July 2007
Reluctantly, I anticipate having to make a journey in about ten days time from Lichfield, Staffs, to Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and return.
I have not used M42/M6/M1/M25 for a year or two. M6 is always a pain but, in particular, I wonder what awaits me on the M1 in the region of Junction 8? I regularly hear references on Radio 5 to The Roadworks in that vicinity as if they are something permanent :o( What sort of delays am I likely to encounter there? I will not be travelling in the rush hour but I suppose most times of day are rush-hour-ish the nearer one gets to London!
Suggestions welcome. TIA. Read more
Are Mazda serious? As quoted from HJ 'Sportscar on Stilts' with combined MPG of 27.7, £400 VED p.a.,Kerb weight 1,770kg. , hard suspension.
Did this one slip through as the last of the gas guzzlers, do they take no notice of current trends, of exponentially rising taxes direct & indirect, on vehicles especially of this type? Even Subaru have seen the light - their high-performance high-consumption petrol engined profile id being tempered by new diesel engined versions & less emphasis on the boy racer model line-up. Although the test quotes, apparently booming & rising SUV sales, the fact is Ford is in difficulty in the U.S. through its reliance on the (falling) profits on SUV's & most price/residual predictors say petrol driven SUV's are (and will increasingly be) hit hardest in the future. The tyres alone (235x60x18) must cost near £1K per set. The same applies to the other ridiculous monstrosities produced by BMW (X5), LandRover (RangeRover petrol versions esp.) Porsche (Cayenne) & the Benz Behemoths. The SUV acronym stands for Silly Ugly Vehicles, imho. Read more
Well if you live in India and want something sporty buy hampered with rough roads, speed breakers, road debris, etc , where Honda Civics ground themselves when laden and the odd few idiots who no longer want to take their Murcilago's out since they scrape the roads and can't do not much else
This is the car for us!!!
There was a stark reminder of the weakness of old cars compared to the modern car NCAP crash test results we often see, in Roehampton last night.
An old (proper) Mini had hit a lamp post, just 2 lamp posts after a speed camera in a 30 mph limit, during the afternoon rush - so its probably fairly safe to assume the driver wasn't speeding.
The way the car folded up at (presumably 30) was shocking, and I fear the driver must have been injured. Modern cars with their increased safety standards (excepting G Whizzes and anything of Chinese design), noise insulation, airbags, etc. insulate us from the realities of driving. Seeing a crash like that brings it all into perspective, and perhaps learner drivers should be educated in these realities, rather than 'green motoring', which seems to be the way it is going.
I'll certainly take it a little easier next time I'm out in my 2CV. Read more
All valuable tips, Lud. I just hope they ask us when it's time to update the highway code.
Who knows - perhaps it could be part of the driving test too?
just a random any brand/car type of question
if i was to bolt a 1400 bottom end in place of a 1300 ....is it likely the standard carb could handle the approx 7% extra capacity?
just need to know if its highly likely or very unlikely? Read more
If it's a single barrel carb, it'll be a compromise between power and torque/economy anyway.
When a single barrel carb is replaced by a differential twin choke card, eg Weber, the primary barrel is usually much smaller to acheive better torque/economy with the secondary barrel only being used to provide extra air flow at wide throttle openings.
Given how imprecise a carb is anyway, compared to multi-point fuel injection, I doubt you'd notice any difference.
SWMBO has recently passed her driving test and doesn't fancy driving our spanking new car and would much prefer a smaller, cheap runabout she can use to get some driving hours under her belt.
So if I fork out £500 on a Fiesta/Corsa/ A N Other, what should I look out for. Obviously a years MOT. Any car in this price range better or worse than the others?
Thanks for any advice. Read more
There are two schools of thought.
Buy a Ford or Vauxhall which will be cheap to maintain.
Buy Japanese because it won't go wrong in the first place.
I would go with the former on the grounds that no £500 car, no matter how well built originally, will be problem free, and you want cheap bits and easy maintenance. I replaced discs and pads on my Fiesta for example for £25 using known branded parts. A new radiator cost me £75.
Because of this, you'll probably find the insurance is cheaper as well.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
97 Ford Fiesta 1.4 16v Chicane (for sale)
Hi
I have a 52' passat saloon tdi. There is an ongoing problem with a water leak, on the rear back footwells. First it was the rear passenger and now its swapped over to the rear drivers.
I have tried all the usual diagnosis mentioned on other websites (taken battery out and cleaned drain holes, sealed around pollen filter etc) but still to no avail.
It has now got to a point where we will sell the car as it is so frustrating
I sprayed the hose on the windscreen and doors yesterday and could not detect any water leak.
Can anyone recommend any advice? With just the back drivers footwell wet there is no visable signs of it leaking from the front.
Is there a vw fix for this problem? When the car was under warranty it did go back and they cleaned the drain holes. When i called the VW dealer about this problem and if there was a fix for it they told me they were unable ti discuss this matter on the phone.
If anyone has a solution it would be greatly received.
thanks
dave
slight tweak to subject line - PU Read more
i need to dry the carpets out - does anyone know how to removed the back seat so i can pull the carpet up?
thanks
dave
Passat 100ps Estate PD TDI. Mileage 99,000 plus.
On the way to work today I stopped at some road works and because a long wait was anticipated I switched off the engine.
When I set off after 10 minutes, the engine power was low and car barely could get up the hill. No warning lights displayed.
I pulled over and stopped and switched off. I did that several times with no luck. Set off for work and noticed the mpg instantaneous display was only reading in low 30s mpg- much lower than usual. No clouds of smoke from exhaust. After a couple of miles power came back to normal.
Is this symptomatic of MAF failure?
Read more
GWS
What was the fault code number? That's a very odd code description.
An oil-fouled MAP sensor would be more likely.
Travelling off on the m.m family hols late today.
If this predicted severe weather did arrive is there any part of the A1 between Stamford and Durham that actually floods in such downpours?
Thanks,
David Read more
Thanks GM... sadly I think we may be towing the weather with us all the way to Fife!
David
Today's DT reports that 1 in 15 motorists do not pay road tax and that this includes 37% of all motorcyclists. I make no comment other than that if this is the best the government can do with cameras all over the country and a vast computer in Swansea, it doesn't look good for computer/camera based road charging or ID cards!
Read more
Yes Fullchat but if the vehicle is a 'clone' there is no way for the authorities no know this as it goes past an ANPR camera and no registered keeper or owner address except of the poor bod whose car has been cloned. Get the untaxed uninsured unlicencensed brigade off the road with a zero tolerance policy of crushing offenders cars, except (wait for it!) DVLA records are such a mess that even they don't really know what is taxed and insured, what driver has what vehicle types on their licence etc etc so too many legal cars would be crushed in error.
M4 and M5 could be nasty today along with large parts of Wales.
Take it easy and set your numpty alert to max
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6907316.stm Read more
1/4 tank of gas????? When did you get the lpg conversion??
Sure it wasn't potato chips you bought???? :) Your cell phone wasn't working????
And slightly ironic you filled up with water????
:)
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2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
Browse
Many thanks for those suggestions. The proposed route was the one which came up in AA on-line Route Planner.