TonyGoose

Rob. Yeah you got the idea ... A few mm isn't gonna make a huge difference anyway - ooh err missus Personally, i'd avoid spacers where possible. Unless very good quality, they're likely to introduce balance problems. Also ensure wheels are hubcentric ... That is to say they sit correctly centred on the hub by themselves. Most wheels come with a ring which fits inside the centre hole to achieve this. Make sure it's the right one and it's not the nuts forcing the wheel to centre on the hub. Good luck.

Rob. See you got those springs on ebay .. have fun :D Thought about it but couldn't go bidding against fellow club members Anyway, offset ... the distance between the mounting face of a wheel and it's centreline. If you increase the offset, you reduce how much the wheel sticks out. So, if you fit a 10mm wider wheel, with 5mm more offset, it sticks out the same. The additional 10mm would all be on the inside ... watch for fouling on suspension. Or a 10mm wider wheel maintaining original offset, 5mm is added inside and out. Generally, it's desirable to maintain original offset, specially up front. If you mess with offset here, you may upset steering and thus handling. Imagine the point about which the steering pivots is also the centreline through the wheel. If you steer while stationary, the wheel will turn 'on the spot'. If you change offset, the wheel has to move in an arc to steer. Well i know what i mean Kind of difficult to explain This ( http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/offset.htm ) may help explain offset ... I've always tried to keep to the vehicle manufacturers original offset ... or as close as possible to it with regard to fouling of suspension / arches etc. Is that any kind of help ?? :eerrrmm:

Engage gutter mode ... then read Hartys post again ... I'm sure you'll work it out :shutit:

I'm not gonna say a word :tsktsk: :D

Not a climber by any chance? I'm scared of heights ... and those big drop off edges ... So you can answer your own question It was just a plod up and round kinder scout ... some hill or other apparently Managed to climb up a steep rocky stream ... and sink in a peat bog up to my knees - nice :yack:

Are you allowed to send those through the post now :D :iraqi-info-minister: :D

My stickers were near there last weekend ... Come to think of it, so was my car .... wait a minute ... and me :iraqi-info-minister: Stayed at Hathersage - a bit west of Sheffield.

Hmm, let's see if i can help out here .... Engine management computers decide how much fuel to inject into the engine and when to generate the spark to ignite it based on inputs from various sensors. These could be in areas such as exhaust gas, coolant temperature, inlet manifold pressure, turbo boost pressure, engine speed and so the list goes on. It's like a big 'look up' table. So the ecu might say ... Exhaust gas reading is 'A', Coolant temperature 'B', Engine running at 'C' rpm. So according to my look up table i must .... Open injectors for 'X' milliseconds + generate spark at 'Y' deg before piston reaches top of stroke. This 'look up' table or 'map' is the heart of 'chipping'. The 'chipper' replaces the standard 'map' with a different one. Standard maps are normally a compromise of performance and economy / emissions. Chipping would generally aim to tilt the balance in favour of performance. Some maps are on a memory chip and can be replaced with a custom one - hence 'chipping'. If this isn't possible, a supplementary computer (piggyback ecu) is used - such as the 'unichip'. These wrap around the stock ecu and alter it's inputs and outputs as required to achieve the required effect. Taking IS200 as an example, TDI use a unichip to achieve a modest power increase AND reduce fuel consumption ... Blimey As for supercharger 'chips', the earlier kits contain a small black box. This intercepts the manifold pressure signal before it reaches the ecu which expects to see a vacuum as air is drawn in but would see positive pressure as the supercharger forces air through instead ... Well wouldn't you be confused if expecting to suck but getting blown instead Later kits have a larger silver box which does a similar job but provides additional protection from fuel cut off - to protect cat converters from meltdown apparently. That's my rather simplistic view of things - hope it helps There are much cleverer people here who can elaborate i'm sure

errrrrrrrrr......... yeah....... I see you've had the engine bay valeted too .. Nice job mate B)

It involves buttons on the hi-fi - can't remember which though ... There's nothing very exciting there anyway. As for going adrift / resetting ... Have you gone though the 'tyre change' procedure ? How to do it is in the instruction guide ... This put mine back on track !

i must admit, i am a bit of a when it comes to mechanical things .....and lexus but hey.....someone needs to know how things work, imagine leaving it all to Zee :) OK - Zee gets to do mechanicals ... Harty gets the electrics ... Uh Oh ... Run for your lives .... 999 ... which service ... FIRE ... :D

Driving without insurance carrys a minimum 6 to 8 points on your licence (IN10), AND can even lead to an instant disqualification! Also, when quoted to the next insurance company you go with will result in a hefty premium! More than just £200 at stake!! I agree with everything you say ... but .. Ban and / or points on a licence they probably don't have ? Insurance cost ? They don't have any remember - ironically because it's too pricey :) Fine reduced to 10p a week at the slightest mention of being a bit skint at present ? And before any of this, have to be caught ... See what i'm getting at .. The whole thing is loaded against the law abiding subjects - like most laws. Oh and the thing about tickets for 30.00001mph but nowt for crashes ... That's obvious - Police don't get money for the latter ... Nor do they for house breaks, mugging or any other 'proper' crimes. Speeding motorist is a very easy target - and profitable too ... Why is 100mph - SHOCK HORROR DANGEROUS IRRISPONSIBLE in this country ... Yet a couple of hours drive acroos europe, it's perfectly safe and acceptable ?? I have sympathy for the police too Why should they bother catching 'real' criminals ... They get to court and are just let out again with a mild slap So, may as well just dish out tickets ... easy and profitable. The law is a total A55 - the price for living in a namby pamby nanny state :duh:

Steady on Mat ... You may look older than me ... but carry on like that and people might think you actually ARE LOL

BUT - soon there'll be another ... hey Chris B) Can i be 1/2 official ?? Huh Huh, please Mat, can i, can i, please, huh, hu, oh go on :duh: :D :duh: :duh: :D

Mintex M171 used to be an automatic upgrade for anyone with a tarted up car :) Hmmm, having just revealed that i'm an old croc, i'll be off

May as well add my tuppence to this ... 1) Wonder if the other car was coincidentally reported stolen shortly after the smash ? 2) I'm glad i have max ncd and pay extra premium to protect it. 3) The law positively encourages driving without insurance. Think about it ... Insurance paid every year - say 500 to 1000 quid. Fine of maybe 100 to 200 quid ... IF you get caught ! And you don't pay it even when fined - or maybe 50pence a month. You can see the attraction can't you ... And on a more general note ... Courts are places of LAW ... Justice just doesn't come into the equation

An extra seat in front of each headlight - what a good idea Or if you lay out flat, a handy sundeck :iraqi-info-minister:

I s'pose you think that's clever :D I'll have you know Steve often posts while afloat ... From on board his executive barge motoring round canals :iraqi-info-minister:

Is the RAV4 made in the UK ?? If not then i'm afraid you're out of luck :( They're ALL imports - no exceptions, end of story

There's this aerosol stuff you can get called 'Belt Dressing'. It's meant to deal with squeaky belts etc ... Assuming it's not just too loose or knackered of course. Before anyone asks, I have no idea where to buy this stuff ... Just saw it in use by an air conditioning engineer in our data centre. I guess a quick google will find some ...

Then don't park in front of a fire hydrant ...

Remember to scratch first :duh:

WooHoo ... Even i'm excited now

Really? I'm sure I was quoted at least double that the first time I enquired about them. Plus £70 (1 hr labour) to fit them i seem to remember :arrrggg-matey: I never bother - just drive in daylight :D

Don't run with scissors :iraqi-info-minister: