MadManMike Posted October 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 My Golf goes at the end of the month and I'm gonna miss all those gadgets. I use ACC a lot on the motorway, it's very good. Keyless entry and start is so good too, I really take that for granted. It's a god send when you are carrying loads of stuff. In terms of comfort and toys, I can't fault the Golf (Other than the entertainment system being a bit slow, especially Sat Nav). The DSG is the real killer for me. It's just not nice to drive. If the manual GTD or GTI was a reasonable cost, I would have replaced by TSI with one, but for some reason they're way more than the 120d on a company car tax basis, unless I go for real base spec, which would be a huge downgrade just to have a manual gearbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 Doesn't ACC discourage people from paying attention? Middle lane on the motorway in particular is bad enough as it is, and looking at some of the drivers there you'd think they were asleep if only their eyes weren't half-open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_seamons Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 10 minutes ago, Tony Harrison said: Doesn't ACC discourage people from paying attention? Middle lane on the motorway in particular is bad enough as it is, and looking at some of the drivers there you'd think they were asleep if only their eyes weren't half-open. You're not wrong there! You can also get "Lane Assist", which keeps you in between the white lines - either by warning you when you get close to the edge, or by physically steering you back into the centre of the lane. As you say though, it is turning drivers into zombies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 5 minutes ago, george_seamons said: You're not wrong there! You can also get "Lane Assist", which keeps you in between the white lines - either by warning you when you get close to the edge, or by physically steering you back into the centre of the lane. As you say though, it is turning drivers into zombies! Just seems odd that this comes along at a time when people seem - in general - more distracted than ever. I say this because I'm primarily a motorcyclist and drivers' lack of attention is my biggest concern when riding on the road. I've had cars with regular cruise control and used it, although it's frustrating when the car in front is a fraction slower and you have to keep adjusting (or just overtake), so I can see how this evolved. I guess this is all just part of the journey towards self-driving vehicles... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted October 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 I don't use ACC to relax or sit in the middle lane, personally, but I can see how people would. Personally I set mine at 70, then swap in and out of all 3 lanes as necessary. It's very slow to accelerate, so I tend to do that part myself and just use it as a way of keeping my speed down and maintaining the gap in front. Handy in 50mph limit sections of motorway. My love of the gadgets is purely because I do so many miles in the company car, I much, much, much prefer the simplicity of the Eunos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 Recently watched a documentary on car thieves who use keyless entry to steal cars in seconds. One of them scans for the key signal by walking around the house and then forwards the signal through an amplifier to an antennae by the car. Car unlocks, thief gets in, drives away. Probably wouldn't want keyless after seeing that Would love to have ACC in my next car though. Had a tough but enjoyable weekend. Highlight was asking if I could drive this and getting an instant "yes", followed by "you're free to drive the Lambos, Ferraris or McLaren when we're on the Poznan Racetrack too". The weather wasn't ideal for a spin although the reduced grip was quite fun. The instructor clearly knew a lot about this car, got a lot of valuable insight into how it should be driven. They're looking for instructors for the KTM but very few people in the country know how to drive it properly, this chap is one of them. Going to pursue this matter further Also visited 2 new tracks (one of them pictured above) which looked like the perfect place to fool around in the 911's without any driver aids. Neither the 996 or 997 had LSD's so that wasn't fun, the 991 did but it was a 4WD. And it's an absolute pig. I found I had to be faster with the wheel in the wet than in the M3 when snap oversteer happens on racing slicks. Or I have no idea how to drive a 911. Would love to have the opportunity to spend a day in one at some stage and get the hang of it. Loving how this new job is unfolding. There are many opportunities already and it's just the beginning. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dann2707 Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 I think we can all collectively agree that you sir, are living the dream. Awesome stuff Alex. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.M Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 Yes I'm slightly jealous! Despite my Alfa being an Alfa it passed the MOT today. Miracles do happen Also drove over Hardknott pass recently. What a mental road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted October 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 Just realised I posted on FB, but not here, so some of you will already know... Anyway, I got a call to say my car is ready. It failed on nothing this time and nothing needed fixing, lol. Scamming twats basically realised I knew what I was on about and decided that all the problems were no longer problems. Obviously good news, but annoying that I've had so much hassle. I could have collected it last week if they weren't trying to con me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 4 hours ago, Pete.M said: Also drove over Hardknott pass recently. What a mental road. Ive done it a few times. It’s awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Booth Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 I feel like my mini, and prawns will be back on the road before that's anywhere near finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted October 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 And mine. And yeah, I don't even have one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 There was absolutely no need for that pump bracket to be that complicated. But yeah awesome non the less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Booth Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 I just can't get excited by it? I feel like everything is just ridiculously over the top for what is essentially a shell swap? By the time it's finished they'll have rolled out the petrol ban anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinJI Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 Glad to see an update on binky. They are moving at a snail's pace, but I enjoy the process as much as the finished result, so I still like watching it. There's a thread on retrorides about a mazda RX3 restoration that's similar, endless tangents, crazy home made tools and amazing skills, but very little progress with the car. It's still a good read even if they guy's years away from finishing it. The last couple of evenings I've finished off my tube notcher: Got the cages a-pillar bars fitting nicely: And I did a few practice welds with different techniques: Getting there. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 (edited) Picked up a means of occupying my spare time (on top of constant maintanence that comes with daily driving a track orientated car..) This thing used to use a litre of oil for every 150 miles. Eventually burnt a valve out. I plan to have it in as new condition as against a speedy repair. I like messing with engines so I’m keen to get stuck in One poorly B16a2. Lucky me also gets to spend the weekend fitting a replacement engine in a Mk2 CRX His high comp built B16B has spun a shell so he’s sourced a standard B16a1 to use in the mean time. Hoping to get the rebuild job on that engine as a spin off from doing this... B18c4 rebuild in the pipeline too, along with an LSD to fit in a Civic Ep3 Type R and a timing chain on an EP3 Turbo. Sometimes, just sometimes, I love my job. Edited October 13, 2017 by SamKidney 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dann2707 Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 You're telling me that not working on a 2001 rust bucket vw lupo isn't the highlight of your year?! Haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 So I thought id post an update of whats been going on with the mini the past few months. Heres a picture before: I decided it was time for 10 inch wheels which also meant new arches, new arches meant welding up the old arch holes, welding up the old arch holes meant repainting most the car… you get the idea. There were also a few paintwork issues on the frontend that needed sorting out as well as a small amount of rust on the bumper lip so that was replaced, oh and a door skin required.. Started stripping things off, couldn’t go too mad as I had to drive it to my dads unit. Paint blister on the rear quarter The front panel mess. More on that later. The mess under the giant blister on the front panel. It looks like when fitting the grille I managed to crack the paint, a few years later water has got in a few places and 2 layers of primer had separated. Luckily the rust was just surface rust. Old bumper lip removed, sand blasted underneath and new lip fitted. Old dead door skin Rest of the front panel cleaned up Arch holes welded up (new arch holes in pic), side repeaters removed, all primered up. Same story at the back. About to get painted. Painted and home Reassembly Done Unfortunately I don’t have any pics of just how much work the arches took. They started out life like this: And had the outer lips removed, but they fit like crap so had lots of modification on the inside edge, which left the screw recesses paper thin so they had to be reinforced with more fibreglass. Probably 1-2 weeks work all in all. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 Lots of work, but looks lovely dude. Very well-kept looking little car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Booth Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 It only took you 7 years or whatever to see the light. What brakes are you running dude? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 It’s had 7.9” 4 pots for years now so the wheels went straight on. The wheels need refurbing. I got them second hand and the laquer is doing what they all do. Tempted to get some force racing ones if I can find the funds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 CRX has been a pleasure to work on but unfortunately the engine the customer had bought for me to fit is knocking its tits off. Genuinely gutted for the bloke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted October 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 Just got my car back. Really pleased with it. The only negative is that the paint looks so good, the rest of the car looks even worse than it did. I'd love to have the whole thing sprayed, but I can't justify that sort of money really. A lot of the work was on the inner sills and under the car, but here's a close up of the cosmetic areas: I'm glad they did the whole panels, as there was a huge lacquer bubble up by the fuel cap. Total bill was £595, including the MOT work that was done, so I'm really pleased with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted October 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 Just gave her a wash, these proper shots really show the difference in panels, especially the shot from the rear. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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