Car Talk

What irritates you most about other road users.

59Five — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:22:21 GMT

I'll start, for me its people carrying 3 or 4 bikes on a cycle carrier but not bothering to use a light board to replace the lights that they have totally obscured, then wondering why when they pull out your still there like the 4up alfa on the M25 j8 to 7 earlier

or people who dont check that the trailer they are towing has working light, i think that we should mave a trailer MOT every year like the warrant of fitness they have in AUS / NZ

A WARNING! one for the ladies really.

paul 'n' jan — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:48:02 GMT

My wife brought this home from her office last night, thought it may be a good idea to let people know what's out there.

paul

Red Rolls Royce numberplate 1

Locke-alike — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:42:06 GMT

Dropped my son off at college yesterday and in the car park was said car.

Very nice but I didnt think a plate could have a Single digit...this was just the number 1....looked very lonley on a full sized plate

Not a diplomatic Number

and didnt appear to be a rich saudi plate in english script

Any ideas???

Alan

MOT Passed

Gary Beale — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:59:34 GMT

Yesterday it was time for the annual safety check. I stood by with baited breath as the usual cockpit and lights were tested. I waited with some trepidation as the brakes were tested ( I repaired a sticking FNS caliper piston at the weekend and did a full fluid change). Now comes the dodgey part, the emissions test. I got rid of the cat a few months ago and have been worried ever since. Well It passed with no advisories and the emissions were about 1/3 of the way up the scale. The engineer even said that the car would probably pass the test that is used for post 1992 cars! Another years happy razzing!

Boot security advice needed and any other security tips glady accepted.

David Laurence — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:26:29 GMT

Having just purchased my first Mx5, all appears well with the car.My mechanic is just sorting out the cam belt,as this appears not to have been changed for a while.So once hes done that Im back out to enjoy the sunshine.

What Im slightly concerned about is the ease in which a thief can access the boot via the drivers armrest.The box containing the controls is flimsy and the lock is frankly rubbish.I pulled it open by mistake when I thought it was unlocked.

So with the thief inside in a flash and boot popped,he can take his pick of my spare wheel tools,in fact anything he fancies.Oh and not forgetting my fuel.

I havent the money to pay for an all singing alarm at the moment & my experiences with alarms leaving me less than happy with them.1am calls because the wind has set them off.3am calls because the rain has got into the wiring etc etc etc.

The car is fitted with a great imobiliser as standard,and I leeave a massive £120.00 abus lock and chain attached to the steering wheel when the car is in a dodgy area.Ive looked at tracking for the car,has anybody got this how good is it?

With all these things to secure the car ,it still leaves me with the feeling that an easy to open panel is an open invite to thieves.

Cars for non-drivers

BruceM — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:35:45 GMT

I've been reading the "What irrtates you ... " thread, and I'm surprised and delighted by the amount of venom it generated.

In a similar vein, keeping in mind that we drive a car aimed squarely at people who love driving, which cars do we think appeal to those who don't like driving? What cars do those irritating drivers use to irritate us?

To get the ball rolling, I offer the Nissan Micra, preferably in sage green.

MOT failiure

Bluenoes — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:27:22 GMT

The missus took her car, a 97 Honda CRV to the local garage this morning for the MOT.

It failed, and now she is thinking the car is as good as a write off. We are planning on selling the car as she needs a 7 seater, but now she thinks its not worth anything.

Im trying to convince her thats not the case! Ive been through the lsit with her and told her it sounds a lot worse than it is. The advisories are just that, and do not make the car fail.

The garage also seem to word the failiure sheet to sound a lot worse than it is too! Last year she took another car to the same garage, and ended up virtually giving it away becaue they did the same thing with it....

Here is the failiure details:

Offside front drivers seat insecure

Nearside front suspension arm excessive play in ball joint,

Offside front (track rod end) steering locking device missing.

Well, so, the seat needs tightening up somewhere (They have told her they wont know until they remove the seat, hence a nice labour charge before they start.

The ball joint... well, Im sure I can do that once they point out to me which one it is when I go round later.

The locking device missing... a glamourous way of saying the split pin is missing!

And here is the advisory list:

Nearside front (bottom) suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated,

Offside front (bottom) suspension arm rubber dush deteriorated,

Nearside rear tyre worm close to legal limit,

Nearside rear coil spring corroded,

Offside rear spring corroded,

Nearside rear radius arm rubber bush deteriorated,

Offside rear radius arm rubber bush deteriorated,

Nearside inner rear (sill) body has corrosion,

Offside inner rear (sill) body has corrosion,

Nearside rear vehicle structure has corrosion,

Offside rear vehicle structure has corrosion,

Offside front Anti-roll bar rubber bush deteriorated,

Brakes ONLY JUST passed,

All 4 tyres cracked and need replacing

To me there is nothing major there. I have been under the car recently when i replaced part of the exhaust, and there is surface rust on it. Not as bad as what was on my 5 before I had it undersealed.

Rusty springs??? Come on!

Bushes, yes, I can imagine they are, but there is no knocking or banging coming from the car when you drive it, in fact it drives fine. The brakes work well, better than mine.

Why oh why do garages have to scaremonger people like this? Or am I missing something?

Well, I have a busy weekend ahead, but just looking for comments from anyone about this.

Thanks in advance

Andy

Ben Collins is the Stig then!

martin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:29:43 GMT

Worst kept secret of the last few years... and presumably when and if TG returns we will get a new Stig again.. question is, what colour ?

How clean is your license?

01mx5 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:00:53 GMT

With the increase in speed cameras, red light cameras, ANPR, video evidence, and so on, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep a clean license.

Sometimes it's our own fault - we took the risk of doing 50mph in the rural 40mph limit, and paid the price
Sometimes it's down to dopeyness - you're driving along at the limit, and the next thing you know *flash, flash* and somehow you've crept over
Sometimes we're innocent but can't (or don't) convince the judge

Whatever the reason, how many of us have squeaky clean licenses?

[poll]

for all you autoglym nuts out there

paul 'n' jan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:46:03 GMT

We've just had a new caravan/camping etc brochure delivered. looking through it, out of boredom mainly, noticed the autoglym products in the auto parts section. their prices seem to be quite a bit cheaper than what i've been paying at halfords etc, (three for two excluded).

for example, Super resin polish, 1L, £15.99 at halfords, £11.50 in brochure

shampoo conditioner 500ml, £6.99 in halfords, £5.15 in brochure

worth a look on their website. postage is £4.95 around the country so it's worth buying a few bits to make it worthwhile

www.towsure.co.uk look under auto parts, car cleaning

paul

Who's owned a Ford Capri?

Mr Reman — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:01:49 GMT

A simple question, Who came to MX5 ownership via a Capri or two?

I've had a 2L Laser and a 2.8i. They were both brilliantly fun cars. I tweaked the 2.0 extensively and in the end it was quicker than the 2.8 (With it's standard engine).

A few times now people here have mentioned that they had a Capri sometime in the past, I'm just wondering if it's more of a natural progression than I originally thought.

Scotty B.

Windscreen Replacement

djrose007 — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:44:20 GMT

Seems to be some bad experiences of Auto Windscreens on the MX-5.com forum. What's the experience of windscreen replacement amongst the Owners Club?

How to pretent you have a Mercedes

golders — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:23:06 GMT

How to pretent you have a Mercedes:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAZDA-323-MX-5-323-RX-7-ETC-FRONT-CHROME-BONNET-BADGE-/260655250265?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM

handy accessory in the new MG

AT — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:44:27 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIZmC90NpHQ

That would certainly be very handy.

The Stig's morse code translated

01mx5 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:58:20 GMT

I came across this earlier;

http://drivingspirit.com/stigs-morse-code-messages-translated/

(note the link at the bottom for the other episodes)

Magazine Photo Shoot, Location Location

Ian, Sue — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:44:36 GMT

Went on a photo shoot for Classic Cars magazine earlier this week, see if you can spot where we were? Location Location

Get a ride in a Ferrari - and raise money for a Childrens Charity

golders — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:15:03 GMT

Get a ride in a Ferrari - and raise money for the Little Havens Childrens Charity:

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=22362

Hose pipe ban is over for the NW YeeeeeeHaaaaaaa

Mazda-mender — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:56:04 GMT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11018474

Sorry if this is in the wrong place.

It's over because of heavy rain?? it's not stopped raining from putting the ban in place.

Identify the mystery dash board items

jdk — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:11:07 GMT

Does anyone know what these two things are?

This week's Top Gear

01mx5 — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:02:08 GMT

Repeat of Sunday's Top Gear on BBC2 just now

Keys

David Laurence — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 07:17:20 GMT

Just got my fist Mx5 .Its a really nice condition Harvard,only got 43 thousand on the clock.However I need to sort out a few things before they become a problem. The car has only one key,the chipped one to override the imobiliser.Ive heard that this can be a real issue if the key gets damaged or lost.I wondered if anybody has any names of people they have used in the London area( Uxbridge) who sort out replacement keys.

Thanks

Dave Laurence

nurburgring next year

bertie — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:35:53 GMT

my wife wants to take her mx5 to the ring next year but i want to go on my motorbike anybody else ??? is there secure parking at the hotel ??? cheers dave

The hidden costs of an MOT (/Service)

01mx5 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:30:44 GMT

It was that time of year again, so with my MOT booked online (£35) I headed along to the local Kwik-Fit this morning.

The garage is less than 5 minutes along the road, so the cost of petrol, tyres wear, etc is virtually nothing - and the car passed (with no advisories) so the MOT itself didn't cost any more than £35.

But what about all the 'hidden costs' that I seem to encur each time I hand my keys over a counter? - An MOT takes around an hour, and I dropped it off 15 minutes before my slot, so I had just under 90 minutes to kill, and that's when the hidden costs kick in. Garages really only get my car for MOTs these days, but my "free" cambelt change just after I got the car ended up much the same.

HMV - £35
Breakfast/lunch - £7
Hair cut (which I would have got at some stage over the next few weeks anyway) - £15
New shoes - £30

So my £35 MOT ended up costing an extra £87 (totalling £122)...

Beat The Speed Trap

Gary Beale — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:52:58 GMT

BTST

This started as a small group of people who felt, although speeds traps were basically a good idea, they seemed to have transformed into a sort of stealth tax. At the start I would like to say that I agree that speeding in the wrong place DOES PUT LIVES AT RISK, but.................

The powers that be have NOT stuck to their own rules. These being that a camera should only be placed where there have been 3 serious RTC's in recent months. It appears that cameras have been put where they produce the most revenue. Ergo BTST was born. This is a discussion group that tries to make members aware of the latest "tactics" being used by the authorities. One that I remember is a new Police Sherpa van being made to look "old" so that it appears not to be a police vehicle therefore, more speeders can be caught. If the government was really serious about speeding, there would be more warnings that cameras are present. I feel that the lit up sign showing your speed does more than a hidden camera to slow a driver down. I will say again that I abide by the laws of this country and that inappropriate speed is a danger to ALL of society.

BTST highlights the vast duality in the UK at this time. I have been a member of this group from just after its inception. The members have been offered a device called TALEX. This is a small device that is driven by the same principle as SATNAV. It is updated daily and tells the driver in real time the location of both static and mobile camera units. It also tells the driver that there is a possible dangerous event coming up, being it a junction that has had more than the average accidents or a new road layout. There is no screen with TALEX, all of the data is in the spoken word, such as "Possible mobile speed camera ahead, speed limit 30 mph". If you are travelling at more than the legal speed, the warning changes to " Possible mobile speed camera ahead, speed limit 30 mph, REDUCE SPEED NOW". This surely is in the spirit of the new anti speeding rules. If there is an accident black spot, and I have unwittingly been travelling too fast, I am told to slow down.

The price of this unit is for me £3.50 per month for the updates. I was one of the first members to apply and was given the unit free, I just pay for the updates. I am unsure how much the unit is to buy at this time, check BTST website.

I am in no way connected to BTST, I am just a very happy customer/member. BTW I have 0 points on my licence! If anybody needs more info on this, feel free to PM me.

I want one

Mazda-mender — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:39:19 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ZwbDj7sQM