OV9

I brought The Compact to work today. I think all the suspension work is starting to come together now, the steering is feeling quite nice and the car turns very predictably. Still bloody noisy with the EXTREME engine mounts so I've ordered some "road" spec uprated mounts to try out. I'm hoping they'll be an acceptable compromise. At the moment I'm getting a headache after about 20 mins.

But in genuine shock news, my wife has said she'd like to try driving in an Autosolo So we'll be sharing The Compact at the FDMC Summer Solo on 14th July. She'll probably pick up last place but I'm quite proud she's having a go.

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:08 am
But in genuine shock news, my wife has said she'd like to try driving in an Autosolo So we'll be sharing The Compact at the FDMC Summer Solo on 14th July. She'll probably pick up last place but I'm quite proud she's having a go.

Good Effort. I keep trying to persuade Mrs A to come out on a track day with the Loltus but she's having none of it. she did do the last Jaguar track day with me however and enjoyed it.

scotta wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:14 am Good Effort. I keep trying to persuade Mrs A to come out on a track day with the Loltus but she's having none of it.

Yeah, I can see a track day would be a lot more scary. For the 'solo she'll probably not get out of first gear and you don't have other cars flying past you at 100000000mph.

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:01 am Possibly apocryphal but I'm sure I read a story of an engine lunching itself due to a broken big end bolt, and the warranty company insisted their liability was limited to replacing the bolt, and not the subsequent lunching.

I've come across the same story. When we bought the Galaxy the dealer tried to convince us to take out a warranty policy, but when researching the warranties in general and their preferred provider specifically I quickly came to the conclusion I was better off not bothering and having a repair fund instead.

DeskJockey wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 10:22 am

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:01 am Possibly apocryphal but I'm sure I read a story of an engine lunching itself due to a broken big end bolt, and the warranty company insisted their liability was limited to replacing the bolt, and not the subsequent lunching.

I've come across the same story. When we bought the Galaxy the dealer tried to convince us to take out a warranty policy, but when researching the warranties in general and their preferred provider specifically I quickly came to the conclusion I was better off not bothering and having a repair fund instead.

Likewise - i declined the offer to pay £300 for the warranty when we bout the 3 series after reading it had a £500 claim limit per repair to which i asked the sales monkey - so if the cam chain fails then the warranty is useless then.."Errm yes"

scotta wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 10:25 am

DeskJockey wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 10:22 am

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:01 am Possibly apocryphal but I'm sure I read a story of an engine lunching itself due to a broken big end bolt, and the warranty company insisted their liability was limited to replacing the bolt, and not the subsequent lunching.

I've come across the same story. When we bought the Galaxy the dealer tried to convince us to take out a warranty policy, but when researching the warranties in general and their preferred provider specifically I quickly came to the conclusion I was better off not bothering and having a repair fund instead.

Likewise - i declined the offer to pay £300 for the warranty when we bout the 3 series after reading it had a £500 claim limit per repair to which i asked the sales monkey - so if the cam chain fails then the warranty is useless then.."Errm yes"

Exactly. And the warranty is drive train only. When I asked what that meant the response was "engine and gearbox, nothing else and no ancillaries".

Wow, we’re on a roll at the moment. The wife suggested she would like a MINI so we went to look at a cheap local one today. It was rough (and the dealer was a full-on Irish pikey!) but I liked it a lot more than I expected.

So we might be adding or of these to the fleet if I can find a nice one before she changes her mind.

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:22 pm Wow, we’re on a roll at the moment. The wife suggested she would like a MINI so we went to look at a cheap local one today. It was rough (and the dealer was a full-on Irish pikey!) but I liked it a lot more than I expected.

So we might be adding or of these to the fleet if I can find a nice one before she changes her mind.

Not an E46?

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:22 pm Wow, we’re on a roll at the moment. The wife suggested she would like a MINI so we went to look at a cheap local one today. It was rough (and the dealer was a full-on Irish pikey!) but I liked it a lot more than I expected.

So we might be adding or of these to the fleet if I can find a nice one before she changes her mind.



EAF11B17-BA23-4B86-B7E3-FEAD56AFB074.jpeg

is that the place next to the bagshot dump? I looked at a few Minis there - they were pretty much all rough as fuck auction stock!

Rich B wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:41 pmis that the place next to the bagshot dump?

Yep !

Bloke was pleasant enough to chat to, happily gave us keys and let us poke around a few cars. They were all pretty rough though.

Picked up some lightly used PS3s (as used at a Ginetta Cup test session) for the Fabia.

Beany wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:39 pm Not an E46?

It'll double up as her Autosolo car and an E46 is a bit lardy for that.

Also - there's a long game to be played here. See my other thread

She wants a convertible mini for autosolo?!

Rich B wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:55 pm She wants a convertible mini for autosolo?!

That's exactly what she wants and when he's done 60k on the 360 it'll be irrelevant

Carlos gets it

Is she sure she wouldn't like a silver BMW compact?

integrale_evo wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 9:38 am Is she sure she wouldn't like a silver BMW compact?

I did suggest it.

Shortest. Conversation. Evar.

Grand Vitara back from Flewy. I liked it before but the kaleidoscope of warning lights on the journey to drop it off last week scared me a little

Turned out to be ok though; he’s flushed the coolant, replaced the rad cap and thermostat, done an oil change and re-gassed the air-con, plus fixed the floppy gear-lever. It’ll sit at 95-100 happily on the motorway with more to come, it has really rather nice steering with a darty response at lower speeds but no particular motorway nervousness, and was showing nearly 36mpg on the way home. I’m wondering whether I should have splashed out slightly more on a lower mileage one but frankly I doubt it would have been any more usable so there’s really no point. A much better car than I had expected.

Green laning in it next Sunday

Jobbo wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:20 pm
Green laning in it next Sunday

A long time coming

In case you want a spare..

I have a feeling you will tell me the 1.6 doesn't have high/low ratios