May 2009
I have just listened to a programme on BBC Radio 4 presented by Quentin Letts (who he?).
It was asking in a tongue-in-cheek style 'What is F1 for', quite interesting and amusing and it is repeated tonight, Tuesday, at 9.30pm - I think.
Remind me someone - what is Formula One for? Read more
Hi Guys,
Had a new clutch in my Mondeo at 90k, now on 95k and starting to get some loud vibrations between 30 - 60 Mph. The noise changes with speed and does not dissapear when taken out of gear, or when the clutch pedal is depressed.
It does seem to get louder if you use the gears when slowing down.
The virbration is causing a rattle in the back of the speedo, which I think is connected to the fly wheel?
This has led me to think that it could be a damaged fly wheel . . . .
Any ideas would be appreciated, and maybe a rough cost? (guessing it will be expensive!)
Cheers
Rich Read more
I would agree. If its coming from the engine you would be able to reproduce it stationary by reving the engine.
I was wondering if smaller (below 1.9 Litres) turbo diesel engines need to be driven harder to achieve better fuel economy.
I was chatting to a bloke down the pub the other night and he thinks that changing up each gear at 2.500 rpm is no good as he thinks at least 3.000 rpm to get the right revs for the next gear.
I was always led to believe that driving a diesel on torque and not revs was the best.
I.E change up at 2.500 rpm so that the next gear is at 2k rpm.
so what's best ? Read more
Small diesel = big diesel
The bigger 1.9 will have more (pre turbo boost) torque available at very low (sub 1,500) revs due to its cylinder capacity.
The smaller 1.3 diesel will have less as its cylinder capacity is smaller. Once turbo boost comes in though its a different story.
Change gear so you don`t fall off the peak torque - there`s nothing to be gained by revving a turbo diesel further - other than now and then to keep the engine free of soot.
There's a slim change I might fly over for the Silverstone race dependent on a couple of things, one being accommodation.
I would fly to Luton so I'm looking for a cheapish hotel/B&B somewhere between the airport and the track. I can't work out if it's better to stay close to the track, Luton or inbetween. To muddy the waters I'll only come if I can tie it in with meeting a client in London and thus get a two-fer so good transport links are important. I won't have a car and I'm concerned about leaving the circuit after the race with a million other people.
I'm open to any advice, can you solve my logistical problem and point me towards a B&B?
I'll fly in on Thursday am, fly out again on Monday.
Many thanks
Dave Read more
Cheers Paul, that's a big help
Think I'll rent a car too
Many thanks
Hi Guys. i've been reading the forum and think it is great, so i thought it was time i joined, but with a problem.
my car is driving me nuts. everytime i turn the steering wheel to the left i get a noise similar to an airplane engine drone.
it only does it when i turn left, as soon as i straighten the steering wheel up or turn right it stops. any idea.
second problem, recently my engine has started to make a tapping noise, not all the time but some of th time, again, any ideas. thanks in advance for any help. Read more
Airoplane engine drone could be worn brake pads resting on Disc,though my friends Mondeo had a noise like this & thought it was Pad/Caliper/disc noise ,but it turned out to be a broken front n/s suspension Spring ?
My tapping noise turned out to be due to the pully needing a replacement job done £80 (not main dealer mechanics though),hope this may help others too,if not yourself....
My bro wants to sell his Audi A4 Avant detail below whats it worth?
in a private sale and 2)as a px, A4 Avant 2.5tdi (FWD 155ps/120KW) ist reg Nov 2002, 1 owner plus demo, FSH (all bills & receipts & MOTs) currently 76000 miles, tax till April 2010, MOT end of Nov 2009, no rust usual chips on paint for nearly 7 year old car but basically tidy. Rear tyres only got 2mm left fronts good for another 10K.
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Which gives 4.5K excellent, 4K average condition P/X price, assuming base trim level.
Hello, I got a new i10 today (yes under the scrappage scheme) but I've got two worries about it.
First, when I checked the car over I noticed a small mark on the fabric trim by the sunroof edge that could have been a dirty thumbprint or a sign of a leak (there were some other similar marks on upper boot trim). I pointed these out to the dealer (who I think has a good reputation), asking for them to be noted in the sales invoice. The dealer said they'd valet it and if the marks returned and it did turn out to be due to water, they'd sort it under warranty.
Unfortunately, as the dealer was snowed under with sales from car scrappage and it was near the end of the day, they asked if I could return when it was quieter for the valet and also, they'd had problems printing out the invoices so aside from my card receipt, all I've got is a handwritten note scribbled on a compliment slip mentioning the marks and confirming I've paid in full (so hopefully no dodgy extra admin fee!!! - yes I know this all sounds dodgy and as I did go along with a 'checklist' to avoid getting fobbed off by any potential dodgyness, I am amazed that I accepted this - but as they are proper dealers and were obviously very busy and with the car scrappage scheme being a bit of an admin. nightmare, I reluctantly accepted what they said).
Unfortunately, I've just checked the car after a real downpour and I think that the sunroof mark is slightly moist so I'm fearing that despite going for the supposed 'worry-free' new car, I've got a leaky dud. :-(
Second - on the drive home from the dealer I opened the sunroof fully (it was sunny at that time) but when the car got to 20mph, an unbearable vibration noise started coming from the front edge of the sunroof. Has anyone else had or heard of this problem with the i10 Style sunroof?
It was so bad that I didn't check what happened at higher speeds but hope to do this when the weather is better. I may also adjust the aerial angle or remove it altogether to see if that is the cause. If the noise doesn't go away I'm not sure what to do.
I've never bought new or under warranty before so any advice on how to approach the dealer about these problems would be much appreciated.
Thanks Read more
And you feel so much better about the car now as well don't you. I know I would. I'll bet the stain by the sunroof is simialrly inoccuous as well. The i10 is a well built little car that has been coming off the lines for over a year, so I am sure it is unlikely to be a leak - more likely a local mechanic doing the PDI has got his mitts on it.
Had my Toyota auris t180 for 2 years now; finding 180bhp and 400nm quite fun and a very relaxing drive. It will do 43mpg daily or more on a longer run.
I like learning how things work so whist reading up and learning about common diesel problems like, EGR valves, DMF, turbo failure, soot built up, black smoking, limp mode, injector problems etc... i started to wonder.
I have adapted a specific driving style. I give it some beans, 70% throttle openings and usually try to keep the revs between 1.8k and 2.6k max torque. I also maintain steady speeds just under or on boost; 1.8k. So get up to speed quickly when the engine is running efficiently. I also accelerate through the rev range regulary and i occasionally put the car under full load for 10mins or so for a decent clear out. I always idle for 20seconds before turn off.
My reasoning is, the compression is maintained, the exhaust temps are kept nice and high, soot build up should be reduced, possibly less smoking and carbon build up, the revs just off boost mean that big power requests are answered with enough air to fuel mix from the turbo being ready so you dont get big clouds of black smoke / unburn't fuel. So at between 1.8k and 2.6k there is possibly less stress on the DMF and turbo. I also find that providing you maintain a steady speed there is little difference in fuel consumption between lower RPM's and say 2k. Infact 2.5k would also give similar consumption figures and fast acceleration means less time drinking fuel and more time sipping when at your required speeds; improving MPG for me.
Is my theory correct or are there any knock on effects of giving it the beans (50-70% throttle) for acceleration. I always wondered what the relationship is between people who pootle along or even try to request too much power off boost and who change at say 2k... what effect that has on soot, DMF, turbo etc. Read more
Minor variations in driving style aren't going to make a lot of difference to MPG or engine life on a car that is already economical by nature.
One tip on a turbo engine is to run the engine at tickover for 30 seconds or so before turning off to minimise oil starvation to the turbo bearing.
And while you're driving along making sure you're giving it 70% welly instead of 75%, you might not notice that you've just passed a speed camera in a 30 mph limit at 42 mph!!!
There is hope that authorities will listen to the road users.
When driving North towards the northern M25 J9 roundabout the left hand lane has been logically remarked for the 1st exit (M25) and the 2nd exit Esher . It has taken many years for common sense and safety considerations to achieve this.
(This lane was previously for M25 traffic only and was usually empty.)
I can now legally enter the roundabout and take my exit smoothly and safely without stupid lane changing as soon as I enter the roundabout.
It will make traffic flow much better. All that is missing is a warning sign to reduce last minute lane switching. Perhaps it is too much to ask for a sign :-)
I hope other areas are addressed and sorted. All this needed was some white paint and nowt else ( except the missing sign).
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Damn, looks like my 10-year-old brother got into my account, not me - and I'm not a BMW driver, only my parents are =)
I have an 07 Reg Accord Diesel Sport which has done 22k miles. I bought it as an ex-Honda vehicle a year ago and have just had to replace the rear discs and pads due to a severe intermittent grating noise. Despite arguing with the dealership that there must be some sort of design fault to cause rear discs and pads to wear so badly when the front ones are fine I did not get anywhere and had to pay £215 even though it could validly be argued, I believe, that this should be covered under warranty. This led me to wonder whether anyone else has any knowledge or experience of this problem.
After scouring the internet I came across a US site where there are around 200 complaints about this happening around the 20k miles mark but on the 2008 Accord. Honda are playing hard-ball on this though and are claiming that the setup of the braking system causes the rear brakes to be used more than the front ones and hence wear faster.
This leads me to assume that I will have to go through the same expense again in another 20k miles - surely something quite unacceptable. It is not even as if I am a fast driver who uses the brakes roughly. Read more
Thanks for all the comments on this.
Predictably Honda UK have sent a completely non-committal response and stated that brake discs/pads are consumables and not covered under warranty. They also say that the cases I refer to are purely in the States and have nothing to do with Honda UK.
It is possible that there was some wear/rust present when I got the car - it was 14 months old and had only done 4k miles. However the clear indication is that this is possibly a one-off as no one else over here seems to have experienced the problem.
If anyone is interested in the large number of complaints that seem to be around in the US the link is as follows:
www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/2008/brakes/pre...l
I can understand why people like F1. But.
It sounds dreadfully flippant, but the day Ayrton Senna died Formula one died too. It might just be me but I didn't watch F1 because it was SAFE for the drivers. Why on earth should it be "safe" anyway. Given its status, I'd have thought a little more excitement would have been forthcoming long before now. There is such a thing as danger money. Now it's so sterile I'm surprised anyone can sit through an entire race on TV.