September 2006
Does anyone know if Costcos sell Synthetic oil to VAG spec 506.01 & if so how much ? Read more
How much does the closeness of a dealer to your house influence your choice of the make when buying a new car? When you live in the sticks, as I do, I consider it to be an important factor.
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L\'escargot. Read more
When I got my Skoda on a 4 year company lease there was a Skoda dealer where I lived. It changed franchise shortly afterwards and there's not one near where I work. I then moved house to somewhere else without a Skoda dealer and taking it to be serviced twice a year was hassle. However since the 3 year warranty has expired the lease company have had it serviced at a SEAT dealer about 10 miles away which picks the car up.
As it's time to choose a replacement, the location of servicing dealers is playing a part in the considerations.
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Soupytwist !
Yes you heard me correct - I am singing VAG's praises.
Apologies if this is old news to some of you but I have just been looking at the results for 2006 international engine of the year. In the past this competition has been dominated by Toyota, Subaru, Honda (of course) and it goes without saying - BMW.
VW / VAG have won 2 categories and are best engine overall with the 1.4TSI & 2.0 GTI.
The 1.4 TSI beat BMW's V10 M5 engine to top spot - so in my mind that shows what a good engine this must be.
I realise anything associated with VW can only be mentioned once on this web site so I will say no more about it.
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Ah.. the engine fitted in my Passat! lovely! In fact I chose this engine over the 2.0 TDI 170PS.
Nobody drives diesels anymore.. ahem.
I wish I could post this anonymously, I feel so embarrassed.
Was pottering about outside last night about 8 o'clock and started up the Prelude (which was standing in the open) for some reason, then walked away when I thought of something else.
Went outside this morning at 9am and heard the engine fan. It was still ticking over to itself after 13 hours!
It was very hot (not on the gauge though) but seems ok. It was only serviced a week ago and oil and water levels are normal. Took a long time to cool right down but everything seems to be working normally. It seems to have used about three gallons of gas.
Might I have damaged it? It's a 2.2 vtec that had done 53k up to last night and has been serviced by time rather than mileage and is on its second cam and balancer belts and platinum plugs.
Oh dear, what a pr*t... Read more
Yeah sorry about that Lud - damned insensitive of me.
Mike - I should point out I'm on about the Lieutenant and not the city.
Columbo is quite possible the best T.V. program ever made. Ever.
An item on AOL today:
"Car steering wheels carry more than twice as many germs as the average toilet seat, according to research.
A study found the average steering wheel had 41,600 germs nestling on its surface, compared with toilet seats that have on average 17,400. "The unhygienic state of our cars was put down to drivers' leaving traces of food or dirt behind and not bothering to clean up. Five per cent of motorists admitted they had never cleaned their car and just 13 per cent cleaned them regularly. A typical response was that people's cars were rarely cleaned, an answer given by 45 per cent of those surveyed.
Daniel Kyle, a car care buyer for Tesco, which commissioned the survey of more than 1,000 drivers, said Brits needed to clean their cars more often because the steering wheel was an ideal breeding place for germs. He said: "People spend a lot of time in the car cabin and are in constant contact with the wheel, so naturally germs are passed on. If food or dirt is transmitted on to the wheel and not regularly cleaned, then the germs multiply and pretty quickly you can be left with an area more unsanitary than a toilet.""
I'm with the 87% who don't clean the car regularly, but I can't say it's affected my health. Anyone gone down with a bug whilst driving?
Chris M Read more
Chris
they're my germs anyway so I don't reckon they'll do me much harm.
JH
I was wondering how hard it must be to change your own brake pads?
I dont have much experience on car maintanance, I have looked at a couple of google videos on how to do it, and it seems easy enough, is it a hard job? Read more
Agree with kith 100%. Electronic pad "warning" systems are all well and good, but my advice would be to ignore them and visually check the pads before replacing them, as has worked for decades since disc brakes were first used. Call me a cynic, but I think gimmicks like these systems serve only to relieve the less technically-minded drivers of their money, as they'll probably phone the main dealer and say "there's a light on".
I have a 52 reg Trajet petrol that has demolished two front offside Mcpherson strut top bearings. Both were replaced under the generous 5 year warranty, but as this will expire in 12 months time I am concerned that this may be a recurring fault. Any one else had this experience? Hyundai say they have no records of this being a problem, but a mechanic let slip that he has replaced a "few". I have also had to have a complete new wishbone on the rear nearside, again under warranty, after the tracking went out and could not be brought back into line. The garage put it down to " a knock" but the fact that they were so willing to put it right under warranty leaves me suspicious, or am I being paranoid? I have now shelved plans to have it air dropped into central France for next years holiday to save the tedious drive! Read more
Why not air drop as planned, but from a greater height?
659.
that grey car on the right? Looking at the side it's got to be a BM. Is it the new 3 Coupe? I hope so as it looks absoutely gorgeous and thankfully a lot different to the current 3 Series saloon!
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As a female colleague once said whilst looking for missing document "Do you want me to look with women's eyes ?" nuff said.
Raymond Baxter, who has died at the age of 84, was the face of Tomorrow's World for 12 years, bringing science and technology to generations, but his versatility also saw his commentary skills sought for sports and state occasions.
These included the annual Festival of Remembrance, the funerals of Sir Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten of Burma, and the 1953 Coronation for which he had to stand in Trafalgar Square under the statue of King Charles's horse in the pouring rain.
"If you have ever stood under a statue of a horse in heavy rain, you can imagine where the rain goes. Well it did and I got very wet."
As the commentator on motor racing, speedway and aviation, Raymond Baxter was always close to the action and sometimes part of it.
He competed in the Monte Carlo rally and during World War II he flew Spitfires. He was twice mentioned in despatches.
It was Baxter who described Concorde's first flight. He was the first to broadcast live from an aeroplane, an ocean-liner and a submarine under water.
Born and brought up in Ilford, Essex, he joined the RAF in 1940 at the age of 18, and became a squadron leader.
He was still in the RAF when he joined Forces Broadcasting in Cairo in 1945. After a spell with the British Forces Network he moved to Outside Broadcasts at the BBC.
Making science simple
He went freelance in the mid 1960s, and also took up a job in industry.
He was there from the start of Tomorrow's World in 1965, bringing to it a particular enthusiasm for explaining gadgets and mechanical processes in an uncomplicated way.
He left the programme in 1977 to make way for a more youthful presentational style.
He presented Tomorrow's World for 12 years
Some 20 years later, he co-hosted Tomorrow's World Time Machine which looked back at 33 years of the popular science show.
He was active in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and was Admiral of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. He owned a motor yacht which had been to Dunkirk in 1940.
Raymond Baxter maintained his love of motor racing but flying was his biggest passion.
Personal Comment
I shall always remember Raymond Baxters commentary on the first Concorde Flight, and Tomorrows world was always no1 on my viewing list.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF > Read more
I was lucky enough to hear this lovely old hero of mine commentating at the Goodwood Revival, I exclaimed at the time how exciting it was to hear his voice at such an event when I knew he was ill. Two weeks later he was dead, a great shame but what a life well lived. Three cheers for that chap.
I appreciate that there's been loads of discussion regarding satnav systems and their relative merits on the BR, but I wonder if satnav could help with a particular problem that I have. I guess that this is a problem that must be experienced by all multidrop drivers. In the past, my work has entailed travelling from site to site using OS grid references - which I believe don't really suit satnav systems - but now I have to visit sites which are identified by postcode and are generally within an 80 mile radius from my home.
When I looked at a post code map, I could see that it was possible to generally group the sites along the 8-point compass bearings - but then, how do I select the optimum route along that (rough) line, stopping at between 6 and 10 sites?
I'm looking for a satnav that would accept up to 10 postcode values, tell me the optimum route, then guide me along its prescribed route. Does such a thing exist?
Or - does anyone know of a website where I could put in the postcodes and obtain a route? The RAC routeplanner will give me a route in the order that I enter the codes - but AFAIK it won't plot me an optimum route.
Any opinions will be gratefully received. Waino Read more
Many thanks for all comments and suggestions. I've heard that a friend has got Autoroute, so when he gets back from his weekend break, I'll investigate further.
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Thanks for the info and tolerance.
Steve.
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Xantia HDi.
Buy a Citroen and get to know the local GSF staff better...