September 2006
I've just brought a pair of "Brembo" vented brake disks for my Passat from GSF (OEM fitment) and they were £26.50 each including VAT.
Why is it that if these were for a motorcycle (of which I have a couple) they would be upwards of £200 each, (maybe more)!
I know the old chestnut "supply and demand" come into it and modern bike disks are generally more complex to manufacture but can there really be any justification for a 650%+ difference in price?
I can hear the "biker haters" sniggering from here ;-) Read more
Just curious if they were dangerous in a frontal impact as they have fuel tank at front? A mate of mine has just bought an early 70's one and my dad said they are death traps in a front impact, more so than other cars of teh era.
Is this true? Read more
OK So the front mounted tank of a VW might make it more dangerous in a frontal impact.
What about the rear mounted tank of the car in front that you've just driven into?
I currently drive a new mondeo tdci which has approx 50,000 miles on now , the car is 2 and a half years old . I have allways fancied a V70 Vovo estate , the one that im interested in is a petrol manual 2.4 engine . The said car has done approx 60,000 miles and is 3 years old .
So weird the mondeo allready is starting to show its age , the Volvo just drove it and seems much more of a solid not so wimpy drive as in the Ford . If that makes sence to you guys .
Now should I really buy the Volvo , will I regret it long term ? Read more
achieved
by using redundant space above the gearbox to mount some ancilliaries
(ie at the opposite end of the engine to where they
would normally be found).
An interesting engine, I wonder if it will be widely used by Ford.
The packaging principal is of course similar to that employed on motorcycles for years pioneered by Yamaha with the FZ750 in the mid 80's.
*Tenuous link time*
The 5 pot Volvos are either 10v or 20v, the other 20v car engines are the 1.8 ltr VAG 4cyl units with 5 valves/cyl, the FZ750 was the first production 5 valve/cyl engine, Yamaha have persisted with the 5v head though the YZR-M1 MotoGp bike has 4 valves/cyl and rumour has it that next year's YZF-R1 superbike will also drop the 5 valve design.
Picked up what I thought to be a bargain - dusty zx 1.9i 1991 48k on the clock with mots to back it up. test drove really well. after having it a couple of weeks and opening her up a fair bit I have now noticed town driving and low rev acceleration to be lumpy. changed plugs and ht leads but wonder is it worth trying the dist cap/rotor arm? they seem fine to look at, but maybe not underclose inspection. its a bit odd as it was fine and now isn't!!! HELP!! Read more
Prompted by an article in In Flux magazine that just dropped through my letterbox (An Adrian Flux insurance broker rebadge of Intersection Magazine) I just did a Google for Ken Brough Quad.
Imagine merging Impreza Turbo STi mechanicals with quad bike principles - even down to handlebar steering and sitting astride the seat - and this is what you get: www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/1010/
What a machine!
He built it to compete in New Zealand's Gold Rush Hillclimb but he was barred as it was deemed too radical and against the spirit of the event. He's also barred from using it on the road by NZ's road Nancies, unfortunately! Read more
a real STi would be as quick and more practical and a motorbike would be much quicker and ultimately more fun.
On the original hilclimb for which he designed the machine, I very much doubt whether an STi or a motorbike would hold a candle to it. The NZ equivalent of a Pike's Peak special, if you like.
I have been living in Germany & shortly will return to UK, along with my lhd XC90 with the old (fixed) bi-xenons. I see from this site that the (new) directional bi-xenons are switcheable for lhd/rhd. But what about the old ones? I tried my Volvo garage but they were unhelpful. Do I need to go to the expense of replacing the headlamp units (costly) or is it possible to reset the low beam to eg a "neutal" beam that would allow the vehicle to pass a UK MOT? Read more
Thanks for your comments. For a holiday, you are perfectly fine with either these (expensive!) "clip-ons" , or by purchasing a set of "Eurolites" (~?10) from Halfords or at the ferry terminals, or indeed using black PVC tape (I have tried both on my Volvo - I had no problem with residue etc when using standard electrical insulating tape or Eurolites - I already did it for holidaying in UK several times - though the next time you are in Calais, note that foreign motorists very rarely bother!!!).
My problem is somewhat differnt. When I move back to UK, to REGISTER the car the solution must be a permanent one or the vehicle cannot pass the MOT - hence my original question. I finally got the answer I needed - unfortunately I have to swap the headlamp units - but cheaper than selling my LHD & purchasing another RHD that will be more (too) expensive, given the poor value offered by UK dealers, compared to Germany. Actually now I have a second question prompted by the upgrading of XC90 lights. The new Volvo bi-xenons are multi-directional (ie can be adhusted to RHD/LHD). since I have to invest anyhow, I wonder if it is possible to retrofit these new ones - I will continue to do much driving in Europe and this solution will be better than any of the other, more temporary solutions.
I have a Focus 2003 with the 4000 Radio and want to know if the car can accomodate a CD player, Ford or otherwise. Is there a kit you can buy or is it a case of buying the Ford CD player and where are the best places to look?
Hope you can help.
Thanks!
Paul Read more
You can buy a fascia adaptor for about a tenner and fit a branded unit in the normal-sized slot that it leaves you, though I think you need adaptors for the Ford connectors to make then ISO compatible.
SWMBO has a 2001 Focus that came with an RDS radio/cassette. Bought her a 6006 from Ebay for £140, and it slotted in in about 30 seconds. She's very happy with it.
Forty years ago I took part in a day-long traffic census of the M1 northbound between J21 and Leicester Forest East services. No vehicles were stopped. It was simply a matter of sitting in a little hut recording what went past. Vehicles were categorised (e.g. bike, car, van, truck). Trucks were further subdivided into rigid/artic and by the number of axles.
All this was an easy job for one person with a pencil and a clipboard. That's how much traffic there was.
Zebra Read more
Blame the census takers !
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5340846.stm
At the risk of unleashing yet another tirade of anti-policism....an interesting article though. Read more
Now was that 40+10%+2+5=51 or 45 for real?
45 for real and you've got my sympathy. 51 and you're banged to rights.
Does anybody know where the DIY Tracking thread has gone, please?
I remember reading something on it about the car pulling to one side if that side's track rod was too long/short. Does anyone know which one it is? Read more
thanks
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Thing is though that there will be a smaller number of factories producing the bike discs, which would mean that the setup costs should be similar as it's not just the same amount of companies making much smaller quantities of parts.
In that instance supply and demand comes into play, but even then the parts should be no more than double the price of the car components, assuming a similar manufacturing cost.
I can see why the OP is frustrated.