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11941

General Car Chat / Re: Tyre question alert

« on: 04 October 2015, 18:54:04 »

Ah, now, see if you hadn't taken Ford as your religion before seeing the light and converting to GM then you might not be a complete devotee.
I was reared in the GM religion ( deviated to Ford briefly with a Crapi and a Sierra and hated both of them), and have only really turned my eyes away from GM to other marques, late in life.
I think the reason people like us ( wanting a nice big luxobarge on  tightish budget) ignored more "upmarket" cars, may have been the exhorbitant cost of parts ec. but that doesn't really apply anymore.
Parts for XJ,s e38,s, LS 400, older Mercs etc. can be bought as cheaply as parts for Omegas from similar sources as we would use to source parts from.
I think if we ignore badges, and take a drive in these cars, with an open mind, it might be more difficult to keep justifying the Omega love.
I think the BMW badge is losing its stigma now, more so with older models,as that mantle is being passed to Audi drivers, and the bigger engined e38,s are a stonking car in every respect in my opinion. Would any of us really be embarrassed to drive an old 635 Csi, or old 2002tii ? I would love to have an old e38 750 5.4, V12, but even now, the running costs are eye watering.
Likewise the LS400, its a cracking car, although definitely more luxury than sporting drive, but still very capable for what it is. And the engine is a real peach.
Im planning on finally moving away from Omegas in about a years time and will be trying to decide between an e38, LS400 and an XJ.
The car will likely be around 15 years old, so MB wont be considered as Mercs of that vintage can rust quicker than an old Alfasud.

But having said all this, if the right 3.2 Elite with all the toys came along at the right price / right time, I might just have a few more years of Omega love. 

11942

General Car Chat / Re: Tyre question alert

« on: 04 October 2015, 17:45:49 »

Having owned 8 v6 Omegas I think I can be included in the "why we love them" group. 
I m a realist though, and disagree that the cars I mentioned are necessarily more expensive. True you may have to buy one 2 or 3 years older to get it the same price as an Omega, but does that really count at that age ?
Jag and BMW did sports versions of the XJ and e38 as well as luxury models.
I have driven well sorted manual Omegas,hard, and although it is quite a well balanced chassis for something designed decades ago, it has its limitations (even on public roads) and if I wanted something to test my limits (which I consider to be not particularily high) it wouldn't be something I would consider, because it isn't a car for fast driving. Its a decent car for making adequate progress in  reasonable comfort.
Ideally I suppose, I would have an Omega / LS/ e38/ XJ / S class type car and also a well sorted MR2 / M3 (an old one)/ Elise etc.
But then again, speed cameras, very overcrowded roads, speeding now extremely antisocial, and a mind boggling number of morons in charge of vehicles everywhere you go - is there any point in thinking about performance as a desirable characteristic anymore ?
I spend a lot of my driving time nowadays in a 25 year old diesel, and have fun in it, to the extent that its funny to go through a series of bends and leave Timothy Poncenby Smythe languishing far behind in his £40k Audi/ Beemer etc. as it seems hardly anyone has much of a clue how to drive these days.

11943

General Car Chat / Re: Tyre question alert

« on: 04 October 2015, 14:38:25 »

An MX5 certainly cant do those things,although, like the Omega its certainly not a fast car either.
The Omega, imo, was an under rated car, in the sense it is quiet, smooth, sedate etc. and capable of making adequate progress if need be.
It wasn't and never could be a properly fast car. It was never designed to be one. Far too heavy and underpowered.
I have the impression that some people on OOF have spent a lot of time and money trying to prove otherwise, when they might as well try and push water uphill.
Its not a criticism of the car. It wasn't designed to be a fast car, it was designed to be a big comfy mile muncher.
Point being, rather than spend all the time / effort / money on trying to make it something it isn't. Why not keep it standard and pick up an MX5 , or any number of other cars(if that's what equates as fun) for sub £1k and have fun when the mood takes ?
Its all pretty irellevant these days anyway imo, as the days of being able to drive fast on public roads are long gone.

Also, there are similar cars for similar money which do the same job as the Omega only better. Examples which spring to mind are Lexus LS40, Jag XJ, various Mercs, and indeed a BMW (E38, 735 / 740). So in reality its probably about brand loyalty and enthusiasm for a particular model.
Theres no rhyme, reason or logic too it and theres nothing wrong with it I suppose. As long as we don't start kidding ourselves that its the best car ever made for any purpose we can think of.

11944

General Discussion Area / Re: Just heard

« on: 04 October 2015, 12:46:56 »

He denied ever saying it though. 
He held the record as Britains worst ever chancellor for a long time, until Gordon Brown came along and challenged him for the title.
I wouldn't like to say which one did more damage. It would be too close to call. 

11945

General Car Chat / Re: Tyre question alert

« on: 04 October 2015, 12:43:21 »

Driving style will be a huge factor though, along with type of journeys. As some here get through pads in a ridiculously short amount of time.

Kinda makes tyre threads here pointless 

Another telling off by Miss Daisy. However, some of us like fun in life with our digital throttles, heavy braking and high g cornering to match. Not getting Miss Daisy or a nervous nun in a Morris 1000 tyre mileage is well worth it.

Which then begs the question. Why in the name of all thats holy are you driving an Omega   

11946

General Discussion Area / Re: God Bless Vamps xxxx

« on: 01 October 2015, 12:44:20 »

Very sorry to hear this. So sad that a good man is taken well before his time. Deepest sympathies to his family.
R.I.P Vamps.

11947

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: 01 October 2015, 12:38:15 »

Treated it to a weekend in Brighton at the weekend, had a nice view of a sea of wanton gay debauchery for a couple of days 

Good for you. 

11948

General Discussion Area / Re: TONIGHT - Super Moon, Red Moon and Total Luner Eclipse all rolled into one.

« on: 28 September 2015, 18:41:50 »

Very good pictures Jimbob, better than I've managed with my Nikon, which is now of an age, where more modern are in a different league for low light sensitivity, noise and image processing. I also found last night where it was very cold clear night with a high jew fall that I had to keep clearing the lens.

That sounds painful. Hope the Jew was ok ? 

11949

General Car Chat / Re: Ok, I can officially put this 0-60 'dangle berries' to rest

« on: 22 September 2015, 11:09:01 »

Just when we hoped the end was nigh.......

11950

General Discussion Area / Re: Driving in London

« on: 22 September 2015, 11:06:20 »

It sounds like a whole lot of fun, being a passenger in your car. 

11951

General Discussion Area / Re: My worse day ever. RIP my tractor.

« on: 19 September 2015, 10:45:27 »

After walking away unscathed from that, I think you should change your name to Lucky Alf. 

11952

Omega General Help / Re: My Omega got some attitydeproblems..

« on: 16 September 2015, 09:43:19 »

"Opel is a well built Vauxhall". 
They are indentical cars with different badges for different countries. 

11953

General Discussion Area / Re: Labour leadership battle.

« on: 12 September 2015, 11:57:19 »

Well, the socialists have taken back their party. To any grown adult with life experience in the real world Corbyn is a dangerous idiot. He is a genuine dangerous idiot though which is why people (particularily the young) have voted for him.
So many people are sick and tired of the obvious fakery of the establishment leadership of the three Westminster parties. Since Thatcher, none of them have believed in anything but their own careers.
People have been looking for authenticity, conviction politicians, which is one reason why Farage has resonated with a lot of people.
Like Corbyn, you can agree or disagree with what they believe, but theres no doubting that their beliefs are genuine.
I believe that the media and the establishment will eat Corbyn alive. He  believes in all the things which very nearly destroyed this country in the 1970,s and made Thatcherism a necessary evil.
Any sensible person who is old enough to remember the bad old days, would shudder with fear and dread at the thought of the country going back there.
I predict that Labour wont win another election for another decade at least, which is a very good thing. The people who voted him in have probably as good as elected George Osborne as our next PM. Which probably wont be a very good thing.

11954

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: 08 September 2015, 18:19:54 »

Fitted a new pair of ETS centre boxes. Sad to lose the original GM clamshell boxes, but the  pipes had rotted until they snapped. Also put a pair of chrome tips on the end of the back box. Centre boxes seem a pretty good fit, and good value for money. Slightly p1ssed off that they took 8 days to arrive, but otherwise pleased with them.
While I was down there I noticed the shocking mount of rust on the (not very old) KYB rear springs. 

11955

General Discussion Area / Re: The migrant / refugee crisis.

« on: 08 September 2015, 18:06:53 »

Don't think that there is a right or wrong answer to this awful situation, I just thank God that my grandchildren are safe well fed & clothed .That terrible picture of that 3 year old child still haunts me washed up on the beach like rubbish .

I agree, it was a haunting image,and demonstrated that a picture can say more than a thousand words. Perhaps that is why that particular death received so much more publicity than the 72 people who died in the back of a lorry a few days previously.
Tragic though it was, I don't see the death of the 3 year old as having much connection the "crisis".
The family had fled from Syria (in fear of their lives, according to the father) to Turkey a year ago. Turkey is  recognised safe country, so they weren't in any danger.
They wanted to get to Canada though, to join family members there and the Turkish authorities weren't being particularily helpful, so the father decided to take them in a rickety boat in the dead of night across the sea to Greece.
It was a mad thing to do with a couple of young kids, and the responsibilty for what happened is his and his alone.
I read one report which said the father survived because he had a life jacket. If lifejackets are available they are given to the men, but women and children dont get them. I have no idea if that is true or not.                                                                                              He returned to Syria with the bodies of his wife and children to bury them there, which makes me wonder a little , if the danger to them was as acute s he claimed ?