Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1

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Fri 5 Apr 2019 15:05
- KJP 123
Re Premium fuels.

“Particularly important with a Gasoline Direct Injected engine because instead of being injected over the inlet valves the fuel is injected directly so the inlet valves miss the detergent effect of the fuel and can become coated in carbon.”

So how will using a premium fuel with more detergent help if it misses the valves?

I understand that the carbon comes from oil from the crankcase breather.

I would like to buy a Pugeot 207cc and believe this is GDI so it is of interest to me.
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Fri 5 Apr 2019 16:43
- Scot5
This may be my ignorance but...

1: I thought run flats only solved puncture problems. How can you drive on a runflat if it's a blow out?

2: And whatever your friends did is not recommended and I'm surprised HonestJohn even suggesting a car be driven from Spain to UK at normal speeds as that goes against all advice. If you do suffer a puncture, everywhere I've looked (both car and tyre manufacturers as well as tyre specialists) advise to drive at 50mph when the pressure drops on a run flat. ie no greater than if you are driving with mini spare. Furthermore they only recommend the run-flat be driven for 50miles.

Moreover, is it not the case that with runflats you must replace with the same brand of tyre? That could lead to delays if the tyre isn't in stock. I'd have thought a mini-spare solution to be superior to any run-flat which I've always considered a less comfortable tyre.
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Mon 1 Jul 2019 19:36
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - Marlinleg
My BMW 530d had run flat tyres you can run up to 150 miles at 50mph on a flat tyre the side walls of the tyres are reinforced the 150 mile range was to make sure the steel in the side walls didn’t catch fire.
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Mon 1 Jul 2019 19:37
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - Marlinleg
My BMW 530d had run flat tyres you can run up to 150 miles at 50mph on a flat tyre the side walls of the tyres are reinforced the 150 mile range was to make sure the steel in the side walls didn’t catch fire.
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Fri 5 Apr 2019 23:22
- elscint
Re disc brake wear- I have just replaced the discs on my Volvo V70, after twelve years and 140,000 miles!!!!!! They dont make cars like they used to, at least VW dont.
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Sat 6 Apr 2019 12:57
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - gordonbennet
Re disc brake wear- I have just replaced the discs on my Volvo V70, after twelve years and 140,000 miles!!!!!! They dont make cars like they used to, at least VW dont.

The very best of brake design, drum inside disk manual parking brake so the rear normal brake calipers are simple sliding affairs operating on discs that are not part of the parking brake, a system shared by lots of makers (including better Japanese and German cars) from the era, an expensive design to make but proves itself over long periods.

The problem with the V60/70 of that era was the parking brake friction material could part company with metal of the shoes themselves, leading in worse case scenarios to a locked rear wheel, not all did this obviously, at some 90k (i think) miles we stripped out my sons 2007 S60 brakes and found the rear shoes delaminated in places, an easy inexpensive DIY fix so long as caught before total disintegration.

I would suggest you are a competent driver, -elscint, to get such high trouble free miles.

A lot of the issues with modern cars now is parking brakes that operate of the same calipers using the same rear pads as the footbrake (don't get me started on pointless EPB's), and the way so many cars are now driven, where it's the interference of the on board stability programs braking individual wheels that keep the car on the tarmac and out of the scenery!

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Sat 6 Apr 2019 16:48
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - Zeus B

Just to prove the exception to the rule, I have a y year old Skoda Yeti that at 50,000 miles is still on its original tear brake discs.

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Sat 6 Apr 2019 01:04
- glidermania
Fab Flaw - Check the front tyre to see it the tread is getting down to the thread limit blocks. I had a drumming noise on one of my cars and the garage couldnt find an issue, they kept saying no mechanical issue found.

I then check the tread and saw this was almost down to the limit blocks. When the tyre was replaced, the drumming sound disappeared.
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Sat 6 Apr 2019 10:01
- Dellow Man
elscint. Volvo V70. Here in Sweden, home of the Volvo, you only get a two year new car warranty. Are Volvo going down the economy route/reduced quality standard of the bits underneath that are not obvious when you sit in a new shinny car in the showroom?
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Sat 6 Apr 2019 13:24
- Andrew Price
Ref JT Chester. Your Volvo dealer won’t quote for spare wheel & tyre. 1. Go to another dealer. 2. Have you heard of the Internet?. You also think space savers should be banned because of 50mph limit. Suggest you check the speed limits that apply to HGV’s. I was on the A59 to Harrogate yesterday. I would have loved to have done 50.
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Sat 6 Apr 2019 13:43
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - Captain-Cretin

HGV limits on nearly all roads have been quietly raised to 60mph.

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Sat 6 Apr 2019 14:21
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - Brit_in_Germany

HGV limits on nearly all roads have been quietly raised to 60mph.

Thought it was only dual carriageways, otherwise 50 mph.

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Sat 6 Apr 2019 14:42
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - gordonbennet

HGV limits on nearly all roads have been quietly raised to 60mph.

Thought it was only dual carriageways, otherwise 50 mph.

Yes 50mph on British single carriageway roads, apart from Scotland where almost all single carriage roads are still at 40.

The irony of the 60 limit still applying on dual carriageways and motorways, when in fact almost all lorries are speed limited at 56 or less, and if you drive at over 57/58 for a distance (eg on a long downhill) it will almost certainly trigger speeding infringements on the digital tachograph and you could well find yourself in hot water with other enforcement agencies, not the police.

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Sat 6 Apr 2019 17:24
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - Captain-Cretin

Sorry, yes, 50 - up from 40.

But how often have you followed a HGV sticking to 40, and how many drivers have been stopped for exceeding that limit? The raise is almost like an exercise in excusing the police for not enforcing the old limit.

Like the fact that (locally at least) they never seem to have a working breathalyser in the whole county.

I only know of ONE speed camera that can detect the weight of the vehicle and adjust the speed infringement setting (my brother got done by it).

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Sat 6 Apr 2019 19:23
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 06-04-2019 Part 1 - Chris James

HGV limits on nearly all roads have been quietly raised to 60mph.

Whilst "White" Van limits remain the same as they have done for about 40 - 50 years, even those which aren't much bigger / heavier than your average SUV or 4WD and contain the same safety features. The Ad-hoc, seat of your pants approach to legislation in this Country is laughable.

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Sat 6 Apr 2019 17:25
- DrTeeth
Using a higher octane petrol does NOT automatically give increased torque or power unless the engine has knock sensors with enough leeway to advance the ignition enough to take advantage of it.
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Sat 6 Apr 2019 19:19
- Chris James
Quoted from the AAA article HJ linked to above. "AAA also found out that over 12 months, the average difference in price between Top Tier and standard gasoline was only around 3 cents per gallon."

God Bless the U.S of A - only 3 cents a Gallon difference between regular and premium fuel, the American Dream!. What is it in the UK? about 10p - 12p a LITRE difference?, so yes more likely to be questioned as to whether the benefits are worth the extra cost.

You would also think that a fuel which burns cleaner, and so I assume produces less pollutants in doing so would attract a lower rate of Duty to encourage take up by lowering the price more in line with regular fuel, or at least more inline with what our American cousins appear to be paying. Several million cars all switching to a cleaner burning fuel can only be a good thing for a small island with (allegedly) a pollution problem surely?. Strange how it never seems to work like that in reality though.
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Sat 6 Apr 2019 19:34
- Westernman
Kia Niro fuel consumption.

The 1 and 2 trim models have smaller wheels and this apparently (official data) makes a difference of 10mpg compared to the higher trim levels on larger wheels. My Niro 2 is getting 59 mpg overall doing a mixture of short runs and some longer, done 17k miles in 14 months so far. We can get 65mpg on a long run at an average 70mph but short runs and cold weather reduce it to 52-53mpg. The hybrid technology works well. Drives like any other petrol automatic but with diesel efficiency.
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