dr_mat

You're being very calm Jim.. You must be beginning to get that sinking feeling again "oh no here we go".. :(

The at the wheel figure will be accurate (ish), no matter what size wheels you have. Of course, the transmission losses vary based on wheel size/weight, and most operators will key this in for the predicted "at the crank" figures, but most RR results we've seen have listed hopelessly optimistic at the crank figures, and perfectly reasonable at the wheel figures...

Unless it was fitted by muppets......

178. That'll be fahrenheit then? Doesn't sound too bad...

I *was* going to say "Moonlight Blue", but I decided to try oglsnoop ... :-P

In RGB it's #15161a But that's dependant on which pixel you choose...

Get them to show you the compression test results when you're there. As you say, Stealth is an AWFUL long way from you... It's possible that the pinking has done the head gasket in, that's true. But if it's running well you'd have to ask if it's worth getting the work done right now...

Oh the irony... ;)

*HOW* low compression? And were you using any oil?

Hmm. Big question. Very big question. Back-of-envelope stuff would probably suggest that: more valves = more power, similar torque (if done right). bigger valves = more power (but possibly less torque?) Another aspect of multi-valve is that you can get the spark plug right in the centre, which you can't do with an 2v head. This tends to improve high-rev power output on it's own. Compression ratio effects I'm not too sure about. I don't know of any docs either, but I'm sure google would help there... I think the high compression ratio is what helps diesels to achieve their massive torque figures tho..?

Torque is the force you feel at your back whilst accelerating.. Power is the ability of the engine to keep pushing that hard at high speeds.. Hence the weirdo diesel thing of lots and lots of shove at low speeds but ultimately relatively slow performance in 0-60 terms. So you ideally want a balance of both.. Even so I'll guarantee that tweaked Aston Martin Vantage we saw a few weeks ago, with a 7 litre twin turbo, and around 700bhp, but 1150 lbft torque will actually rotate the earth backwards under hard acceleration, or at least contribute to continental drift!! :)

Funnily enough I suspect mine will be found rattling about inside the boot sometime today too. A few days ago whilst crashing across the drainage channel in the work car park, something got dislodged, and the spoiler made an almighty creaking groaning noise while going down (ahem). I thought "oh damn here we go new spoiler mechanism time", but when I'd opened the boot up and run the spoiler up and down a few times it didn't do it again, all working fine..

(I would pretty much guarantee the guy doing the "buying" has not set foot in the US for the last ten years. It's just a ruse to make sure you don't have any way to really contact them.)

Ah, so that's what the "83" is all about - it's your height in centimetres! :)

I never wanted a G60. I skipped that letter in the alphabet and went straight to "V". What is this G60 of which you speak? Some sort of induction kit? ;) Here's a picture I took of the jedi at the same meeting - I don't think he remembers me taking it, the visor tends to get in the way of the flash... ;)

Yes, someone else will probably confirm, but the 2.8 inlet manifold and throttle bodies are different (smaller diameter) than the 2.9 parts.

Do you get people ringing up for Corrado VR6s asking if they've got, like, sixteen valves or something? Nope. But the sign has a V and a six ... And more to the point, given that the cavalier is NOT a luxury sports coupe (and therefore one or two people actually OWN them, rather than just dreaming about it), you would expect more people to actually have a bloody clue, IMHO.

That's not the only pitfall from partial disclosure...! When trying to sell my old Cavalier 2.0i CD I had a number of people asking "is it a diesel"!! I hadn't stated either way in the ad, cos it never occurred to me that people would just not know that the CD model was a petrol car with luxury trim.. :roll: I thought to myself - surely if you're in the market for a particular car you know one or two things about it, no? I learned something: never underestimate the stupidity of the general public... :)

I looked. Your puny baiting didn't work. You are not worthy of my insults. Try harder next time. :-P ;)

Dunno mate, don't know that much about it. You can get your original ECU refurbed. Probably cheaper and more reliable than getting a 2nd hand one recoded.

You have to be careful with cheap VAG-COM cables. The pro stuff has "k line protection" built-in. Sorry to say that won't be cheap to fix, if that's the problem. Probably require an ECU refurb, as a minimum.. :(

You will have to wait for a month or more to be sure the cheque doesn't bounce. Particularly if it's from an overseas bank. Do you see yourself being able to hold onto the car for that long? Look - ask yourself the question - why the hell would the buyer carry out business this way if he knows you know it's EXACTLY the way scam artists do it? It's not worth the hassle. Tell him you want to do the deal another way. If he's serious he'll accomodate you. The truth is that the cheque-issueing bank can recall the funds associated with a "bad" cheque at any time, for a long long time after it has supposedly been cleared by your own bank.

You will find that the cheque they send is either stolen or a forgery. Even if it's a banker's draft, it is NOT guaranteed funds. Don't do it.

Or - and much cheaper - "an electric pump in your rear armrest" to flatten the spare, OR a jack from an Audi A3 ... (probably available a-plenty from the local breakers yard)

Thank you, Daphne. Now go get Scooby and we can all go home... ;) My personal theory on this is that the bolt actually formed from the bits of swarf generated in the piston bore, in a complete fluke of trans-meta-morphisation-ism. Or something. It grew, like a crystal.. :)