kick the tyre if she moans bout her foot hurting then there good,if she says "why am i doing this"then it probably needs pumping,give her the foot pump and say "you do want to go shopping darling,my toenail is ingrowing and i cant press down"

Forum Motoring Journalism

Cardew on 3 January 2004

In the dim and distant past our information on cars had to be gleaned from the specialist car magazines - Motor, Autocar etc as there was little cover in newspapers and on TV. These magazines depended on advertising and loan cars to survive and to say their reporting lacked objectivity was an understatement. The handling of the Triumph Vitesse on skinny cross-ply tyres was once described as "entertaining" - it was lethal! When 'Car' magazine gently criticised a car from a major manufacturer they withdrew all advertising which encouraged further disingenuous reporting.

Although motoring enthusiasts could 'read between the lines' the average car buyer didn't and this was compounded by adverts quoting selectively, and misleadingly, from Road Tests in these publications. I am certain this was responsible for some pretty dire cars foisted on an uninformed public.

Well IMHO motoring journalism has improved immeasurably in recent times. There are far more journalists largely freed from the need to mollify the advertising departments of the manufactures and a fair degree of objectivity has resulted. Like him or loath him, few can deny that Clarkson was one of the first to start this welcome trend. Also, hopefully without sounding obsequious, the non-enthusiast can get some honest appraisals of cars by reading HJ in the Telegraph or on this site.

However did anyone feel as I did about the report on the new CityRover by Paul Hudson in today's Telegraph? There is no point in discussing the merits/demerits of this car as they were exhaustively covered in a recent thread. Most readers in the Backroom have a real interest in cars and will easily 'read between the lines' and deduce he feels the same as most other journalists; but he doesn't come out and say so; it is all weasel wording. I suspect it will convince some of the uninformed to buy one. I wonder if it is misplaced patriotism!

It is like the clock had been put back 30 years; let us hope this does not herald a return to those days.

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mlj on 5 January 2004

'Drive On! A Social History Of The Motor Car' is LJK Setright's new book, published late November I think. The piece in the paper was an extract. Like some fellow backroomers my experience of car writing was spoiled by Setright and Bishop in 70's CAR magazine. The book by the way, is £17.50 online and worth every penny.

Forum Previous 'Speeding(mostly excl cameras)'

Dynamic Dave on 3 January 2004

Previous "Speeding (mostly excl cameras)" threads can be found here:-

Volume 51

Volume 50

Volume 49

Volume 48

Volume 47

Volume 46

Volume 45

Volume 44

Volume 43

Volume 42

Volume 41

Volume 40

Volume 39

Volume 38

Volume 37

Volume 36

Volume 35

Volume 34

Volume 33

Volume 32

Volume 31

Volume 30

Volume 29

Volume 28

Volume 27

Volume 26

Volume 25

Volume 24

Volume 23

Volume 22

Volume 21

Volume 20

Volume 19

Volume 18

Volume 17

Volume 16

Volume 15

Volume 14

Volume 13

Volume 12

Volume 11

Volume 10

Volume 9

Volume 8

Volume 7

Volume 6

Volume 5

Volume 4 (Seems to have been deleted.)

Volume 3 (Seems to have been deleted.)

Volume 2 (Seems to have been deleted.)

Volume 1 (Seems to have been deleted.)

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