texasjohn

Thats cool, I didnt realise they spelt correctly. How about Litre? Centre? Do they call scones biscuits, and biscuits cookies? How much is a 3 bed house, detached, in a nice area? In

This is my daily hack:

Nice one

Make up a twenty five percent solution of G12 in a glass then check the colour against a sample of the coolant poured into another glass. Might be worth it to put your mind at rest/prove your suspicions* *depending on the result, of course!

what he said

I'd love to have seen the Fabia2 drivers face. Not seen Jasons car but I've seen those clips of the stock Fabia VRS's vs the tuned VRS's (not quite as tuned as yours mind) do a rolling run side by side on the motorway, and that was a staggering difference as it was.

I'd take Rob's advice. The only thing I'd also consider is how much you put a value on the peace of mind of not having to worry about your 'own' car, i.e. park a leased car or a car who is owned by someone else (hire car, company car) overnight and you never worry about it like you do when it's your name on the V5! If you want something emissions heavy (say over 220g CO2 which is quite a way above a VRS TFSI octavia anyway) the high income tax hit each year can make it cheaper to run your car privately rather than have that same make and model as a company car. This is more the case if you get a good discount on the list price buying or leasing privately; with a company car you always get taxed on the list price of the car regardless of what price Lex or whichever leasing firm purchased it for.

Some say that 'Taylors' isn't too bad a chippy either...

Went from a Saab 93 turbo to an S2000 (different engines than that being discussed I know, but a 240hp turbo v a 240hp VTEC) The turbo will feel quicker than the VTEC engine. On paper the Accord will be a touch quicker (in a straight line) but it wont feel that way to drive it. I cant speak for the handling of either car, but the Type R's are normally very good indeed. I would imagine it to be the better of the two.

^ good chance that in this day and age (ASBO kids running riot everywhere, the publics dwindling respect for authority etc) the policeman would probably do all he could to ensure you didnt get charged for helping him, regardless of whether or not he asked you to help Well, thats what I'd like to think anyway.

very good it is actually more natural to drive on the right IMHO, and easier to shift more accurately if you are right handed. One thing I have noticed with RWD cars as well, when inducing oversteer coming out of corners - in the US I had more confidence letting the back end of the car swing to the right as I was sat in the left seat. In the UK it is the opposite way round, more confidence letting the back end swing left. Good really, because of the direction you go around roundabouts

Yes but don't you just love it when a plan comes together? :D

The usual Friday night brisky racing session shall commence after the BB eviction!

I've heard a lot of people having luck on car forums with sales but not myself, alas. Personally, when I am on the hunt I am usually looking for the private sales. I look at Autotrader, Pistonheads, Owner forums, fish4 and ebay. I tend to visit owner forums when looking into the cars and to find out about problems, real world MPG, etc etc. Whilst I'm there I will look at the classifieds area and once settled on a particular make and model and spec will put up a wanted post. Also when selling a car I do a search on the make and model within Pistonheads in the 'PX' field. That way you can bring up other cars for sale where the owner is looking to PX to what you are trying to sell. When I was selling my 330d I did this and about 10 adverts came back of people after a 330d. None of them had a car I was considering but it was worth a shot all the same. If I can get a good deal at a dealers then I will also look at dealerships. 19/20 times though they can't make the numbers work well enough for me. I dont use finance (unless 0% but thats usually only on brand new anyway) so that dealer facility which attracts many does not apply to me.

That picture could have been taken in Fort Worth, the mall looks exactly the same as those in TX. I should imagine the Focus is ok with the 2.0. Was it difficult to find a manual, I guess most were autos like in the US?

Its more about the engine itself than the size of it. I remember a Fiat Bravo I had as a hire car ages ago. Walked up to it, badge on the front wing says "1.2 80". Wow, I thought, this is going to be fun. I was pleasantly surprised. Because it was a revvy 16v engine it was great fun, I remember thinking it would actually be quite quick (for a 1.2 at least) if I was driving with this motor in the smaller Punto. The old shape Astras had a 1.6 8v engine which really was very poor, similar characteristics to the 1.6 Twinport we are discussing here.

I am recruiting, I need someone for a year on a temporary contract. Job is likely to become full time thereafter, although I can't commit to this - If the person is good, we will retain them. I will provide more information by PM or email but here is a brief summary: Working within the commercial department as team leader for a large multinational aerospace company at our maintenance, repair and overhaul facility near Birmingham International Airport. The role is for a commercial team leader. The candidate can demostrate excellent attention to detail and has the confidence to lead a small team. The person needs to be able to learn quickly so we would consider a less experienced person who can show maturity and potential to develop the team further while managing day to day issues. A degree of commercial acumen is required for the role, as well as reasonably good IT skills. Prior contracts/commercial support/purchasing experience, ideally in a fast paced dynamic aerospace or similar engineering industry background (industrial or marine turbines, defence, motor, rail). Any business process reengineering or continuous improvement experience would be a definite bonus. Duration - 12 months, immediate start. Some business travel. Rate -

Mark I am really tempted now. Could you post up any links to jobsites in Canada? I dont suppose there is much in the way of Aerospace there? I can think of P&W and Bombardier, but that's all. I was in the USA for 4 years (hence my name on here) and miss the lifestyle. I know Canada is different, but in a good way IMHO. It's been such a crap summer here weatherwise. Would you PM me an email address so I can ask you a few questions offline? What car did you buy BTW? Cheers John

Chris Interesting read. I also had a 1.6 (Club I think) as a hire car not so long ago. I agree with your points, in particular regarding point 3, engine. I couldnt agree more. Conversely I also had a Vauxhall Astra VXR earlier this week from Vauxhall fleet, on a 3 day test drive. F me it drinks petrol. This is coming from a 3 litre petrol BMW. I managed to eek 26mpg out of it, but making progress 21mpg was more like it. This compares with about 33mpg and 28mpg from the BMW under the same kind of driving conditions. VXR picks up very well and is fast. the surge of power comes on and then at about 5-5.5k there is a bit of a powerband til the redline, not a VTEC like jump but it is nice that there is a peak at the top end. It goes right to the redline pulling hard, no power drop off at all. Also at these revs there is a real gravelly induction roar which is very addictive. It really is a quick car though, however power difficult to get down out of corners as you would imagine. No real torque steer issues as such, and the ride is firm but very comfy considering the size of the wheels and the sports suspension. My main complaint with both Astras (and many hatchbacks) was the driving position. I just dont feel right sat up at the wheel and get a bad back. That said, I dont think I'll be trying to race any of these VXRs in the Z4.

Happy birthday Shifty

Sounds good, I also did some reading online about it. Might have to try a VAG DSG now.

Good to hear from you. Hows the weather?

Anyone racing later tonight?

Do these VAG DSG transmissions 'blip' the throttle on a downshift? Or do they not need to (and for what reason if not if anyone knows) Ta