July 2006
Hi,
I have just purchased a Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec. This X reg has only 22,000 miles on original Conti Eco Contact CP tyres (195/60 R15 X) and need replacing (2-3mm left, but a lot of surface and sidewall cracking). I currently do a lot of motorway miles - 15,000-20,000 a year. I am wondering which tyres to go for?
I had narrowed it down to the following but am open to suggestions:
Goodyear Excellence ~£70 per corner (www.mytyres.co.uk)
Bridgestone Potenza RE720 ~£65 per corner (www.eventmobiletyres.co.uk)
Bridgestone Turanza ER300 ~65 per corner (www.mytyres.co.uk)
tyretest.com rates the Excellence well and pneus-online.co.uk rates the Potenzas well. (I've heard that Bridgestone no longer make the RE720 - is this true?)
I have found the Contis to be ok, but perhaps a little noisy. I want to go for some tyres that will last a while and be comfortable, but also like to have good grip. Any recommendations? Also, the tyres fitted are V rated, but yet the car will only get to 126MPH. Can I not fit H rated tyres instead as it will save £10 per tyre. I can't really find anything about the manufacturer standard, but my current tyres are V, so was going to go for the same.
Thanks for your help and recommendations.
Andrew Read more
This evening I have put £20 of unleaded perol in my VW Golf TDi. The cars fuel light had just come on so i assume the fuel tank was nearly empty at the time. I soon noticed my mistake and did not start the engine. Can anyone offer some advice.
I have been told it would be relatively easy to siphon but don't know what i would do with all that fuel -i know it would be illegal to dump.
The car is a T-reg (1999) diesel, would i cause more damage if i were to just fill the tank with diesel and just keep topping it up? or should i just bite the bullet and pay £80 to have the tank emptied at a mechanic?
Read more
We have a 45gall. drum at work for storing fuel mixtures. It's properly marked and isolated, and it costs £70 to have a full barrel removed and replaced with an empty one.
I guess that most garages have similar arrangements. Considering the extra labour costs involved in disposing of someone else's fuel, the earlier inconvenience of a barrel change, and a small profit, I would think that a disposal cost of £2.50 per gall is realistic.
As I have just said today in another thread in an amazing coincidence, 'one of the best-looking American cars of all time'. Actually the word American is redundant.
our 1988 vw polo 1300 went in for its mot today...the c/o was 7.5 so i had a twiddle on the mixture screw and wound it all the way in..managed to get it to a pass level of 2.5% but im a little concerned that its fully wound in
why would the screw need to be fully in to get a sensible level??
the engine doesnt smoke or breath ...and taking off the block breather had little effect on emmisions
PLEASE dont tell me to put a webber on it...i cant afford a weber, but im happy to at least try to work with what ive got Read more
No idea if this will help. Can't work out if the c/o levels would increase or decrease but I had an Audi with a Pierberg carb 1988 and the rubber gasket between the carb and the inlet manifold split and caused all sorts of breakdowns. The most common was a flooding effect. Have a pull at it and see if you can see a crack. Even it it isn't causing you problem, it may make the car run better if you get it sorted.
I was wondering about this as im a penny pincher at heart.
If you have a budget of £500, what car is the best blend of fuel consumption, parts prices, insurance, servicing costs and reliability.
My vote goes to the Reliant Rialto. It was by far the cheapest car ive ever run by a long shot. They may have been expensive when new, but as used cars they are cheap enough and always easy to sell on.
Mine averaged 53 mpg on unleaded and cost £180 a year insurance fully comp. Parts were stupidly cheap and the car was so simple, even a novice mechanic could fix it. Mine never let me down once either.
I can honestly say, it was one of the few cars ive ever thought id buy another.
Nominations must be cheap overall, not just cheap on one level.
Oh and its not a style awards so no silly comments on styling, performance and handling - its about cars for people whose choice is cheapest car or walking. Read more
Well yes - the reason that Robins of that age go for that money is that people pay it - also, you will get most if not more than you pay for one privately back when you come to sell. These cars may have many downsides, but look after one and they last indefinatly since they dont rust and all parts are still availiable. So aslong as you have the capital upfront to buy one, you wont suffer any depreciation.
I bought mine for £600, used it for 1 year, spent £150 on servicing and MOT, then sold it for £900, no haggling and scores of enthusiats lining up for it. Mine was a D reg with 90k.
Also, if your a social kinda person, the owners club is the friendliest bunch of people ive ever met, from young women to old men, it has the lot and they will go a long way to help a fellow owner.
The later Robins werent as good as the mid 80's Rialto in terms of build quality and the owners recommend 84-88 year models as the best, which can be bought very cheaply with T&T.
Watch Ebay and you get a better idea of what people pay. Nobody who knows buys the later models.
Besides, compare like for like - look at the silly money Minis fetch - cant get a reasonable one for much less than a grand, even rusty ones are 500 quid, and I did look for one for ages before buying the Reliant.
ok dont laugh....ive never worked on drum brakes before
i have a issue on one side...the brake binds on one side with the handbrake off
after a quick inspection the issue i can see is that the clyinder only moves on one side...meaning the cylinder is the usualy tube shape with a piston/plunger at each end, i would imagine the plunger should move outward equaly at both ends??
as it stands...one piston moves in and out freely....the other wont budge at all??? is that right or should both ends move?? Read more
Two possibilities. 1/. They were not actually change, or the seals were swopped but not the cylinders, or 2 you ahve a pressure washer and you keep filling the drums up with water. Regards Peter
what is the stangest car youve seen doing the school run ?
its mostly zafira's at my childrens school althouth there is a lovely tt with a realy unusual body kit Read more
I remember being one of four kids (I must have been about six years old) squashed into a Lancia Fulvia Zagato, which was a pretty strange sight even in 1974 (ish). The same family's other car, as I recall, was a De Tomaso Pantera which was drew an even bigger crowd when they showed up in it.
Davros
There are frequent references in The Backroom to "main" dealers, but what constitutes a "main" dealer?
The Ford dealer I go to is a family owned affair with only 3 workship technicians but it is still emblazoned with Ford logos. How would you categorize this size of dealership?
--
L\'escargot. Read more
What makes it even more misleading is that major car retail
chains regularly take over family owned main dealers and retain the
name for marketing and continuity purposes as part of the deal.
Yup, Inchcape just took over Lind Automotive group, so a selection of sites in the South East and East Anglia have also now joined the Inchape umbrella.
The best service I've had from any Audi dealer did not come from the one I work for but Listers Audi in Coventry. They've always been immaculate in their response, to the point that I would pay more and buy my next Audi from there simply because of the service.
Leather seats a good idea as an optional extra when buying new 318 se?
Cheers
Buck Read more
That reminds me of the time when my baby boy threw up all over the seats in my old V70 (with leather). I won't say it was pleasant, but I was chuffed with how easily the vomit wiped straight off the leather, no worries. No residual after smell or anything.
In contrast, when the poor lad chucked up in his mothers Astra (one of the ones from a couple of years ago with the particularly nasty velour that sticks cat hair to the surface as if it were glued on), the seats were drenched and continue to stink of sick to this day...
Given that comparison, I know which material I prefer to specify!! :)
I have had a car stolen. it was untaxed, uninsured and in poor condition, but the engine was good.
Anyway, I have reported it to the police. What I want to know is can this come back to haunt me in the future. What if they find it burnt out somewhere, or if the driver has an accident. Am I liable to any costs for collection and disposal?
I was going to scrap the car sometime soon.
I know that under the MIB it is the last insurer who is liable for damage to other vehicles. But I am concerned about any costs which might come my way. Read more
The Police should recover the money from the scroat that stole the car. And if you fail to catch them, explain to our remarkably cloth-eared government that you need more actual, real police doing actual, real police work.
Browse
I visited my friendly tyre fitter last night about the same tyre f(different size) or my Audi, but on checking I need a W rating and not a V and Toyo don't do one. I've asked him about Vredesteins and he is trying to source these, but the fitted price he gave me for replacement Michelins is less than mytyres are charging just for the tyre so I may well replace like with like.