Ask a Shiter

[Kiltox]

Stour Valley Rover

 

I think I've found a photo of a plate by Googling them so that's a start

[gm]

Directional tyres - obviously the tread pattern is designed to disperse water when raining and wouldn't do its job very well if rotating the wrong way but - would it make a sod of difference to performance in the dry if running backwards ?

 

My track tyres are directional and the nearside ones are more worn than the offside - would it be asking for trouble to bung them on the opposite sides next time ?

[Bfg]

.

^  I really have no real answer, but.. I wonder if the rotation is also related to the tyre's construction, especially in performance orientated tyres ? 

 

I am thinking of a sanding belt which is constructed to run a certain direction, and if fitted back to front then the laminated construction of the layers unpeels !     And then again of truck tyres which have unwrapped their treads seconds before blowing out (..as a motorcyclist I once got nanoseconds close to feeling the impact of such a blow-out first hand !)

 

Not intending to be demeaning to anyone here or on any other website, but I would strongly recommend your asking the tyre manufacture's technical nerds - rather than seeking opinions. 

 

One further point is regarding regarding track events - any decent scrutineer should be stop you from participating if the tyres are not fitted correctly.  And you may risk loosing your license or it being suspended (if racing) insomuch as your preparation of the vehicle (..and therefore your risk taking) may be deemed 'an unnecessary risk to others'. 

 

Whether you can swap tyres front and back, so their rotation remains correct, is another simple matter to ask of the tyre manufacturer.

 

Hope that's helpful  ..rather than ..well you know !

 

Bfg.

[gm]

Probably safer to swap them round on the wheels then - don't want to risk a blowout for the sake of a few quid at the tyre fitters

 

I wonder if 'slicks' have a direction of rotation ? I'll have a look at one of the fancy cars next time I'm up at Knockhill

[Wack]

How does longer stints of driving effect you lot? Doing over 100 miles in a day is very atypical for me but I've done 13 hours over 600 miles this weekend and I feel pretty unaffected by it so far this evening. Saturday was a bit hellish with pouring rain all day and heavy traffic* but today was about as good as you could hope for. Maybe 600 miles over two days is small fries compared to some of you, but I'm curious.

 

*I was going south so it was people rubber necking at the scene of the poor biker that got run over by a truck on the M6 North.

I used to drive 80,000 miles a year in a transit van , long distance wasn't a problem say warrington to Norwich and back in a day as long as I didn't stop for more that 20-30 minutes every few hours , my dad lived in the Midlands so I'd stop and see him for a couple of hours and that was it , knackered didn't want to get back in , on more that one occasion a quick stop turned into an overnight stay

[Bfg]

.

Further to..   Drive shaft Citroen GS dismantling ???? 

 

Firstly a BIG Thank you to each who have offered advice..  

 

After the best part of a bank holiday afternoon trying.. I couldn't get it to shift..  And I risk miss-hitting the UJ joint claws if I were to loose my cool.  As these driveshafts are unique to this unpopular model of car, made for just three years some 40+ years ago, I'm pulling out before I do irretrievable damage...

 

Today, haven spoken to Tony Slade, the gentleman proprietor of Ipswich's older-Citroen independent La Garagiste, who tells me that there seem to be two different types of clips used in the GS / Ami super driveshaft's splined CV joint..  one type is reasonable rounded and when so hammered - pushes down and so allows the CV joint to be dismantled, whereas the other is a squarer sectioned sprung circlip ..which will simply not come off.

 

Hearing of my endeavours to remove said cv joint ..he suspects I have the latter.  However he has a special tool, which by description sounds as if developed from something in gynecology, that he hopes will stretch open the rubber gaiter / boot sufficiently to get it over the tri-axe bearing posts.   We are scheduled to try that tomorrow. 

 

If it doesn't work then I have three further options..

1.) stretch open the existing gaiters, chemically clean and smear them (externally) over with a coat of silicon.  As they are only just cracking and with minor hole in one of them, then this may add a number of years more to their useful working life.

2.) cut the (new) gaiters lengthways ..half way along their length (the narrow end) to fit them, and then use super-glue or something similar to bond the cut back together again.  As it's usually the large diameter end that crack and fail - then as long as everything is very clean.. such bonding should work.

3.) buy aftermarket generic split type gaiters and use those instead, perhaps fitted over the existing gaiter at the tri-axe end, as that has extra blocks moulded into its shape, so will act like an adapter.   

 

p.s. more on the subject of my Shitroen Ami's driveshafts < here >

 

Again a big thanks you for your suggestions.

 

Bfg.

[Guest Hooli]

Always good to find a reason for failure.

[Kiltox]

Is a battery powered trickle charger a thing that exists? Like the little lipo jump starters but for maintaining a battery's charge without mains power?

[JayW]

Blimey, by snail mail according to this..... Looks like you can't do it with the new owner slip off the V5

 

https://www.gov.uk/make-a-sorn

 

If the vehicle isn’t registered in your name you’ll have to tell DVLA it’s off the road by post.

 

This form

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/v890-statutory-off-road-notification-sorn

Noo noo noooo...

 

You CAN just use the green slip. The DiVLA website gives you that exact option. BUT, you have to do it before they process the V5 or your green slip will cease to work.

[Ghosty]

Looks like they don't offer the dealer I need so I'll need to do some research (I have a tax disc holder but the plates are not original) and contact them

 

DMB can do anything if you give them an image to work off - my Lex Stourbridge plates and sticker were made by them, from photos of my existing plates I took myself, and a .png of the sticker I found on Google by searching 'lex service'.

The higher quality the better as they'll go to even the slightest detail, quality job.

[TataBobu]

My track tyres are directional and the nearside ones are more worn than the offside - would it be asking for trouble to bung them on the opposite sides next time ?

 

If the tyre looks like this, definatelly:

 

 

If the tyre looks like this, you might get away with it, but there's no guarantee:

[Guest Hooli]

Is a battery powered trickle charger a thing that exists? Like the little lipo jump starters but for maintaining a battery's charge without mains power?

 

never heard of one & as you need a higher voltage to charge a battery than the battery outputs they wouldn't run off  a car battery anyway.

 

I know you can get solar ones, sling it by a window/on the roof?

[Bfg]

.

I use a solar panel to keep my Chrysler Voyager's old battery up to the task ..because the vehicle tends to be used only once a week, and only for a local journey. It then sits there for the rest of the week with its electronics doing whatever they do..  The solar panel sits on the dash with its leads through the passenger side rubber door seals to under the bonnet. 

 

I was thinking about this the other day, re. using it all the time anyway, because recharging the battery must absorb energy while running, and that can only be derived from the fuel I put in it.. So why not let the solar panel do that for free. ?

 

Bfg.

[AlabamaShrimp]

Bit of a long shot but is anyone near Wakefield going to the car show on June 7th? I haven't been sent an application form like the last few years, has anyone else?

[robinmasters]

Fuel consumption. Am I doing it wrong, or does everyone else lie?

 

I get ~ 35mpg from my VAG tdi. Internet wisdom (including here) suggests that this is piss-poor (dunt matter how I drive it m9, still get 50mpg).

 

This is the current vehicle, previous, differently engined vehicles have been similarly (apparently) below par.

 

Do people really exaggerate their MPGs on the internets to look like big men? Or am I just bad at driving? Or when other people say they're 'driving it like they stole it', do they mean 'very carefully, so as not to attract police attention'?

[jonathan_dyane]

Although you don't specify what model the car is that is awful. What sort of use does the car get? If it's a big auto doing lots of small trips it's perhaps understandable but still terribly disappointing.

[jonathan_dyane]

Is it broken perhaps? Brakes binding? Trip computer mistakenly set to US gallons?

[320touring]

Fuel consumption. Am I doing it wrong, or does everyone else lie?I get ~ 35mpg from my VAG tdi. Internet wisdom (including here) suggests that this is piss-poor (dunt matter how I drive it m9, still get 50mpg).This is the current vehicle, previous, differently engined vehicles have been similarly (apparently) below par.Do people really exaggerate their MPGs on the internets to look like big men? Or am I just bad at driving? Or when other people say they're 'driving it like they stole it', do they mean 'very carefully, so as not to attract police attention'?

The pic attached is the fuel consumption for my Fabia 100bhp 1.9 tdo PD over the last 11705 miles.

 

I tend to do about 75% trips over 10 miles, 25% under 10 miles.

 

I get 61/62 on a long run at 70mph, and get about 45 -50 on short hops depending on traffic. The only way I have ever got down to an indicated 35mpg was when I was drag racing.

 

Have you checked the usual suspects? Tyre pressures/dragging brake/clogged fuel filter?

 

Hasb it had a timing belt done recently, and the pump timing is out?

 

Even driven enthusiastically I'd expect 40mpg round town, and 48-53mpg on a run

[twosmoke300]

Thermostat stuck open ?

 

Some people just can't seem to drive economically though

[robinmasters]

Although you don't specify what model the car is that is awful. What sort of use does the car get? If it's a big auto doing lots of small trips it's perhaps understandable but still terribly disappointing.

It's a Q3 quattro, so I wasn't expecting OMGMPGS, but previous cars have also returned well below the figures bandied around on the internet. I've had a few XUD-equipped Citroens which have disappointed too. I say disappointed, but I still have eighties expectations-anything over 30mpg is economical.

 

I think the answer is probably just to stop worrying about it.

[robinmasters]

Cheapest way to send largish stuff?

 

Myhermes have a length limit of 120cm, and I want to send something (parcel shelf blind thing) which is nearer 160cm, but otherwise not heavy and not huge.

[Guest Hooli]

 

Some people just can't seem to drive economically though

 

That by the sounds of it.

 

Tends to be the drivers who are always comfort braking who get crap MPG in my experience. Mind you Robin's location says Wales, so if it's all uphill then I doubt it's too bad. If you want good MPG, live in Norfolk - they had a hill once, but the mole killer flattened it.

[cort16]

I got 42-43 from my a6 2.0 tdi. I'd think the Quattro would drag it down further so it's not impossible

[NorfolkNWeigh]

It's a Q3 quattro, so I wasn't expecting OMGMPGS, but previous cars have also returned well below the figures bandied around on the internet. I've had a few XUD-equipped Citroens which have disappointed too. I say disappointed, but I still have eighties expectations-anything over 30mpg is economical.I think the answer is probably just to stop worrying about it.

Has it been interfered with post emissions fraud scandal? Isn't that supposed to bugger them up?

 

We have a Freelander2 with the Mondeo 2.2 and 6 speed box which has never done better than 30 mpg in 4 years. People with the same engine in Mondeos get 50/60 mpg and it can't be driving style because I drive it quite a lot especially in FrenchFrance and I manage ok figures from my other cars, but still can't get it above 30, although I admit Mrs N is a bit lead footed.

[barefoot]

R.e. gear lockup, it locks up in 3rd, 4th and 5th (not 1st and 2nd though). However this means you get excellent fuel economy out of it, as once it's changed gears, it locks up.

For anyone who doesn't know what a automatic gearbox lock up is, it's a clutch inside the torque converter. When it engages, it causes the output of the engine to be directly engaged with the input of the auto box. Thus you don't get any losses through the torque converter - which is the thing that causes auto boxes to use more fuel. When it's locked up, it's effectively like a manual transmission.

 

 

...of the Goona's auto transmission on another thread - didn't really want to hi-jack.

Any idea how the box in an XJ-8 works?

It appears to slip to buggery in all ratios, pulling away from slow roundabouts in fourth gear and the changes being slushier than a slushy thing.

It's a bit notchier in 'sport' and you can feel it change down?

 

As always, thanks in anticipation.

[AlabamaShrimp]

Still paranoid that I've broken my engine with rad weld and blocked it all up.

 

Is there anything I can use to clean the engine out? Taking the car apart isn't an option.

[philibusmo]

Anyone know the brake bleeding order on a p10 primera?

[twosmoke300]

Furthest away from the master cylinder first then work closer . It's not critical to be honest

[cort16]

I've been offered a 2003 Volvo v70 2.5T AWD as a swap for the Cadillac. It's not a cross country and not an R. It got 119k on it.

Anyone know anything about them and their relative value? I can see plenty of v70's for sale but no 2.5T AWD ones!

[Guest Hooli]

I like the AWD ones, much more fun than the normal FWD.

 

But I only drove them when new, so my knowledge is a bit out of date.