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33226

General Discussion Area / Re: Ever optimistic ebay sellers...

« on: 26 January 2008, 11:31:02 »

Yes, but at least it's only been abused like this for 50k. How many punters are going to get their cars serviced more often than manufacturer's recommendations?

When I bought mine it had one service - at 20k. One was allegedly done when I bought it  at 41k but I went over it myself for good measure. Since then it's had about half a dozen!

On the one hand, it's a shame it's been running about on dirty oil, but then again, the fewer times a main stealer has opened the bonnet the better

Kevin

33227

General Discussion Area / Re: 750 litre fuel tank

« on: 26 January 2008, 10:52:37 »

I read that as DAF 44 the first time round thought they'd be a bit impractical and not that thirsty...

I did a week of work experience at BBC Ealing Green film studios when I was at school. Was in their electronics department fixing Nagra tape recorders and the like.

At the end of the first day I put my mug on the shelf above my bench and went home..

Came in the next morning and the cup was under the opposite end of the shelf, smashed.

Couple of the other guys started laughing about the newbie putting his cup on the shelf so I asked what the joke was. They took me down to the basement where there were two rather large ship engines. We're not talking Hotel21 size here but they were the biggest engines I've ever seen. Probably 12 or 16 cylinders inline, 100 feet long with huge tappets bobbing up and down on top.

Turns out the studio had these installed to power lighting generators back in the good old days and they'd never got round to getting a decent mains feed installed so they were still in use.

.. and the vibration was such that anything that wasn't phyically tied down in that building had a habit of wandering off if you didn't keep an eye on it!

Kevin

33228

General Discussion Area / Re: 750 litre fuel tank

« on: 25 January 2008, 23:32:38 »

... and we're always told piston engines are so inefficient. I always thought that they'd use gas turbines / steam turbines or something. I guess if oil is a convenient fuel and you need output at a low speed it makes sense.

I guess the specific fuel consumption is much better than a car engine at that scale, especially if 2 stroke.

Kevin

33229

General Discussion Area / Re: 750 litre fuel tank

« on: 25 January 2008, 23:04:17 »

It amazes me that they just look like scaled up car lumps.

Whereas I have a phone in the garage so Mrs.KW can phone me when I'm fiddling with engines, having one in the crankcase... 8-)

Kevin

33230

General Discussion Area / Re: Car Praing - liability?

« on: 26 January 2008, 01:19:36 »

In fairness, it does take time sometimes. I had a prang in early September and have only just got my excess back. Admittedly, it was an international claim. :-/

Kevin

33231

General Discussion Area / Re: Car Praing - liability?

« on: 26 January 2008, 01:14:13 »

Problem is, if you contact the third party directly it could put your claim in jepoardy. I waited until my insurer had given up chasing. Check your Ts and Cs for the exact wording..

It seems odd that she would have said nothing to her insurer, IMHO. Presumably she's got a rather battered car that needs fixing?

Kevin

33232

General Discussion Area / Re: Car Praing - liability?

« on: 26 January 2008, 01:04:43 »

Umm. I have had a bad experience in the past with a third party who was at fault and with the same insurer as me. Basically my insurer told me his policy details related to a policy that had lapsed.

I sought legal advice which was that since the policy had recently lapsed his previous insurer would normally be chased as "insurer responsible" and that they would be responsible for chasing him for the whole sum, if he could not provide valid insurance details. Sounded a bit odd to me, but that was the advice I got.

Guess what? My insurer (also his insurer, remember?) claimed they couldn't trace the bloke and I took a hit on my NCD as a result (protected, thankfully). I decided to phone the bloke up and asked if he'd mind reimbursing me for my excess, and got a cheque for the full amount by return of post. Really difficult to trace, eh?

I think insurers will fall over themselves to help if there's something in it for them, but if both parties are with the same insurer, well, call me cynical if you like... but the best they can do is to pocket both parties' excess and plead ignorance.  

If you have legal cover included, give the advice line a call. There's no doubt in my mind that the third party is at fault. I just wonder if direct line are dragging their heels because they know they can't win?

Kevin

33233

General Discussion Area / Re: off to the Police auction tonight....

« on: 25 January 2008, 18:26:37 »

I presume your Westfield has a bike gearbox or similar sequential setup, so you'll realise just how good those boxes can be.

Nope. Just a standard Ford 5 speed MT75 as fitted to the later Sierra, Grandada and Transit (the shame!). While sequential gearboxes are lovely they are extremely expensive (unless they come with a bike engine attached) and don't do a lot of miles between rebuilds so, given that mine does mostly road miles I'm happy with a standard gearbox. Temptation to upgrade is always there though. The one thing I would change is the ratios. A first gear designed for caravan pulling is just a joke in a 650kg car with 200 BHP. Unfotunately that means changing to an older type of gearbox for me because gear kits are scarce for the box I've got. Should have done my homework when I built it.

I doubt it would work in a normal car though, as it probably couldn't handle the weight and torque, plus the ratios have to be very close together for the clutchless upshifting to work, which wouldn't work well in a normal car -- a sports bike's 1st gear is quite high as it would be useless otherwise, it would lift the front end far too easily. Similarly 6th gear is quite low as you have 12000+ RPM to play with, hence why the ratios are really close.

They work surprisingly well in a car once you've got it rolling. Not ideal in traffic or on the motorway for the reasons you have stated. Cruising at 9000 RPM is a bit wearing but if mine were predominantly a track toy I'd have one like a shot.

On your last comment I must add a saving grace that makes SMG far preferable to a conventional auto to me -- that is the lack of a torque converter. It's the main reason I still stongly dislike even "steptronic" or "tiptronic" or whatever marketing name they're using this week, basically autos that you can tell the computer that you'd like it to change. But you still get that elastic band effect when adjusting the throttle, and it's something I detest when changing speed a lot like on a windy road. It's great for those who want a super smooth gearchange as it dampens out any jerkiness, but for spirited driving it's a horrible thing. Give me the jerkiness of a proper clutch any day.

Well, autos are best left as autos, IMHO. Whether you or the ECU decide when to change makes little odds so tiptronic shifts and the like are just gimicks. Another toy that only takes 20 lines of code in the autobox ECU to implement, so comes free. The fact remains that they are limited in the number of ratios available and the torque converter is there to compensate. It's a totally different animal. I like having the auto in my Omega, personally, but I didn't buy it as a sports car.

Kevin

33234

General Discussion Area / Re: off to the Police auction tonight....

« on: 25 January 2008, 14:36:06 »

It'll be interesting to see how the SMG II gearboxes hold up over time

Yep. Not sure how I feel about those. Never driven one, in all honesty, but if the car's going to have essentially a manual gearbox and clutch why have all that complexity? Yes, I'm sure you can achieve very quick changes but does that really make much difference on the road once the novelty has worn off? And is it great when changing up at the rev limiter but awful when in traffic? :-/

I'd also have to be convinced it has better wear characteristics than conventional sequential boxes, and that the rest of the drivetrain doesn't get killed by those fast changes!

Part of the satisfaction of making decent shifts, matching the revs by blipping the throttle when downshifting, etc. is honing the required skills to do it manually. Sitting in an armchair and watching a computer do it is surely getting back to what you get with a conventional auto?

Kevin

33235

General Discussion Area / Re: off to the Police auction tonight....

« on: 25 January 2008, 10:53:17 »

The thing with a manual is it doesn't actually need any maintenance (I change the oil in mine anyway but it's usually still clean), so even a neglected one will probably still outlive the engine and/or bodywork. It's not a big deal if you have the equipment and skills to do the work yourself, but for the rest of us I'd rather avoid the hassle.

This is the key. Manuals very rarely leak oil, and don't suffer too badly if it's never changed (some don't have a drain plug after all).

Auto boxes, on the other hand, can lose oil through external coolers, etc., it has a much harder life, collects more contaminants and the setup on the Omega seems almost designed to promote neglect because the fluid is so difficult to check, top up and change.

A well looked-after auto will always outlast the clutch on a manual but once it starts to wear, instead of having one wear item that's easily changed, you're into a complex overhaul. Both are gearbox-out jobs anyway, though :-/


Kevin

33236

General Discussion Area / Re: What shall I do?

« on: 25 January 2008, 21:29:06 »

Needs to be a V6 whatever happens

Naturally 8-)

TBH, if I had an estate, I think I would want the tank in the wheel well, so I can use all the space

That's what I thought. Makes removing the kit from the saloon less attractive, because you'd need a new tank anyway.

I'm not confident to plumb one of those in though

Same type of valve fitted AFAIK, just a different shape tank.

Kevin

33237

General Discussion Area / Re: What shall I do?

« on: 25 January 2008, 21:23:16 »

What type of tank would you ideally want in the estate? Another cylinder or a doughnut in the spare wheel well?

Would you make your money back for the LPG kit on the saloon if sold as a duel fuel car?

 :-/

Really depends how things go with the estate...

Kevin

33238

General Discussion Area / Re: Wot happens next?

« on: 25 January 2008, 13:59:56 »

Hey, dbug - just noticed the TR4A. Very nice 8-)

Mate of mine's Mum used to have one when I was a kid. Always had a soft spot for them since. Oh, for more garage space [size=8]and cash[/size].  

Kevin

33239

General Discussion Area / Re: Is anybody there?

« on: 25 January 2008, 23:01:08 »

150BHP out the box

Without trying. Need to go Here : http://www.jenvey.co.uk/

 [smiley=evil.gif]

Kevin

33240

General Discussion Area / Re: Is anybody there?

« on: 25 January 2008, 22:54:18 »

Or even this one?

(cringe)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=levxeQ2CxTs

Kevin