The Leningrad Cowboy

Just got my car back from the bodyshop. I had a bit of a bash from a Transit, and I asked Gemini in Bristol to quote on dent removal of one biggy on the driver's door waistline, and a nasty couple across the front wheel arch. They quoted £395+VAT. I said that was too much. Picked the car up today, and they had done the work! I was nervous about getting in an argument, but they never even mentioned it. Top stuff. But yeah, the driver's door dent might as well have never been there.

I think you're agreeing with me, which gives me a bit more confidence. The 95 in the VR6 would mean that the engine cannot run at the design point compression ratio due to premature knocking. The knock sensors will obviously pick this up and adjust the timing to compensate (retard or advance, I'm not clever enough to know), but it will run unevenly, and not at the optimum compression ratio (so less power). So, that fits, I think! Yes, based on my line of thought, put whatever RON in the VR that VW recommend, and likewise for all other cars!

OK, please correct me if I'm wrong. But the TV 'blindfold' test was 95, 97 and 98 RON. And then they tested it for power with engines designed / mapped to run with different levels of RON in their fuel. Well, blow me if the engines actually produced most power when using the RON they were designed for. A higher RON does not equal more power. RON does not correlate to the energy available in the fuel. RON is a measure of the energy level at which premature detonation happens (knocking). A higher RON therefore means that you can put more energy into the fuel without it combusting prematurely (equating directly to the compression ratio at which you can run). This is why performance engines are designed to run with higher RON - they can run at a higher compression ratio. However, just putting higher RON in than your car is designed for doesn't change the compression ratio that the engine mechanism is designed around, so you won't get more power. I think you would be wasting your money putting in a RON higher than the manufacturer's recommendation. Now, as far as knock goes, I fully suspect that a supermarket fuel is as good as a 'branded' fuel, as the RON is objectively defined the same (we have to rely on the DoT for that, of course). So there should be no advantage in using a branded 97 of Tesco 97 from an anti-knock point of view. This doesn't mean, of course, that there aren't other reasons for buying branded, but these wouldn't be so obvious, as they are more subjectively understood by the public through advertising. As I said, please correct me if I'm wrong - I'm certainly no expert, and have just followed what I see as a logical train of thought. Cheers.

That's hilarious! It's a while since I've read any sort of bumpf where they quote seemingly random numbers to get you interested, without actually justifying where any of them came from. Come to think of it, the last time was probably something the government was trying to sell. Lies, damned lies, and statistics...

Because I chose to drink beer rather than wash the car, mine became the runt of the litter at the Osnabruck camp site after the Karmann visit. In fact, the cars that initially parked nexted to it eventually all drove off, leaving mine sat there on its own! Oh yeah, this was at the start of September, and I just washed it for the first last week after it got driven in to!

A friend of mine has a 928, although I think it is an earlier model (5 litre V8). Christ, at 80 mph in second, it feels like it'll never stop accelerating. And it black, it looks the dog's b's. I'm with VR6 Storm, I think the BMW has aged pretty poorly, and I was never really a fan when it first came out either. I'd definitely go for the Porche, and with a bit of luck, one day I will!

Seanasie mate! I have finally got Keith's piccies from Osnabruck, so I'll get them on a CD or two and probably take them to that rolling road day at the end of November. Are you going to that, or can you get Supercharged to take you back a copy? And yes, I was working on building up a layer of protective armour on the understanding that I would eventually get a whack driving around Bristol all the time. Hopefully when the garage fix it, they'll wash it too!

OK, a bit of blackberry jam this morning. Some knob 'didn't realise' I was turning right off the main road, and turned right onto the main road and into me. :2gunfire: Damage isn't massive, but I'm a bit concerned about the sill being all rolled over. The panel with the rear wheel arch is quite big as well, and the paint's damaged, so I'm not sure how they'll deal with it. Anyone got any idea's on how difficult these are to fix? I'm pretty sure he's given the wheel a whack as well, so I'll make sure they check that out. They all need a refurb anyway, and if there's a spraying session in the offing, I might just jump on the back of it! The lucky thing was that a guy approached when I got back in my car to drive off. He offered himself as a witness, and gave me his card - happened to be a Detective Constable, who had been in the queue behind the Transit :salute: Still, the C gave as much as it got - he had to recover his bumper from the other side of the road!

For the newer lights, pry out the indicator light from the inside face with a flat blade screwdriver. There are then two fog light mounting screws to remove, and job's a good 'un.

No, it wasn't - L reg, but I can't afford any tweaks to pipe or lights, and I haven't been round that part of town for a while! Anyway, mine's more manky grey at the moment, not having washed it for a couple of months!

Bloody hilarious!

But it's too new? H reg black C followed me down Southmead Road but looked at me like I was a weirdo when I put my thumb up. C looked good, though!

Good point - I don't often engage 4x4, so didn't think of that!

My 'heatshield' has been all but torn off by those one-way plate things at the entrance to the works car park. The chap at the garage managed to get new bolts back in the same clips to sort it out, so it's OK. I'm wiht RW1, though. It is definitely acting more like a sump guard would - i.e. bump protection. If it is a heatshield, what the hell is it protecting from heat? The road? It's not exactly a Harrier jump-jet, is it? So, it's pretty much up to you if you want to remove it. If it's off, it won't get pulled about and rattle, but you run the risk of damaging your cat. Your ride height will obviously vary this risk as well. I suppose you might argue it makes the underside of the car look cleaner from the side, as you can see it a bit.

bristolbaron, I don't know what colour - the road was damp, and I really was concentrating on the bend. If our paths had crossed anytime eralier or later, I probably would have noticed! I think there was a chap in the passenger seat if that helps, and I don't think I've seen that car before.

C spotted tonight at the bottom of Cotham Grove turning onto Redland Road. I did try and wave, but I was concentrating on not understeering wide round that corner!

I'm not being funny, and working in the aeroengine industry, I am obviously interested in oils, especially those working across extremes of temperature for very high load applications, so this was great. :notworthy: But what brought on your (not particularly short) soliloquy? :scratch: :wink:

I have just fitted Osram Silverstar bulbs (H4), and they seem to be pretty good, but I have a suspicion that they are now not aligned correctly, and as you say, just pointing upwards more!

Not only does waiting for the oil temperature to rise decrease the pressure you are running at in the system (protects seals etc), but as the oil temp increases, it's lubricity increases, becoming properly effective at around 80 degC, this protecting all metal on metal surfaces properly. So, although you'll probably get away with ragging it from 60 degC, if you really want to protect your engine, wait til 80 degC. This will also, of course, depend on which grade oil you're using, as they all have different lubricity / temperature curves, but 80 degC should be fine. We have the same issues with aircraft engines, and I remember we had great fun defining the cold-start emergency requirements on the UK Apache, because not only did we have to protect the engines as they warm up, but also the main rotor gearbox. This ultimately defined how quickly the pilot could take off in an emergency. (Although whether the pilots actually follow that in a push-comes-to-shove situation, I have my doubts!)

C parked in the High Street in Eton. Locked a bit the worse for wear (front bump?), as both fogs were missing, and one of the indicators was smashed as well.

Maybe we ought to wait and see what it looks / performs like before we wish the Corrado name on it? If it looks crap and can't corner, would you want it called the Corrado?

I don't have a problem with bus lanes, if they are there to move people about efficiency. My problem is that it was 10:12am on Sunday morning - hardly rush hour with congestion everywhere, and certainly not a bus in sight, otherwise I might have had a clue that what seemed like a left filter was actually a bus lane. It feels ironic that I stick almost pedantically to the highway code (OK, I sometimes struggle to prevent my speedo drifting above the limit, but I'm sure actual is less than the limit!) and then I get done for something like this. Anyway, none of the four reasons to protest apply, so I may as well pay. Oh, and I attach the first two piccies in my professional VR6 portfolio!

Gits. The first decent length drive I've had recently (although not particularly fun roads, and with a bit of a hangover) took me up to Harrow from Bristol last Sunday. I needed there at about 10.30am, so left early and made good time, no rushing. Tonight, pick up my post, and there's 'Don't ignore this notice' letter from Ealing Council. Bugger me, I didn't think I'd ever been in Ealing, but there you go, there's a piccie of the C inside with me at the wheel. Bloody gits did me for being in a bus lane - £100 or £50 paid early. The quoted time is 10:12am in Northolt, on a Sunday morning. Firstly, as it was on an entry lane to a roundabout, I thought everyone else was going right or straight and therefore I could just scoot up the inside to turn left. And secondly, it was 10:12am on a Sunday morning - do they really need bus lanes then? I really didn't realise (until I was halfway down) that it was a bus lane - maybe if there had been some bloody buses about, I might have had a Scooby. So, has anyone had any experience of trying to fight these sorts of things? I'm half tempted to ring up and say 'I didn't realise, it was 10:12am on a Sunday morning, what are you doing penalising me then?', and half tempted just to pay the £50 because otherwise it's a ton. I suppose it is the first professionally taken photo of my C, though. Sorry, rant over. It probably cost me more to get there and back in petrol anyway.

Which dealer was it?

Sean, Keith and I are both going (Keith's bringing his Karmann Ghia if it makes it up the motorway). I'm pretty sure all the others are as well (not the Irish - that would be asking a bit too much!).