Your fleet running reports

[Beany]

Mondeo update:

Was a bit disappointed with the 32mpg I was getting on my runs down south, so decided to try not cruising at 88-95, blasting up to 100+ to pass pricks in Audis and only braking for speedtraps (only four or five on the whole 200 mile route), and instead just setting the cruise to 75 and just stroking the pedal to get past people, and letting it settle back down to 75 after, which is a driving style that suits the car really nicely.

Well, ~40mpg is now a thing, tank to tank (which includes stupid short runs to work, pootling about town, lots of WOT booting up to 30/40/50 etc) and I'd wager it'd be usefully higher if I wasn't using it around town so much.

But I'm lazy, so meh.

650miles a tank isn't to be sniffed at from a 70/£80 litre tank. Apparently 700+ (closer to 45-50mpg) is doable with exclusive long runs at 60-65, but I'm pretty happy with that.

Certainly beats the 220 miles I'd get out of a £45 tank in the Puma.....

It does need an aircon regas, I've realised in this warmer weather. Worth a look I suppose, if I've got climate it might as well work properly.

Otherwise, nothing to report really. It's a domestic appliance with a useful amount of charm to it.

[Coaster1]

At least it didn't strand you in a less than desirable location. Sounds like it wasn't too difficult to fix, just a shame it too so long for your break down service company to turn up.

Some say Portsmouth is a less than desirable location

I was annoyed that I was put on hold for 30 mins; I was lucky to be using a landline rather than mobile. The mechanic was very competent though.

[JonMad]

In to (hopefully) get the bonnet mechanism fixed.

Health check video:
https://video.citnow.com/vtH-_Q2JlXY

[JonMad]

In to (hopefully) get the bonnet mechanism fixed.

Health check video:
https://video.citnow.com/vtH-_Q2JlXY

Bonnet mech just needed cleaning up. Puddle light on order as a clip is broken. Exhaust heat shield reattached.

Verdict from delivery driver. 'That's one of the best I've ever driven, no lag at all from low down, obviously been well looked after. If you ever want to sell then we'll command your price*.'

(*if that's the right way of saying that, I think that's how he put it)

I mentioned the remap and he guessed at 280 bhp. Hopefully the rollers next weekend will say more than that.

And they washed it too.

[ste]

UPDATE

Caterham Superlight R

I popped over to Dartford earlier to see TSK and the car has now started to be stripped and have the small defects rectified. Tony reckons it will be fully painted by the end of next week.





When I got back I decided to do some fiddling.

The rear lights on the Caterham are quite poor at night and are also mounted to a heavy solid rubber block. Each cluster weighs 650g.



A company called Just Add Lightness makes full LED replacements for all of the lights. I purchased a set of their rear light cluster replacements. These are much brighter and also happen to be slightly lighter at 530g.



I asked JAL to leave the plug off as I'd also purchased some replacement light blocks in carbon. This would allow me to dismantle the wiring from the rubber block easier and thread the cable through the carbon replacements. JAL's customer service is fantastic. The guy that runs it answers all comms instantly, even at weekends and nothing seems to be too much trouble for him, I can't recommend them enough.

For reference this is the weight of the rubber block versus the carbon replacement.





Rubber 224g / Carbon 38g

..and this is them built up onto the carbon blocks.



Total weight for the finished article is 351g.



...for a total saving of 598g for the pair. More importantly, the car should be much more visible from behind at night.

[JonMad]

Superbly geeky

[Nathan]

Ste - out of interest, will it be necessary to return the car to standard come resale given its rarity ?

[JLv3.0]

More importantly, the car should be much more visible from behind at night.

Don't lie Nelson

[duncs500]

Great work ste. I suspect you're going to out 7 me by doing all the things I want to do, but a bit sooner and probably a bit better.

Finally finished mine this morning, replacement light is fine. They really are vastly superior to OEM in brightness terms. I much prefer the standard clusters to the clear ones too.



Annoyingly as I was rushing I dropped the screwdriver and scratched the arch. Good job I want to replace my rear arches with bare carbon at some point.

[duncs500]

Oh, I also burnt my leg on the silencer for the first time since I've owned it. I was getting a few bits out of the passenger seat before handing it over to the tuna. Had to act cool.

[mik]

I much prefer the standard clusters to the clear ones too.

100% agree - the clear ones are a bit nasty.

[ste]

Ste - out of interest, will it be necessary to return the car to standard come resale given its rarity ?

Possibly to get the best price yeah, or someone may just like it as it is once I’ve ‘finished’ and pay a bit more for one with nice bits. Have no current plans to sell it though, I’ve hardly driven it.

Duncs, I don’t think mine will be ‘better’ than yours in any way, just a different interpretation.

BTW, if you want my standard red fog light to replace your clear one you’re welcome to it, just shout.

[Mito Man]

Typical that the blower motor on the Defender decided to die today on one of the hottest days during a 100 mile drive. Stopped at a services hoping I could just swap some fuses but nope must be a dead motor. Came home and had a cold shower to rid my bollocks of all the nut butter.

[IanF]

Had a play with a mate’s Caterham yesterday. Didn’t realise they were that snug! A great toy though!

[duncs500]

Duncs, I don’t think mine will be ‘better’ than yours in any way, just a different interpretation.

BTW, if you want my standard red fog light to replace your clear one you’re welcome to it, just shout.

TBH I didn't notice that it wasnt standard. That's a very kind offer, I'm less clear on this than that main light clusters, I quite like the symmetry now that I'm looking at it.

It will be better in that you seem very good at the practical stuff, I just don't seem to do things as well as I would like. I guess I'm inexperienced at the spannering game. I don't think it will be massively different though as you seem to like similar things to me. It's great having your updates on here, it shows me what can be done and I can make up my mind which things that you've done make sense for me.

[mik]

Chunky 4yr Service and MoT carries out by Lotus Indie (and thoroughly excellent chap) Craig Moncrieff in Edinburgh this week whilst I was away.

He doesn’t do MOTs himself, but uses only 1 garage to do all his customer cars - they failed it first time round on this tyre for having less than 1.6mm tread at the outer edge. Luckily Craig was able to convince them that - since MPSS don’t really have any “tread” in this area - that was a bit silly....



Popped into Leven Lotus on the way home to poke over an Evora 430GT they have in stock - as I might never see one otherwise. Scotland’s only official dealership used to be Murray’s, but Leven - who have Aston / Rolls etc) just took over and it seems to be a very good move)



They only had an older Evora GTE in stock too. Have never seen one of them in the flesh either - the extra width of track and arches makes them look soooo “phat” and is very nicely done. Oodles of superb-quality carbon on both. Had a chinwag with Sales Mgr Ian, but had to leave before he talked me into buying something

[Gwaredd]

In December, the Toyota's rear calipers seized & needed replacing. This February, the rear calipers on the Alhambra started to leak & needed replacing. Yesterday, the calipers on the Transit seized & now need replacing. WTF is that all about?

[mik]

You need to purchase parts that are of a higher calliper.

[John]

You need to purchase parts that are of a higher calliper.

[duncs500]

Ooh yeah. The want is strong with that one.