DavidGS1150

I had my '58 reg vRS CR170 belt checked by Skoda last June with ~60K miles showing, they suggested another year or so. I changed it recently, with the water pump, at 70K. Looking at the old belt, fine cracks were beginning to show in the valleys between the "teeth".

2.0 CR170, typically 47 mpg, mostly commuting over a 10 mile journey, 50:50 urban:rural. On a recent holiday to Scotland, ~600 mile weekend, averaged 53 mpg over the weekend. That was 260 miles going there in a hurry, some country roads at 60 mph and the return run at the speed limit or thereabouts. I've found the trip computer agrees closely with direct measurement, brim to brim.

Washed with Dodo "Born To Be Mild", 2 bucket method with a Wookie's Fist (holds a hyooge amount of water!) Clayed Dodo "Lime Prime" - I feel it gives the same effect as AG Super Resin Polish, but easier to apply Poorboy's Black Hole Dodo "Blue Velvet" spritzed after washing & drying with Dodo "Red Mist Tropical" or diluted Valet Pro "Citrus Bling"

No personal experience, but looking at what rally cars run on snow stages, the narrower the better.

If you "Like" their Facebook page, today they posted a customer review of a tuning box fitted to an A3 with the CR170 engine. A very positive review. I've tried one of their boxes on my last car, Astra MkV 1.7 CDTi, on roads I know well it was transformed, felt like a 2.2 and I had to wonder why Vauxhall don't make them like that. Emissions, presumably. They are having an open day next month, when I last went they were plugging the boxes in for people and sending them for test drives to judge for themselves. Worth a visit, they put on an excellent spread and have a good supply of detailing products,too. And since I'm starting to sound like an advert for them, no, I'm not in any way connected, I just pass them on my way homw from work

I was at my local (Newcastle) dealer on Saturday for the free vehicle health check, including cam belt inspection. They said 60K/4 years (exactly where mine is) is when they recommend an inspection, but the belt is not due for repair til 100K (note Audi say 75K/5 years) After inspection, they said the belt shows no sign of wear, so I'll get it done next year.

I was quoted £125 fitted to the car, at home or work, for Pirelli P6000, 225/40x18 by an internet supplier (eTyres?)

I'd like to fit my Alpine CDA 9885 head unit to my '08 vRS. It will work with an external CD changer which is Ai-NET compatible. Does anyone know if our multi-changer will work with it? thanks.

I had a similar sounding noise on my astra diesel. It sounded like(how I would imagine)a big-end failure. Turned out to be a fuel injector. When the faulty injector was unplugged, the noise went away, though obviously the engine was running on 3 cylinders (still sounded a lot better). I ended up getting the injector replaced. The knocking was really bad, I pulled into the nearest car park and switched off, for fear of the whole engine imploding.

I used to go to NE Detailing too, David & John are very knowledgeable and helpful, but I lost touch after they moved from Pelton. I now go to Juicy Detailing on Tanfield Lea North Ind. Estate - they have regular open / demo days, and carry a good range of products. Juicy Jen really knows her stuff.

My '08 vRS is way better damped than my previous car ('55-reg Astra). It does transmit bumps, but with far less of a jolt with single bumps such as speed bumps, and a less jiggly ride over poor surfaces. What does bug me is the cabin is very squeaky when it does this - it's as if the entire interior doesn't quite fit the shell and is moving around. I only notice it if the radio is off, and maybe it's just things have expanded in the recent hot spell and it'll settle down? (wishful thinking!).

worked tonight on Firefox

My '08 CR170 vRS has a spare wheel. TBH I haven't checked the size but guess it's a space-saver. I'll check tomorrow.

Hi, thanks for the welcome. I'll not worry about the one or two plip for the key bob, as most of the time, I just need my door open. i was worried the central locking had broken - my last car had a number of faults, this was one of them - I thought it was deja vu on the very first day! The GS is better than me at everything, so no reason to change. I'm 6'1" so I like a big, roomy bike. I've done 54,000 miles on her but a few guys on a Facebook forum have >100K, so I need to try harder. She did aquit herself very well with a Ferrari 360 today, though the F430 ran away from us both.

I passed my IAM (motorcycle) test in 2000 and was taught to straightline, provided it is safe, e.g. no risk of someone overtaking whose path you may cross. Reasons given included; safety - a bike is more stable and has more rubber on the road when upright, and making progress - the idea of roundabouts is to maintain the flow of traffic where possible. On a related issue, they teach, "Plan to stop, look to go". As opposed to the people who pull up to a roundabout, stop, look, see there's nothing approaching and set off again. As for driving test fail, a number of things taught in advanced training may be a fail, e.g. using the whole lane for view, not signalling when not required and exceeding the speed limit. I don't think they teach the latter any more (presumably for political reasons), but I know of someone who did >80 in a 60 during an overtake and was complemented by the examiner on a good, safe overtake (they passed). Ditto being briefed to go with the flow of traffic on a motorway, up to 85 mph.