Your fleet running reports

[V8Granite]

I spotted a 190 today at a dealer near me. Looked tidy but now I’ve found the ad, it turns out to be a manual 1.8
https://staverton-cars.co.uk/vehicle/na ... 90-saloon/

I’d call that the pick of the crop no?

Wasn’t the 1.8 quite a zingy engine and the 2.0 lethargic ?

Dave!

Did you miss the fact it’s manual?

That’s a good thing on the 190 no ?

I’ve not driven a manual though, just been a passenger so maybe it’s like stirring gritty porridge.

Dave!

[Sundayjumper]

Jobbo & Dave! both missed nuttin’s post ??

[Jobbo]

Jobbo & Dave! both missed nuttin’s post ??

Ah, I thought he was commenting on the interior colour scheme. Which is excellent

While I’d rather have the 1.8 than the carb 2.0, it’s still the bottom of the range. Won’t be hammering anyone into dust.

[Nic]

[mention]nuttinnew[/mention] I didn’t get to keep anything unfortunately which is a shame as there was a lot of money in breaking it.

Wheel trims are such an odd one on what’s supposed to be a top of the range model, I’ll get some wheels on it soon.

[speedingfine]

80s Mercedes-Benz ftw etc etc. One day I'll do mine up. Still can't believe 190s and W124s are so cheap compared to their BMW counterparts. Perfect classics IMO.

[Matty]

I've found a set of BBS wheels for the Up which I'm having refurbed this week, but I'm hugely undecided on colour. I was originally going for Bronze, but think that's a bit adventurous for old me.

[mention]Maurice[/mention] what colour did you have your Exige wheels in? I found the picture, but unable to find the post where you mentioned the colour.

[mik]

I only remember as it was mentioned in Pete’s Fred this week. Satin Anthracite.

[Rich B]

I've found a set of BBS wheels for the Up which I'm having refurbed this week, but I'm hugely undecided on colour. I was originally going for Bronze, but think that's a bit adventurous for old me.

@Maurice what colour did you have your Exige wheels in? I found the picture, but unable to find the post where you mentioned the colour.

what colour is your up?

[Mito Man]

Pervert.

[Matty]

I only remember as it was mentioned in Pete’s Fred this week. Satin Anthracite.

what colour is your up?

Tungesten, aka slightly darker Silver

[Broccers]

Away for the week, my exhaust has snapped 3 bolts at the left rear join after the manifold.

[integrale_evo]

Swapped the mito drop links for some heavy duty adjustable ones ( set about 10mm shorter than the oe ones so the bar doesn’t sit quite so close to the lower arm ) and had to get a recip saw on the bottom bolts where theees no room to get an impact in.



While it was jacked up with the wheel off it seemed rude not to try one of the new callipers on before I get too far into the refurb.





Thankfully everything lines up nicely. There’s zero information on the net about whether it’s possible to retrofit them. They came with hoses but they don’t look great, and they’re a bit longer than the originals so I’ll order a set of Brembo specific hoses.

Certainly sit nice and tight to the wheels

[Sundayjumper]

Are those little alignment pegs on the hubs ? I like that.

[integrale_evo]

Yeah, seems to be a fiat group thing, the 850 had them too. Combined disk locating screw and wheel locating pegs.

A lot easier to get out than the usual countersunk Allen key bolt too!

[mik]

Yeah, seems to be a fiat group thing, the 850 had them too. Combined disk locating screw and wheel locating pegs.

A lot easier to get out than the usual countersunk Allen key bolt too!

All of that.

[mikeyb]

New car (not mine)

Dad took delivery of his new company car on Friday. His old 530d (in the background) is due to go back next week and in the foreground is his new 530e. When the 5 series facelift was announced earlier this year, I warned dad his new car (already on order) was likely to be out of date as soon as it arrived. Fortunately (I think) due to Covid, he's ended up with the facelift. I'm not massively keen on the rear light changes, but it does come with extra kit inside (bigger screen, fully digital instruments, folding mirrors etc).It's also on 18 inch wheels as opposed to the 19s on the 530d - I don't think the smaller wheels do the aesthetics any favours - they look a little lost in the arches. The ride is better though!

I only had a brief 8 mile drive in the car to take it to dad's house. Electric mode is a little eerie, as I'm not that experienced with electric cars. From a standstill it feels punchy but even in the hybrid/sports mode it never feels quick once rolling. The 2.0 litre petrol sounds alright, but not as cultured as the 3.0 in the 530d. I think the recently announced 545e will be an interesting drivetrain and the one I would choose.

After dad has cleaned out his old car, I drove it back into town. After a string of Audi A6s (5 in total), the 530d was by far my favourite of his company cars. The wall of torque and performance on offer was fantastic, particularly when contrasted with the economy offered. It felt big so wasn't a car you would hustle, but on A roads and motorways it felt incredibly strong. I have a 60-100 video somewhere which I'll have to dig out. The comparison to the 530e was quite stark - a load more torque a lot lower down the rev range. On paper, the stats are similar but the way they deliver the performance is completely different. The main reason for Dad switching to a hybrid is purely down to the company car tax savings, which are significant to say the least.

I need a car for commuting and a 2017/18 530d (preferably a touring in rwd) is at the top of the list.



[/url]Untitled by mikeyb, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Untitled by mikeyb, on Flickr[/img]

[Rich B]

Are we just posting photos of new cars now?!

[mikeyb]

Are we just posting photos of new cars now?!

Sorry, it took a while to type out

[mikeyb]

Another new car (not mine either )

My OH and I fancied buying a car to tinker with and potentially use on track-days. Amy loves EK9 Civics/DC2 Integras but these aren't exactly cheap! We went through various options but the only one we both agreed on was an R53 Cooper S. Spec/model-wise, it was quite straight-forward - find a post-facelift with no sunroof. Post-facelift brought a few choice upgrades/options, such as a teflon-coated supercharger and the option of an LSD. Allegedly, the body is also slightly lighter than the pre-facelift. However, what we ended up with was a pre-facelift with a sunroof

There was method to this madness - Amy's brother is an ex-mechanic and he knew the car that we purchased. It's got a few miles on it (157k) but looks to have been regularly serviced and was in generally good condition. We got it for £800 however it did need a bit of work - new clutch, steering rack and rocker cover gasket. In addition to this parts list, we also bought a facelift gearbox with the LSD and shorter ratios. Amy's brother carried out this work and we collected the car last weekend.

[/url]Untitled by mikeyb, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Untitled by mikeyb, on Flickr[/img]

The came with S-spoke wheels with an assorted of crap tyres. We'd sourced some other Mini wheels with Goodyear tyres, which we fitted once we got the car home. This is how it sits currently:

[/url]Untitled by mikeyb, on Flickr[/img]

I've done a popular mod to the airbox to increase the supercharger whine in the cabin. Sounds pretty good:

https://youtu.be/FD_F8hOwAlY

Future plans are:
- Fit better brakes (standard brakes are shocking).
- Look at changing the suspension
- take the rear seats out (or fold them flat )
- fit bucket seats
- maybe fit a half-cage/harnesses
- lightweight wheels with trackday-friendly tyres

[Jimmy Choo]

Jobbo & Dave! both missed nuttin’s post ??

Ah, I thought he was commenting on the interior colour scheme. Which is excellent

While I’d rather have the 1.8 than the carb 2.0, it’s still the bottom of the range. Won’t be hammering anyone into dust.

I think I might have bought ExMrsChoo1's Mk1 Focus there. Unlike that Merc, it was definitely a manuel.