November 2006
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Title originally 'Fifth Gear - I can't take anymore'
I have set my personal video recorder to record The Gadget Show and Fifth Gear each week. The Gadget Show is excellent - three knowledgeable enthusiastic presenters who are highly entertaining and interesting. Suzi Perry is the no.1 geeks pin up girl whilst John and Jason would be the ideal guys to sit next to in the pub.
And then there is Fifth Gear. Two gurning presenters whose poor presentational style completely collapses when they get someone famous on the show. Vicky Butler Henderson is only really capable of using the show to demonstrate that she can drive faster than her mother and sister and what is the point of Tim Lovejoy? Why not just trim it down to 30 minutes and have Tiff Needell solo showing how to really get the most out of any car on a racetrack. I have not seen this evening's installment - I just can't take anymore.
As Fifth Gear is currently the only motoring programme on terrestrial TV, is anyone out there watching it? Read more
A little question I would appreciate some information on
My pre facelift mk1 focus ghia has 14'' alloys and one has become buckled. Early ghia alloys seem pretty rare and are v expensive new. So instead I have acquired a secondhand set of the later 15'' ghia wheels from a facelift car. These currently have 195/60X15 tyres which I see from the tyre calculator page will give me a 3% speedo error compared to the 185/65X14 originally fitted.
I have an option therefore of either changing the tyres to 195/55 which give an almost identical rolling radius to the originals or living with the error.
I notice from my focus handbook that 195/60X15 were an original option and my question is, how do ford deal with the slight differences in wheel/tyre sizes offered on new cars. Do they have different speed sensors or is it a matter of a software change to a constant in the speedo?
Many thanks
SR Read more
These
currently have 195/60X15 tyres which I see from the tyre calculator
page will give me a 3% speedo error compared to the
185/65X14 originally fitted.
But does it matter? Under most circumstances I wouldn't think a 3% error is likely to swing the balance between getting caught for speeding and not getting caught.
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L\'escargot.
About 10 days ago all the vehicles in or road had their windscreen wipers removed.
The next door neighbour found a load and put them back on some peoples' cars for them and handed us back the rest to see if we could identify ours.
One had disappeared from the van and was identifyable. Both had disappeared from SWMBOs Almera. One remained unnacounted for, so I went into my garage and found a cheap replacement bought off e bay a couple of years ago.
I reported it to the police after several people said 'What's the point?'. Last week I received a phone call from the police to say they arrested someone else for an unreated incident and that he had coughed to the Almera as well.
He was cautioned due to 'previous good character'.
I was advised that for compensation for the missing wiper blade I need to go via the civil recovery route. My first move was to ask for his details. He lives about 1/2 a mile away from me. The PC was initially unsure about passing his details to me but referred me to the Freedon of Information Dept. The good lady there e mailed him to point out that there are much simpler ways of legally providing me with the information, and copied the e mail to me. I then e mailed him to formally ask for the guilty party's details and duly received them over the phone the following day.
The next step. I intend to take a witness along and deliver a letter asking for reimbursment for the cost of the wiper blade. Not the cheapo replacement I fitted but one that is of the same quality that was removed. My wife had not had them that long. So I need to price it up at the local factors. If I see him then I will ask him myself. The PC seems to think that this chap won't want any more hassle. I am told he is quite reasonable when he's sober.
Watch this space - Read more
Thanks for your replies re disclosure of offender details. You learn something every day!.
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Fullchat
My Passat is a 2005 (05) plate.
The radio is the factory fitted one.
Every know and again it will freeze, the display will go blank (still illuminated though) and not work at all for love or money, I have tried to stop and switch of and on again hoping to reset, have pushed all buttons, held all buttons etc etc but it still wont work, but remains illuminated (Blank Blue screen, where it would say CAPITAL)
I appears to happen just as you turn channels over, Press button 2, then it makes a sound and thats it.
I am getting concerned now, as they other day I failed in this state en-route to work, so thought it would sort itself out and left it, on my return still in the same illuminated state, with no action, then suddenly started to work after about 5 mins ?
This is really bugging me know , any ideas much appreciated !
Scruffythedog Read more
scruffy
As it's a factory unit in an '05 plate; then it should still be covered by the warranty. Your dealer [or anyone else with the gear] can scan the radio for faultcodes etc. through the car's diagnostic socket.
Does anyone know the difference between the RDS 5000 and the RDS 7000 (Ford OEM radios). The "Audio Guide" doesn't show any major differences apart from "high power" on the tape flap of the 7000 and an electronic tape eject on the 7000. Anyone know the power output difference? cheers Read more
many thanks Cheddar, I will try tomorrow.
Bike sounds nice, I like the idea the 06 R1, if only I could afford one myself :(
Anyway, thanks for your help and good luck with your dream bike
I am looking at the Megane 165 GT. This is essentially a detuned 225 and a bit less OTT, less likely to get stolen.
What other cars might be considered a rival that I should look at?
My needs:
2.0 litre petrol 130bhp+
5 doors
Leather seats and aircon/climate
Alloys
Slippery winter trips to France need front wheel drive.
Not too big, Focus rather than Mondeo class.
I only do 9K a year, so not really bothered about MPG, as long as it's not excessive. No more diesels, 'er indoors gets my car. Time for some fun :-)
Quite happy to have Renault again but that will mean we shall have three Renaults. Maybe I should have a change. I quite fancy another VW.
What do you all think?
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I had a lesser Megane (1.5 dCi 106PS Dynamique Sports Tourer 6spd manual) as a company car and I really liked the car itself, but the build quality and early reliability was dreadful. Be very careful.
After 3 months and 9,000 miles:
Seat trim visibly worn
Two clutch switches had failed on the starting system. These were on back order with Renault on both occasions.
The paint on the fuel filler flap had faded to a completely different colour to the surrounding bodywork.
The ESP and SERVICE lights would intermittently appear on the dash.
The electric windows played up every time it rained.
As none of these faults are specific to the dCI engine, it is logical they could apply to the 165 you are considering.
I agree as a product, the Megane is a great car (I even like the styling). It was faster, more economical, smoother, more comfortable, better equipped, and far more refined than the mk1 Focus TDDI it replaced, but the Ford did 99,000 miles with just one minor fault, had no unscheduled dealer visits, and drove as well at 99k as it did the day it was delivered.
Cheers
DP
I will soon be in need of a new exhaust system as one of the back box's is nearly holed.
I have a 2001 Ford Mondeo St200 Ltd Edition 4 door.
I assume the exhaust system is the same as the St200 5 door. I have been adivsed to get a de-cat system to squeeze a few more horses out of the motor.
Firstly, are de-cat systems legal? Or will I need to replace the cat every time I have an MOT?
Secondly, I was intending to get a Ford exhaust, ( haven't checked the price yet, but I guess it will be around £400 for the cat back). Are after market systems well made and would they be designed to produce the low back pressue which my current Ford exhaust system produces. Would they improve responce or hinder it?
Ady... Read more
The St200 has 205HP (151kW)
Having recently acquired an auto, not having driven one for some years, I have been wondering why the D and R positions in the gate seem to be the reverse of normal logic.
If I had to design such a thing from scratch I would put D ahead of the N position and R behind. (Forward for ahead and back for reverse)
What is the explanation for the apparently perverse logic here?
I assume there is one, and that is not the result of a daft moment way back when autos were first built.
A further worse thought, perhaps not all manufacturers use the same gate layout! Read more
Gordon M
I always thought it was just a more natural movement under
likely prevailing acceleration.
When accelerating, it's a natural movement to pull back the lever
as you're pushed back in the car. Likewise, it makes sense
to push forward when you're held against the seatbelt.
Aircraft have throttle controls that are fully forward for maximum power and fully back for minimum power (or reverse thrust).
Up to around 1940, French and Italian aircraft had throttles that worked in the opposite sense. There is at least one known instance of an aircraft with a British pilot and French co-pilot having a tug-of-war on the throttles. Perhaps the French were applying the same logic as above.
Interestingly, a motorcycle throttle is rotated backwards (top towards the rider) to accelerate.
Everytime you look at the news nowadays, there seems to be something on regarding cars, co2, emissions etc. The delightful Mayor Ken wants the heavy polluters to pay more. Well, a thought occurred to me. The congestion charge is rapidly becoming a co2 tax, so why not actually charge for the amount of co2 produced?
All new cars have a co2 figure. Which is great, but how many people know how the figure is achieved? I dont. Im assuming a standard test of some kind. Which is fine, but how does it factor in how the car is driven? Lets say im doing an "italian tune up" one day. Or im enjoying a spirited (but safe and legal) drive. Surely my car is producing more co2 than if i was drying at the standard level.
So rather than tax the car and introduce pay per mile and all the other nonsense, i suggest charging by the amount of co2. With a bit of tweaking of an ecu (im no expert on these things) they could get get an output from the ecu showing how the car is driven and based on a nifty formula a calculation could be made regarding how much co2 has come out. This data could then be picked up from somewhere (data transfer when filling up as an example, or roadside units that communicate with the onboard computer) and you can receive a nice monthly bill.
Must be a fairer method than everything else i have seen suggested.
Any opinions welcome.
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>they could get get an output from the ecu showing how the car is driven and...
... then you could get points for driving your car too hard and producing too much CO2. What a fantastic idea. Big Brother is watching your car's performance every second. And wh gets to pay for this amendment to the ECU? All motorists, even those who don't go into the c-Zone.
be off with you before you're lynched. ;)
Hello
My 2002 clio keeps blowing brake light bulbs on the one side, any ideas.
Thanks Read more
Thanks will do.
Browse
Lets face it, it could have hardly been any worse.
But yes, definately better.