The new news 24 thread

[320touring]

I have no clue about 'turn in'.

I just drive the cars....

So far so good.

Lol

All I know is I prefer it to unrelenting pig iron derv under steer:)

[Bobthebeard]

Sorry folks..

Have just been over on the splinter forum that is Retroshite. I have had a couple of run ins with Breadvan before, but more have occurred. I truly hope this place survives. It is the best place to be on the Internet. Don't know what else to add really. Long live AS. Breadvan is who and what he is. I respect that. But...

Arrrghhh.

 

Sorry. As you were.

[SiC]

Those Dunlop's are similar price/rating, maybe I'll go for them. At 15 years old and 110,000 miles (I do about 6,000 a year in it), this is probably its last pair.

Dunlop and Goodyear are the same company. Hence why some of their tyres have the exact same ratings - because they're pretty much the same!

 

I've got Dunlop Bluresponses on the Laguna. Seem to work well and don't protest too much when the big heavy V6 is forcing 210 ponies through the front wheels that are also trying to turn the barge at the same time.

[320touring]

Dunlop and Goodyear are the same company. Hence why some of their tyres have the exact same ratings - because they're pretty much the same!

 

I've got Dunlop Bluresponses on the Laguna. Seem to work well and don't protest too much when the big heavy V6 is forcing 210 ponies through the front wheels that are also trying to turn the barge at the same time.

Interesting knowledge cheers

[egg]

I've debadged the Fusion today as well, because bored, but too hot to drive to Skoda lock up!

 

[dollywobbler]

Jeepers. I really don't get folk who say "I don't drive hard so I don't need good tyres." You don't appreciate how good your tyres are until there's an emergency. If you're forced to swerve or stop very quickly, and manage to do so, then you've got good tyres. Otherwise, it's a bit like saying "I removed the airbag and replaced it with a box full of razors, because I'm not the sort of driver who will crash."

[egg]

Given giffer ownership of Fusions, this would be an appropriate re-arrangement..?

 

[Guest Hooli]

Jeepers. I really don't get folk who say "I don't drive hard so I don't need good tyres." You don't appreciate how good your tyres are until there's an emergency. If you're forced to swerve or stop very quickly, and manage to do so, then you've got good tyres. Otherwise, it's a bit like saying "I removed the airbag and replaced it with a box full of razors, because I'm not the sort of driver who will crash."

 

Honestly, how often do you need to do that to avoid an accident?

 

If the answer is more than 'very rarely' I'd suggest it's the observational skills of the driver involved that needs improving, not their tyres.

[dollywobbler]

Honestly, how often do you need to do that to avoid an accident?

 

If the answer is more than 'very rarely' I'd suggest it's the observational skills of the driver involved that needs improving, not their tyres.

 

Oh aye. Emergency situations never catch you unawares. I'm a very observant driver, but you cannot see every idiot coming. It's not a case of how often it happens. Once is enough.

[richardmorris]

Anyone any experience of Goodyear efficient grip performance? Needed for the front, £67 per side for my Fusion.http://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/goodyear/efficientgrip-performance/195/60/R15/V/88/f?tyre=32108742

I have them on the Mercedes. They're good. A lot better than the continentals I put on originally.

[Sloth in a bowl]

 

.....Ah! Wrong God......

 

 

TS

 

 

I don't know, 2 hands on the wheel, one on the stick and the trunk on the clutch pedal. He seems pretty well setup to be a driving god to me.

[Guest Hooli]

Oh aye. Emergency situations never catch you unawares. I'm a very observant driver, but you cannot see every idiot coming. It's not a case of how often it happens. Once is enough.

 

Only asking as I can only think of once since I got the Saab I've needed to when driving a car. It's more common on the bike as half of the car users just ignore them, but I run excellent tyres on that for other reasons anyway.

[dollywobbler]

Only asking as I can only think of once since I got the Saab I've needed to when driving a car. It's more common on the bike as half of the car users just ignore them, but I run excellent tyres on that for other reasons anyway.

 

To be honest, the last time I felt dangerously under-tyred was probably a long time ago. It was an incident that made me go and buy some decent tyres the very next day though. First time I'd binned tyres with tread on them.

[Guest Hooli]

With some of the shite people on here run I can see the need for good tyres, I always run Goodyears when I had a Midget as the tyres were tiny. Most modernish things have such stupidly huge tyres, I don't think it matters as much for normal drivers anymore.

[egg]

Well mine are from 2013, have at least 19,000 under their belts - but probably over 25,000 (it did 18k miles in 13-14 before I bought it), some minor cracking, tread down to 2.5mm in some areas, but nearer 3.5mm in others.

 

Vibration at 60+ is bit annoying, but might be able to be balanced out.  Tyre place say change them, and of course, they're trying it on for business - but I think I agree with them.

 

I've had one occasion in heavy rain with minor loss of grip, I guess that's the warning.

[Justin Case]

This evening I was coming back along Warwick Road, Birmingham, in the Tyseley area and I noticed an establishment with a row of Rovers parked along the front, and although I only got a glance they appeared to be for sale. I could see a couple of 75s and a MG ZS among them. Looked interesting, does that sound familiar to anyone?

[ChinaTom]

£250 is a bargain if you can afford it.

 

My surname on a plate (3 instead of an E) was £27k.

 

You paid 27k? Bloody hell! Or would have been 27k?

[Sloth in a bowl]

This evening I was coming back along Warwick Road, Birmingham, in the Tyseley area and I noticed an establishment with a row of Rovers parked along the front, and although I only got a glance they appeared to be for sale. I could see a couple of 75s and a MG ZS among them. Looked interesting, does that sound familiar to anyone?

 

 

I don't know it myself, but don't go through Tyseley very often.

Unless you are heading to the loco works or catching a steam special then there is not a lot to see over there.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.4535161,-1.8440453,131a,35y,39.49t/data=!3m1!1e3

[Semi-C]

Had a reet good day, shocked the swaps on my seldom seen GXL & witnessed my chum buy the green mk1 Cavalier from the tat thread, choice!

 

No picture of the Cav but...

[SiC]

Honestly, how often do you need to do that to avoid an accident?

 

If the answer is more than 'very rarely' I'd suggest it's the observational skills of the driver involved that needs improving, not their tyres.

Depends on the area! In Bristol you have to be very prepared of someone pulling out of a side road without looking or pedestrians running out, etc...

[Ghosty]

Had a reet good day, shocked the swaps on my seldom seen GXL & witnessed my chum buy the green mk1 Cavalier from the tat thread, choice!

 

No picture of the Cav but...

 

Proper Gene Hunt spec, ace.

 

 

On my way home tonight I passed a French registered, LHD Peugeot 405, with a properly fucked windscreen- in one piece but the whole thing was shattered, with two rather large (head shaped?) depressions in it.

 

It was doing 70 on the M60....

[dollywobbler]

Depends on the area! In Bristol you have to be very prepared of someone pulling out of a side road without looking or pedestrians running out, etc...

 

That reminds me. Had some dopey fuckwit in an Audi 4x4 (surprise) almost drove into me in a supermarket car park earlier. Came flying towards the give way markings, showing no sign of stopping. I took evasive action, but decided he was actually going to stop (he was over the line by this point) so I pulled to a stop in front of him, just to see if he was actually looking to see what was going on. At this point, the twat starts kicking off. Get over yourself!

[SiC]

I need some help guys (and gals)! I keep looking at vans and getting a massive urge for one. However I know in reality that it's actually because I have the urge for new shite. Just with a van I have plenty of excuses for. The urge for new shite is something that we all experience here and so I seek help from here.

 

However my big problem is that I'm strictly limited to 3 cars by the Mrs. As this is what can be fitted on the drive to not upset the neighbours and not be spending too much on running costs by having multiple vehicles. Now as I don't want to be another member of the Single and Sad thread, I need to abide by this ruling...

 

Problem is I don't know what I really want. There are plenty of things on my list of cars I want, but at the same time I quite like the cars I have.

 

So I mentioned to the other half that I fancy a Clio 172/182 and her response was "Why don't you sell the Laguna?". Problem is I really like the Laguna still. Also being what it is, it's not something that'll sell very easily.

 

The other option is the Smart. I haven't fallen in love with it as much as I thought. I think it's because I've been corrupted by vehicles with decent* levels of power and I find that the Smart needs a bit more for myself. However I'm not sure I've finished with it either, as I don't really like it until I drive it.

 

Finally is what to get. I really want a 172/182 before they go silly expensive, but at the same time I really want to have a proper (older than 1980s) classic. An old classic would probably satisfy the fiddle factor of something for me to tend to. But again what. Possibly something like a Rover P6 or MG GT because I think they look cool.

 

Or maybe a E46 330ci coupe??

 

Argghhhh. What do I do?!

 

Changing car doesn't make sense, especially as I cycle into work and I only use it at weekends for fun.

 

Perhaps this would be a better question on a separate thread?

[greengartside]

Managed to get the bonnet open on the £0 Astra!

 

There is a metal rod that sits behind the main bonnet spring, this rod when pushed to the passenger side of the car disconnects the spring and pops the bonnet open. I managed to utilise an old barbeque skewer and bent a hook on the end to grab the metal rod. One sharp pull and the bonnet was open. The reason why the cable had failed was that the clamp that holds the cable taut had completely broken and was missing so the cable was flapping looser than Katie Hopkins' mouth. One job to do before the bonnet gets closed.

 

I then sacked off the kippered battery and fitted a £20 secondhand 085 jobbie that I bought earlier this morning, along with a replacement grille that I smashed to pieces in getting to the lock. New battery installed and all electrical systems came back to life. Even the radio still worked. Interestingly all the station presets from when it was a hire car in Liverpool were still present, one I think was Radio City?

 

I thought fuck it, and turned the key to see what would happen. After three years of sitting idle it fired up first try and idled perfectly, along with a cloud of blue / grey smoke! Turbo has definitely shit itself! I drove it up and down the (private) cul-de-sac and all seems okay. Even the brakes came back to life a little too!

 

ALL VORXORLS RNT SHIT.

[MarvinsMom]

mini has passed the MOT.

 

all legal for another year.

 

BUT there is some corrosion in the back subframe, and tester thinks we will need a new one for next year...

[Sloth in a bowl]

I need some help guys (and gals)! I keep looking at vans and getting a massive urge for one. However I know in reality that it's actually because I have the urge for new shite. Just with a van I have plenty of excuses for. The urge for new shite is something that we all experience here and so I seek help from here.

 

However my big problem is that I'm strictly limited to 3 cars by the Mrs. As this is what can be fitted on the drive to not upset the neighbours and not be spending too much on running costs by having multiple vehicles. Now as I don't want to be another member of the Single and Sad thread, I need to abide by this ruling...

 

Problem is I don't know what I really want. There are plenty of things on my list of cars I want, but at the same time I quite like the cars I have.

 

So I mentioned to the other half that I fancy a Clio 172/182 and her response was "Why don't you sell the Laguna?". Problem is I really like the Laguna still. Also being what it is, it's not something that'll sell very easily.

 

The other option is the Smart. I haven't fallen in love with it as much as I thought. I think it's because I've been corrupted by vehicles with decent* levels of power and I find that the Smart needs a bit more for myself. However I'm not sure I've finished with it either, as I don't really like it until I drive it.

 

Finally is what to get. I really want a 172/182 before they go silly expensive, but at the same time I really want to have a proper (older than 1980s) classic. An old classic would probably satisfy the fiddle factor of something for me to tend to. But again what. Possibly something like a Rover P6 or MG GT because I think they look cool.

 

Or maybe a E46 330ci coupe??

 

Argghhhh. What do I do?!

 

Changing car doesn't make sense, especially as I cycle into work and I only use it at weekends for fun.

 

Perhaps this would be a better question on a separate thread?

 

 

I think you need a thread with pictures of each car and the pros and cons listed. Then lots of drunk shitters can tell you totally contradictory reasons for keeping/getting rid of each car.

 

From my point of view you need, a sensible car to keep the Mrs happy (doesn't have to be boring), a throw it a bout and grin car, an older bit of class car. Your mileage may vary.

[Justin Case]

I don't know it myself, but don't go through Tyseley very often.

Unless you are heading to the loco works or catching a steam special then there is not a lot to see over there.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.4535161,-1.8440453,131a,35y,39.49t/data=!3m1!1e3

Thanks for the link, I followed it, indeed I followed the Warwick Road, and heading East soon found Metro Man Rover Spares, which must be it, because it is the only shop around there not selling furniture. Unfortunately, clicking on an alleged to link to the Metro Man website landed on a site showing the smug features of the sort of hateful character who spends even more on his beard than his Audi A! PCP and would sooner die of thirst than drink a cup of coffee from anywhere other than Starbucks.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Thanks for the link, I followed it, indeed I followed the Warwick Road, and heading East soon found Metro Man Rover Spares, which must be it, because it is the only shop around there not selling furniture. Unfortunately, clicking on an alleged to link to the Metro Man website landed on a site showing the smug features of the sort of hateful character who spends even more on his beard than his Audi A! PCP and would sooner die of thirst than drink a cup of coffee from anywhere other than Starbucks.

 

 

That is a fantastic lineup of chod they have, with more in the back yard and tyres stacked on the roof.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.4534415,-1.8370003,144a,35y,198.68h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3 for the curious

[wuvvum]

Got the track rod end done on the MGF this afternoon.  Actually started it this morning, jacked the car up and got the wheel off, but it all looked a tad rusty so I saturated it in GT85 for a few hours.  It rewarded me by lulling me into a false sense of security when I got the socket set on it and the nut immediately cracked off and began to undo.  I got about a couple of turns out of it before it got stuck again and started turning the bolt with it.  The design of MGF track rod ends is such that there is no way to retain the bolt to stop this happening - no flats machined into it and no handy little Allen socket in the end.  GR9 piece of design.

 

I was able to get it undone a bit further by levering down on the ball joint with a crowbar as suggested by Hairnet, but eventually the ball joint dropped so far down from the steering arm that I couldn't get a purchase on it any more.  Unfortunately this was also the point the threads went completely to shite. In the end I went and got the hacksaw and sawed a groove in the end of the bolt to allow me to get a screwdriver in and hold it still.  This didn't work either - the screwdriver went in OK, but the nut was so badly stuck at this point that I couldn't get enough grip on the screwdriver to hold it.  So I carried on hacksawing until I'd sawed about 3/4 of the way through the nut - the combination of the heat from the sawing and the fact that it was nearly in half was enough to release it and it undid the rest of the way quite easily.

 

The rest was a piece of piss - once I'd cracked off the locknut on the track rod the end literally undid by hand, and the new one was on in a couple of minutes.  I think I left the locknut more or less where it was so the tracking shouldn't be too far out...  All that's left now is to strap the battery down and then make sure I take it for a good thrash before the retest to warm the cat through, and it should be all good.  It's booked in for next Saturday at 8.30, and if it passes I may even take it for a celebratory run up to Shitefest...

[twosmoke300]

Mr Makita is your friend for track rod end nuts !