Be Excellent To Each Other

Have you tried turning the radio up to drown it out?

Mrs B just bought a new car; a Ford Fiesta.

During our first journey I was tasked with sorting out the audio side of things and the manual had a whole section about syncing your phone with the car which would've sorted all that out. Half an hour of buggering about and a YouTube video later I come to the conclusion that the exact model she's bought doesn't have such functionality. So why in fuck's name give us a manual with loads of chat about it then you twats? I can almost sort of understand that the main manual talks about it because obviously they want to just print a single manual and shove it into every car without making it specific (although that's far from customer friendly either mind you) but it's the fact that there's a whole separate booklet about the syncing stuff shoved in as well that they could've just not put in at all.

Though it strikes me as I type this that it could be the dealer giving us the wrong set of manuals that's the problem but still. When you're spending thousands of pounds is it really too much to ask to get a set of instructions that actually apply to what you've just bought?

I hate that. Along with the millions of pictures of possible dashboard combinations you don't have.

Manual?

I am currently driving a Ford Kuga. The menu system did make sense. Normally I can pick the odd German word out and put it into English easily. I have to Google it.

It was the menu on the steering wheel not the dashboard one.

I just press buttons and turn dials until I'm bored. Seems to work alright. I was reminded that changing the clock on my car is the easiest thing in the world the other week; to me that's more of a marvel than being able to connect to my phone at the press of a button or whatever else!

The BMW is the only possession I have that doesn't have a clock that auto-updates for DST, and it really smegs me off.

Sorry meant to say, it has only just passed its MOT, and had a service ~3 months ago (this rattle was present at that time).

Nor does my Golf

My Phaeton used to auto update the next time you started her after the clocks changed. It was a six monthly treat to get in and watch the hands swoop around the analogue clock.
Simple pleasures

Anyone got any thoughts on the new M3? Looks pretty much like the last one, at least to my eyes (that is to say, good), but there is a huge, huge difference: downsized engine with twin turbo power.

Personally speaking, I think it's sacrilege that an M3 is fitted with turbo(s); to my mind that's a bit like fitting an auto gearbox to a motorbike - it's just not done. Sure enough, the new mill tops out at around 7200RPM - a good 1000RPM shy of the NA V8's electrifying 8500RPM redline - and offers great dollops of torque right across the rev range, which will entirely change the whole character of the car, and how to drive it fast.

The yoghurt-weaving brigade will doubtless be pleased with the reduced emissions/increased economy (well, at least less annoyed at any rate), but me? Call me old fashioned, which I certainly am of course, but I'll miss that popping, banging, ill-behaved screamer of an E46 NA six, still surely one of the best engines ever to grace the bonnet of a "normal" car.

Progress, huh. Still, it goes like stink, sure enough, and will show even my Cayman a clean set of tyres, at least on the straights.

Ahem...

http://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2013-ho ... tc-review/

Oh sure, I know it's been done mate, in fact I can just about remember the old "HondaMatic" CB-400N Superdreams of the '70s.

Needless to say though, not my cup of tea!

The e36 m3 was brilliant to wind up to 8k.

the land-whale is brilliant to wind up to 5k.

I imagine putting the two turbos from one on the motor from the other would be a fucking riot.

The S54 (?) engine in the E46 M3 is a fucking peach, one of the greatest engines I've ever experienced. I was torn between the E61 M5 I ended up buying, and a Z4 M Coupe with the S54 engine in it.

That said, I'm not opposed to turbo M-cars. Motorsport in general isn't exactly a stranger to using turbochargers after all.

My parcel shelf has retractable cords!

So you can just reel out a new pair whenever you shit your pants? I like it.

One cannot say this often enough; WHAT AN ENGINE, A MASTERPIECE!



Hmm, well, I'm not denying turbos are effective, and much more efficient. Motorsport is all about going faster than the next guy, so turbos will always be the way forward there. Still, if we're talking purely driver enjoyment/satisfaction, for me the screaming, free-revving, high redline of a *good* 6+pot, naturally aspirated engine, with instant, lag-free throttle response is hard to beat? I am a luddite though.

Shame they haven't done one big blower with the electric twin, like they've done on the 550d (two turbos and a spindle-mounted motor to get it going). That revs out to 5500, madly - I was surprised to see mine happily going as far as 5k.

But short runners, small turbos and hopefully twin scroll should it nicely, response-wise.

They do do turbo differently, the housing on the twin setup on the 535d is clever and unique (and suffers because of over-engineering obviously, I need the actuator replacing on mine). The v-mount on the x5 was revolutionary too.

Yeah, if turbo has to be there, I'd have expected assymetric twin units.
I supposed they were worried about too much of a throttle response penalty, though, and it's not as though the new car lacks for power (or torque).

(Totally unrelated, I've just pulled up a whole bunch of stinging nettles without gloves, which was a really, really bad idea. Zinging like a bitch; my left hand looks like a brake light... feckin things. Ouch).

I have ordered wheel spacers to put on my mr2 to stop the inside of the rim scuffing the strut when cornering hard. I cannot afford the crystal front indicators and side repeaters until after the wedding (and subsequent recovery period) so am considering respraying the near side front wing where I put it through a fence as that wont be as expensive. Also probably should get a battery soon as the current one goes flat after sitting for two days and the current draw is only 30mA so its not a drain I think, just a rubbish battery. Fixed one rattle (loose electric windy inny mechanism in wing mirror), 3 to go. The worst one is behind the dash somewhere and I fear it
[/carsplurge]

If my car is pulling itself along at idle and i brake or flip it into reverse, something under the front end goes CLANK.

I suspect it's the same thing that goes POING when i drive the steering slightly too hard for the speed, especially over the road crown.

I can't afford to get that looked at for a few months (nor the turbo actuator and vacuum hoses)... Because of my wedding.

o/ I guess?

\o
to extrapolate noises are as follows:
1) FfffFFffffFFffff
2) claclclaclclacl
3) DACK.....DACKDACK.....DACK etc.
4) ee...ee-ee-ee...ee-ee...ee... Etc.

Not driven my new car much as we went to Spain 2 days after I picked it up for a weeks holiday

We did take it down to Gatwick so now my wife is using it as the baby seat is in it.

So I have the 56 2.0 TDI Octavia, sure beats a Micra!

My car has the weirdest fault.

The left hand speakers don't work in 1st and 2nd gear, but do all the rest of the time.

Basically pushing the gear stick left must connect with something that turns them off.

That is weird. Is reverse over there?

Nope. Just 1st and 2nd.

Bizarre.

Have you tried hitting them?

Oh my god tyres are so expensive and I don't even have a good car! Looks like 90 quid a tyre and I need 4 new ones

Sounds a bit much. What size are they? Have you tried looking on the Internet or is this just the price from a local Kwik Fit or something?

That's from Black Circles, including putting them on the car.

Admittedly, it's not choosing the cheapest option, but still more than I had hoped.

What's odd is that when I input my car into the site (or any site) it gives me two tyre options, with different sizes in all dimensions. Naturally the ones on my car are the more expensive ones; would the others work as well?

That'll be where your car could have come with a couple of different size wheels from the factory.
Just go and read the numbers off the tyres that are on there now and buy those.

Sure why not? Tyres are made of rubber and rubber is stretchy.

Cool!

What are the numbers? If the wheel size is the same then they may be ok, it could just be a difference in width and sidewall ratio, as long as you ned up with a similar rolling radius in the end....

http://www.etyres.co.uk/ will put them on your car, too. £90 does seem like a lot.

Depends on the size. For 17" and a decent brand, £90 isn't necessarily too far off.

MyTyres is another decent online service, and bizarrely Kwik Fit often do some very good prices if you get a quote online - much cheaper than if you call the branch.

Oh, yes. £90 is bloody cheap

I was very tempted by a Vauxhall Cascada but the tyres were slightly unusual 18" or 19" ones and they were roughly £200 a corner!

Well, quite. But not for a Focus.

I've seen a lot of astras recently.with 19inch wheels BUT a much taller profile than my 535d on its 18s. Properly absurd, and presumably to achieve economy figures.

Not even a Focus; a Fusion!

I dream of having a Focus!

Tyres are 16 inch.

In the US, a Fusion looks like this:


What are the rest of the numbers?

You may find you can increase the width and decrease the profile for the same rolling radius but a more common and cheaper size.

Skoda put 205/50/r17 on the octy vrs and swapping to 225/45/r17 was a popular change, with only a 1.5% change in radius.

There's a website that does the calcs, I can't remember what its called. 'will it fit' or something.

Will.I.Am's porn star brother.

The loud exhausts have been taken off the M5 in preparation for selling the beast.

It doesn't feel the same

Wait, what? You only just got it!