September 2006
Hi, My steering wheel and car wobbles under braking, could it be warped discs ? I had this problem on my Mitsi EVO VIII, skimming fixed it. Any more ideas ?
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Hi there!
Most of you reading the following will no doubt think that I'm barking mad - and you could be right! However, i am one of minority of people who 'cannot' drive modern vehicles. The reasons for this are complex, but they essentially relate to a problem with the overly-engineered electrical circuitry of cars. When driving I'm quickly affected by nausea and blinding headaches. I managed to persuade a VW garage to give me my ££££ back on this basis after having bought a new car. I am not alone - indeed, there are some high-profile folk out there in a similar situation. However, I CAN drive old, basic diesels - MK1 mondeos are a firm favourite. However, as these are now hard to come by I'm wondering what the least complicated new-ish car might be - no ECU ETC. To be like this is very debilitating .... so, I thought it was worth a stab to pose the question on here. The condition for this is generally termed as ELECTROSENSITIVITY - loads about this online. Anyway, MAD request, I know. I'm probably barking!
Thanks for reading this!
Andrew Read more
Science is surely an emerging discipline. The way in which we interact with the world around us is not fully understood. That?s not to argue that we should give credence to any crackpot theory and throw scientific certainties out of the window. As stated, the evidence for this is largely anecdotal. However, there are hundreds of thousands of people who report similar reactions to the use of electricity. Alas, this is not an April Fool. You all seem to be an educated lot so I respect your views. As I?m a stranger on here, this is what I do for a living www.wackyverse.com ? not that it will necessarily enlighten anyone to my overall sanity.
Thanks for the post.
On purchasing the missus' 1995 306 SR Sedan four years ago, I noticed that the headlamp aim was a tad high, so wound the beam down. A couple of years later, I wound it down again. Now, I need to do it again.
The car drives beautifully, handling with pin sharp alacrity and riding as you'd more likely expect of one of Jaguar's best efforts, but the static rear ride height "looks" a little reduced (aesthetically comparing wheel arch with wheel) even when parked on level ground with hand brake off and half a tank of fuel. The ride height, front and back, is identical to within a couple of millimetres (ie experimental error) on both sides of the car.
I can't see any evidence of broken springs or mounts and there is no corrosion, so wonder if the relatively soft and compliant nature of the springs fitted to this model of 306 are more disposed to sag over time? Can other 306 owners or BRers familiar with them comment, please?
If so, given 11 years and about 42k miles, I'll change the rear dampers and springs whilst I'm at it. Read more
Thanks, Autumnboy. :-)
Having moved house and mislaid it in the process, I have this evening found my Haynes manual for the 306 and torsion bar it is. No knocking over bumps, but it has just started to give a resonnant grrrrrrrrrr at critical RPM and road speed from the back of the car so I'll get the mounts looked at; with kids on the way any day and other priorities as a consequence, I'll get my trusted Pug Indy to do it when they replace a rear wheel bearing that was an "advisory" at MOT time (it's no worse now, but it does have a small amount of play beyond what I would expect)
Does anyone have experience of changing the Audi multitronic (CVT) auto gearbox fluid, if so what's involved ?and is there an associated fllter change? does the engine management computer need any kind of input?
Regards
Brian davies Read more
I am road legal again, only twelve days late.
When a fortnight ago I put my jalopy in for its test, the exhaust analyser at the test centre broke down. By then the MoT men were able to tell me the car needed a front bottom balljoint and a spot of welding.
When that had been done, the car went in for its test again. Everything major was OK, but there was a small leak from the return pipe union into the steering fluid reservoir, and the nearside front tyre had insufficient tread depth (after about 15,000 miles at most).
OK. Two new front tyres, bit of juggling with jubilee clips, leak fixed. So today the test centre had to go through the whole lot again. And they nearly failed it again because I hadn't cleaned all the power steering fluid off the things it had dripped on.
Tests now take twice as long as they did, with a lot of the time being taken up fiddling with the computer and getting a connection. The men constantly have to work out what the new rules mean, with much argument and discussion. They told me the latest change in the regulations came yesterday and had been 'in my favour'. Well, thanks, authorities!
But I don't understand how test centres can even break even, even if half the punters are paying £66 like me. Does that pay three guys for two hours? Not in this country it doesn't.
Memo to self: do it in good time next year. Read more
Now that kind of boredom I can take. You are an example to me RTB.
Hi BR's
I've just taken delivery of my new company car - a BMW 320Si and have been driving around for the last week running her in. (1000 miles in 5 days)
I've come across a few oddities. They may be common knowledge to other E90 BMW owners but as its my first company car/BMW/new car please excuse my ignorance.
1) There is no temperature guage in the dash - The handbook informs me that there is a warning light in the event of the engine overheating!
This made me think - how do you know when the engine has warmed up?? I am contemplating buying this car after the lease agreement is up, therefore I don't want to trash the car.
2) There is no physical dipstick on the 320Si - The supplying garage has confimed this and have shown me how to read the oil level via the on board electronics. What had me miffed was that the book and dealer recommend that the engine has been run for a few minutes before checking the level. How does this work ?
Under my lease agreement I have to check the oil regularly, I wonder what would happen in the event of a irregularity with the on board electronics.
As far as I know this engine is only available in the E90 320Si and no other BMW shares it.
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Fiat Uno 60S, Rover 214SEi, 306 2.0 SE Cabriolet - BMW 320Si Read more
'driving machines' indeed.
Hi all,
I hope this falls within the remit of this forum as I'd appreciate the opinions and advice of the more learned amongst you! It's a motoring holiday, so hopefully, can be considered on topic.
I'm taking a friend of mine on a road trip of sorts towards the end of next month - we intend to get a Ferry to France, drive over to the Nurburgring for a day or so, and then spend the next week or so having a poke around Switzerland and France, hopefully taking in Nice.
Now, in true student fashion, it's intended to be quite random. I notice that Formule 1 appears to be the French equivilent of a Travelodge - great prices (30 euros a night? Brilliant) and hopefully although its hardly 5 stars, consistent quality. Ideally, I'd like to book simply return ferry crossings and as for the rest of the time, see what happens.
Has anyone used Formule 1 hotels? Would they be suitable? Are the very tempting rates only available if you book online in advance - what sort of money does it cost to just pitch up on the night?
Any other recommendations from a Motoring holiday in France?
With any luck I'll have my shiney new E39 5 Series by then, but I'm sadly not holding my breath at the moment! Read more
I know it's an old thread, I've never used F1 hotels, but have used IBIS and ETAP, last time I was theyre they had free wifi in the rooms, (in France), it was necessary to obtain a pass code from reception, or two if a heavy data user. However I think the wifi has a charge in other countries, at €10 a night it's another item to factor into the overall night stay
Hello all,
My wife Audi A4 1.9tdi (90BHP) seems to have an intermitten problem which I have now felt for myself. I have only experienced it in 4th and 5th.
Situation 1: driving in 5th gear, engine underload (motorway slip road) accelerating.....the car got to 70MPH @ approx 2500rpm, then just lost all it's power.......changed to 4th...no power, changed to 3rd..no power, allow the car to slow down, back off the accel pedal, then she drives fine.
The same thing happen in 4th, but this time the car was at 3000rpm?.........does this sound familar to anyone?...........the car is serviced regularly (by myself)......
The car is currently driving fine, and I can not get it to replicate the issue everytime??
Also, is there a way of re-setting the ECU without a VAG Com?
Any idea's?? futher more (pls note this has always been there) I can here a good whoosing noise from behind the steering/dash...I know t must be the turbo but I can not see any leaks etc....and the car appears to have the pull from the turbo..I mean it is only a 90BHP, but is goes plantly well enough.
Many thanks...........laters H Read more
yes i run a bodyshop which also does mech work..
any reasonably equipt garage should be able to scan the ECU its not expensive
although it can sometimes be indefinate..
its a regular fault on this engine..
I was reading the threads about Honda Jazz versus Nissan Note as I though the Note would be good for my parents. My mother has decided she does not like the view out of the Honda windscreen(!).
Today I wandered into a local Nissan dealer to look at the Note. It all seems very nice and reasonably well built and very spacious in the back. But I though that the drivers seats was both too long and also too low at the front. I looked for a tilt lever, but could not find one. I'm not sure I would find it comfortable.
Has anyone else spotted this, before I ring my father and tell him to have a look.
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ive never found any seat problems with my note. its an auto .
i find it very comfortable and the seat tilt is pretty good. also the front edge doesnt feel low.
I have been asked by my Mother-in-Law to sell her 1994L 1.1 Ford Fiesta Freestyle 3 door in white. It has a full service history, but has only covered 31,080 miles since Jan 1994. When not in use it has been garaged, so the paintwork has a good shine before I even polish it. The condition throughout is excellent with only a single small dent from another car door and just a very small amount of rust on the rear wheel arches. The MOT expires 24 Jan 07 and it is taxed until end Dec 06. The brakes, tyres and exhaust are all in good condition. There are no known faults.
Checking Autotrader there seems to be a wide variation of prices in my area ranging from £250 to £895 for low mileage similar cars. I was thinking of asking £595. Is that about right? Any thoughts whether I should pitch it higher or lower?
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Good result, although it doesn't surprise me. We learned that clean Fiestas sell quickly when we were looking for one at the end of last year.
We were after a 1.4 Zetec engined mk4, and the price guides told us we'd need to pay no more than £1200 for a "clean" average mileage 96 car. After searching for three weeks and looking at stacks of complete dogs, we ended up paying £500 more for the only one we looked at that I would genuinely have called clean. Many others had sold within hours of the ad appearing in Autotrader.
Small cars in good nick = tear up the price guides. Especially while fuel remains the wrong side of £4 a gallon.
Cheers
DP
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Usually warped brake discs give a pulsating feeling at the steering wheel and brake pedal in sympathy with road speed.
Suspension play usually gives a steering wheel shimmy when braking passes through a certain speed range.