July 2004
Hi,
On a road near me I have noticed a new roadside box, probably erected at some point in the last 6 months. It's about 12 feet off the ground, and roughly the size of a shoe box. One side, which faces oncoming traffic, is dark-glazed but if you look carefully you can just make out LEDs which spell 'TAG'. There doesn't seem to be any kind of display on any of the other sides. I have never seen the LEDs illuminated, despite passing the box at least once a day.
The road is a 40 limit, and the box is probably 250m away from a traffic light controlled crossroads. I haven't seen any other boxes like this on the other roads leading into the crossroads, or anywhere else.
Does anyone know what this kind of box does? I wonder if it's a mechanism for emergency services to force the lights to change as they approach from the direction it faces (have heard about these things in the USA)- rush hour queues can easily back up past the point where the box is installed). Read more
Peugeot quote ATF D as their preferred ATF but is this Dextron II or !! or is it another version of AFT I searched the warehouse last evening and no sign of ATF D. I could have G and Dextron II or III but no D. Has D been superseded and if so by what. I.ve searched the net to no avail other than id imples ATF D is Dextron II and later III. Thanks Guys. Regards Peter Read more
I have just changed mine with comma PSF from my local motor factors.Before that i have used the Morris ATF from andyspares on the web which is the same as dexron II. As long as it is red and has ATF on the packaging it should be fine.
In the FAQ section, it says you should run a diesel to 4,500rpm a couple of times a week. Is this true for all cars?
I have a S-reg Xsara and the red section on the rev counter starts at 4,750rpm. It's not often I get above 3,000rpm in normal driving. The car runs great but fails its emissions bit of the MoT every year - is this coz of how I drive? Should I be taking the revs up to the top of the "safe" section regularly?
Sorry to sound thick but I never had a diesel before and I want to look after this car!
Read more
The short answer is probably yes - it is down to the way you drive.
Revving to the upper part of the range will clear out accumulated soot etc. which if present would increase the likelihood of the car failing the emissions part of the MOT. They rev it hard to do the test and the soot that would get shoved out at that point would probably mean that the tester can\'t see anything for about ten minutes afterwards.
So once the car is nicely warmed up get on some dual carriageway and hold it at about 4,500 rpm for a couple of minutes.
If your MOT is coming up soon it might be worth investing in something like Millers Diesel Power fuel additive and then doing the above. If it\'s not for a few months just give it some revs once a week or so.
The technique described above is colloquially referred to as an Italian tune up - do a forum search for it and you\'ll find plenty of advice on how to do it and it\'s benefits.
--
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
I know the subject has been touched on before but I was this evening, followed by a Transit with the following occupants:
Driver, Mum with you child on lap, young child on middle seat with younger child on lap.
You guessed it, NO seat belts in use by any of them.
The same people who are going to read, digests and act on the latest how to defend against terror book instructions.
I dispair at times but just drive slower and leave a big space in front. Thats all I can do. I dare not comment such as DO you love your family? Then Belt Up!
Sorry rant over. Read more
Unrestrained anything is bad. My parents used to let the dog sit on the rear seat, only it never sat of course it stood and stuck its head on my mothers shoulder. Accident waiting to happen which it did, my father had to brake hard once and the dog crashed forward and broke my mothers jaw.
They got an estate and a dog guard and it went in the boot after that...
It's Sunday evening and I'm driving back to London from Lincolnshire where I've been visiting the folks for the weekend.
I'm on the A1M happily cruising and I've been following a gent in an Audi 100 for some time. I decide that rather than hanging on his tail I'm going to overtake him so I pull out. As I'm overtaking him he appears to be approaching the vehicle in front of him rather quickly so I pull into the 3rd lane, anticipating his desire to pull into the second lane and overtake the vehicle in front of him. A hand goes up to say thanks and off I go.
Some miles down the road the A1M has ended and it's just plain old 2-lane A1 dual-carriageway. Due to the non-motorway nature of the road I've slowed a bit. As I'm approaching the vehicle in front of me I check my mirrors to see if it's safe to overtake and I see the same Audi from earlier about to overtake me. The driver, presumably in recognition of my move earlier, flashes me out into the second lane even before I've began to signal, allowing me to overtake the vehicle in front without having to slow. A wave of thanks from me, and off he goes. I don't see him again.
But for the rest of the journey home I had a warm glow. I felt good and I let a lot more drivers perform manouvres around me than I perhaps otherwise would have.
So there's a lesson in there, even for the most cynical among us (ie me). Driving courteously can pay off, and sometimes you just feel good about it. What a shame more motorists don't try it once in a while.
Read more
There are two sides to the same coin.
First, there is the simple courtesy to others. Particularly those that have shown themselves likely to reciprocate.
Second, there is the steady development of knowledge about the styles in which other cars near you are being driven. This allows you to predict what will happen sooner, such as the car that has already pulled out too close without indicating.
My wife gets her Focus next week, and it has the standard fit stereo but no CD changer. There's several places online selling a Sony 6 disc changer with interface for about £139, and I'm just wondering where's the best place in the car to fit the changer - any recommendations on this? Where is it fitted on models that came with it?
Any help appreciated! Read more
Done
Adam
Just had my '02 Omega windscreen replaced by Autoglass. The new windscreen has a very noticable pink/purplish tint and looks rediculous. The rest of the glass in the car is smokey grey/green. Autoglass assure me that it is the correct (new spec) windscreen for my vehicle and that the pinkiness will fade with time. I'm not convinced. My Vauxhall dealer said he's never seen one like it before (after he'd stopped laughing). I've not seen anything like it on the road (except in a few Renaults). Anyone else heard of this ? Read more
Funny, since I noticed mine, now I sit in traffic jams looking at everyone else's windows. Some cars are certainly worse than others, Daewoos, and hings in that league are bad, so are Japanese vehicles. I'm still waiting for a new screen to come to the dealer from Germany, then to Autoglass, then Autoglass to me. I'm not sure whether the new one will be pink/purple or dark green like the original. I don't mind either way. It does make me also wonder about the safety of 'pattern' glass, would it offer the same protection in a rollover, or a brick dropped off a bridge?
The car I am about to get has been off the road for a while but the owner hasn't sorn'd it. The last tax disc expired at least 18 months ago. Now I have set things up so that it will be taxed before I drive it and the date of change of ownership will be after the current end of month. Is there any chance the DVLA would get difficult with me because of the previous lack of tax? I am thinking it would be sensible to photocopy the change of owner slip before sending off the original to the DVLA just in case it does go missing.
Are there any other precautions I should take?
teabelly Read more
Depends how long it's been of the road.
www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/unlicensed.htm
You only need to make a SORN for a vehicle that had a licence in force on or after 31 January 1998
This saturday I need to take my car to a garage, I live in London and the garage is in Kent. Are there any tow truck (donno the correct name) for hire i.e. ofcourse with driver?
Thanks. Read more
Or searching 'classic cars' on eBay - lots of them advertise there.
I was quite impressed by the somewhat over zealous warden in the street next to mine, who slappe a ticket on what was in my mind an abadoned car. The clues for me were, no tax disk, open/smashed windows and no number plates. I wish I had now stopped to look what the warden had put on the ticket! Read more
The one consolation in all this is that traffic wardens possess just barely enough intelligence to become, yes you've guessed it, traffic wardens.
Browse
Godd to see that the the links to other sites are current, too ;-)