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Motors Chat - Round 7

Alanstrainor

Continuation from motors chat round 6

1.This thread is for motoring topics which you feel are not worthy of starting a new thread for, banter from a meet or general motoring related chit chat.

2.No lonely hearts (This is not a personal dig at anyone, it's how we feel is the best way to describe what we want to avoid. )

3.Keep it clean.

4.The Motors charter applies.

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CianRyan

I'd believe it, the F10 is a big car, and well a diesel is never going to as nice as a straight six petrol, even with two turbos.
Both fine cars but I'd still take the smaller, freer revving petrol too.

And Alfas are decent cars, I was looking at buying a 2.5 156 sports wagon at one stage, couldn't find one though.
It was only to do while o couldn't get quoted on my Mazda though, lost the job in the end so it meant no cars.

Still think I'd like a white facelift 147 2.0 TS as a daily along side my current MX5 or what ever turbo beast may lay ahead.

Simonigs1.0

Its like religion, this car thing. Believe what you want to believe. If someone wants to believe in something else, leave them be.

bear1

Everyone has a favourite car or most hated car. I really like Alfas and I really loathe Fords. There will be people who will say Alfas are ****e and those that say Fords are awesome.
The way to beat any sort of criticism is to just laugh it off.
When I got the Thesis I remember a few on here telling me it is the ugliest car they had ever seen, it wasn't nice to hear at all but at the end of the day I couldn't give a flying fcuk what people think about my car/s.
Chill out lads

Simonigs1.0

bear1 wrote: »

Everyone has a favourite car or most hated car. I really like Alfas and I really loathe Fords. There will be people who will say Alfas are ****e and those that say Fords are awesome.
The way to beat any sort of criticism is to just laugh it off.
When I got the Thesis I remember a few on here telling me it is the ugliest car they had ever seen, it wasn't nice to hear at all but at the end of the day I couldn't give a flying fcuk what people think about my car/s.
Chill out lads

Sure I still get it with the RCZ, not on here thankfully, but it happens. You can't win, just take no notice.

Toyotafanboi

anywayyyyyyyyyyyy

Simonigs1.0

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

anywayyyyyyyyyyyy

Moving swiftly on...

CianRyan

TFB, just read your add for the "Golf".
That was golden. Hahahaha

Foxhole Norman

CianRyan wrote: »

TFB, just read your add for the "Golf".
That was golden. Hahahaha

I found the Quattroporte comment a nice touch :pac:

Black_Knight

Afternoon all. Any good-willed VCDS owner around Dublin today willing to check out some codes on my car? RNS510 Head unit died yesterday evening on a drive back from Kilkenny.

Toyotafanboi

Haha thanks. It's more than a little tongue in cheek but i think i kept it reasonably cactual :pac:

MuppetCheck

Black_Knight wrote: »

Afternoon all. Any good-willed VCDS owner around Dublin today willing to check out some codes on my car? RNS510 Head unit died yesterday evening on a drive back from Kilkenny.

Fcuk, that's not a good feeling. I *think* this is the lad I used for updates a couple of years back. It might be worth giving him a shout.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/view/6520493

Black_Knight

MuppetCheck wrote: »

Fcuk, that's not a good feeling. I *think* this is the lad I used for updates a couple of years back. It might be worth giving him a shout.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/view/6520493

Cheers. I see can I get a scan first. Spotted a unit on Donedeal going for OK money, but its about as old as my current one. Still, shelled out €500 for my current one not even a year and a half ago. :mad:

[Deleted User]

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

Unfortunately I'm only seeing this post now, no longer having college lectures mean I can't spend as much time on here
Anyway If you're being serious about that which I think you might be then I for one, don't appreciate that comment whatsoever.

Only recently did that car leave my ownership and it left me in excellent condition relative to its age. If any car is a proper car it's a 6 cylinder Italian car full of soul and character not a 4 cylinder Vectra.

Given the astonishing list of work carried out on your own car if anybody could be recommended to sell their car it's yourself, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

To be fair the current owner was the first to mention selling tha Alfa

So my nct 90 days in advance is today, so i went on their website to see availablity of dates. The first one available is apparently march 2 next year! my nct will actually be out by then

Bpmull

nd wrote: »

So my nct 90 days in advance is today, so i went on their website to see availablity of dates. The first one available is apparently march 2 next year! my nct will actually be out by then

Ring them and you'll get a cancelation fairly easily enough. Or I think if you go on the site at a certain time they put all the updated available times up I think it's 11.30 pm but someone might confirm that as I'm not sure.

colm_mcm

I just got limerick for feb 22.

Dartz

I posted this on another forum not too long ago. Given the negativity I thought I'd chuck it in....

About six months ago, I did a silly thing.

I bought a car.

But that's not silly, you might say. I suppose, that depends on what sort of car I bought. What I bought, was a Mazda Rx8. You know, with the wankel engine.

Now, a picture should've immediately formed in your mind if you're in any way knowledgeable about cars and you're probably nodding your head and going, yep, that's a stupid thing to buy. It made sense at the time, believe me. It's a sports car, but because of the unique engine having a low-tax capacity and the fact that it was registered as a 4-door saloon means that the annual tax and insurance I pay on it, is a good deal less than I would otherwise.

It still took me a while to find a good one. The first one I tried was a shed, with a dying engine. But, the third one I found - which I bought - is fairly decent. Good engine, solid interior. All happy.

The thing I'm finding with this car however, is that it tends to make demagogues of people. If you drive it, you either love it or hate it, and it makes you want to shout about it. You can probably guess which side I fall on.

I paid about 4,850 for it. Since then, I've had a full service that cost me a grand, then another grand in a repair and upgrade of the ignition system. It's a lot of money for me – but at the same time it's not especially something I regret doing.

Because this car's just so damned intoxicating. I'm not sure what it is exactly.

I learned to drive in the family diesel. It was a chugging, gutless, heavy thing but harmlessly numb to drive. It sort of made the process of operating it as forgettable as possible. This Rx is basically the exact opposite to it in every way.

It allows you to be involved, if you want to. It tells you what it's doing and responds to you. The front wheels snout there way over imperfections in the road, tugging at the wheel to let you know what's down there. Inside meanwhile, it's comfortable, with a proper entertainment systems and enough luxury features to make it feel like a proper, high-priced Grand Tourer. Then put your foot down in the right gear and it takes off with a howl from the engine.

That engine is part of it, I think. It's a wankel motor. In this day and age, it's literally unique. It's an endangered species, slowly becoming rarer and rarer. No more are being made. It's entirely likely that no more will be made for road-going vehicles. The experience it offers is effectively unique.

It's this compact little cube of power. And because there's no reciprocating motion in it like a conventional engine, it runs smooth as a turbine, without ever feeling under stress. There's no vibration like you feel with any conventional engine, no harshness. There's effectively just three moving parts in it; two rotors, and an eccentric shaft.

And that's its biggest strength, but also the biggest weakness of the engine. When something does go wrong, it has a tendency to cascade through and damage more and more parts, until it finally kills the motor.

A worn sparkplug damaged an ignition coil on my car. It also damaged the catalytic converter by blasting it with unburned petrol. I replaced the sparkplugs, but the damaged coil continued to get worse before finally failing. It was replaced with an upgrade kit that came in at a cool 500 quid. The damaged catalytic converter finally failed and clogged itself, effectively half-blocking the car's exhaust and causing the engine to run hot and suffocate on it's own backpressure. Eventually, that'd kill the engine seals, which kills the engine.

I had the catalyst removed before that happened. It smells like a refinery fire going down the road, but it seems to back to full health. Still, there's the possibility that I did damage to the engine core that'll show itself in the near future.

And that's the first thing that everyone says to me about it. Don't you know those things like to blow their engines? Well, yeah? The engine seals do tend to wear out; it's the nature of the beast. You can help it live longer by adding a little lubricating oil to the fuel, and changing the engine oil regularly – but eventually it's going to lose compression and say 'nope'.

And when it does, I'll end up paying another 2,500 to a specialist to overhaul it.

Why would I do something that mad?

It's almost quixotic, isn't it? It just sort of makes you do it, like an addiction. And I can sort of justify it, buy saying that with the cheaper tax and insurance, I'm saving the cost of an engine overhaul every year compared to owning another car with similar performance. Buy a BMW, being the obvious suggestion.

But none of them will be quite like the Rx. None of them will have that eerily smooth engine. None of them will scream up to 9500rpm, with the only sign that the engine's in any way perturbed by this being a little beep from the tacho. And if you just need to get somewhere down a motorway, it'll happily sit back and let you get on with getting there, humming quietly along.

There's another thing I like about this car. Since that first service, I've done a lot of my own maintenance on it. I fitted the upgraded coils. I replaced the brakes. I can follow the maintenance schedule, no problem. It's just that simple to work on. It's probably one of the last cars that responds really well to the home mechanic. And it needs some care in the way modern cars just don't.

Maybe that's it.

It's the end of an era. It's the last of the affordable, entertaining, sports cars that used to proliferate before the automobile became an appliance. It's the last wankel – the final-result of a fourty-year experiment that was long since abandoned by everyone else. It's one of the last cars that can be worked on effectively the amateur at home. It's not a corporate exercise in cynicism and artificially packaged, overpriced fun, but something put together because the company doing it decided it would be a fun and interesting thing to do.

It's a passion-project, and maybe that's why it inspires so much passion in some people. All the great cars are the same in some fasion. Madness, but loved by their owners.

I've taken a few people for a drive in it, and the response has always been the same.

I can't believe you bought this thing, and I'd never buy one myself, but I'm glad it exists.

I guess I'm just one of the madmen who feel the need to keep these unusual things moving, because when the last one finally splutters to a halt, the automotive world will be a less interesting place to be.

Would I suggest someone go out and buy one? Probably not. But if someone came to me and asked me if they should buy one, I wouldn't tell them not to.

Also... P0420 For Life.

colm_mcm wrote: »

I just got limerick for feb 22.

yeah Charleville is closer to me but even feb 22 seems daftly long.

colm_mcm

Yeah, mine is out in January. Must see if I can get something sooner.

joujoujou

And that's why I've NCT due mid-May I'm gonna start my booking lookup next week probably.

toastedpickles

Well it appears I've ruffled a few feathers

Terribly sorry for that! I'm not going to add fuel to the fire, So I'll just say sorry and that's that

I booked my nct, and ordered a fuel pump, spark plugs brake pads and discs today

[Deleted User]

I've a question for ye guys, about my car struggling to start.

Quick back story:

So I got out of the car yesterday and hit the lock button on the fob. The 407 has electric folding mirrors that close when you lock it, but they didn't work this time.

So I tried to unlock it and lock it, repeatedly, and nothing. Presumed my fob was dead. Shrugged it off and went inside to the warmth of boards.

Went out this morning and tried to unlock it, and nothing. Quickly rememberred the key fob was dead and so unlocked the door manually. Got in, and no interior light came on. Put the key in the ignition, and nothing. Turned it, nothing. No lights, no cranking, no sounds, no anything.

So I did a quick google and apparently this is just one of those things that happens, and the battery has just died a sudden death on me. So off to Motor Factors tomorrow to get a new one.

(short version: Battery is knackered)

My question is, my car failing to start a lot of the time (mostly on colder/wetter mornings, where it takes 3-4 goes to get it going), could that have been down to a battery that was on it's last legs?

I'm just kind of half-heartedly hoping that a new battery will fix that issue of the car having difficulty most mornings (as it's the only issue with that car that has me perplexed).

Also, when I'm going to buy a battery tomorrow (I'll get the car jumped this evening so hopefully will be able to drive to motor factors tomorrow), are there different types of batteries? Or is a battery a battery, and just get the cheapest I can cos they're all the same anyway? (never bought a battery before for my own car).

Cheers..

Bpmull

@kkv do your self a favour and if buying a new battery get one with at least the same current ah ratings or even slightly more provided it will fit as a lot of places try to sell you smaller batteries in terms of ah rating and there not worth a sh!t you want at least 70 ah for a diesel. Also get a decent brand with a high cca value this is the cold start capacity and is a measure of how good the battery is under load ie starting the car. Batteries are one of the worst things to scrimp on so don't as other wise you'll have it turning over for ages to start and the smaller battery will give up from being under to much pressure.

ShadowHearth

colm_mcm wrote: »

Yeah, mine is out in January. Must see if I can get something sooner.

Mine out on 1st of January too. I called early November and I was told that I earliest I can get is February. I said that I want one in December. So she took my details and put me in a queue, where if someone cancels in December, then I could take a spot. Got a message last week for nct on December 5th. Happy as ****.

I did not knew that you could do that, handy.

Bpmull

Anyone see there's a skoda yeti van (commercial) coming out next year. Should appeal to some I think it's march it will be here first skoda commercial in a while. 24k euro though is a lot makes the golf cheap beside it but then it's a good bit bigger.

[Deleted User]

Bpmull wrote: »

@kkv do your self a favour and if buying a new battery get one with at least the same current ah ratings or even slightly more provided it will fit as a lot of places try to sell you smaller batteries in terms of ah rating and there not worth a sh!t you want at least 70 ah for a diesel. Also get a decent brand with a high cca value this is the cold start capacity and is a measure of how good the battery is under load ie starting the car. Batteries are one of the worst things to scrimp on so don't as other wise you'll have it turning over for ages to start and the smaller battery will give up from being under to much pressure.

See, I'd never heard of ah or cca before.

According to this site, a battery recommended for my car has 75ah and a cca of 700 A... Does that seem good? (i've no idea how to 'measure' ah or cca, or whats high or low regarding them.

Bpmull

Deleted User wrote: »

See, I'd never heard of ah or cca before.

According to this site, a battery recommended for my car has 75ah and a cca of 700 A... Does that seem good? (i've no idea how to 'measure' ah or cca, or whats high or low regarding them.

That seem good alright aim for that in other words don't by a battery with 50ah 450 cca because the guy behind the counter thinks it will do the job as there has been threads on that before. Ah is just amp hours measure of current in other words the batteries capacity.

Noccy_Mondy

Focus flywheel is on the way out methinks. Mondeo ain't 100 percent either. Fcuk ford and their gammy clutch setups :mad:

Noccy_Mondy

Ha :P

dgt

Oh look, page 220....

Experimenting with other 17's I have here. Yay or nay?
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