Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

a dude that races midgets recommended the temp - that was after a cool down lap on a damp day. if it is dry at donny, i will need to experiment

what is the downside to underinflation - no heat?

Too much heat, the car moves around too much, and the tyre rolls over. Basically, less grip that you'd otherwise have and the car feels like it's wobbling around if you go really soft.

The AA sent me a letter saying that my renewal would be, with them, £313 for fully comprehensive insurance.

I called them, as this is quite good - less than my existing insurer offered me.

Chap checked my details were the same as in the letter, then said "Ok, so that'll be £557, sorry about that - this keeps happening".

Bravo AA, bravo.

Sounds about right, insurance companies being useless dicks.

fuck the AA off mate

I'm with a small broker type outfit at the minute, been happy enough with them. Mainly as every time I call them I get put onto the same person, and they actually make notes about the policy and discussions and then save them on the system!*

*Unlike every call centre ever is unable to achieve.

Nurse Holiday has borrowed my Volvo to drive around France, it's been a bit variable - the cutting out issue has reared it's head once more, but we think we might have a handle on that (I accuse the air conditioning, in the study, with the candle-stick), but with the air con turned off the power is "hilarious".

Here it is at Reims:

If anyone has or knows of an old mini going cheaps...I'm looking!

My AC compressor is eating its central bearings (not the output bearing) so it does work but sucks down 15-20mpg at 60 mph (when clutch engaged), needless to say, its sucking down some power/torque!

Mine seems to make the ECU cut out when the engine is idling, and not restart for 10 minutes or so.

This only happens when it's got really hot - stop/start traffic on a hot day.

I reckon it's going to be some wiring, or a relay, which has suffered during the 20 years it has been in existence. Just need to find it, but that's the challenge.

Refurbishing alloys - specifically BBS split rims, if I want the centres to be BBS gold is that annodised or painted?

Here is a sneak peek of the new Scuderia Fucktone 2017 car. It's waaay better than we thought. Prob better than my road car.

(Apart from those fucking mirrors and the rack! Hideous!)

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Do you mean the cap? The wheel is cast non? Not anodised?

Painted.

That's lovely. Lovely enough to keep as a road car and track the Brockley Express.

That is some odd behaviour! So when you go to restart there is no spark being generated, no fuel pump or just nothing happening at all? I doubt they have thermal protection on the board (there is meant to be a cooling duct that runs across the top of your PAS pump pulley into the ECU box, so make sure thats there), so could be a case of sticking a fresh board in there. IF it was wiring I would reckon it would do it all the time/random/over bumps rather than just when its hot

The disc/spoked section - the gold part.

If it's painted, I wonder what the paint code is?

Dash lights are on, but no fuel or spark. Pop bonnet, wait ten, fires back up as if nothing happened.

The cooling duct is on, and this only happens when the air-con is on.

I had a look and there is a load of logic that applies to the air-con, i.e. "if engine speed is at >1,000 rpms AND load is [whatever] THEN [do this].

So I am guessing that it's doing something at ~800 rpm that is sending a pulse which knocks out the ECU. Could be the relay crapping out? Dunno.

TBH, at this point, if I could get a brand new loom I'd be tempted to fit it.

Message me! I know of a few...but how cheaps?

thanks. it does feel a bit of a shame to drill holes in it and take all the shiny bits off, but the red car is FIA eligible, the green car is not.

i will take the bumpers and hood and convert the green car, then i have the best of both. fast road and race.

Your right, there is a lot of stuff with the AC. On a diesel mine has electronic throttle pedal + fuel pump**, yours is a pre_Me7 petrol so has just standard throttle body + idle control valve? So could be something up with that? Afraid thats about the limit of my electronic knowledge! Prefer mechanical stuff, at least with that its obvious how to make it work.

**Watching the values being altered on VAGCOM its impressive how much it has to work the pump/throttle value to keep the thing idling/running, especially when returning to idle or between gears etc

Nice pic. Great track (was once anyway).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VF0JwxQqcA

santa pod european FIA finals next weekend :)

Thanks.

I've got plenty more to add to what I've relayed to Dammit, the short version is that the Volvo is amazing, nobody expects the Volvo, and I mean NOBODY, and I want to keep the Volvo.

Man in a brand new Golf GTI slowed down at the top of a big hill in the Vosges after I despatched him on the uphill to give me a thumbs up and a big grin, and a couple of bikers waved me through on a tight and twisty forest road after I caught them up unintentionally. Basically it's really easy to drive "quite quickly" without even trying.