Asimo Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Tyres with a sidewall height less than 70% of their width. Just impractical in their own right on real-world roads and responsible for all sorts of hellish and expensive complexities in the suspension neccessary to accomodate them to a saleable car. Tyre makers like them because they are more costly, car makers like them because they help promote the sale of fantastically profitable optional fashion wheels. puddlethumper, 320touring, Bwrlwm and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightBulbFun Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 22 hours ago, Zelandeth said: Bloody stupid electronically latching indicator stalk used on the later Vectras, Signum and probably others. Tap to turn indicators on, then tap the other way to turn off if they don't self cancel. Except at least two cars I've been in where this doesn't work and this renders it essentially impossible to manually cancel the indicators...you end up going down the road alternately signalling left and right trying to turn the damned things off. 5 hours ago, 320touring said: That and the "is it off" factor.. oh good not just me/im not alone there then! especially when I first started driving, the indicator stalk in the Pug 208 im learning to drive in, was annoying as hell, id go to cancel and then just end up indicating the other way, then try to cancel that, and so on and so forth (not helped by that flash 3 times thing, so im not sure if I have managed to center the damn stalk and its just still finishing that, or if I am really still indicating whatever...) that and self cancelling indicators, that dont cancel when you want them to, and then cancel when you don't want them to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Bus stops next to traffic islands. Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh stonedagain and FakeConcern 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Jetter Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 This could be controversial: Any car with less than the optimum number of road wheels, i.e. four. rusty_vw_man 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cort16 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Automatics with no dipstick or worse a dipstick tune but not dipstick . You ended up rolling around on the ground under the car sticking your finger in the filler hole like you’re giving a guinea pig a prostate exam . Andy F and Datsuncog 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cort16 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Bmw and others putting their timing chain at the rear of the engines as just like their auto fluid it’ll never need changed , which it would if they cared about their customers rather then just money and fitted double chains. Also and making their timing chain guides out of Edam cheese, which shreds and blocks the oil strainer probably isn’t a great idea either . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernMonkey Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, cort16 said: Automatics with no dipstick or worse a dipstick tune but not dipstick . You ended up rolling around on the ground under the car sticking your finger in the filler hole like you’re giving a guinea pig a prostate exam . That sounds suspiciously like the voice of someone with direct experience. You must have either very small fingers or a very large roll of gaffer tape.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Snipes Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 And are you sure that's what you were doing to that poor little Guinea Pig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wack Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 2 hours ago, JimH said: Cars used to rot like vampires in sunlight A mate worked for ford in the early 70s he said there was another manufacturer nearby who stored all the steel sheets used to press the panels outside under huge canopies which kept the rain off but they didn't have any sides so the panels were rusty before they even became a car. He said ours were shit but not rusty before they were built, I believe underseal was an optional extra applied at the dealer though so depending how quick it sold it might've been standing in a field for months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig the Princess Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Rover R8 where some genius put the starter motor on the same fuse as the wipers. So when you wipe your frozen screen end the blades stick, the fuse blows and the car won't start. Crispian_J_Hotson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
320touring Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Asimo said: Tyres with a sidewall height less than 70% of their width. Just impractical in their own right on real-world roads and responsible for all sorts of hellish and expensive complexities in the suspension neccessary to accomodate them to a saleable car. Tyre makers like them because they are more costly, car makers like them because they help promote the sale of fantastically profitable optional fashion wheels. This! LightBulbFun 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Turbo diesel cars with Exhaust Gas Recirculation I don't know if they do this from new, or if the exhaust gas is rich or something but ... The black stuff gets everywhere, I hate diesels for this reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod/b Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 2 hours ago, LabRat said: Mg6 (that's probably enough for this thread right there) keys/doors/ignition set up. You get a whacking great slab of plastic for a key: This in turn goes into the dock to start the car. However, because it is made of finest chinesium, the dock will shit itself and require replacent at totally random intervals. This needs coding to the bcu at a dealers, cos no bugger else has the software. Also, the door locks are made of brie and will pack up if not oiled on a monthly basis. This means that you have to use the emergency key, hidden in the slab of plastic. As you can see, this also is plastic and guaranteed to snap in the seized lock, the moment you try it. Once you do eventually gain access with the emergency key, you're fucked anyway as the dock has thrown a wobbly and you can't start the fucker. Also, you have to pull the door cards off the doors, whilst they're closed to get to the locking mechanism. Still. It not like the parts are hard to come by or anything... Anyone who buys an MG 6 deserves a world of a pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 On 2/26/2020 at 1:06 PM, SiC said: Frees a lot of room up in the centre console between the two seats. Also makes hill starts a doddle. And [and this is open to interpretation] illegal under construction and use regs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 17 hours ago, Talbot said: Same as the head bolts (basically the same engine family) on a Staaaag V8. Actually that engine was a complete load of bollocks. The design of it is utterly awful and it has zero redeeming features. Also. Foot operated parking brakes on a manual car. They can FRO. Works fine in an automatic, but you need three legs to drive a manual with one. Stag V8 is basically two Dolomite engines welded together.....amongst it's myriad of faults is a timing chain only marginally shorter than Hadrian's Wall, which had to be changed every 30,000 miles............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 And [and this is open to interpretation] illegal under construction and use regsCitation please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 18 minutes ago, SiC said: 32 minutes ago, colc said: And [and this is open to interpretation] illegal under construction and use regs Citation please! "The braking system shall not be affected by the non rotation of the power plant" Try disengaging most electric hand brakes when your battery is dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roobarb Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Engines with ‘precats’ like the MR2 spyder. As the precats break down over time, and because they are so close to the combustion chamber (in the top of the manifold) small dust particles are drawn into the engine as you start the car, drawing those lovely fine abrasive parts down between your cylinder walls and pistons. This results in what was once a fantastic engine in one that you can measure miles per pint of oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod/b Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 7 hours ago, RoadworkUK said: VAG 1.8T engine has possessed this "feature" since '97. Right now I quite like it; when my coolant header tank was full of Primula cheese spread and I feared OMGHGF; replacing the water/oil cooler, the water pump, radiator, header tank, most of the pipes and flushing the entire cooling system was much less of an ordeal than a head gasket would have been. They’ve had that a lot longer than that. Bloody hopeless box sandwiched between the oil filter and the oil filter mounting thingy. My 87 Coupe had a header tank full of cheese one morning, and like you i was affeared of the HGF. RoadworkUK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayMK Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Cars which have too many functions on a smear screen, requiring eyes off the road whilst dancing through menus that a few easily found buttons/switches used to manage without difficulty or distraction. The answer? Rationalise the smear screen functions? No, too easy. What's needed is auto lane keeping and self driving gizmos. Still manage to crash? Blame the gizmos for not protecting you whilst distracted. Incompetent driving? Nah! Feeling secure in a modern SUV or saloon/hatch with millions of airbags and thick pillars? Pity about the motorcyclists and cyclists who get wiped out by the resulting poor visibility, particularly at junctions. No worries, a dash cam which obscures the visibility even further will *prove that the incompetence was accidental. Me a cynical old luddite? ? Asimo, ETCHY, FakeConcern and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dozeydustman Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Automatic transmissions. Especially the traditional epicyclic type coupled to a small torqueless engine, or one where the auto version of the say 1.6 is detuned compared to the manual version. They got better once 4 or 5 ratios became the norm, but a 3-speed auto with a bottom gear somewhere between 1st & 2nd in the equivalent manual and no overdriven top ratio meant that an already gutless little runabout became even more lacklustre. Modern DSG type autos are a bit better but some still faff and fartarse between 2 ratios instead of staying in the one most suitable for the conditions, making the driver use a hold or manual shift function, thus negating the point of an auto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New POD Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Roobarb said: Engines with ‘precats’ like the MR2 spyder. As the precats break down over time, and because they are so close to the combustion chamber (in the top of the manifold) small dust particles are drawn into the engine as you start the car, drawing those lovely fine abrasive parts down between your cylinder walls and pistons. How are they able to do that? Only if your exhaust valves are shot to fuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 7 hours ago, JimH said: Let's turn a lump of steel into a service item. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I don’t know on a diesel these days with care you should see 100k from the DMF, they’re fucking horrible without them. Everyone wanted a diesel that would do 50mpg and hit sixty in less than 10 seconds, only way to do that was fitting variable vane turbos and all that jazz you get on modern diesels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimH Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 We've got flywheels that are still giving good service after a century so 80-100K miles still seems a bit tentative to me. LightBulbFun and stonedagain 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, sierraman said: on a diesel these days with care you should see 100k from the DMF, they’re fucking horrible without them Depends an awful lot on the vehicle. Mk6 transit for instance, the DMF is utterly pointless. So much so that Ford sell their own SMF kit for them, and apparently you cannot tell the difference between a DMF or a SMF equipped one. Some other engines do suffer without a DMF though. Clearly a far more fragile design. But I agree. DMF is a completely stupid thing. I'd rather suffer a fractionally (and it is truly fractional) less efficient engine and not have a big risk bill for when the DMF shits it's pants on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 7 minutes ago, Talbot said: Depends an awful lot on the vehicle. Mk6 transit for instance, the DMF is utterly pointless. So much so that Ford sell their own SMF kit for them, and apparently you cannot tell the difference between a DMF or a SMF equipped one. Some other engines do suffer without a DMF though. Clearly a far more fragile design. But I agree. DMF is a completely stupid thing. I'd rather suffer a fractionally (and it is truly fractional) less efficient engine and not have a big risk bill for when the DMF shits it's pants on you. I’d disagree on that I’ve driven many Mk6 Transits and without the DMF it felt rougher. The ones we had went through a DMF and clutch every 30-40k but that was down to the use they were put to. Also vans usually get driven hard, I wasn’t giving the clutch an easy time as I wasn’t getting the £1200 bill for a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tadhg Tiogar Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 20 minutes ago, sierraman said: I don’t know on a diesel these days with care you should see 100k from the DMF.... Mine's still going on 160k.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 1 hour ago, colc said: "The braking system shall not be affected by the non rotation of the power plant" Try disengaging most electric hand brakes when your battery is dead. I don't see a problem there as if an engine is stopped and not running, an electronic handbrake will still engage and disengage? There is no mention that an electronic handbrake must not be affected by electrical power failure. Electrical power failure is a very different definition from a powerplant not rotating. I'm more surprised that the scrolling indicators got through. I suspect it's because individual LED sections in the scrolling light happen to flash at the right intervals to meet the spec. Bet the engineer who figured that out is chuffed with themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairnet Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 our transit connects do 90k in less than 3 years only had one clutch shit itself in 4 vans and that was def down to the div driving it who didnt last long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Mine was multi drop inner city work in a particularly hilly city - Sheffield. No clutch will last long under those circumstances. It was something like 10 drops across the south of the city in an hour and half window so you were thrashing the bollocks off it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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