June 2004

gingerwinger

i have a 1994 omega 2.5 v6. i want to jet wash the engine/bay. what is the best stuff to buy for a good clean job and would i be ok with getting so much water all over the engine would it kill the electrices ?? it has no oil leaks i just want to clean it up a bit....

thanks
mark Read more

Mapmaker

Why?

If it ain't broke...

midlifecrisis

Currently in need of two new 225/45/ZR18 tyres for the motor. I've been given reasonable quotes on Marshall tyres (£100 each). Are there any tyre people who can give me an opinion on this make please.
Thanks Read more

NARU

I believe Marshall are owned by Kumho?

I have a friend who was running them on an Elise - he thought they were fine in the dry but he hated them in the wet.

I've only used Marshall tyres on a Mitsubishi Pajero, mainly off road, and those ones were fine in the mud and rain - but I don't suppose they have anything in common with the ones you're looking at!

Question Astra speedo
Malcolm_L

Anyone have any reason to believe 53 model Astra speedo's are reading slow?

I got tugged today in a hired Astra 1.7 CDTI for doing 70 in a 60 zone, I was aware of the police car and was keeping to an indicated 62-63 (straight up!).

I explained that I was aware of him and the speed limit and even told him what side road he'd pulled out of. I offered to let him drive so his colleague could check the indicated speed.

He was good enough to let me go without a ticking off which was appreciated but if you're driving an Astra take care!
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Malcolm_L

This was a fully marked patrol vehicle so I'm assuming that they would have complied with all the calibration checks.
Given the standard of police servicing against any hire company, my moneys on the Astra being incorrect.

I'd like to think the police have better things to do than stop motorists who aren't exceeding the speed limit (Ducks rapidly!!)

This was intended more as a warning to anyone who hires cars not to assume that the speedo is correct.


Daz

From the internet?

I got some off the internet for my Omega but for the life of me can't remember the website address.

Thanks Read more

Dynamic Dave

BTW - What is wrong with rubber mats?


www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=17548

pdc {P}

The guy who taught me German many years ago at Siemens emailed me a few weeks ago, with a rant about a lorry which had tailgated him.

He had entered the road works on the Thelwall Viaduct, and was in lane 1, sticking to the 40 mph limit when a lorry came right up behind him and started to flash lights and honk horn. He stood his ground and the lorry eventually pulled out and overtook him, before pulling in sharply in an attempt to cut him up.

His email was just a rant to people, to let off steam, but I replied and told him he should report it to the police, as from experience they send out a warning letter. I was on the receiving end of such a letter 11 years ago, as a new driver when I performed an almost suicidal (and murderous) manouevre.

So he reported it to the police, and to my and his surprise they came out and took a statement. He has just emailed me again to say that the police had actually bothered to view camera footage of the area and had the incident on tape and were now prosecuting the lorry driver for dangerous driving.

At least Wigan police seem to be interested in motoring incidents other than speeding!

Result! Read more

Vin {P}

Ok, here's my tuppen'orth (shows my age!).

Friday before last, I was on the M25 clockwise, queueing for the M3 exit. As is usually the way, once we reached the sliproad, traffic suddenly speeded up. As I reached about 40, I'd got to the point where the link road bends pretty sharply. At that moment, I noticed in my mirror, an artic from a company I won't name (not that you'd recognise it) coming up at my rear at, I assume, 56 mph. It came up to around 5 feet from my back bumper (I wish I was joking) and hung there.

Now, bear in mind that visibility round the bend was perhaps 40-50 yards and there was a good chance of queuing traffic round the bend. I'm an experienced driver and I was terrified. There was no escape from the situation. I very gently eased off to increase the gap between me and the car in front. This clearly aggravated the driver, who came so close I thought he'd hit me. As soon as we went round the corner and the road widened (joined another sliproad) he passed me as closely as it was possible to do, then cut in front of me.

As I said, I have the odd mile under my wheels, and I spent the next five miles trying to work out what I did to cause this and what I could have done once he'd started to make it safer. All I can assume is that either I had annoyed him at some point on the M25 - if so, I don't know what I did; alternatively, he was just hacked off at having to queue on a Friday evening and I was the nearest target for his aggression.

Having seen the item at the head of this thread, I've now reported it to the Police.

I should add that my reaction was in no way helped by the fact that I was on my way to a final appointment with the psychiatrist for treatment following my accident last September when I was rear-ended on the Motorway.

My experience with lorry drivers is that they seem to be either magnificent (the vast majority) or truly abysmal, like this one.

V.

greenhey

Tuesday evening, M25 anti-clock near Rickmansworth .
I am passed in lane 3 by a Focus doing estimated 80-90 , tailgating a van in front. Sadly, that's common . But to my amazement I thought I saw a child in the front .
Further on trafiic slowed and I came alongside the Focus .Man driving, woman front seat passenger .STANDING in the front footwell facing the woman, a boy about 6-7 years old. As the traffic quickened they pulled away and I saw in their rear window , a sticker supporting Sarah's law .
So here we have people who worry about the very remote chance of their child being the victim of a paedophile, but are happy to expose a child to the very real danger of being crushed by a forward-flying passenger , most likely his mother, on her way through the windscreen .Despite all the publicity and it being obvious from 2 seconds' though that this is a very bad idea.
A few days ago th epolice were criticised for leaving the scene of a serious accident when a passenger's body was still unaccounted for .This was because he had been projected many yards through the window and down an embankment .
Some people think they have a choice about belt use - well your choice not to, costs me money in healthcare and insurance premiums .
But you have no right to make the wrong choice on behalf of children Read more

escort man

Ah, but he had to produce a valid certificate of insurance
to get the car out of the pound.


And deal with the inconvienence of getting home!
2wowheels

Attention HONDA bikers!!! I've been looking for the whole time i've had my HONDACBR600fw for a well respected service centre as everywhere i've been in the past including Fowlers, SWSB, Severnside and R.E.P.S have failed to completely satisfy me. I know that they do all the basic stuff but they got their down sides(trust me). I live in the chepstow area so if there's some bikers in the know of a really good service centre in the radius of say 100miles of this location.....spill the beans:) PLEAZ Read more

SjB {P}

For me, Brian Gray Motorcycles, who trade as Powerbiking, in High Wycombe, Bucks.

Superb. They came highly recommended to me when I purchased my Hornet 600 in 1998, and have lived up to this recommendation ever since. I still ride the same bike, and have used Brian Gray for all servicing and MOTs since. Never, ever, a problem, and I am treated like a friend even though Honda build quality means the bike only every goes in for an annual service and MOT, plus tyres, so my business is not huge. I have even asked for advice, and been given it despite no business resulting, and when I was a newbie with my new bike, was shown the correct way to check and tension the chain, check brake pads for wear, adjust cables, and so on.

www.powerbiking.co.uk
Telephone number on the web site.

Ask for Pete, who runs the servicing and accessories part of the business.

ShereKhan

Hiya all,

My father has a Rover 98R 620SLi. He has owned the vehicle nearly all its life. He always seems to have problems with the brake light bulbs. When one fails, he'll replace it. Then a few days later one may fail on the other side. It'll then be fine for months. Then the first bulb replaced will stop working. After a hefty tap on the rear cluster all is fine again.

Anyway, the other night around 2200 the car was moved approximately 10mtrs. At around 0400 my father noticed that the brake lights were still illuminated. He went to check the car, and found the brake lights giving off a lot of heat. After checking that the brake pedal wasn't stuck. He checked the clusters by banging them one by one. The lights eventually went out.

This weekend, i've got a chance to look at the car. I think its an earthing problem in the boot. I think the earth strap for the clusters must be faulty. I don't have the Haynes manual can anyone tell me if my diagnosis sounds ok. Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Where is the earthing point in the Rover 600 boot? Is this a common problem?

--
306 2.0 SE Cabriolet Read more

MarkSmith

MTBF point understood, but things DO break on cars, even before they reach 100,000 miles! The MTBF might be 100 years, but of the (say) 100,000 they produced, one might break after a year. Maybe that's your one :-)

Cheers,
Mark

Will_375

I have a problem with a BMW 330D 2000 Model.
Divers side electric window is making a strange metalic noice when selected down. If the window is stopped at the mid point there is about 3 inches of up and down play.
Just wondering if anybody can give me any pointers as to what could be going wrong, or if anybody has ever come accross this defect before?
Is it safe for me to open the panel up and have a look as there is an airbag at about hip height, and I don't want to set it off. Can I isolate it in anyway?
Thanks for your help.
Will.
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Aprilia

I would disconnect the battery and leave 30 minutes.

Forum S^koda
Mapmaker

Reading this morning's Telegraph, Skoda appear to have an accent over their 'S'. Is this new, or have I just been very unobservant?

And if so, anybody know what this does to the pronunciation? Does it make it a Shkoda? Read more

NARU

Just pronounce it as you might after an evening of Czech's other great product - all the way from Pilsen!