OV9

As happens to the best of us - tyres get old and aren’t as good as they once were.

Jobbo wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 2:55 pm Tyre shizzle

Not surprised to hear that the garage measured them incorrectly.

E-Tron came on ContiSilent PremiumContact 6 - which I was suffieciently impressed with to replace with the same when the time came.

Tyres seem to go off a bit when you don’t drive for a while, there’s definitely bugger all grip for the first 20 miles or so then they start coming back. Not just a tyre temp thing either as they’re back to normal performance from a cold start a few days later.

mik wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 3:40 pm

Jobbo wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 2:55 pm Tyre shizzle

Not surprised to hear that the garage measured them incorrectly.

E-Tron came on ContiSilent PremiumContact 6 - which I was suffieciently impressed with to replace with the same when the time came.

The garage showed me their digital tyre depth gauge measuring the tyre on a video. It was only as I went round checking the other tyres that I realised it wasn’t actually that low - not sure what they measured.

So, as mentioned on the Locknuts thread/poll, the Evora wheel nuts are scabby as fuck and look rubbish on dark wheels. Painting them is hopeless as it lasts as well as you’d expect paint to last on a surface you have to put tools on….

One of the guys on the Lotus forum mentioned chemical blackening kits, so I tried one tonight….

Bought a cold blackening kit off eBay (approx £9 for 100ml of the 3 liquids used in the process) and did “1 wheel” to see how it looked, and to better understand the process.

Cleaned the bolt heads up using small flat bladed screwdrivers, wire brush drill attachments, wire brushes and sandpaper. Not perfect - it’s never easy to clean out blind holes.

Before & after starring particularly scabby black paint.



Alkaline clean for 10mins, rinse, blackening solution for 10mins, rinse, dewetting solution for 5 mins.



Pretty pleased with the final result. Far from flawless perfection, but they no longer look awful from any closer than 5m away.





I’ll get the others done over Christmas.

Alternative approaches?

a/ Save a whole lot of work by buying 16 new bolts (£2.95 each) and blacken them from new before fitting. I’d still have to clean up the lock nuts.

b/ Save even more time by buying 20 new bolts, and just ditch the locknuts *

* for pros, cons, and trolling - see the locknut thread

Jobbo wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 4:07 pm not sure what they measured.

To the wear markers?

mik wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 9:53 pm Alternative approaches?

Caps.
Buy 4 or 5 new bolts so it can remain mobile, clean and chem the removed set, etc.

Whenever I remove the wheels I just poke the nuts through a bit of cardboard so only the head is exposed, spray with a coat of hammerite direct to rust and by the time I need to reinstall the wheel they're dry and ready to go. Not perfect but lasts long enough and only takes a minute.
In fact I do that for any screws or bolts which are rusty. Spray all the engine bay ones silver and they're good for years.

nuttinnew wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:38 pm

Jobbo wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 4:07 pm not sure what they measured.

To the wear markers?

They actually pointed out the wear markers, and the other front tyre has exactly the same amount of tread left but they singled out the N/S/F as the only one requiring replacement.

Might take my car to Audi for an oil change each service and then get an indie to do a proper check over and any actual work because, frankly, I do not trust the workshop staff if they can't measure tread depth correctly

Galaxie sold pending payment We're going to miss it, but it needs to live indoors and I can't provide that.

Mik, buy Titanium ones.

Although that blackening does look pretty good, I’d be happy with that if it were mine.

Dave!

Sundayjumper wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:30 am Galaxie sold pending payment We're going to miss it, but it needs to live indoors and I can't provide that.

Another new owner - it'll be worthless now

GG. wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 10:02 am

Sundayjumper wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:30 am Galaxie sold pending payment We're going to miss it, but it needs to live indoors and I can't provide that.

Another new owner - it'll be worthless now

It's going to a very good home. I'm dropping it off to them on Wednesday, I'll post some details and pics afterwards.

Aside from that couple of daft questions it's been a smooth sale. There's been a LOT of views & folk watching on ebay, one person wanting to come see it, then a proper firm offer yesterday from someone else beat them to it.

Sundayjumper wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 10:12 am

GG. wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 10:02 am

Sundayjumper wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:30 am Galaxie sold pending payment We're going to miss it, but it needs to live indoors and I can't provide that.

Another new owner - it'll be worthless now

It's going to a very good home. I'm dropping it off to them on Wednesday, I'll post some details and pics afterwards.

Aside from that couple of daft questions it's been a smooth sale. There's been a LOT of views & folk watching on ebay, one person wanting to come see it, then a proper firm offer yesterday from someone else beat them to it.


Screenshot 2023-12-18 100718.jpeg

That's a good result. Nice to get it off your driveway before Christmas as well.

So which lucky lady is getting a Galaxie for Christmas, eh?

Sundayjumper wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 3:31 pm As happens to the best of us - tyres get old and aren’t as good as they once were.

"Tyres" getting old

Mito Man wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2023 3:52 pm Tyres seem to go off a bit when you don’t drive for a while, there’s definitely bugger all grip for the first 20 miles or so then they start coming back. Not just a tyre temp thing either as they’re back to normal performance from a cold start a few days later.

Never thought of that, good point, feels a bit F1.

The tyres on my Mini must be fifteen years old, but it's parked in the dark and has only done about 3,000 miles since putting them on, so aside from them no longer being round after not moving it for two years in Covid, they look new.
They don't grip much for the first ten miles then come back to life. I'm sure someone will tell me that I'm driving a deathtrap, but in their cold state I'm sure they have more grip than the metric Dunlops it wore out of the factory in 1979. I will replace them though if I manage more than 250 miles in it this year.

Sundayjumper wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:30 am Galaxie sold pending payment

This reduces my fleet to an average car being 6.6 cylinders & 3.3 litres. But increases the average number of turbos to 0.5 ! (0.44 atm)

If I sell the Smart I can get the cylinders & litres back up to 7.1 & 3.6. However that loses me a turbot and I'm back down to 0.43.

Swapping the Cayenne for a V10 Touareg seems like the only logical way forward from that: 7.5 / 3.8 / 0.63.

V8Granite wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:58 am Mik, buy Titanium ones.

Although that blackening does look pretty good, I’d be happy with that if it were mine.

Dave!

Did the rest tonight. And of course - at the 2nd round new things occur to you - cleaning the blind apertures was the biggest pain. But not when you hold your wire brush in your vice, and place the threaded end of the bolt in the chuck of your drill : hence using power tools to clean the surface rather than human power.

You know these exist, right?