August 2008
We need to uprate our suspension on our diesel tourer as it drops too low when we hook up the caravan .does anybody know of a specialist garage ? Also concerned as to how it might affect steering geometry
{volume of post lowered - ie, removed the SHOUTING!} Read more
Hi.
I bought a 2000 Honda Cr-V ES Exuutive about a month ago with 109,000 on the clock.
The car has had a brand new exhuast in Nov 07 front to back including a new cat.
I have got the MIL light coming on and have got the code P0420 showing which is Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)
One of the silencers (can't tell which one) has like a 'rattle' when revved, someone said it may be a baffler knackred inside one of the boxes.
Phoned local main dealer he said exhaust wouldn't turn light on and it's probaly on of the o2 sensors, but car is running as sweet as a nut and is really good on fuel.
He also said, and I have read this on the net, that they don't like 'aftermarket' cats.
If anybody has any advice on this I would be most gratful.
Regards, Mark
Read more
Despairing of my VW Passat again (see separate thread re intermittent ABS problem) and swearing that I'll never touch another VW, it seems that my mother-in-law may soon provide the answer. She has an '04 Jazz 1.4 se with the CVT gearbox which should be available to me at a significant discount - I'm hoping about £3.5k to £4k.
As someone who tries to perform most of his own maintenance, my main concerns are the valve adjustment and the CVT gearbox. I used to do the valve clearances on my Yamaha 600 and was hoping never to tinker with shims again. The CVT has been great to date - 45k - but it hasn't yet had a fluid change. Any views? Would you buy it? Read more
He wasn't wearing his glasses.
I have a Zafira on a 56 plate with the panoramic roof option and now I wish t add a set of roof bars to carry the children?s bikes. I already have tailgate bike carrier so I need to explore this option. Has anyone purchased a set of roof bars for a Zafira with this option and if so could you tell me which set? The middle section of the panoramic roof is about 2 cms above the level of the roof rails so there is a clearance issue that I am concerned about.
Thanks
Paul Read more
I'd suggest consulting your dealer's parts desk first. I wouldn't think you'd have a problem - the roof bars for both our rail-less cars (Volvo and Toyota) have more like 50mm of clearance from the centre of the roof. In any case, my experience is that you pay about the same for manufacturer-branded items as for the likes of Thule - and the quality is comparable, since I think my Volvo bars are made by Thule anyway - so that's what I'd be inclined to do.
does any one know how to beat the tracker on my audi rs 8 as it keeps sending out gprs signals and i have had it into local dealer 3 times to be told it fine any ideas thanks in advance
Read more
sorry to all. my mate was messing around and posted this under my name. sorry for wasting your time chaps
In which case, LOCKED.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7583788.stm
I guess this occurs in other parts of the country.
From the above link
" But Nigel Humphries of the Association of British Drivers said speeding should only be monitored from the ground.
"The way it should be worked is that the police officer decides a person is going too fast for the conditions, then uses the radar gun to check what speed they're doing," he said.
"Then they can produce evidence to prosecute them for that. You can't do that from 3000 feet." "
I suspect the heli is more likely to notice vehicles that are way over the limit so the " for the conditions" would not apply. Read more
VASCAR was the equipment-Visual Average Speed Computer.
My 2l petrol Hundai Coupe has cruise control- my first experience of it.
Going north on the French A75- pretty steep and twisty at times and rises to 1500m- the cruise control could not maintain the desired 130kph (80mph) at times and just cut out. The torque gauge indicated 175Nm max in 5th.I could only get up to the desired speed in fourth which was a rather noisy affair. Miffed to be overtaken by a bog standard Corsa on one hill.
My old 100Ps Passat diesel turbo would have taken the hills easily with its greater torque.
The scenery was very spectacular and the Millau Bridge is worth a photo session at the north end aire.
Read more
You're not the only one to struggle on that road. I was there a fortnight ago, and there were plenty of cars which had earlier shot past me at high speed who I then reeled back in on the hilly bits because they simply couldn't keep up the pace.
As motorways go a lovely drive though.
I would agree about the rest station on the north end of the viaduct, although I have also now found out (since I got back, annoyingly) that there's a little road you can go on from there which leads under the viaduct, and from which can be taken truly breath-taking shots.
Does anyone know about this please?
I have had to replace 3 tyres this year because of damage caused by debris on the roads - it is now getting expensive - surely cheaper for me to insure and just pay a one off premium? Read more
I managed two in the space of two weeks. Both had loads of life left in them and both could not be repaired.
First was a cut in the sidewall, probably caused by the tyre slipping off the edge of the raised tarmac on a single track road. This has led me to be a bit more careful when trying to pass cars on single track roads but taking the tyres off the tarmac can't always be avoided. The narrow lanes can't easily be avoided either.
Second was a 4" nail stuck in the tyre which I probably picked up on a visit to the local tip. Sadly the length of the nail and the angle meant the tip was rubbing against the inside sidewall, thus gouging a crater in it otherwise it could have been repaired. How a 4" nail stands upright enough to poke into a tyre I don't know.
An expensive two weeks!
Hi NC,
Do you know of any links to info on the pros and cons of heavier and lighter flywheels and technical stuff behind these pros and cons.
Thanks. Read more
>>too light causes NVH issues
Yes, there's an element of customer acceptibility here. The Vauxhall 3 cylinder engine, for a modern example, has a heavy flywheel which makes gear changes a little bit slow.
The effect of a flywheel is most keenly felt at tickover, because, say, a 50 rpm difference between the crank speed at its fastest compared its slowest is significant, and easily felt at at 800 rpm, and lost completely at 6000 rpm!
Despite us always looking at the rpm counter and accepting the number, the crank is constantly being accelerated back and forth, by compression and by power strokes - what we see on the clock is some slower moving average.
I am looking to quickly jack in my 2000 MkII 1.8 petrol Mondeo before the clutch finally gives in, but unfortunately as per usual on a budget (circa £2.5k)! The trouble is I'm not quite sure where to look. Despite the credit crunch, fuel prices etc. etc. I enjoy driving too much to be overly sensible and want to upgrade to something possibly bigger, probably upwards of 2litre, that will be comfortable and sensible when I need it to be, but also enjoyable when I want it to be, and something that isn't going to hit me with four figure bills every time a bulb or fuse goes... I don't ask for much :) I have one or two ideas but not enough, so all thoughts positive or negative are welcome :) Read more
Re the 1.8T engine. I had one in a Audi A4 for a while. Nice enough drive but thirstier than you would imagine. No real advantage over some bigger engines in that respect.
Browse
Surely the problem wasn't the car, but the dealer?
Why not take the car elsewhere?