Be Excellent To Each Other

Which stereo has it got? The standard one or the upgraded one?

The upgraded one has got a big knob in the middle (fnaar), the standard one has a little knob off to the side.

Normal one I think. It's decent enough, slightly tinny maybe.

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1018723

This is lovely, it's in Glasgow though, ain't nobody got time for that.

Get yourself a box of Toblerones and you'll be up in Scotland before you know it, Alan.

dude, i drove all the way to glasgow just to leave a concert during the support act.

Is that when you went on the wrong day, or something?

Nope, he thought the support was the main act and didn't reckon it sounded much like the record.

I'm not sure a better choice wouldn't have been to take a loan equivalent to what the Superb is costing me and dumping it into the 535d.

It's a lovely car, don't get me wrong, and it's nice to not be killing quite so many children and puppies, but I'm feeling a little bit Cavey about it at the moment

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1010315

This is also lovely

I'm not sure the model year is QUITE right

It’s a 97. Looks very nice and very cheap. However the description is a bit effusive while giving no real details

I always liked the 406 coupe.

That's a splendidly enthusiastic description for an old Peugeot.

A very nice car in all fairness, if it were anywhere near me I might have a punt for £1500.

The 406 Estate is a bit, well, ugly.

I don't think it's especially ugly for an estate car. But I'm also not finding it any more beautiful or interesting than I did before they nearly all decayed their way off the road.

Looks shit.

I might need some better front tyres, I think maybe it needed new ones when the garage got it and they put on some no name things. It could be the setup I suppose but it feels far too easy to break traction at the front when cornering.

Mine broke traction a couple of times when I wasn't entirely expecting it and that was with decent rubber all around, I don't think it's the most dynamically amazing car in the world. (The previous model was faster around a track, for example.)

But yeah deffo get decent tyres on there, you're still putting 200bhp down to the fronts at the end of the day.

(On a wider note, if you're in a car with any sort of appreciable performance/handling, good quality tyres are a must, surely? Otherwise, what's the point?)

I know by the standards of modern hot hatches this is entirely unremarkable but does anyone else still have some mental background process running a fragment of their eighteen year old self who reads this and screams WHAT THE FUCK, HOW?!

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/ ... Type-R.htm

I'd be tempted to go for Toyo Proxes, was given a pair last year and while they wore a bit quicker even I found a big difference in my dirty old Leon.

I need to look again at what's on there. Half of the names pretty high up that list I would cluelessly dismiss as no name shite.

Title

Absolutely, it used to be insane that the Rover 220 Turbo was putting down 200bhp to the front wheels, that was commonly seen to be the absolute maximum you could do without crazy torque steer issues.

The Pirelli P Zeros being at the top are a weird one, I had those on my Ibiza Sport and thought they were shit setting off in the wet. They wore very quickly too.

Agree. What are we on now? 300bhp or is it even more than that on some of the new hot hatches?

I think my brothers M135i is 315bhp, aye.

New civic is 315bhp, there is a Ford Taurus in the states that is 365bhp I believe.

They're soft because they give you a lot of grip. Yes they're shit in the wet though.

Rainsports are really good in the wet.

Yes my Type-R - (the recent FK2 one I had, not the older FN2 I had) was 310bhp - and whilst there was a little bit of torque steer under really heavy acceleration it wasn't bad at all.

The ST does it more and that's 'only' got 252bhp, but then again it doesn't have a proper LSD like the Type-R did. (The ST uses some cheaty electronic thing called 'torque vectoring' or something, which isn't amazing. It's no big problem though, one just needs to keep a firm hand on the wheel.)

Point being that both cars feel entirely safe and controllable with those numbers going down to the fronts.

Yes! I remember when we used to use hushed tones to talk of the 205 GTI 1.9 because the mighty 115 bhp (vs the 105 bhp from the 1.6 l) was just going to get you into trouble.



I mean, intellectually, I know it's all computers and active yaw control and fancy traction control etc etc. It's just amazing how far it's come in 25 years and sometimes that sneaks up on me. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

I had pirelli p zero on the BMW and thought they were shocking, no grip and a bit quick-wearing for the price.

Hankook on the back were good (especially in the wet) but very, very fast-wearing.

I replaced those with Michelin Pilot Sport 3 because they were cheap - end of run before the 4 released - and they were staggering, grippier dry or wet than either, good feel and no noticeable wear when I got rid, and I had been "pushing on" a lot more on my country road commutes.

When the continental things on the superb need replacing I'm going straight for Michelin's again and hang the expense.

I used to swear by Toyo Proxes T1-R on my EP3 civic type-r, but they seem to be a price-premium now for the relatively short life they'll give.

I'm still perk up when an engine is making more than 100bhp per litre.

I think one of the least-shouty examples are the Ford Ecoboost engines - they're fucking tiny - I mean physically tiny - and they act just like, well, a normal car engine.

I mean - just look at it:

That's the engine that was unveiled by some exec wheeling it [1] onto stage inside a carry-on suitcase then just lifting it up onto the lectern by hand, right?

[1] well, the cylinder block at least

I actually spent £150 on fuel last month. *chin scratch*

I want a see through engine.

I want a fast see through engine.

I have my eye on a new MID (multi information display) for the beemer, it's part of the stereo. I "fixed" the one that was in there that had a broken screen, but it's not perfect.
There is one on ebay which has a lot fewer pixels missing than my current one, and it's easy to swap them out. Ebay dude keeps listing it week after week with a start price of £39.99, never gets a bid, and relists at the same price...

It's a waiting game, £39.99 isn't a bad price for it, but i'm cheap and I'm only willing to pay £20, which one of us is going to crack first...

can you make him an offer?

I could, but that would show my hand, and I would lose the advantage...

As soon as he drops the starting price I will pounce while he is in a weakened state of mind.

Offer him £15, let him haggle you up to £20

ST is in for its service today.

Courtesy car ahoy! A Citroen C1 with THREE cylinders and 998cc of PURE POWER.

I didn't realise they still made cars this bad.

Haven't you only had the ST for like, a week? Shouldn't they have serviced it before you picked it up?

I'm not 100% convinced that the last two indicated services in the service history are genuine, so for peace of mind I've got it up at the Ford dealer for a 'three year' service which is the major one. Could be a waste of money but I'll be happier knowing that everything's as it should be.

Sounds like you're looking for an out to me. Fingers crossed it fails, eh?

Worth doing, especially if history sounds dubious.

Low and slow.

All good. £229 so not cheap but I got NEW SPARK PLUGS and oil and oil filter and air filter and a MULTI POINT CHECK and the multi point check brought back green lights across the board on my EXCITING THREE PAGE PRINTED REPORT, apart from a couple of ambers for brake fluid which will need replacing at the next service and ditto for brake discs and pads all round (which I was sort of expecting anyway after the 'spirited driving' I did over TT).

Oh yes and they washed it as well which is good as washing cars is up there with my most hated things to do along with fucking gardening and fucking D.I.Y.

I note that Kia Stinger GT-S models are down to £33K already, so I reckon this time next year I'll be in one of those (£20K by then, I reckon), but the ST is a splendid car to see the waiting time out in.