Your fleet running reports

[Mito Man]

I thought warning lights had to have their own individual bulb and couldn’t be part of the LCD which made the i3 cluster look really stupid. Although some new cars are fully digital so maybe the law has changed.

The most baffling BMW gauge remains the pointless real time MPG gauge which reads infinite MPG when the car is idling instead of 0.

[Alex_]

The dash is smaller than the 4 series (e.g., it doesn't have a temp gauge) so it's quite cramped but I'm guessing they wanted a digital display somewhere on the dash. Not an ideal design but it's never caused me any issues and you get used to it.

[McSwede]

M235 hit 50k last night. I would have owned it for 5 years in June. Time flies.

Blimey Alex. Didn't realise you'd had it the long!!

Mine will be at 50k at the end of Feb

[Rich B]

I thought warning lights had to have their own individual bulb and couldn’t be part of the LCD which made the i3 cluster look really stupid. Although some new cars are fully digital so maybe the law has changed.

The most baffling BMW gauge remains the pointless real time MPG gauge which reads infinite MPG when the car is idling instead of 0.

Yep, mine is all LCD apart from the physical warning lights along the top.

[integrale_evo]

I was thinking it would be quite a neat idea if it went all the way across so you could chose what you wanted in the lower gauges. The big m235i badge is pretty cheesy though.

I'd prefer a part analogue part digital arrangement to a full digital cluster like Rich's golf which looks a mess to my old fashioned eyes.

[Rich B]

I was thinking it would be quite a neat idea if it went all the way across so you could chose what you wanted in the lower gauges. The big m235i badge is pretty cheesy though.

I'd prefer a part analogue part digital arrangement to a full digital cluster like Rich's golf which looks a mess to my old fashioned eyes.

It’s customisable though, you can make it less messy by turning off /swapping each bit if you want. I have all the bits I want in the places I want them.

[Matty]

I was thinking it would be quite a neat idea if it went all the way across so you could chose what you wanted in the lower gauges. The big m235i badge is pretty cheesy though.

Yeah, that was more my point. I get the reason to go full digital, but it seems odd just to have a small square which only intersects on dial. Doesn't look uniform, seemed an odd design.

Anyway - I do like full digital dashes although the thought of replacement costs when they fail is a bit

Oh, and while we're on the subject of binnacles, and my current obsession with the Lexus LC500, I do like the moving dial on theirs

[V8Granite]

All that needs is a dolphin jumping from the water like the old pioneer head units.

The Vector dash which had screens from an F16 were cool but other than that, just easy to read dials please.

Dave!

[Rich B]

Having used both on several cars, the LCD option has literally no disadvantages against physical dials with lots of advantages, obviously the manufacturer could decide to force an odd layout without the option to change it - but that’s the same for both anyway.

[Matty]

Small updates on a rainy Sunday:

EvoraBW (2).jpg (65.31 KiB) Viewed 2646 times

Evora - my local independent called it a day, which was a shame, as he was only 3 miles away. Took it to a new place over Burton, which is a far less convenient 40 miles away. Still, service done, and fitted new Powerflex ARB's front and rear which has silenced the squeaking. Otherwise, not a massive difference to the feel. Mechanically, he's given it a clean bill of health The only issue raised was that 2 of the LED's are (intermittently) faulty on the sidelights....Lotus's fix is just to replace the whole light cluster at a cost of £1200 thankfully, there are much cheaper options for just replacing the PCB so that'll be the next step.

There's no rush, but I'm looking at going back to one car, so I'll be putting the Evora on the market soon. That being said, the market is on it's arse right now (There's a 2013 SR up for £28k, spoke to the owner and he's only had time wasters and very little interest, which is isn't a good indication) so it might not be an ideal time.

Up GTi - Continues to do its job, but I maintain a complete indifference towards it. Having a small car does have many benefits, and it's economical, well put together, goes well...but otherwise it does nothing for me. If/when the Evora goes it'll be following it shortly after for...well, I've no idea. Something with 4 wheels.

[integrale_evo]

Merc still in for repair. We were supposed to be picking it up on Saturday but the part hadn't arrived back in time apparently. Will be annoyed if it's still not ready by Monday afternoon which is when they've promised it will be done...

Mighty mito had a decent wash, but think my pressure washer is on the way out, quite a lot of hot electrical motor smell. Got one side and the back de-tarred and polished before it started raining. Wheels could do with a refurb soon as starting to look a little scruffy, keep looking at aftermarket options but really like the standard ones to be honest.




E36 m3 is slowly turning green, golf now has a cover and is slowly being de-humidified ready to crack on with it when the weather improves...

[Marv]

Anyway - I do like full digital dashes although the thought of replacement costs when they fail is a bit

VW have gone full digital dash wth the Mk8 Golf....I thought it would be pretty cool if you could scroll through the GTi instrument clusters through the years and choose your favourite if you wanted.

[Mito Man]

Anyway - I do like full digital dashes although the thought of replacement costs when they fail is a bit

VW have gone full digital dash wth the Mk8 Golf....I thought it would be pretty cool if you could scroll through the GTi instrument clusters through the years and choose your favourite if you wanted.

Better yet have an App Store type thing for the instrument cluster. Verified designs can then just be downloaded through the car. So many missed chances with cars when you compare them to all other sectors. We now get less customisation due to new emissions regs and current systems on high end cars amount to RGB LEDs and having the tach go red when you stick it in sport. Pathetic.

[Rich B]

E36 m3 is slowly turning green,

why waste time washing the mito yourself when you can just chuck that through a quick £6 job rather than sorting the M3 then?!

[V8Granite]

Having used both on several cars, the LCD option has literally no disadvantages against physical dials with lots of advantages, obviously the manufacturer could decide to force an odd layout without the option to change it - but that’s the same for both anyway.

From an S class to a Range Rover 2010 shape and a few hire cars in between they all look chintzy to me, the extra information is nice but as 99% of the time I just want a Speedo, Rev counter and water temp then they never look right, plus they age badly imo. I think it’s maybe the sweep or the 3D affect. I also don’t like the older Stack dashes as the Rev counters were always an odd jerky motion.

A screen the size of a normal phone between analogue dials with sat nav or music information is nice but not much else. I was surprised at the Discovery 5 having analogue gauges. I think in some very short years nearly all cars will be tft displays.

Dave!

Dave!

[Sundayjumper]

Changed the tension struts on The 7 today and it was a surprisingly easy job. Having got the old ones out, the bush on the driver’s side I could move back & forth about 10mm just with my fingers. No wonder the steering felt vague. Passenger side not quite as bad but still well past it.

Front end now feeling much tighter. I’m actually looking forward to the drive to work tomorrow !

[integrale_evo]

E36 m3 is slowly turning green,

why waste time washing the mito yourself when you can just chuck that through a quick £6 job rather than sorting the M3 then?!

Because it needs de-rusting and painting. Removing the greenery won't make any difference either than making it look a little less sad.

And while the weather is cold damp and miserable I'd rather look after the cars that are currently in good condition to keep them in good condition so they don't turn into more rusty cars that need fixing.

[Broccers]

E36 m3 is slowly turning green,

why waste time washing the mito yourself when you can just chuck that through a quick £6 job rather than sorting the M3 then?!

Because it needs de-rusting and painting. Removing the greenery won't make any difference either than making it look a little less sad.

And while the weather is cold damp and miserable I'd rather look after the cars that are currently in good condition to keep them in good condition so they don't turn into more rusty cars that need fixing.

My golf was slightly green when they delivered it. Leaving cars standing outside for months tends to do that.

Incidentally it's being collected tomorrow. I've yet to wash it but have taken my crap out. The floor mats I took out the other golf so the ones for this are brand new. Waiting to see what scrapes and chips they spot.

[JonMad]

Small updates on a rainy Sunday:


EvoraBW (2).jpg


Evora - my local independent called it a day, which was a shame, as he was only 3 miles away. Took it to a new place over Burton, which is a far less convenient 40 miles away. Still, service done, and fitted new Powerflex ARB's front and rear which has silenced the squeaking. Otherwise, not a massive difference to the feel. Mechanically, he's given it a clean bill of health The only issue raised was that 2 of the LED's are (intermittently) faulty on the sidelights....Lotus's fix is just to replace the whole light cluster at a cost of £1200 thankfully, there are much cheaper options for just replacing the PCB so that'll be the next step.

There's no rush, but I'm looking at going back to one car, so I'll be putting the Evora on the market soon. That being said, the market is on it's arse right now (There's a 2013 SR up for £28k, spoke to the owner and he's only had time wasters and very little interest, which is isn't a good indication) so it might not be an ideal time.

Up GTi - Continues to do its job, but I maintain a complete indifference towards it. Having a small car does have many benefits, and it's economical, well put together, goes well...but otherwise it does nothing for me. If/when the Evora goes it'll be following it shortly after for...well, I've no idea. Something with 4 wheels.

God, I'd love that but probably no chance of getting it past the Mrs.

Drove the #rallycar for the first time in 6 weeks - to the station. Managed not to crash into a lamppost this time. Old person's disc on the wheel (bought for autosolo/slalom twirling) is ace

[Matty]

God, I'd love that but probably no chance of getting it past the Mrs.

Drove the #rallycar for the first time in 6 weeks - to the station. Managed not to crash into a lamppost this time. Old person's disc on the wheel (bought for autosolo/slalom twirling) is ace

One thing I have considered as an alternative is tweaking the Up a bit and maybe trying some Autosolo...