The overdose of electric and electronic stuff on board requires oversized batteriy and alternator, for example the "start and stop" function complicates so much the starting sistem that I doubt it offsets the fuel saving it offers (turn off while waiting on the traffic light). I have seen at Bosch car service a battery replacement, it went like this: -An external battery is conecteby Jose Pinto - Car Talk
QuoteCab Treadway There is a train station in my town, but it doesn't go anywhere near my work. That what train stations are supposed to do, just be there. Now seriously, the mass transit makes a huge difference. From my house to work, I pay for one month the equivalent to half tank of gas, I would spend more than that per week in my car! Plus I can ride as much as I want, while ourby Jose Pinto - Community Forum
Shouldn't this go into the "car talk" section?by Jose Pinto - Community Forum
VW TDI are evil, and make your belly grow fat. Also the maintenance will cost your an arm and a leg, even worse than BMW... I am using the volvo to commute lately: sometimes the mercedes-benz: Either way, my "Chauffeur" don't let me drive it.by Jose Pinto - Community Forum
The market in the US is completely diferent from here, we don't call a 2 litter 200bhp a "commuter", unless its a 9seat mini-bus... It looks like a very decent fun car! But the rise of oil prices may turn it's daily use into a very costly habit.by Jose Pinto - Community Forum
QuoteDave_G Exciting pics. So how many control arms is that now? I've lost count. This is how they bent the CA shown before.by Jose Pinto - Community Forum
Quotesdp Well.. turning the crank with the new tensioner and belt didn't help.. It was pretty much stuck in both directions so I started with removing the valve cover. Major disappointment. 5 broken rockers and that wouldn't have been the worst thing... 1 broken bracket between 5-6 and cracked bracket at the end of the rocker shaft. Pulled the head and all 6 exhaust valves created iby Jose Pinto - Technical Forum
QuoteMichiel 318iS The Dutch plate appears to be an older French plate, dept 34 (last two digits in the plate), south of France. The Citroën comes from about 100 km south of Paris, Montargis region, so could also be a local's vehicle. The Citroën from Montargis could crack the mystery, if the owner could be traced. a message could then be sent asking if he/she saw that women that day. Miby Jose Pinto - Community Forum
From time to time, something really new comes up. JPby Jose Pinto - Community Forum
The sun cooks the plastic, and older materials were less resitant. Even newish cars that came with plastice front light lenses are now fogy or dull, due to the sun aging the material. Best route when possible is rerplace by compeltely new material.by Jose Pinto - Car Talk
I hear you Peter... When things get tight, something has to give... Today I passed the cleanest BMW316 (the simplest basic version, a 4 door) and thought the same...by Jose Pinto - Technical Forum
Those guys at Munich weren't stupid... I'm not a fan of big wheels, specially if the car was not designed to have them in the firs place. Unless you want to rebuild the suspension completely, stick with OEM wheel sizes! JPby Jose Pinto - Technical Forum
Sorry to hear, from your story there was little to be done to avoid the hit, apart from not being there at the moment... The car looks easy enought to fix by some half decent body shop. Some shops would prefer to restore the panles as they are than repaint salvaged ones. If you want to do it yourself, provide you have the skill and a place to work on it, it should be OK. Just don'tby Jose Pinto - Technical Forum
QuoteMichiel 318iS One week's holiday (E46 had a week of rest) I got back to work, we had two days with storm this week and temperatures got a little colder, I ended the fuel tank at 5.24 l/100 km (calculated - 44.9 US and 53.9 IMP mpg), covered 1051 km (653 mls) averaging 88.4 km/h (55 mph). Not bad for an 8 (almost 9) year old! Very well done, considering it is a large saloon and theby Jose Pinto - Car Talk
...On the other end, is not easy anymore to find a shop where they know trheir way around tuning a carburator properly... Of course a simple car will allways be easy to service, by definition. Problem is people don't look twice at a car that has no cerntral locks, electric windows, good HVAC and sound, etc, so the manufacturers don't offer those anymore.by Jose Pinto - Car Talk
QuoteBob in Everett That is a lot better than many new cars. Not sure about that, but is a very good mileage! I had the impression those cars were somewhat thirsty. If the consumption is right, then the engine is sound.by Jose Pinto - Car Talk
Reading notes in a fast moving car is the worst thing to do when your sick... I know that was sure thing to make me sick, i couldn't read notes even if it was to save my life! I imagine a cup of tea and an headache pill is not easy to get over there in the woods. Hope it turned out all right, Ferdinand...by Jose Pinto - Community Forum
Hope you all had a good Christmas, and wish you the best possible 2012.by Jose Pinto - Community Forum
Congratulations on the new car! It looks good, considering it's age. The mileage (I think) is not so high considering, the important is it had been correctly maintained over all those years (or most years). I have some prejudice against automatic transmission, but it's common place in the USA, is a cultural thing. Perhaps it's best for the average driver (me included) and we areby Jose Pinto - Car Talk
QuoteArcheo-peteriX I imagine I will get about the same economy when I travel on the highway and can get up over 30Kph Just filled up and calculated my second tank...46.5mpg(IMP). Apart from the super fuel economy; I love the little engine in this car. It is silky smooth and has a wide torque range. For example, I can easily pull up inclines in 5th gear that had the old S-10 shuddering andby Jose Pinto - Car Talk
Extremely cold climates take a toll on those mechanical bits. Time to borrow a painting boot, to leave the car inside there overnight... Perhaps it's all normal after warming to normal temperature, either way it can't hurt. Good luck!by Jose Pinto - Technical Forum
QuoteArcheo-peteriX I just realized my conversion was off a bit...it's closer to 38mpg Is this correct? Your car uses 7.43l to cover 100km?by Jose Pinto - Car Talk
Quite a fleet you had! If you can't keep the cars, at least you keep good memories from them...by Jose Pinto - Community Forum
There is a good movie on you tube: (they are speaking Portuguese with Brazilian accent) It is simple: one car, one track, two pairs of tires. When the pilot drives the track with good tires in the rear axle and worse ones in front, no problem. With good tires in the front and bad in the rear, the car oversteer and spins out of control. It's good for a FWD Ford or RWD BMW, or any carby Jose Pinto - Technical Forum
Quotenomis3613 Thanks guys. Since I don't know which corner of the car they came off, guess I'll go with Peter's method! If tyres are not directional, You should be OK. Just make sure to put the best couple tires in the rear axle, the worse at front.by Jose Pinto - Technical Forum
Is so easy to destroy a reputation! Some Volt caught on fire AFTER side crash tests. Is not like "some people died inside a burning Volt"! Anyway, they promised to fix it and the Volt is meant to be a technical innovation showcase to help sell more ICE cars. Just a way to say "Toyota and Honda have, so do we!".by Jose Pinto - Car Talk