Your fleet running reports

[mikeyb]

Looks/sounds good Mik. Looking forward to hearing it in person in a couple of weeks!

[V8Granite]

LMAO at the security guard(s)



At my end the 996 is about to start the mini resto, identifying the squeaky front NS, new discs pads, fluid and lines all round, caliper rebuild and painting, small oil leak investigated- appears to be a hose or a jubilee clip, and to sort a wonky exhaust tip.

I will attack a few rust spots over the winter.


The ML has thrown up another ABS sensor error- which actually causes the car to break all by itself and bang on the ABS which has spooked wifey big time, the cars over 8 years old now and we are now seriously looking at replacing it with something else.

I had this with mine, I threw a proper hissy fit at how Merc reacted as it essentially tries to do a hard stop without putting the brake lights on.

Dave!

[Jobbo]

Volvo did some soft-roading today. The river Severn around Arlingham and Framilode is rather lovely in the sun, with the tide out.

[GG.]

Have you had the wheels done or is that just copious amounts of brake dust

[Jobbo]

They are black with diamond cut bits, but I suspect you are referring to the brake dust. Which is prolific! I haven’t yet washed it.

[evostick]

Your Vulva looks lovely Jobbo.

Arlingham however looks as flat and muddy as ever. I grew up next to the Severn a few miles downstream.

[Jobbo]

Did you? We were very taken with Frampton as well. It’s an odd promontory but has some lovely buildings.

[Maurice]

So after Mudge announced he had ordered a 2bular cat-back system for his car, he spurred me into ordering something I’d considered for some time.... the arse.

The oem exhaust on the Evora is a little muted, but I think that suits the less-box-of-frogs-than-an-Exige character. It apparently flows well though.

So I concentrated on the other end instead. The oem Toyota manifolds are pretty pony and have a thin-cell cat per bank. They are apparently the most restrictive elements within the system, and they certainly look like that would be the case....



So I went for replacement 2bular manifolds mit 200-cell sports cat instead.



Various things got in the way of fitting, but they are now on. Thank you Craig Moncrieff (Lotus Indie).

Aurals
Louder, but nothing like the increase Mudge got from the cat-back. Which is ideal.
Tone is deeper throughout the Rev-range, and it turns bassy-howl in the mid-range to bassy-scream (is that even possible) at the top end. Engine sound smoother too.
Notable increase in crackles on the over-run too.

Goes
The ecu in these cars is a smarty pants and will self-adjust over the next few hundred miles. At which point the output should be closer to a later Evora400 than it is to the std car. Still early days then. As importantly - breathing improvements always come into greater effect at the upper end of the Rev range. The ‘charged V6 is a supremely flexible power plant and has shove “everywhere”. It would be very unfair to suggest the oem car gets breathless at the top end - it doesn’t - but you can feel the shove starting to fade slightly at the upper end, and more than once I have wondered if I should have just changed up around 6.5krpm rather than brushing the 7.2krpm limiter. With the new setup the car still picks up its skirts in the mid-range, but then keeps pulling hard until stutter stops play. And it definitely feels stronger than it did. Which is exactly what I was looking for.

Happy so far.

Pointless vids to be pointless. You’ll need speakers or headphones for this....

This one taken when I got the car. Got a grump from the security dude.


And this one taken the other week with new bits on. Louder setup causes the mic to drop its gain levels on this vid as I get properly stomped on the throttle, so volume comparisons are pointless. I am posting more to show off that I managed to get a completely different security dude at almost exactly the same spot 2 and a bit years later. this one was less grumpy though - even though I had to do 2 runs as miller jr jr 4ucked up filming of the first. And I didn’t b0llox the 1st to 2nd change the first time round. Mumble grumble.

I accept absolutely no responsibility for this, or indeed the delay.



Glad its been worth it, to my ears it sounds a little raspier in the video. Performance gains sound noticeable too.

[Mito Man]

It’s a subtle change but a good one. Cameras are usually rubbish at picking up volume differences as said.

[Foz]

LMAO at the security guard(s)



At my end the 996 is about to start the mini resto, identifying the squeaky front NS, new discs pads, fluid and lines all round, caliper rebuild and painting, small oil leak investigated- appears to be a hose or a jubilee clip, and to sort a wonky exhaust tip.

I will attack a few rust spots over the winter.


The ML has thrown up another ABS sensor error- which actually causes the car to break all by itself and bang on the ABS which has spooked wifey big time, the cars over 8 years old now and we are now seriously looking at replacing it with something else.

I had this with mine, I threw a proper hissy fit at how Merc reacted as it essentially tries to do a hard stop without putting the brake lights on.

Dave!

Did you get anywhere? It’s bloody dangerous, I ended up pulling the ESP/ABS fuse to make it drivable.

[V8Granite]

I had a Mercedes mobile mechanic come out and after the second time it happened he fought my case and replaced a sensor. For some reason it wasn’t black and white with just replacing the part.

That was 40,000 miles ago and no incidents since.

If you have a fault though, go to a dealers and leave the engine running or all minor fault codes are cleared when you turn the engine off.

Dave!

[Foz]

My guy is ex mercedes but i dont touch the main dealers these days!

[Mito Man]

Sounds like the pre-emotive emergency braking recognition where it slams the brakes on if you go too quick from gas to brake as it assumes you’re going to avoid a crash.

[Foz]

update is that the bearing had gone bad, the sensor ring collapsed, ooer, and the sensor was damaged as a result...

[Simon]

New windscreen washer fluid level sensor fitted. Annoying message now gone from the dash.

Also notice that I hadn't done up the drain plug on the radiator completely when I changed the thermostat a couple of weeks ago, so I nipped that up.

Now taking off each door card in turn and glueing down the peeling vinyl at the top.

[Mito Man]

Waxed the recently painted roof as it’s been a few weeks now so it should be fully cured. Had some free time before F1 qualifying so decided to do the whole car whilst doing a BBQ beside the car.

Super productive day so far so I can now sit in my pants and play F1 2018 for the rest of the day without feeling bad.

[PaulJ]

Good work Mito - looks great. I took the option of getting mine dirtier by driving to Curborough before Spa qualifying.

[Nathan]

update is that the bearing had gone bad, the sensor ring collapsed, ooer, and the sensor was damaged as a result...

You've been driving along with a wobble for a long time for that to happen !

[Foz]

Absolutely zero wobble, zero symptoms until it happened.

It’s going up for sale in case anyone’s interested

2010 ML350 cdi blue efficiency
7spd gearbox
48.5k
1 owner from new
Black
20”s with 4 good hankook all season tyres
Command NAV etc
Recently refurbished wheels so mint.
FSH - first 4 years Merc then Indy, had oil changed every year, recent discs and pads al round.
Westfalia detachable tow bar - used about 6 times.
Auto Active Xenons & LED lights
Front and rear parking sensors
Electric seats
Runnning Boards
Dual climate
Sun protection glass
Bluetooth connectivity for phones
Original windscreen
Electric boot opening & closing from in car and key

Been a great car- hence keeping it for 8+ years

£12k

[Rich B]

Does it have Bluetooth Connectivity for anything else other than phones? My wife has a Bluetooth toothbrush you see.