Got my (nearly new) BMW unmarked like new 2 weeks ago.

Parked in a multi-story car park, some dork has put a one inch vertical scratch on the door.

Is this something I can fix myself? I know I can buy touch up paint from BMW or should I leave it for now, wait for some more damage and eventually take it to the local body shop? Read more

Taking the dog for a walk this afternoon I had to stop at the end of the footpath on the road for a farm vehicle. It was travelling quite fast - probably just over thirty - for such a contraption. However, I'm amazed that it was allowed on the road the way it was. It was a type of tractor used for moving bales of hay, and it had half a dozen or so long, thick spikes protruding from the front. They projected a good few feet from the front of the tractor and I shudder to think what might have happened if he'd hit a pedestrian or another vehicle side on. Read more

My gaffer has a 3 year old Focus diesel,which has developed a fault with a valve in the inlet manifold.(Or so Ford say.)

Has anyone else had a similar problem with their's,insofar as the revs/power die at about 80mph,and what was the outcome?

Sadly,because it has got 65k on the clock,it's out of warranty.

Ken. Read more

Yeah boring I know, but I'd really appreciate some help in any form.

I bought a 1.4 Clio from a friend last week and something he's had for a while is a knocking noise (every 1/2 sec) going round right hand bends with the engine loaded and above 40-50mph. A much light noise occurs going round left hand bends at lower speeds. Odd? He's had 3 mechanics (including one Renault) look at it and they can't work it out. It doesn't effect handling, but I do notice that under excelleration going straight the steering feels twitchy or less willing to accept user input....I wouldn't of thought this was due to the wheels lifting off the ground...it's only a 1.4!

Really will appreciate any help and assure to follow up when the problem is found.

I can't work it out because after 10 years of riding bikes....my knowledge of cars is limited....to put it lightly! Read more

Thought this interesting article by a leading R&D Chemist would open some eyes.

A word of caution ? You get what you pay for!

Below is an article written by John Rowland, Silkolene/Fuchs Chief R & D Chemist for 40 years.

Quote:

Costs of synthetics vary considerably. The most expensive are the ?Ester? types originally only used in jet engines. These cost 6 to 10 times more than high quality mineral oils.

The cheapest synthetics are not really synthetic at all, from a chemists point of view. These are in fact specially refined light viscosity mineral oils known as ?hydrocracked?. These have some advantages over equivalent mineral oils, particularly in lower viscosity motor oils such as 5w-30 or other oils with a low ?W? rating such as 5w-50 etc and they cost about 1.5 times more than good quality mineral fractions.

We use several different grades of this base oil, where appropriate. This is the ?synthetic? which is always used in cheap oils that are labelled ?synthetic?. Yes it?s a cruel world, you get what you pay for!

Now, you may ask, why are these special mineral oils called ?synthetic??

Well, it was all sorted in a legal battle that took place in the USA about ten years ago. Sound reasons (including evidence from a Nobel Prize winning chemist) were disregarded and the final ruling was that certain mineral bases that had undergone extra chemical treatments could be called ?synthetic?.

Needless to say, the marketing executives wet their knickers with pure delight! They realised that this meant, and still does, that the critical buzz-word ?synthetic? could be printed on a can of cheap oil provided that the contents included a few percent of ?hydrocracked? mineral oil, at a cost of quite literally a few pence.

So, the chemistry of ?synthetics? is complex and so is the politics!

The economics are very simple. If you like the look of a smart well-marketed can with ?synthetic? printed on it, fair enough, it will not cost you a lot; and now you know why this is the case.

But, if you drive a high performance car, and you intend to keep it for several years, and maybe do the odd ?track day?, then you need a genuine Ester/PAO (Poly Alpha Olefin) synthetic oil.

This oil costs more money to buy, because it costs us a lot of money to make, very simply, you always get what you pay for!

Unquote:

This is old news really but most people are blissfully unaware of the facts when they are looking for a "synthetic" oil which although labelled as such and is more expensive probably is not a true synthetic basestock. Always remember proper synthetics are not cheap so don't be fooled.

Cheers
Simon
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