May 2007
I can get an oil and filter change on my Diesel corolla 2003 for £25 from National..Much cheaper than Toyota.
However they specify the oil to be used as Visco 7000 0w-40
I enquired at my Dealership last service, and they said they used Shell Helix 10w-40
The handbook says ''Oil grade ACEA,b1,API CF-4 or CF''
Visco is CF
The hand book also says ''SAE 5W-30 is the best choice for fuel economy and good starting in cold weather,if you use SAE 10W-30 or higher at very low temperatures the engine may be difficult to start''
Basically, will I be ok with this oil from National as an interim,until my next main dealer service in November??
Thanks Read more
There seem to be good deals to be had on mondeos at the moment (old shape). I am looking at the ghia x or the titanium 2 litre petrol and possibly an automatic. What are the pros and cons? Read more
Mondeos, cheap, cheap ,cheap, get the newest, lowest milage for the money with warranty still in place.
You will not get a Jap for the same money ,and all cars are worthless in the end , pretty well.
the 2l Durate seems fine to me, I have one, an estate and it really has room in it , incredible and comfort in higher spec.
Economy is fair unless thrashed
A former model may have killed a cyclist because she was wearing stiletto heels while test driving a sports car, a court has heard...............
tinyurl.com/ypevk7
I'm sure the following point has been made before but an 8-month suspended sentence? Read more
I sincerely hope not.
So he was going at 60mph? Bit fast even for 6am, though I'd have to see the road to have a guess at what speed I'd do through it myself.
Wife and I are thinking of buying a high performance diesel sports car, and are looking at the Trident Iceni. Does anyone have any views or taken a test drive? We've requested a test drive and are awaiting a response.
Dudcol
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You're pretty certainly correct..........I think the figure refers to consumption at a constant 50 mph; at that speed I get over 60mpg from my Passat, though I certainly can't get to 60 mph in the 4 seconds claimed for the Iceni, nor get anywhere near its max speed.
I have just bought my first car with bi-xenon headlamps - a 2004 model Saab 9-5. Although I am currently asking Saab UK about how to adjust them for continental use, I'm expecting that they will just suggest lowering them. This doesn't seem very satisfactory TBH, as the lighting will then be barely adequate (inadequate, IMHO) for safe motoring. IIRC some cars can be adjusted (usually dealer only) to adjust the asymetric beam from RHD to LHD, usually by dealers at a silly price.
How do other backroomers deal with this? Read more
Please no one exhume any more of my old jokes :)
If your are driving a car belonging to someone else and the MOT has expired who is responsible if you are stopped and asked for the docs - you or the owner? Read more
Section 47 Road Traffic Act makes iof an offence for any person who
Uses (the driver),or
Permits (Generally the owner) or
Causes
vehicle to be used on a road without a current test Cetificate.
Both drivers and owner could be summoned. For m /car Max £1000 fine no points etc.
dvd
We have a MK5 Golf GT 2.0 TDI 150BHP [2006]; which has 17" Grand Prix wheels fitted as an optional extra...
Spec from VW website
Alloy wheels - Four 7J x 17 'Grand Prix' with 225/45 R17 tyres and anti-theft wheel bolts - includes sports suspension
After 15K miles we discovered that something had been rubbing against both front tyres [on the very inside tread] to the point where the fabric was clearly visible! The rest of the tyre was fine.
As luck would have it this was discovered when, on one of the tyres, a neat strip of rubber cut away and started to flap against the wheel arch, making an almighty noise.
Obviously this could have had fatal consequences!
The questions are:
1. Has anyone else experienced this?
2. How does one position this to VW as this would appear to be a serious manufacturing/optional extra issue?
3. How many miles would a standard tyre with sensible driving last? [I thought around about 27-30K miles]
4. In general, what are peoples thoughts regarding the quality of VW's these days? Read more
If there is severe wear on the tread area of the tyre (i.e. the part that contacts the road) then severe mis-alignment is the likely problem. The wheel alignment it set at PDI and not all dealers bother (since tyre wear/misalignment is not a warranty matter). Have a full 3D laser alignment done (Bear, Sun, Jim Beam etc) - cost is £50 - 75 but will be worth it in the long run.
If the sidewall of the tyre is damaged then this is likely due to the tyre contacting the suspension during turns. It could be that a wheel with the wrong offset ('ET') has been fitted - but I would have though this unlikely if they were a dealer-fit item.
After swapping the brake servo on the weekend I discovered that my brake lights are now not functioning. Does anyone know where the sensor is on this car. I hope to be able to reconnect it before driving it home.
I have a haynes at home but hope to reconnect before driving home with no brake lights.
Any help much appreciated.
Regards
Ian Read more
Hey, the switch is not your everyday pressure switch. When the pedal is depressed, the switch goes to earth, completing the circuit and lighting the brake lights. Is it accessible to get to it with a multimeter? Try probing the rear of the switch with Ign on. Should read 12 V when depressed. lol, i think!
... So many people I know and work with change their cars religiously every 3 years. In france it's barely the case, they only chuck them when the engine is dead! What is it with you brits and cars!! Read more
You sure that's not a mis-build?
Don't think so, no - glow plug lights and so on all work correctly. Seems to be a feature of diesel-engined small FIATs - my father's Grande Punto is the same. They just seem to stick in an instrument pack with a rev counter that reads up to 7k, with no red line on it. Handbook doesn't refer to different ones, either.
When did the Welsh discover they don't actually live in Cymru but some place called Gymru?
You'd think that being so proud of their national identity, they'd agree how to spell it right. Read more
"Ysbyty"
NLSWMBOFPCR* says that Ysbyty is a very old Welsh word going back to the days of Knights Templar as found in the village of Ysbyty Ifan (James' Hopsital) on the A5 in Gwynedd), I'd like to know the origin of the word Taxi, doubt very much if it originated in England anyway. Heddlu appears on the bonnets of Brunstrom's fleet, nobody moans about that. WDB you exaggerate about Cwmbran's roundabouts there are only 23.5 million roundabouts I drove round them all for a laugh last year looking for the Pontypool Holiday Inn (honestly - I thought it was a joke as well).
*No Longer She Who Must be Obeyed for Politically Correct Reasons.
On the whole, I'd rather my cars were left alone than messed around with un-necessarily. It?ll leak oil afterwards, or they?ll round-off the sump plug, or only refit some of the undertray bolts.
Regarding the grade of oil, I?m not sure it matters much in the UK due to our relatively mild year round temperatures. My car (Mercedes C270Cdi) suggests a wide range of different grades according to the ambient temp, but it looks like anything from 0-20 would do when cold, and from 30 to 50 when hot. xxW30 oils mainly came along as they improve economy slightly, although it seems to be important on some engines - Ford Zetec engines can have problems with sticky valve gear if greater than W30 is used.