November 2005
Hi all, just to let you know that volvoman is back albeit under a new and equally imaginative tag :)
I'm now connected to Broadband so will hopefully be able to access this site properly, edit my text and participate more freely although I'll no doubt be asking further questions about all of this tecchie stuff in the computer questions section shortly :(
Thanks to Stuartli, the geek gang, mods. and everyone else in the BR for all the help and advice thus far!
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I have a 3 dr 97 pug 306 diesel i was wondering how easy it would be to swap the engine for a turbo one to give it a little more get up and go.
Any infomation would be very usefull
Cheers Dave Read more
you will probably do all the work and end up with one of those turbo lumps that throws a leg out, as said not worth the hassle.sorry.pewgot mmm
As the temperatures are now dropping I am giving serious consideration to putting some winter tyres on my wifes car (98'A4Quattro).
Is it worth putting on winter tyres in the UK ?
At what point does it become sensible ? I am noticing in my car that the roadholding is significantly less than it was last month.
Should I look for specifically winter or all season (Mud and snow is after all likely to be overkill).
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Just been having a discussion with my mate in work about Audi's, he's got an new A6 and was banging on about how good it was with MPG for a car of its size and it made me think....
...I remember watching top gear months and months ago where clarkson did some kind of challenge in an Audi, not sure if was the A6 or A8?? where he did a challege where he went from London to Glasgow and back again on 1 tank of fuel. The problem is I only saw the 1st half of the programme and didn't get to find out if he made the full journey? and for some reason its bothered me for ages! I remember him turning off all lights and air con and driving at 56 all the way to conserve fuel.
Can somebody please enlighten me, if anybody remembers did he do it? nobody in work can remember the outcome??
Thanks
Lee Read more
Not sure if it's permanent or not - I understood that the effect would fade away in time, plus she filled up to the brim as soon as she got to a pump just a mile away, so hopefully the few litres of red will have been well diluted. Not sure if it's the fuel lines themselves that get stained (is it? and would that mean that dipping the tank wouldn't make any difference?) but regardless, I can always argue that I wasn't the first owner of the car and point to the very many receipts that I have kept from the purchase of duty-paid biodiesel. Plus my supplier always keeps a written record of who buys how much fuel, so I'd be able to use that as a backup.
TBH, in four years of diesel ownership I've only ever seen HMC&E on the road twice, and they've waved me through each time as they pull lorries and vans in. But yes, when I was told what had happened I was less than overjoyed!
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
Greetings all,
There's something I am seeing more and more often when there is a queue on a dual carriageway before it merges back into one lane:
Most often, the majority of traffic (being British) queues in lane one, instead of queueing equally in both lanes and filtering off the dual carriagway in turn.
Not a problem in itself, but this does make most efficient use of the road length available.
However, there seem to be a growing breed of "hero" queue-defending folk who will move out into lane 2 and crawl along with lane 1, to stop the "inustice" of someone making use of the available road space. Despite there being empty space in front of them.
My question? Is this unlawful blocking of a carriageway? It is very frustrating that not only are some people incapable of using two lanes, but that certain individuals think it their responsibility to "police" the resulting queue.
Does anyone think these situations could be improved by more "Use Both Lanes & Merge in Turn" signage?
Raz. Read more
Zip merging works. I experienced it working on the A1. They
put the signs up zip in xxx yards with a piccy
for the brain dead to explain.
It worked - two lanes zipping in turn 40 yards before
the pinch at 35 mph.
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RF - currently 1 Renault short of a family
There is a 'merge in turn' (or something similar) on the Bracknell by-pass and it works well.
If all drivers are happy to have two lines merging without any antagonism, then there isn't a problem. It is only when the vigilantes are active, that there is a problem.
Fitted 4 brand new britpart drums and linings,new return springs girling wheel cylinders and master cylinder. Could not get one of the drums on even having checked adjusters fully backed off. Eventually got it on but very tight. Bled brakes. Brakes pedal hard but after application travel kept changing, braking was terrible. Took off drums discovered only trailing and leading edges touching drum surface, loads of dust. Cleaned out re-fitted, brakes still varaible from very poor to non existent. Repeated cleaning out drums, several times, noticed area of contact slowly increasing, lumps coming out of linings!! Brakes jam on just after starting off in the morning. Also if apply light pedal load one can feel the brakes pulsing on/off slghtly Moving vehicle back and forth eventaully dislodges them. Obtained Lucas OEM linings from Britpart...still appalling brakes but at least they seemed to make more contact with drums...loads of dust, small lumps being ripped out of the linings.
Has anyone else encountered this.... Britpart are getting help for me... I suspect the drums are out of round/have poor surface finish.
Whilst this vehicle has the simplest brake system on this earth I hav enever experienced so much trouble renewing barkes. The old brakes worked but the linings were worn and the drums scored.
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who"s britpart?is this an old vehicle?maybe shoes made to one set of drawings ie x,mm of meat on shoes and drums made to original spec and brakes were appaling?
I always used to phone up one particular rental car company and get a quote from them, and usually I accepted it. There quotes always seemed to be reasonable.
On this occasion, I had to get a 12 day hire, and I scanned a few websites, and found a competitor to be offering a cheaper price.
So I went back to my usual company, called them up, told them how I always rent with them. Their initial quote was quite a bit more than their competitor, so I told them their rival's quote was about 25% cheaper. Well, actually it was only 20% cheaper, but I exaggerated!
She puts me on hold, whilst she tries different codes on her system. Voila, 30 seconds later, I get a quote which is 30% cheaper than what I would have normally paid!
Moral of the story: If you don't ask, you don't get.
From now on, I will never accept the first quotation that I am offered on rental cars. I hope this post helps others who rent cars.
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Haggling applies to many items, not only cars.
Even if you can't get a rental car discount (and I've never paid the asking price) you should be able to get an upgrade.
My other half often gets quite embarrassed if, for instance, we are buying a new carpet and I start haggling, either for a discount for cash and/or underlay and fitting for free - she soon comes round after I usually succeed. If I don't there are plenty of other similar outlets.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
I've got a 2000 omega with factory fitted alarm. Its had the daily 4 beeps since I bought 3 years ago. I decided not to replace the siren so have lived with the beeps until now. Recently the siren has started going off independantly of the horn/lights etc. (Maybe 4 beeps can mean other things as well as a dead siren battery) This even happens with the car unlocked!
The local dealer couldn't register a new siren to the system and estimates £400+ to fix the problem by replacing the alarm control unit as well as the siren. Is this a rip off?
I've yet to find a way of locking the car without activating the alarm. Can I disable the entire alarm system?
Anyone in the know or suffered similar? Read more
My siren had been 'potted' ie, when the lid was prised off, the whole of the electronics and batteries were embedded in a hard black resin.
Hi
Whilst sitting in a particularly boring traffic jam this morning I got to wondering about the function of the vent type trim on the front of many HGV's but particularly noticeable on Scania trucks. I am talking about the trim on the front corners, above the lights that vents out just above the drivers / passengers steps. The vents seem to be slightly angles down on a Scania, but on DAF and MAN trucks they appear to be just scoops and less obvious. I did not see any on the Volvo truck on my limited survey this morning.
www.scania.co.uk/Trucks/model_range/p_series/
If pushed to guess I would suggest that given their position they may channel air down the side of the truck at just above wheel level possibly helping to reduce spray....
Does anybody know what they are for?
Should I get out more? :o)
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They are actually designed to make the vehicle less susceptible to cross winds. Dont know how they work, but apparently they do.
Have any backroomers been to Mustique in the caribbean? I'm relocating there for a two year period from January, and would like more info about the cost of living on the island!
Oh, and to keep this motoring linked, i'm being given a car while over there. For an island that's only 3 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, my commute to work is going to be quite short. Read more
You sod.
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only problem is that we will have to remember to differntiate between the existing "mazdaman", "mr mazda", and "mazda owner" tags !