jonrb

The guys at my local Central Tyres are brilliant. I buy my tyres from http://www.blackcircles.co.uk and have them delivered and fitted by Central Tyres. On the latest set i was getting leakage so they took the tyre off, used a grinder / polisher to remove all the corrosion round the bead edge of the rim (as has already been mentioned) and used copious quantities of rim seal and put the tyre back on and balanced it with stick-on weights rather than the clip-ons. They then discovered the valve was leaking, so took the tyre off again and sealed the valve with some rubbery paint stuff and reassembled and rebalanced. That sorted it and they didn't charge me a penny, although I did give them some beer money. Moral of the story is that if you have corrosion round the wheel and/or in the hole the valve sits in, you need to get it cleaned up. And make sure your tyre fitter uses rim seal.

I must confess, when I took my Pipercross off and reverted to the standard airbox I didn't notice much of a drop in acceleration or response. Having said that, there is a certain "something" about the concept of a carbon fibre airbox. ;) :D

Probably no difference on power, but I understand it makes a difference on noise. I'm looking for it to be as quiet as possible. I've "been there, done that" on induction roar and it doesn't do anything for me.

Sorry to re-open an old thread, but the following info may be of use for future reference: I've just today done the same (ie. fit a Momo knob). You can't hide the brass ring easily, but you can stop it moving around. I fitted the gearknob and then turned the gaitor inside out, and used a small jubilee clip (aka [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hose_clamp]hose clamp[/link]) and the original plastic clip to push the brass ring up tight against the gearknob. You can still see the brass ring, which kind of spoils the effect a little, but at least the gaitor doesn't move around. That'll do for now, but I may replace the gaitor later.

Thanks for the info - much appreciated. We're looking for the 1.6i petrol as the diesel is just too slow, and with any luck the consumer-market "MPV" (yeah, right) versions that we're looking at will have better seats than the commerical versions. Well, we can hope, eh? The Berlingo seems to be pretty much the size we're looking for, which is why it appeals. The sliding door on each side of the consumer version along with the big hinge-up rear door are a big plus point too. I know the commercial versions have double doors on the rear and no sliding doors on the sides (ie. they're 3-door) In contrast, the Caddy (which you suggest) is the right size but only seats two and the Transporter (which seats 3) is just too big for what we want / need.

Blimey! Brown trousers indeedy :shock: I still think the Berlingo is worth looking into though - it does fulfil all our requirements and also fulfils my personal extra requirement of "not a bloody MPV or 4x4" ;) I'm sure they can't all be bad. I mean, if you believed all the horror stories of owning a Corrado you'd be scared off buying one. :D Same goes for TVR.

Yep. It's a van. It carries stuff and can seat at least 3 people*. Cheap to buy, cheap to run. All requirements met - job done. :) (* - it can actually seat 5, but our requirements are min 3)

Thanks. We've had a change of plan since I posted this. Whilst a modified Sharan VR6 does sound like a laugh, it weighs 1800kg, does low-20's mpg and Grp 15 insurance. Not so brilliant. Turns out that a humble Citroen Berlingo will suits all the needs, with the advantage of actually looking like a van, only weighs 1300kg, does high-30's mph, and is Grp 5 insurance. So that's the Sharan VR6 knocked on the head then. :)

The wife needs a vehicle for her business. Either a van or else an MPV with the seats removed. Budget of around £3k (perhaps slightly more for the right vehicle). Seems to me that a Sharan VR6 would be fairly amusing, especially with a bit of fettling (filter, throttle body, remap, etc.) especially since I am very familar with the VR6 engine having owned my Corrado VR6 for 9½ years. Does anyone know anything about the Sharan VR6?

Thanks Dinkus

Does anyone know what the largest front brakes you can squeeze behind standard 15's, by any chance? (Or point me to the correct thread before the Repost Police arrest me ;))

Hmmm. Well I guess I can add that to the long list of missed opportunities in my life then. :|

Is it still available? And is it a worthwhile conversion, would you say?

Interesting. Depending on where in Hampshire you are, I'd be really interested in seeing / hearing that.

Didn't Stealth used to do a 6-speed 'Gemini' conversion, or is that the same as the Quaife that someone has already mentioned? I was talking to Vince about it about 6 or 7 years ago as I've always felt that there is a real dead spot for overtaking 'oomph' in real-world driving where 2nd is too low and 3rd is too high. He suggested his Gemini conversion but I didn't do it in the end. I wish I had in some ways. Same goes for the VSR.

112k in 9½ years of virtually trouble-free ownership (I've owned it since it was 6 months old). Still on original exhaust and clutch. How many cars can claim that?

BMC CDA

Good advice, Kev. I've never understood the fascination with slamming. If you want crappy cornering ability then buy a Micra.

Has Vince worked out how to connect up the cold air feed pipe on the BMC CDA yet? Last time I talked to him (which was admittedly a few years ago) he wasn't fitting it due to space & routing issues.

How noisy is the BMC anyway? I've been toying with the idea of one ever since they came out but I don't want a lot of induction roar - I had a PiperCross cone on for a while and found it just too noisy and not in keeping with the nature of the car.

:thumb right:

:lol: you could say that. :) I don't actually own a blowtorch, so I popped down to Farnborough B&Q and picked up the cheapest one they had, which was a modest £10.99 and also a bolt that 'looked right'. I tried the seized bolt again before using the blowtorch, just in case the Penetrating Spray had done its work, but still seized solid. The blowtorch was a bit of an arse to light and stay lit, but I managed to get about 5 secs on the bolt head before flame-out, but thought I'd give it a go and bugger me it turned immediately. And the fact that I had in fact chosen an almost perfect replacement bolt was a bonus too. It's only zinc-plated but should do until I source a stainless. Connected the new battery up, turned the key in the ignition, and the car sprang to life. How stupid do I feel now? :oops: :)

Nice. Worth a go. I might get the universal socket anyway though, cos it's a gadget. :hehe:

Arsebiscuits - that's quite a difference. Oh well, it's bought now so best not to dwell on it. :oops: Got a bit of a problem changing the battery over though. The bastard nut that holds the battery clamp in place has rusted solid, which I guess is hardly surprising given that it hasn't been disturbed for 6 years. I've tried 3-in-1 Penetrating Spray but it won't budge and I'm very concerned about rounding the bolt head. I think I may have to pop out and buy one of those "Gator Grip" (or equivalent) universal sockets - the ones with the pins that mould to the shape of the socket. I can't think what else to do. :( Suggestions, anyone? :confused4: