May 2007
it may sound a bit topgear ish but as i live next to the sea and a good slipway i was thinking of making an amphibious car.
something very simple and light like an old fiat uno with an outboard.
what do you experts think. keep it simple please. i presume i'll have to add bouyancy etc and seal all doors and keep the driving engine dry ish.
it doesnt have to be able to go straight from road to sea i dont mind a 15 min tinkle with spanners or some kind of external bouyancy frame attached to the car. Read more
Yes Lud, you are spot on.
I was careful to say that each item had a *mass* of 1 tonne, and then went on to ask what each *weighed*. For the man in the street, mass and weight mean the same, but this is not true in science and engineering.
The straw displaces much more air than the lead, and is therefore more buoyant. The effect, when each item was weighed would be for the straw to weigh less than the lead.
As mass is the only SI base unit that traces its standard back to an artefact, a metal block, it turns out that the buoyancy correction for steel is negligible. As soon as you move away from this density, if you want to make the most accurate measurements of mass, you need to make a buoyancy correction. (I'm talking about the level of accuracy used by bodies who control National and International standards, like NPL and BIPM, not by the grocer weighing your spuds!)
Number_Cruncher
ok i need someone that understands electrics to see if this is safe
my heated seat pad had a break in it, its basicly a thin flexy wire with a pvc sheath running through a canvas type fabric
i found the break , bared both ends and soldered it up with a tiny dab of solder , then used heat shrink to insulate it
now will the repair cause wierd resistance and cause a hot spot there or any other probs ? Read more
Yep
Hi,
I've been dealing with an internet company about buying a pre-reg car that they were advertising online. I pretty much told the salesman over the phone that I wanted the car so placed a deposit using my credit card (£400). He emailed me an order form to sign to confirm the order etc etc. My situation has changed before I signed and returned the form and I now no longer require the vehicle, can I demand the dealer to refund my deposit or can I go to my credit card company to cancel the transaction?
Anybody know what the procedure is or have I just thrown £400 down the swanny???
Look forward to hearing some feedback.
Thanks in advance. Read more
With distance buying, the only downside to cancellation, which should have been explained to you on the phone, and should be written in the paper contract that they've sent you to sign, is that they could charge you recovery costs to return the vehicle. But since you haven't even had the vehicle this would not apply. Cancel and explain to them that under the DSR you have 7 days to decide to accept the contract or not and they have 30 days to return your deposit if you don't accept it..
Hi guys, I have a 2000 306 XSI, a while ago the remote central locking stopped working, i put new batteries in it but it still wont work, ive heard that pugs are notorious for electrical problems and that the wire in the doors can wear causing problems with locks randomly locking/unlocking. When i lock the doors with the key all doors lock/unlock fine and there is no wire damage. Do i have to reset the remote sensor??? If so does anyone know how to do this?? Would be very happy if anyone could assist. Read more
If the central locking works, I doubt it'd be an electrical problem. A lot of manufacturers use rolling codes for remote locking, which can get out of sync. A lot of cars can be "resync'd" by turning the ignition on with the key, and holding down the lock button. Failing this a Pug dealer wouldn't charge too much to re-program the key... they might even tell you how to do it without charging you! Have found Pug dealers to be very reasonable for things like that.
p.s. Make sure the batteries are in the right way round first, that's my normal downfall with button-cell batteries.
I have a passat with the standard radio cassette player (it has 'GAMMA' on the little flap that you put the cassette in) and seperate CD player.
When listening to music on the radio, the sound changes as though the treble has been turned right down. It lasts like that for anywhere between 10 seconds and a couple of minutes before returning.
I thought, initially it would be a loose connection somewhere, but then I noticed that it didn't do it with CD and it doesn't do it during speech on the radio, ie R4. it doesn't even do it when the DJ's on the music stations are talking, and it does it on all radio music, not just on one station.
In the book it says something about a setting for recognising speech and music and altering something automatically, but I couldn't understand what it was supposed to do or how to turn it off.
Did I read it right? Is it the problem or is the radio knacked?
Help please.
thanx
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed Read more
Thanx for the replies.
If I do replace the head unit with an aftermarket one, I've got an Sony in the garage, tape player and a 10 disc changer, how is it going to affect the single disc player in the dash if i don't fit the multichanger? Is it still going to work?
I've not got a problem fitting a new stereo if needed but reason I've left it standard so far is because I'm lazy and can't be bothered to pull up the carpet etc to run wires about the place.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
Hi all,
I am looking to change my car and for a bit of a joke I thought i'd look at the insurance for a Supra twin turbo 3.0 and being only 19 with 2 years NCB I expected the computer to start laughing at me.
I filled out the application form and added my sister and dad to the policy who have clean licences as they have brought it down on other sites and clicked 'calculate'.
The next page came up and they quoted me £1148.95! My current insurer wouldn't even quote me on a 306 GTI-6!
If i bought one, paid this amount to insure me and I had an accident, is there any way of them getting out of covering me, seeing as they shouldn't be for such a little sum of money?
Cheers Read more
My son found this out also.
A little hatchback costs a lot to insure
A high performance car sometimes doesn't cost much more.
Insurance quotes are a bit of a lottery.
Check your excess, and if it's from a mainstream company - or if the underwriter (at least) is well known - then this could be possible. If you're getting computer quotes, then I would guess it's OK.
Make sure you are completely honest regarding absolutely any modifications from standard.
I currently have a GSi and have bought a GXi for spares.
The cars seem identical to me. The engines are both 2ltr and visually look the same but I've just read in Parkers that the GXi has 115bhp while the GSi has 136bhp.
Does anyone know what the difference between the two cars is? Read more
Hello All,
I am (still) on the look out for a cheap 2nd car for short range commuting. A Corsa 1.2 "Trip" has appeared on the bulletin board at work (see below).
For sale - Corsa 1.2 Trip - £850
98 R Reg, 3 Door, dark blue, MOT Dec 07, Tax Oct 07, 66k miles. Cheap tax and insurance. Good condition and really reliable. New car means this one goes.
On the face of it this car meets all my criteria perfectly and the price seems reasonable. I also vaguely know the seller so reasonably sure it won't have been thrashed every day.
Before I proceed further though, are there any known probs with the 1.2 engine. I think this is the old 8V engine carried over from the Nova era I guess? HJ's cbcb doesn't mention this engine, only the later 1.2 16v. I was hoping that this sort of car might go on for a fair few years..
Thanks as ever people
Read more
If you get any minor problems, come back and we'll help out.
A fake number plate kit that may be linked to a bank robbery in which officers were shot at has been seized. Police believe it was stolen in Wigan, Merseyside or Cheshire.
Can anyone help finding the original owner?
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6623859.stm Read more
that was a pretty standard type box to hold the numbers/letters in
all the police have to do to find the previous owner is to go on the vosa website look for registered number plate makers in the area they believe it came from and knock on doors.Each area only has a limited number of registered places so it shouldnt take too long
elementary really,maybe i should join the police?
Very fine indeed. What a frightening circuit.