March 2007

mike hannon

There seems to be a lot of talk at the moment in various threads about the good and bad points of Pirelli P6000 tyres, culminating in somebody calling the P6000 'a tired old design'.
I admit I have an axe to grind here - I have them on the Prelude, I've bought Pirellis on and off for decades and they seem a good combination of grip, resistance to wear and reasonable price.
But the comment above got me thinking. Every time I venture into a tyre fitter's these days I spot new rubber that seems to have treads that are more and more assymetric and complicated looking, while tyres for racing (four wheels and two) seem to have treads that are more and more simple in appearance - often just a few plain grooves.
I guess what I'm saying is, these days are tyres seen to some extent as fashion accessories?
BTW, my elderly neighbour is trying (maybe successfully...) to sell me his ancient but low mileage Renault 4 van, fitted with original pattern Michelin Xs! Read more

LeePower

Can I make an effort to re-direct the thread a bit?
What I meant originally was 'is there a fashion element in
tyre tread patterns'? That is, do some people pick tyres because
they have the latest assymetric, complicated looking tread pattern, rather than
a pattern (for example, the p6000) that seems perfectly capable of
doing the job but has been around for a few years?.
I know this is an impossibility but, personally, if I still
had my Rover P6 3500 I would be quite happy to
run it on original Dunlop SP Sports (which I believe are
now re-available) or Avon Turbospeeds because they worked well, rather than
something with this this year's tread pattern just because it is
the latest thing.


Not bothered what the tread pattern looks like, its the overall performance of the tyre im interested in.
mikepenn

Hi just after a fellow traders view on what would sell best out of a Auto or Manuel Lexus is 200, Just fancy one myself for a few months and not sure what they sell like and if the manuel or auto is harder to sell???
Ive just eventually got rid of a 1999 Merc CLK that had a manuel box, took a while to shift, didnt want to make the same mistake with the next run about for me.
Or just to stick to an E46 shape BMW 3 series as i can sell them all day long :)
thx for any info you could share,
regards , Mike Read more

Falkirk Bairn

>>Hi just after a fellow traders view on what would sell best out of a Auto or Manuel Lexus is 200

Why would he want a Spanish Lexus?

He should take some spelling lessons, I think.

Dynamic Dave


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Read more

drbe

However, The Vegetarian Society could, quite fairly, be accused of not beibg totally unbiased!

local yokel

95 205 STDT with 110k? Some bid that amount on Ebay last week for one. tinyurl.com/2r7ntc Read more

DavidHM

Maybe so; my point was that the standard of the repair to my car is such that, whilst it clearly has been repaired, no insurance company would have signed off on such a repair.

Therefore the issue was whether the repair was to the salvage vehicle or whether the car had only been insured third party and then repaired on the cheap (but not recorded).

CliveS

I intend to Part-Ex my Merc for another used Merc at a Merc dealer. I want to transfer my reg plate to the new car. If I use a DVLA V317 `Transfer` form, I understand that I need to take/post the vehicle reg documents for both cars to the DVLA - but how can I do that as I wont be in the position of owning both cars at the same time ? Would I therefore have to take a different approach and `retain` the plate, then transfer to the new car after Ive taken ownership ? Any advice from anyone having done the same thing would be appreciated !

Read more

Sunny22

I do this for a living with Porsche so there is two ways. The dealer will do a number swap which the dvla say can take upto 7 working days, so get the paper work into the dealer and get them to get the ball rolling. If you need the car before that time, take the car on its normal number and once the swap has been sactioned the dealer should ring you telling you to come and get your plates fitted and collect your new tax disc...

Retention wise will take even longer for you to get your number on your car, as you have to wait for the dvla to issue your certificate which cna take upto 4 weeks, and also you will have to wait for your new log book which the dealer should send off and then will come back to you in your name...

Hope this helps...

CMP

Hi,

I have misplaced my owners manual and need to change the clock within the manufacturer's stereo forward for BST. I have tried pressing buttons at random but no luck!

The car is the 2004 model

Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance. Read more

CMP

Problem solved.

Thanks very much chukter!

Question Kia Pride EGR
bathtub tom

I've recently acquired a '94 1324cc, and it's got exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) from the cat. to the air filter box, with the exhaust passing through the air filter. It didn't have an air filter when I got it, presumably because it would clog up with carbon. It's also got a carburettor.
I'm quite happy with its performance and running, but I wonder what would happen if the EGR pipe was, err, inadvertently blocked.
I presume the air filter would stay cleaner for longer, but I'm thinking less exhaust gas equals more air, more air equals leaner mixture, leaner mixture means lambda sensor makes mixture richer (goodness knows how), more air plus more fuel equals more performance?
Would there be any down side?
Read more

dieselhead

The mixture will stay the same, there is a slight advantage to using EGR as it allows a slightly larger throttle opening for a given engine output ... reducing pumping losses and boosting efficiieny very slightly. I don't think you would notice the difference and it would keep the filter much cleaner. Bad set up really. You could try plugging the vac hose to the egr valve to see what difference it makes.

Question Clio problems
Clio87

Hi there,

I hope someone can help.

I have an old Renault Clio. Just recently I've noticed everytime I drive over something in the road there is a metal sounding rattling/clattering noise coming from underneath somewhere.

I assumed it was the exhaust but when I took it to Kwik Fit they said there was no problem with the exhaust. They noticed that the anti roll bar nuts/bolts had worn off and one of the anti roll bars was loose.

I took it to a garage to have these repaired but the car is still making the rattling noise.

I'm a bit worried something is about to fall off somewhere! Please does anyone have any advice on what the problem might be?

It's an automatic car if that makes any difference.

Many thanks in advance.

Regards, Read more

PhilW

Could it be one of the coil springs snapped? - my son had that problem on his a few years ago - strangely it didnt seem to affect handling (he said!!)
--
Phil

andymc {P}

I've been trying to find out what the ratios in each gear are in the gearbox that was fitted to the 1994-model Audi 80 TDi. Spent some time trawling the web with no joy. Contacted an Audi garage to be told to try this "erwin" website, which wants to charge me a minimum of £30 for the privilege of providing access to non-printable information. Can anybody provide this information for me please as I'm starting to feel like I've reached a dead end. What I'm looking for is the ratios in gears 1-5, and the final drive ratio.

As a follow on, does anyone know if the differential in these boxes can be turned upside down in order to mate it to a rear-mounted engine and still have five forward gears? (I'm asking cos I might try having one of these fitted to my trike). Cheers!


--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ... Read more

audi80tdifan

Hi Ian,

Do you by any chance have any details for gearbox code CVC for a 1995 Audi 80 Tdi?...

mattblack

Has anybody else experienced lengthy delays when ordering this car. I ordered mine at the end of January and haggled a 5% discount. Paid the deposit with delivery quoted as 12 weeks (end of April, early May). Called the dealer last week to get an estimated date for collection and told it's now July!. When I asked the reason for the delay the answer was "don't know, we only get dates from the factory" ie. it's tough and like it or lump it. The original salesman I ordered the car from "left the company" shortly after and my first taste of Landrover customer service after years of VW/Audi seems shocking. Read more

jc2

I ordered a car a couple of years ago(not a L/R) and it was a special build-ie-not a common spec.that could be supplied from stock and the delivery date came round and no car-the dealer said to stop making any payments on my then current car and only to make payments on the new one when it arrived.I effectively got three months free.