Use less power - use less fuel
Now that vehicle computers can spot a bulb failure and warn you, should cars etc. be rigged such that when the headlights are on the font side lights aka parking lights go off?
The computer could put the relevant side light back on if a headlight bulb failed
Situation will presumably change once new cars have to have daytime lights on them
But a chance to save fuel has been / is being missed? Read more

A friends bolt on his bike for adjusting the chain has snapped hence he cannot adjust the chain. It is enclosed in a metal gaurd. Can anyone advice what would be the quickest way of dealing with such a dilema?

Thanks
Greg

{moves to Technical Matters} Read more

Hi Everyone, I'm new to posting but a regular haunter of the forum and was after some advice.

Basically 2 months ago (on my birthday!) on my way home I was stopped in a queue of traffic waiting to filter from the left lane into the right, as the left changes to a bus lane, it's a notorious bottle neck.

A van comes up the inside of me on the chevrons and swings around my car so he's diagonally accross the front of me, he starts hurling abouse at me, calling me every name under the sun and then tells me to "pink fluffy dice pull over". {a regular haunter should know the policy on no swearing}

I'm an observant driver and I'd not seen the van at all on my way home, so I had no idea what i'd done.

I set off up the bus lane behind him to pull into one of the laybys when he jammed his brakes on and i must have been mm from the back of the van,he then drove off again and we ended up at some lights.

There's another large layby/bus stop just after the lighs so the lights changed and he set off slowly, I pulled into the layby and he slowed even more (without pulling into it) I drove to the end of the layby and he didn't enter it so I thought he might sort of box me in and pulled back out into the bus lane and stopped.

He proceeded to drive upto my car, and then push it using his van, a good few feet down the road.

once he'd stopped that I decided to get out and have a word with him, "what's your ** problem" etc, at which point he said I'd cut him up earlier on

in all honesty I have no idea how this happened, or where, but I pointed out that if I had that this wasn;t the thing to do, he then told me how wealthy he was, how many bars he had and how many doormen he had under his control, I mentioned a family connection of my own, he then made for his van again with the intention of ramming me again.

As soon as he got into the van I pulled his keys form the ignition and he snapped, he charged at me, took a swing at my face, just glancing my cheek and then pinned me over my car wrestling the keys back.

Fortunatley I noticed that my friend was stopped behind the van and was out of his car watching what was happening so I let him have the keys back.

At this point he went onto the back foot and got back in his van, I asked my friend if he saw him assaulting me, which he confirmed.

Now with him in his van I took a look at my bumper, cracked and paint chipped ( I didn't notice until later that a bolt had been pushed through on the passanger side) so I said to him "tell you what, you've damaged my bumper, how about I damage yours and we call it even" , "do what you like" he said,now I realise this was a bit daft, I went and got my steering lock and whacked his front bumper about 4 times, leaving no mark at all, *sigh* as it was a VW with a big unpainted plastic bumper.

I then told him what I thought of him once more, he said he was calling the police which I thought was a bluff, and told them to just come to mine as I only lived around the corner.

Once I got home I rang the police, they said they'd be over in a few days to see me, when that day came a car with 4 policemen in turned up along with a van, I was placed in the cage in the van and taken to the station, interviewed and arrested for a long and sundry list of charges.

Apart from the stupidity of me hitting his van with my steering lock, I was very annoyed at me being there.

He braked infront of me, he rammed me, he assaulted me, why was I arrested?

that was 2 months ago and my bail is up on friday, I'm just curious about what will happen next? Read more

I've been following the debate in the other thread about which oil to use in a Minor, and seeing the level of disagreement I'm beginning to question the advice given to me for my own Minor. I'm running what is essentially a brand new Minor - only just enough original parts used to keep its registration - with a freshly reconditioned A+ (Marina/Ital) block overbored by 20 thou to about 1380cc (ish). I passed 6000 miles just yesterday, about four months since the car was finished - reckon on about 10,000 per year. The rest of the car is extensively modified too and unlike my many previous Minors this one works fairly 'hard' - I cruise at 4000rpm on motorways (ahem - equates to a true 80) and get pretty close to that rpm in lower gears too. So, different lump, different age of build, different history, different mileage, and different use profile. Which oil should *I* be using, please?!


slt and moved over to Technical Read more

Hi,

I have an '98 Omega 2.5 V6 Auto. About 1500 miles ago I had the front disks & pads changed by a pal who knows what he is doing. The rears were inspected and determined to be fine. Am not sure about the disks, but I know GM pads were used.

Soon after the brakes have started squeaking but only as the car comes to a halt.

Any ideas?

Robert Read more