The Transporter

Plenty in the civilised part of the country today, I thought that someone reconed that the Winter was over...... I'll resist watching you in action.

Oi Nobby, is it still all over?

Just got back from a quick trip to yorkshire, left my town at about 8 on Friday, destination Bradfordistan (6 inches of snow), would have taken the Jeep if the bro in law hadn't pinched it after he'd lost his volvo in a snow drift so went in the van. They don't seem to treat the road much at all and all those hills mak things interesting.... Van and its Vredestein Vanco Winters managed to keep me moving without having to resort to the shovel or winch.... The van wouldn't have stood a chance on summer rubber.

Pah! Not even had any snow here..... :(

Hmmm Ray, she sounds quite demanding does your missus.... How about a compromise between the box of chocs and the Celica? A food mixer perhaps? Let us all know how that works out when you are out of plaster.... After the Winter I have the task of finding my missus a replacement for her little Merc. She seems quite keen on the second generation RAV4

Milk Tray should do it!

The van has had it's winter tyres on for some weeks...They are superb for when you hit a big puddle as they aquaplane much less than summers. Shovel, carpet,grit and rope(To recover those fancy four wheel drives) all stowed away and for fun for the first time Osama the J'heap has winter tyres on to recover the van when I get that stuck. He's also just had a 2 inch lift and new UJs on the front axel, was a bit of a panic to get the job finished before the snow so I was out on the drive with a beer and my bobble hat finishing him off... All fueled up and neat screen wash to prevent freezing.....5ft high lift jack stowed in Osama for when I get that and the van stuck.... The IS will stay on the drive nice and safe as at 53k the front tyres are close to the wear bars Let the loonacy begin!!!

Well I did warn you Ray that the IS liked a drink or two.....Karl At least it warms up quickly....

Ray, the gearbox and rear axel oil is changable on the IS and should be done every 20k... Not a difficult job but just check if yours has an LSD or not

Ah! a funky coloured little valve that seems to make your car go slower at low speeds and imperceptible benefits at higher speeds.... Yeah go for it!

Yeah, I too find that the throttle is a little snappy when pulling away from low speeds and you do have to work really hard to drive smoothly so it is the same with manuals. It was a similar situation on my VW van so when I had the ECU reprogrammed I also had them adjust the sensitivity of the throttle pedal so that when the pedal was 50% through its travel it is only asking for 25% power. Sadly this isn't an option on the IS

Because you are turning the aircon on and off, you are generating condensation on the evaporator coils inside the heater box (It is a function of the air conditioner, condensation forms on a cold surface) It is the same moisture that can cause mouldy odours from the aircon.... I would suggest that this is where the moisture is coming from... My van and my Jeep do the same... Not sure on your year of car, but whenever you set the demister on the air con runs too to help demist the car so whenever you switch to demist, then the coils will be getting wet and will set up the conditions you describe next time you start the car.

There will be residual moisture in the box that contains the heater matrix and on the air conditioning eveporator... Soon as you turn on the heater blower then this moist air will be blown onto your windscreen.. Also worth while checking that your cabin filter is clean and able to pass fresh air through it

Or do what I did... Buy the wife a nice little VW Golf, pack her suitcase and change the locks. What?

Because they are warm? My mirrors are usually off unless I hit the rear window demist..... Have you checked to see if the rear widow is on too? May be a sticking relay.. The mirrors being constantly on is no biggie and unlikely to damage the elements out but will cause an unecessary load on your electrical system and will cause your fuel consumption to increase ever so slightly

We still have the pound sterling because of the lady that we all love to hate (Mrs Thatcher) Helped by the scare that we had when we joined the ERM.. Last time that we had a referendum on anything to do with the EU was 1975 when no one who voted for it thought that 75% of our laws and regulations would come from there.

It won't be the end of motoring as we know it but it is just another turn of the thumb screw as bit by bit they push towards their ideal of no mods allowed in the years to come... At the moment the move seems to be towards standardisation across the continent. I do spend a fair bit of time in Europe and I love it but am, as you may have noticed very anti EU... I have even argued with a German copper over my Numberplates which rater than show the stars and GB, show the Union Flag and UK.... It would have been fair comment if I hadn't had a magnetic GB plate to the side of the numberplate as per requirements.

The Redcar steel plant owned by Tata (?) was closed to reduce CO2 emissions... The owner was paid by the EU for its closure. Tata promptly opened an new plant in India (with the money that they were given by the EU) and the Redcar plant was closed for some time... Fortunately a company from Thailand has bought it and steel is now being made in the North East again (Until the EU pay the company with our money to close it down).......The EU cares about jobs???? I'll take my van... It has no catalytic converter or EGR valve... That'll really annoy them.. :arrrggg-matey:

We only live in a democracy if we can vote out those who make the rules.... The people in the EU who make these rules have not been voted for and cannot be removed. You can change the UK government but not the mandarins in the EU.

This is the bit that hit me... Notwithstanding the date of its last roadworthiness test, the competent authority may require that a vehicle be subject to a roadworthiness test or additional testing before the date referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, in the following cases: – after an accident with serious damage to the main safety related components of the vehicle such as wheels, suspension, deformation zones, steering or brakes, – when the safety and environmental systems and components of the vehicle have been altered or modified, – in case of a change of the holder of the registration certificate of a vehicle. Not had chance to do anything other than skim your info Low Rider but I am concerned abot the second paragraph... Should I change the size of the wheels on my vehicle for off road use, how would this affect the inspection that must be taken if I use non standard sized wheels..? Similarly since the ECU forms part of the safety and environmental system, if the ECU is remapped, how is this affected? Ah! I have found the answer.... They have snuck in "Illegal powertrain modification", "Illegal engine modification" and "Control unit illegal modified" three little phrases that could take any modified vehicle off the road..... we need to define "Illegal"

Nice Landy... Although my Lex is as it left the factory, my old Jeep Cherokee has some mods and is due more. My van has been modified too. The EU are sneaky B'stards and can slide in legislation to suit themselves..

This is current But the EU is proposing more stringent standards I'm still sifting through the proposals as they are dull and writen in a very bureaucratic way .Writing to your MP will do nothing as rules that come from Brussels have to be implimented. The UK government have no option.

He he he... Modified car= No MOT. The EU wil dictate and you will comply. Same as we have for years...

http://www.the-ace.org.uk/armageddon/ We pay the EU over fifty million pounds sterling per day to dictate this kind of stuff.

Remoulds are fine if they are on an old smoker that you use for running round town but if you intend to zip up and down the motorway then I would prefer new rubber, even if they are cheapies... Like Kodiac Sky I have used them in the past when I was a kid and have had a couple of them peel their tread off.... But that was a long time ago. When travelling through Europe it is not unusual to redline the car in sixth, the tyres can get pretty warm and having your tread make a bid for freedom at those speeds could be quite unnerving