January 2007
How much does the size of the engine affect durability?
Assuming you follow the service schedule, should there be any difference between a 1.3 and a 3.0 in terms of how long the main components in the engine should last? Read more
Is it possible to add stability control (ESP, DSC, VSC etc) to a car which didn't originally have it specified as an extra (but on which it could have been specified)?
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Stevie
Lakland 44-02 Sunburst
Yamaha YTS-23 Read more
I suppose it depends on the make model too. A labyrinth!
I was on the floor with this!
www.fahrtipps.de/fundgrube/fahrschule-bozzetto.php
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Seen it a few years ago but was worth watching again.
Been posted on here several times in the past.
Maybe I'm easily impressed but I find this ASIMO technology from Honda just fantastic.
This is a robot that anticipates movement and changes direction itself and can recognise faces and expressions.
I understand Honda used ASIMO in developing their collision mitigation technology in the Legend and CRV & in their drive to become known as a mobility company are developing him to assist less abled people.
asimo.honda.com/asimotv/ Read more
hi, i have a rover 416i which i brought early last year. for several months it would cut out, when coming to a junction or stopping. it would re start agin straight away and then be ok for a few days or even weeks. i finally took it to my local garage in the summer and they told me the head gasket had gone, which i had replaced, but when i got it back the problem still continued. some days it is fine, others it can happen several times in a single journey, it also started to kind of splutter just beofre it would cut out, as if the fuel was not getting through, i had an xr31 that had a similar problem and it was the fuel sensor, anyway a week before christmas it cut out, but when i tried to restart it it must have taken about 10 times of turning over before it finally fired up and then drove like a pig, so i called the aa out, who were completely hopeless, and followed me to my local garage (again) who did the head gasket for me. as the problem is intermitant i fully understand they would need it for a while to get the problem to happen for them, however 6 weeks on they still have my car, and have told me they have tried lots of things and have had no joy, there next attempt will be a fuel pump to be fitted on monday - at a cost of £70 plus labour etc, on top of the labour they are allready charging. they seem to be stumped at what the problem is, which is not at all reassuring, and to be honest i cant afford these repairs as it is, witout them doing work that is not needed. can someone please help with what this problem may be??????? kind regards Read more
Next time it happens, check to see if you get a spark from the coil,if you dont its possible its the crank position sensor,common fault on these.let us know ok
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Steve
hi,
im trying to get a new front drivers door handle on but cant get the 2 fixed screws to line up with the bracket at the back of the handle. the brackets very flimsy as its just an extention of the door skin but it fails to reach the screws by about 8mm. if you put the screws in first then the handle top doesnt go in. any suggestions most welcome. Read more
looking at changing my oil and filter on my vauxhall zafira diesel but was looking early and cant seem to find were the oil filter is was wondering if any one could help on the matter above Read more
Thread retitled from "Interesting News" which told no one anything.
The number of people not paying their road tax (correct name Vehicle Excise Duty) has topped two million.
According to figures released by the Department for Transport, an estimated 2,193,000 drivers failed to pay their vehicle excise duty last year, up from 1,549,000 in 2005.
The report showed non-payment was costing a small fortune, with £217m in lost revenue in 2006/07, compared with £147m in 2005/06.
But, 80 per cent of that is expected to be recovered through subsequent improvement, a DfT spokesman said.
In recent years the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has run a high-profile TV advertising campaign telling people to pay their road tax on time or face certain prosecution.
Evasion rates are highest for motorcycles and "other" vehicles, the figures show. In addition, evasion among cars and vans that are more than 10 years old is five times as high than those which are less than a decade old.
The report revealed there were 1,338,000 unlicensed cars and vans on the road in 2006, costing an estimated £170 million in lost revenue.
The average value of a licence for these vehicles is £127. The 694 unlicensed motorcycles are costing an estimated £27 million alone.
The largest increase in non-payment was in the North West, the DfT revealed. The statistics in the report are based on checks conducted at 256 sites across the United Kingdom. In total, around 1.3 million registration marks were collected, and checked against computer records.
The data were collected before new measures were introduced by the DVLA in June last year to tackle the problem. The measures included debt collectors to target owners who ignore penalty notices and doubling wheel clamping operations
*taken from AOL'S "news section"*
some quite amazing amounts of money! - cheers billy Read more
It is enforced by Wheelclamp now and again around here - operation Cubbitt. Brilliant Man and machines working in total harmony. And no it wasn't me that grassed a local burglar to the LVLO, they took his van whilst he was in his methadone induced sleep. Awww shame on them !
A friend has a car Peugeot Partner Diesel.
There is a knocking sound from driverside front wheel, over bumps in the road. My diagnosis a worn bush. I had 3 minutes look underneath with the wheel raised a bit - couldn't see anything especially obvious, I did notice the wishbone arm, but could not see any thing obviously wrong with those two bushes and the one on the wheel bracket looked ok too.
So are there any other bushes it could be or something else.
What's the best method of searching for it, without a garage hoist, i.e. on the road Read more
I was trying to think of the name of that bar earlier! I had one of those go on another car, it was a bush more than a link and the noise was similar. The noise is just a small knocking noise on every bump in the road, [i]knock.....knock....knock etc[/i i.e. it's not a rattle.
Is this "link" specific to this type of car? What does it do?
Thanks
Hi. Yesterday my neighbour crashed her car into mine while it was parked on my half of a a large shared drive.She accepts full responsability but the problem is that my car is an 18 year old Mercedes. Yes, I know its old but it is in,until now, pristine condition with no rust and runs better,smoother and quieter than most other modern cars I've been in and i've looked after it for the last ten years. The insurance company deems it unecconomical to repair,even without viewing it (its the rear light cluster and rear side wing that is damaged and I'm guessing £300 to repair) and wants to send an accessor to make a cash offer. To my knowledge these offers are derisory,and probably less than the repair cost.If the offer is not high enough,I'm told I can just keep the damaged car!
Surely,as I have been paying for fully comp. insurance for TEN years with no claims,I am entitled to be put back in the situation I was in before the incident at no cost to myself? And why is MY insurance company limiting how much I can claim if it is the 3rd party's insurance company that should be footing the bill? I will try to get some quotes for repairs as ridiculously, it may be cheaper to pay the garage myself for repairs and not claim on insurance.Then all I need do is sue my neighbour, how nice!
Any advice welcomed. Thanks.
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Just check that your neighbour is aware that you are also being paid by his insurer. You don't want the situation where he believes he is avoiding loss of NCD by paying you compensation. He would normally expect his insurer to cover the whole loss and not pay out anything himself.
If he is aware then I think you are fortunate in having a very generous neighbour. I also think he is significantly naive, so be nice.
Browse
IMO, durability has much more to do with engine class, detail design, the effective mitigation of damaging vibration, appropriate material choices, appropriate processing of these materials, engine useage patterns and maintenance than by the size of the engine.
By engine class, I mean that a heavy commercial vehicle engine is designed for a longer and more arduous working life than the engine in a motor car, and as such cannot form part of the comparison.
Some time ago, there was a series of papers written by SS Tressilian (forgive the dodgy spelling) on comparative engine design, where he reduced all the main engine design equations down to their bare minimum, to allow the comparison of "equivalent" engines. These papers are useful for estimating what effect a change will have on performance, economy, and stress.
One thing I find truly curious. Engines in motor cars have never been as reliable or long-lasting, but many on this site are obsessed with oils and engine failure. Why?
Number_Cruncher