December 2009
Following on from the "Mr Average or in minority?" thread.
With lower profile tyres now being the norm, how important is inflation pressure?
My offspring have absulutely no interest in their cars and I usually end up inflating their tyres when they visit, but I've noticed they still seem to wear evenly despite being down to around 60% of recommended pressure.
I've played around with my own tyre pressures a bit (195/60 x 16) and even running at 10PSI above recommended I've not noticed any difference in economy.
I'm reluctant to run them below the recommended pressure, but wonder if anyone's measured the difference in grip and economy at different pressures for modern lower profiles? Read more
Hello to all.
Nothing intermittant about this one, the dash board lights up as normal except for an extra yellow light with a key symbol and the display reading 'ignition fault' when cranking.
I suspect the ecu is no longer programmed to the key (i have tried another key), there is power and data on the key reader on the ignition barrel and the ecu knows a key is in the ignition when the door is opened.
Has anyone any suggestions that I could try before in gets dragged off to a main dealer for a plug in, (this would be a last resort!).
Thanks
Ian Read more
Hi and thank you for for replies.
The inertia switch was ok so I resigned to towing it into the dealers for a reprogram, however, whilst under tow I switched the ignition on to put the window up and noticed the immobiliser light was out, gave it a try and it started! But the rev counter was all over the place even tho the engine was steady, but it did cut out a few times before driving it home.
It aint an immobiliser fault as such and I suspect salt and damp is having an effect. When time and weather allow I will have a look at the multi-pin connector just behind the rad.
Any suggestions appriciated!
Ian
If Road Traffic fines remain unpaid the Scottish Courts can now Clamp, tow away and add these costs to unpaid fines................
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8433...m
Large Fines are now imposed for most traffic offences and many go unpaid............losing your car to clampers and towaway may improve the cash flow to the courts.
But how can the clamp the husband's car if it is his wife's fine, company car...........a can of worms maybe - waiting on the courts being sued for illegally clamping cars belonging to innocent membera of the same family! Read more
I suppose the Courts will check ownership - HP/Lease before crushing cars but maybe not sufficently well to avoid errors.
I have twin sons and HMRC have on 6+ occasions in the last 10 years applied money sent by one son to the account of the other.
Taxman then applied fines of £100 + interest on account for non-payment. To their credit they refunded the other son money for "over payment of tax".
Instead of checking NI Numbers / TAX Ref Numbers they Checked Surname, initials and DoB which is the same for the twins.
Hi ive just changed my waterpump on my Rover 214si N reg and as far as im aware ive lined all the timing marks up correctly ie:exhauste pully pointing towards inlet pully and locked them in place with locking tool, ive also lined flywheel pully up with the oil pump marking which is about 1 ocklock as you look at the engine in the standing position there are also some other marks on the plastic cover and one of them says TDC my question is to i use the TDC marks to time up my car to run smoothly or is it the oil pump mark i should use to time my car up beacause ive used the oil pump mark and lined both my cams up properly and my car runs erratically ?. And as the car ran fine before i replaced the pump it must be something im doing wrong ive been told that the oil pump mark is for dynamic engine timing purposes and i dont know what that is ? any advice or help would be greatly appreciated by a very frustrated Rover owner. Read more
I'm sure I've answered this question on another forum!
Whats the best thing to do, leave the engine running or turn it off. I saw the following on the web (US based) and wondered what backroomers thought. I run a TDCI mondeo, is it best to leave it running or switch off?
www.slate.com/id/2192187/
Read more
My comment regarding Excessive idling refers to parked vehicle only. Regards Peter
I have recently heard about German cars being bad poor quality at a high price.
If I was buying on the intentions of a runabout less than £1500 & I found a VW Golf or Audi A3 which was cheaper than a Ford Focus with similar mileage & year I would rather get the German car. However lots of people are saying they are now rubbish & are turning to Ford & Vauxhall & French cars etc.
Its unlikely to find a German car as a bargain but sometimes you do find one!
German cars don't have the nicest interiors & outside styling but are they really that unreliable? are they really that bad?
Would you buy an R-Reg VW Polo 1.4 CL if it was cheaper than an R-Reg Fiesta 1.4 LX?
You decide... Read more
Go with Japanese but British Made, or go for a newer Jag - they have proved most reliable.
Hi folks,
Have spotted a C-Class Sport Coupe (Evo Panorama) C180 for about £11k. 40k mileage.
I'm intending to keep it for 3-4 years.
I like the car, but what should I be wary of?
Anyone know what the service interval and costs are?
Curiously the insurance (at Confused.com) is the same for the C180 and C350! Bizarre.
TIA Read more
I'm wondering if the C230 will be a better buy. Seems to be a fair bit quicker (0-60 in 7.8s) and the economy isn't that different from the C180K. Curiously the insurance isn't that much different either.
Failing that it's a C350, which is a lot quicker (0-60 in 6.5s if memory serves). I'm guessing that the economy will be proportionately worse though.
My wife put £15 of petrol in my diesel Disco this afternoon then drove 15 miles before it stopped turning over. Roadside assistance was covered by LR (operated by AA), but wanted to take my car to neares LR dealer, no doubt to replace high pressure pump at cost of £800+ to protect warranty. Have had the car low-loaded to my home. Any advice on what I should do next? Read more
That's one of the risks of buying second hand.
Speaking as the buyer of two second hand diesels.
Alternatively, drain the tank, replace with branded top quality fuel (extra detergents) and add a shot or 2 of your favourite fuel additive. That is all the main dealer did when my dad misfueled. Even knowing its history, the same garages bodyshop manager bought the car when dad px'd it.
after standing in the snow for 3 days - flat battery. Due to the age of battery fitted a new one. Did a good 200 mile journey - car stood another 4 days - flat battery. this is a diesel car and have read somewhere there is a fuel heater - could this be the reason. Has this happened to anyone else and does anyone have any ideas as to why this has happened.
Dawsy Read more
Many thanks Peter. I will check this out. Now the weather has warmed slightly there are no problems.
My car has done 180thousand miles, newly MOT'd/taxed & now has a probable blown head gasket. I don't want to spend any more money on it.
I'm in Cornwall & have not yet managed to find a scrap metal merchant who pays by weight, so that doesn't seem like an option at the moment.
So, before I scrap it for nothing, I thought I'd try an ad in case anyone wanted to try & fix the head gasket themselves (??). Is that a ridiculous idea, given the amount of work I hear is involved in that? Perhaps it's only good for spares, if that.
Basically, I don't know what price to ask for. Is £160/150 way too much? Any ideas on prices or otherwise, I'd be grateful. Read more
K Seal worked on my XUD engine when it started an appetite for water - and that was over 18 mths ago now.
Not an ideal solution but there becomes a point in a cars life where these remedies are acceptable.
Browse
For the last two sets, I've run the Octavia at higher than the manufacturers figures, about 38psi, and have seen more even wear on the front and slightly better mileage, about 19000 off the front pair. I tend to run all the cars a few psi above now. I feel that it sharpens up the steering a little, but yes, the ride suffers a little too. When I had the Focus, which I detested for its road roar, amongst other things, I tried reducing the pressures slightly below but it had no noticeable effect.
I check them every week and a quick visual check every day, agree, it becomes habit if you ride a bike. I had a puncture on the Bandit last year and first noticed something wrong at speed on the dual carriageway. Half a mile later, the tyre had started to melt and was smoking visibly!