January 2020
Grey is doubtless the most frequently selected but it is a perversion of language to then suppose it is favourite when manufacturer' colour charts are close to monochrome, going from white to black through all shades of grey with not much else (perhaps a red and a blue). Read more
Hi,
I have a Ford Focus manual car on PCP. I have only had it for 6 months on a 3 year contract. ... Read more
If a company has to make reasonable alterations to allow a disabled person to work or use their premises under the Equality Act 2010.
The same applies to goods and services. What is reasonable for a car manufacturer?...
On a North American forum somebody posted this comment:
Shell V Power is high octane fuel, the equivalent of 93 octane in the US [this is the same as 98 RON in UK]. High octane would not work well in the SA-X. While conventional engines have sensors to prevent pre-ignition, the SA-X actually uses the principles of pre-ignition to function. Higher octane fuel is more knock resistant, so the lean burn compression ignition would have problems.... Read more
I don't know the specifics of that engine, but if it does allow compression ignition in specific driving conditions then I would think the ECU would be closely monitoring several factors such as EGT, the knock sensor, etc so that the compression ignition would not spiral into uncontrolled detonation. This level of monitoring would enable the engine to take the fuel grade into account.
We are just about to buy our son's 2012 Mazda 3 from him as our second car and it's due a service. It will do about 1500 miles a year so I will stick it on a two year service schedule at our indie with a once over at the time of the intervening MOT.
Assuming it's got OEM iridium plugs these will be due a change. Should I go to the expense of like for like or, considering the low useage, should I simply go for standard plugs with the biannual service.
I take it that minor performance characteristics aside there is no harm in reverting to standard plugs? In fact having them out every couple of years might be preferred to leaving iridiums in place for the rest of its serviceable life? Read more
For example, wear rates (from specroscopically measured metals in the oil, an imperfect but practical method) actually often decline on extended OCI's, and increase just after an oil change. This is probably due to formation/removal of a protective "tribolayer" on surfaces.
Reality is complicated. ...
I recently had a Combi boiler fitted, replacing a traditional system. I was looking forward to having "instant" not water available at the adjacent sink. But the hot water is pumped round the rest of the system before arriving at the sink. The plumber assures me that this was the only way it could be done. As a layman, I would have thought the direction of flow was immaterial. Anyone got any constructive thoughts on the matter, please?
I know this isn't a plumbing forum, but _ _ _ _ ! Read more
<< However nowadays I am told by well qualified system designers that modern pumps are very efficient and in an enclosed pressurise system will overcome resistance very well. I suppose small bore and micro bore systems were driven by this advance in technology. >>
No doubt advances have been made. But Idon't like to think of the noise which a pump might create with an elbow-fitted system .......
Man this spam post is amateurish. Bad English throughout, obvious plug for a product, and they don't realise that we can't send eachother private messages without giving eachother our email addresses - I mean who's going to give this berk their email address after this piece of tripe?
I mean, how gullible do these muppets think we are? ((Picard facepalm)) Read more
I agree, it's not always certain whether someone is a spammer. But we have to err on the side of caution if someone posts for the first time on the forum (as this one has, today) and includes a link.
Whether spam or not, the link could be dodgy, and we don't want to be responsible for someone opening it and getting their computer infected....
Hi.....ive recently owned a 2013 Mazda 3 Tamura 1.6 auto. Loved it until someone drove into me and has written it off.
I am doing 100 miles plus per day. I know it wasn't the most economical of cars which was the only gripe with the Mazda I had.... Read more
Also, diesels aren't being "phased out". They may well be going through a rocky patch, and it may well be the case that for cars up to the size of a Golf, it isn't really worth bothering about diesel with so many efficient small capacity turbo petrols (a 1.4TSI Golf or Leon would easily manage 50+mpg). But for bigger heavier cars, especially SUV's, diesel is just the most sensible and efficient choice. This is borne out by the fact that Audi have turned away from petrol and back to diesel (coupled to a mild hybrid and 48v electrics) in a big way for certain types and sizes of car.
I live in a close of 17 properties, all with garages and 7 of them with double garages, yet only 3 owners including myself use their garages for their intended purpose.
If more people cleared their garages of bikes, lawnmowers, barbecues, garden furniture etc. and put their cars inside overnight, the early morning winter commute would be safer. The place for these other items is the shed. Read more
Modern garages seem designed for 1960s cars! Our garage was built for us, and would take 2 cars [and the tools] but one Triumph TR4 lives in it, and occasionally my partner's soft-top sports car does too. But mine doesn't, ever - presently a nearly 11 year-old Audi, which doesn't seem to mind the north side cold - but I do. I cover the screen and front window, and door shuts, with a net curtain from a charity shop, which works perfectly.
In Falkirk just before Xmas there was a gas problem - no gas for 4 days.
Followed by electricity cuts as people used electric fan heaters which overloaded the supply to about 8,000 people.
Upgrading supply to every street in the UK is a mammoth task.
It is some 4 weeks since a connection was started from a commercial site to a substation - say 300/350 metres. Still at least another 10 days to go.
Multiply that by every city, town & village in the country to lay the cable then you have to find 30GW of new & stable generating capacity - wind, solar etc are not stable sources.
Read more
And of course, the main thing for the car industry to do to make electric cars viable in-the-round, REDUCE THE WEIGHT - ideally to below 3/4 ton per vehicle - this could be started by stripping out all the unnecessary carp that's been added for sales marketing purposes over the last 40 years, huge plastic dashboards, centre consoles and door cards, electric motors for windows, and ventilation systems, over complicated seating, compressor based air-con (Could be swapped for cartridge based peltzier system).
Then a start could be made to swapping all the panels and chassis for composites, swapping glass for perspex.
Don't tell me that the car manufacturers haven't already drafted a model constructed in this way and that several electronic CAD files are not sitting on some dusty, little- used server in the deep and dark confines of Wolfsburg, Aubergineville etc, etc.
Odd why the tyres on that gen-3 Mazda3 were 215/55 R16 and not 205/60 R16 as the spec says. Not much difference in price between those tyre sizes, though the 60 profile ones are between 5-10% cheaper, especially all-season tyres, probably because they appear to be becoming more popular as car manufacturers reduce the number of tyre specs in their ranges (to reduce the number of WLTP tests needed) and is a compromise between the 205/55 R16 and 195/55 R15 variants many of them used to use for their lower and mid-spec cars. Barely any difference otherwise. Read more
Nursery tale
'She probably needs a 4/5 doors. She will require business use insurance cover. Alternatively, she wonders if she would do better to lease something like a new Fiesta.'
Similar to my role as Community Psychiatric Nurse in Derbyshire & I had a very good experience leasing 3 cars through this organisation:
nhsfleetsolutions.co.uk/
Your daughter can check with her own HR dept., to determine their prefered choice, if any, for an NHS lease car.
Her lease should cover everything, (I mean everything including wiper blades and regular tyes!) except her own personal fuel.
Be wary of Benefit In Kind tax contributon but all is explained on application and the after care service is 2nd to none.
On rare occasions I had phoned the Lease agents with car trouble and merely said 'YOUR car is broken and you'll need to get me to work in a replacement, pronto'.
I've now returned to the delights of a 2nd hand Mini Cooper, smiles per miles!
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All cars today are painted in a clear over base system, therefore avoiding fading. So basically a pigmented base coat is applied followed by a clear lacquered coat.