fleagret
Andrew
fleagret

MPG can be misleading so % increases are what you should look at (which is why I’m glad you mentioned the 5%). A 1MPG improvement @ 20MPG is twice as good as a 1MPG improvement @40MPG.

It’s part of the active rust prevention system. When I get around to re-building my spitfire engine I’m hoping to eliminate this particular feature!

The loyalty tax is frustrating, on the one hand I’m ok with it essentially being a tax for being lazy and by shopping around my lower prices are essentially subsidised by the lazy masses, however I find it utterly ridiculous that this kind of business practice goes on in this day and age.

If you have a family of 5 (and to be fair anything more than this needs a minivan to move everyone and is therefore a hopeless situation) then a 5 seater and a 2 seater will do. Everyone in one car? Take the 5 seat. 1 kid need to go somewhere, take the 2 seater. 2/3/4 people need to get somewhere, take the 5 seater.

beautiful

Fingers crossed for camless engines next year.

It’s based on sound principles and I believe the hypermiling community are all about warm air intakes. Just to cloud the issue: a warm air intake probably helps the engine warm up faster so that could be where much of the mileage gains come from as the engine spends less time running rich to warm up.

Anyone else think the packaging of a rotary engine is very similar to the packaging of an electric motor? There could be the potential for a drivetrain with the option of full e motor, full rotary or hybrid power.

It’s a clever way of playing down a reduction of engine power. That last 1 or 2 mph of top speed needs a surprisingly large amount of power so 1 or 2 mph off the top speed sounds like a small amount, but the power loss will likely be significant. (eg, 170bhp tdi passat tops out at 141mph, 103bhp tdi passat only

Even with a good helmet, the wind noise on a motorbike at 70mph is in the region of 100 dB which can start to damage hearing after 15 mins of exposure. I always wear earplugs when on a bike, but I’m probably over sensitive about my bat-hearing.

I’ve got an engine swap to do in my spitfire. Knackered crank thrust bearing is driving this, but I want the new one to be a well ballanced, lairy cammed, fire breathing (1300cc 4 pot) engine. Unfortunately life is getting in the way, that and the fact that I’ve done all the cheap bits and need to pull the trigger on

I recently read the mantra somewhere for dealing with drivers who make mistakes/are not paying enough attention:

Technically heat doesn’t rise. Stuff tends to become less dense as it heats up so will float upwards. Heat is primarily removed by exhaust gasses, coolant and oil. These all go where the designer directs them. Any further heat loss to the air in the engine bay will go where that air goes. With the car still then yes,

My main objection to crossovers is that increased ride height generally only serves to give the perception of safety* (which sells cars) at the cost of handling (which is more likely to reduce crashes by allowing you to avoid them). It seems the general trend in car safety is one of a self centred arms race with ever

Agreed. But they trade handling, dynamics, loadspace and (IMHO) aesthetics, for an elevated driving position to make people feel safer. I’ll take the wagon.

So really with new turbo engines we need sequential manual boxes? I’m cool with that.

Looks like there’s a polo hiding under there. Is this just a mega body kit?

Winter top down driving; A crisp cold day, warm coat, woolly hat, odd looks. Even better on a clear night. I’ve been informed that a decent tonneau cover can further enhance the experience.