fil4362

Class !! I just cannot understand people who keep giving an opinion about stuff they never tried or cars they've never driven. You pull up with a Merc AMG and there always needs to be a tw@t who comments that he prefers the BMW M or Audi RS equivalent. Ask him if he's ever driven the AMG and the Beemer and the answers always is "off course not, but..." ... "But, but,... if you don't know what you're talking about, keep your comments to yourself, wisearse." (EoR) I personally think winter tyres should be made compulsory, just like in Germany, and this purely based on their qualities on wet roads. The UK roads are simply bad and very poorly lit. If you often drive at night, the risk of hitting standing water is really high and the difference it makes to hitting this on summer or on winter tyres is incredible. On summerrubber, you virtually always feel the car being pulled to one side to the other and you're lucky when you're not skating. On winter rubber, you often hardly feel it. I know the Motor trade as i work in the motor trade. I dont read the publicity crap put out by the motoring organisations. I used to be an AA aproved garage, and the ******* they brougth in wrong diagnosed you wouldnt believe. ITs the coil, no actually its the timing beltsnapped. I had a Corsa just a few weeks ago, the top of the fuel tank was battered and bent, the plastic housing was smached. When i told the customer he should have had his fuel pump fixed ratherthan keep banging it i was told SHE hadnt done it the AA guy did it that morning. He had been wacking it to get it going. After i contacted the AA they paid the bill in full. I have out more complaints against the AA than any other motoring organisation going. I have had more trouble with the AA than anyone else. THe AA is the one of the best know organisations people know so what they say is taken as word. Once again i have worked for the same company for 20 years this doesnt happen if you dont know what your doing. You dont have to take listen to what i say feel free to ignore me. I have neveronce said theres is no benifit to winter/snow tyres. I just dotn see the point in the expence for such a short period of time. As for driving amg mercs and prefering bmw Why dotn you start talking abotu proper cars instead of toys.

Well its definatly a Bond. The log book has it down as a 1953 micro car. Thats also what the bagde says on it. Had a hell of a job registering it for mot test. Vosa/ministry of transport computer didnt have a clue what i was on about. this is why i had the log book had to get the customer to bring it in so i knew what it was also. 3 wheels one door no wipers no hand brake. How do you pass a car like that. wipers and hand brake non original equipment so not needed. Your right about the engine mounted on the front end its just one big lump steering suspension engine and box its all just one big upright. If you put it on a full steering lock its turns within its own length. Best bit at car shows you can climb in the engine bay close the bonnet. Scares the hell out of people when you jump out at them, silly stupid and very childish but so much fun. Belongs to a mate of mine who has had it on loan to Manchester transport museum for sevral years. he recently took it out and put it back onthe road. Ok graham will give you the next go pick your most odd ball caryou have and post it up

fil, please do not take this wrong or as a personal attack but this last post does seem contradictory. You say that you have been in the trade for 22 years working for both independent garages and main dealers but have worked for your current employer for 20 years? That seems to indicate that your time with these various other traders spanned only 2 years. You have said that it is your own business but you have worked for your current boss for 20 years? You work for someone but have also stated that YOUR tyre suppliers dont stock them. I also wonder how many of your customers who crashed might not have done with winter tyres fitted....impossible to tell either way really. The fact that you, as you continually stress, are a tester and the fact that you have worked on a variety of cars does not really make you competent to dismiss the fact that winter tyres perform better than summer tyres at low temps. Both the compounds and tread patterns are designed and tested for use in low temps and snow/slush/ice/standing water. I can understand your point about the short period that we suffer from snow but you still seem to just consider them as "snow tyres" when in fact they are WINTER tyres, as the title of the thread says. My supliers, as its me that rings up and me that fits the tyres its me that produces the bill for the customer. Its me that deals with the customer. After 20 years of dealing same supliers and customers, its gets a little personal dont you think. They are not my bosses customers either they are the cumpany customers the company supliers at the end of the day, but as i said after20 years its gets a little personal. Yes 2 years working for "other garags.I spent 6 months working for Ford franchise dealer before i left due to standard of work which i knew was wrong and chose not to start my carrer in that way. I worked for Peugeot for a while left there for simular reasons i then bounced around from various independant garages moving around for variaty of reason, not happy with staff , working conditions or working practices(bearing in mind the stories about garages most of which i can confirm are true of some garages). I also have my own bussiness (large lock up really) from which i do my own work and buy and sell cars from. You know work out of hours. I do it in my own unit as to me its un professional to work on peoples drive way at the weekend and i didnt buy my own ramp and unit to work in the rain. So yes i do also have my own bussiness. What ever garage i have worked for or what day of the weekend i have worked for my self i have suplied and fitted tyres so i am experianced with tyres. Also when leaving scholl and starting my carrer I spent 5 years at collage sitting exam and course one ofter the other. 3 years is standard collage course for my trade. I did an extra 2. I know keep up to date with most stuff on cars with courses as the trade changes so much you have to keep up or get left behind. After being in the motor trade for so long and moving around in early year you get to know other people in the trade.I have contacts in the motor trade that work for various Main dealers and regulaly speak to them and ask for advice as they do to me. Its a little strange but in this day and age we,the garages in our area do comunicate to each other. With the cost of diagnostic equipment we, the local garages share information and equipment and knowlegde. If some one has doen some course they tell you then you can draw on their knowledge and not spend money doing the course yourself. Theres one rule, you dont pinch each others customers. So basicly i have a wealth of my own knowledge and can draw on knowledge of others and know one i know is recomending snow winter or any other kind of special tyres for the winter. Also i dont recall saying they were a waste of time and didnt dismiss the fact that winter/snow tyres are better. I may have said they were a waste of time for me as didnt see the point in them as dont need them. Bottom line they are a modification. We must agree on that.Lexus designed the car with a certain tyre in mind to do an all round job so if you and who ever decide that you want diffrent then thats a modification. Now i have nothing against a modification, just i cant justify the cost to get improvement for such a short period of time. There was talk of 3/400 pound for tyres for 3/4 weeks a year?? One hundred pounds a week to get your car of the drive, I would rather get a taxi. Thats why i am persoanlly against them, i also know my customers the garages customers if you wish to be technical, i know how they drive, how often they drive, where they drive. I know what mileage they cover in a year i even know where most of them fill up with petrol i know my/the garages customers. I couldnt justifiy selling them special tyres either. I have started to call them special tyres so theres no mix up between winter/snow tyres. ANythign other than standard i mean. Theres some of my/the garages customers wont collect there car after dark as they wont drive so i know they wont drive in the snow. MY opinion and the opinion of all my friends and fellow workers in the motor trade the cost doesnt justify the benifits. This is why i dont rate special tyres for winter that and the fact my suppliers dont carry them. Infact afterdays of looking on the net himself for tyres,the customer that wanted them found one supplier in the uk that had them in stock in the size he wanted.

My comments on yellow fog lights were based on my wifes car. which is a Toyota people carrier not a Lexus of any sort.

Well someone needs to take on a leadership role!! Personally, I think it should be someone with (correctly aimed) yellow fog lights. No Chav would be seen dead with them. Is this aimed at me. If you read my post it says i have discontected them. Also as they are as said large and the car came with them i have no option but to leave them alone. If i could find some sort of blank for them i would or even a clear lenze would be better. They look naff even when not on. But then its come from Japan maybe they like them yellow over there. The igniton key even has a pokemon on it and the spare has mini mouse. So if you think this country has chav car look up some form Japan i imagine they be real chav.

Well said

Ok so i am not expert. I have been working in the motor trade since leaving school 22 years ago. I have worked at independant garages and main dealers. The majority of my friends all work in the motor trade. I Have been with my current employer for 20 years i am an mot tester (I.D number LILL0021 if you wish to check) I service and repair everything from Reliant Robins to 360 ferrari. I can provide pictures if you like. I have customers (one family actually) who own a Ferrari 360 a prosche 911 Porsche panamera Aston v12 Bently continental. I can provide pictures if you wish all either in my car park on on a ramp in my workshop. Non not a one is fitted with winter tyres. All on my advice. NOt a one has crash in the snow. Now i have had customers in during the snow who have crashed. Audi A3, S3 actually the 4 wheel drive one binned it on a bend. He excepts it was his fault driving to fast in the conditions. Punto crashed in the snow, driving too fast for the conditions. In fact every car i have repaired or had repaired this winter has been crashed due to driving too fast for the conditions. How many people on this site have snow tyres how many have crashed. ONCE AGAIN if you wish to buy snow tyres do so i personally dont see the point i didnt say i didnt see the advantage . Once again i will say that one just one customer of mine has snow tyres fitted after i had to get them imported as my tyre supliers dont stock them as they dont see the point either, the one guy i did get them for lives down hill from me i have to drive up hill past his house to get home. I manage not with out some slipping i must admit but i managed,So in that experiance alone he doesnt need his snow tyres as i got to his house with out them. So in my opinion (and i will change this to suit you all) in my opinion I dont need them. LIke i said if you need them feel free to buy them i wont be. And as 3 of the biggest tyre suppliers i know dont provide them then alot of other people wont use them either. AS for the point about other countries being equiped for the snow, have you considered my other point that some countries have a skid pan test included in their driving test so these drivers are prepared for drivign in the snow. WE get snow for 3/4 week out of 52, most people dont know how to drive in snow as they never had to. My aprentice at work for one, thinks power is the solution just more and more revs.In my time i have spent many hours driving mk1 and mk2 escorts and such like rallying i know how to control a slide should one occur i even as a youngster (illegally i might add) spend time thrashing the nuts of what ever car i owned at the time in supermarket carparks after closing time. I used to slide skid spin what ever it was i had. I learnt what a car does i understand under steer i know about over steer. Infact i spent more time sideways and backwards than in a straight line. Most people these days dont even know if their car is front or rear wheel drive and as such have no idea how to handle a car in the event of a skid. I have had customers in work in the last 3 weeks saying their car was banging and thumping and wouldnt stop their brakes didnt work they tell me. Did any lights onthe dash board flash i ask. ye the yellow one comes the reply. Oh so your abs kicked in as you were skidding. No i didnt skid. well i am afraid you did. These are the people that dont know how to drive they dont even know how a car work!. not even the basic stuff. So people dont make personal attacks on my experiance you have no idea who i am or where i am from or what experiance i have had in life.

As the title suggests,first man with right answer gets to show next car.

group buy strut top covers look like this ?? these i had made myself so i know they not the group buy ones.

try these wind deflectors

Heres a though for everyone to ponder. Bus lanes, illegal for us to drive in them not illegal for busses to not drive in them, why not ? My obseravtion is based on a particular road near my house.Its a main commute route into Manchester city centre,but its built up area and has houses both sides of the road. The council saw fit to move the pavement back 4 foot and put in a long parking bay for the residents to park in. They then put a bus lane next to it. The problem is that bus drivers and everyone else to think of it was taught to drive with enough distance from a parked car that anyone in said car could open the door so leave enough room incase they do(thats what i was taught anyway). Because of this "room" left by the busses they are no longer in the bus lane but in the lane left for the cars. So what is the point in spending money to move the curb to create this parking bay and bus lane for busses to then not drive in it.As your not entitled to a parking space outside your own house why bother giving the residents a parking bay at all. If you want a bus lane just put in the bus lane. The bus lane is only about 100 yards long so what the point in the bus lane anyway.

Agreed my wifes car (toyota import people carrier) has yellow fog lights great big things in middle of front bumper. they as big as the old style subaru ones. I have disconected them so she can use them they really really look naff.

again ebay motors i got mine from usa, stick on ones. Look good came fast didnt cost much at all. Took some time to find them on there but found them in the end. Think i got mine as a result of ormi,s post ages ago

certainly sounds rare car to me afterall who would order yellow and black with green interior?? doesnt sound nice at all to me. I think the yellow ones were a limited addition think i read a post on that very same subject but could be wrong,certainly dont remember the black roof bit though.

Dave way back in post 90 i clearly stated 101Db is the limit for exhaust on type aproval. The sva. test is known as type aproval single vehicle aproval. I have excepted that the police can check your carat the road side after also excepting the limits i quoted and method of test were 3 years old. I agreed with ormi that the police cannot test your car with out the presence of vosa. Looks like ormi wis wrons as wellas is his traffic copper wife,although scotish law may be diffrent. So i except that some of my points may have been outdated and therefore wrong. One of your links however appears to confirm my limits are correct. the link to A.C.E would seem to confirm my point The police ARE carrying out the test, wich i now except is ok to do. So no need to change the law to allow police to do this. The limit laid out in your link though it would appear my quote of 101DB is still the legal limit. It clearly states that any vehicle with an sva (type approval) certificate will not be subjust to prosecution. Your link also states that the test are only guide lines,a vehicle failing side test will be CONSIDERED for prosecution. Any vehicle can be taken for type aproval and if under 101db will get the certificate and therefore avoid the law from having a noisey exhaust. You should read the quote on your link from sgt keenen he seems as mixed up as the rest of us. The limits they test are used as guides so the court can decide to convict or not. So there still seems to be doubt as to where the limit is as it appears to be up to the court to decide if its loud or not. The police are also using the test to educate the public in what is loud and what isnt. This is information i have read on your link. edit i have just re read your link and come across this quote The figure we use in 82-89 dB, this is the EU Limit for Type approval, even though there is no actual legal dB limit on road vehicles. notice the last line and i repeat,,,,,, there is no actual legal dB limit on road vehicles. So if theres no legal limit how can anyone be prosecuted for it??????? This is why your link say "considered for prosecution" not will be prosecuted. It looks ot me like the people who have been done for it are being doen under noise abaitment laws and not motoring laws. The link also states that they have had problems with inexperianced testers. WEll if they have just bought 7 test machines (as it states they have) then are they not all in experianced at testing. This is why its comman that vosa/ministry of transport, set up road side check points and with the police and test vehicles. Your link also states that the police are targeting a particular area which to me sounds like they are setting up the road side checks like i suggest.These road side check are conducted by vosa and then the police put prohibition notices on such vehicles they think are problematic. With these points in mind i still stand by my point police cannot prosecute for loud exhaust. Not just yet anyway.

Cool i have nevertried it to be honest it asks for the embosing stamp and most people dont have it any more just wondered how you did it. Think the HORTE1 ticket is pretty well much out anyway now dont see very many any more

Dave you really need to read my post i have mentioned the ministry of transport on more than one occasion vosa and ministry of transport are the same thing!!! do you still take your carfor an mot test as in Ministry Of Transport or do you take your car for a vosa. No you take your car for an mot test same as the rest of us do. Vosa is mearly the name ministry of transport use these days. I know i work for vosa or ministry of transport or what ever you want to call them,So moving the goal post ha ha read my post mate i quite rightlyfully laugh at your post at least twice i mentioned minsitry of transport. If you can see a diffrence between the 2 then let me know as i have and do worked for both and seen no diffrence. LILL0021 id my I.D. number if you wish to check my credentials. edit. I have accepted and posted that my the rules i quoted were 3 years old. I even thanked ormi for updating me of the new rules/laws. Your link doesnt semm to work other than it being something about welsh news. Firstly i dont live in wales secondly i dont do the news. After last year when i had a run in wiht the police and was in just about every paper and radio show in the country i choose to ignore the news. The story the press covered wasnt a story any more and half they stuff the quoted wasnt what i said . So these days i dotn take what i read in the press as gospel.

Ormi i know your a testerso heres a question just for you as you brought up the point. The ticket the HORTE1 as they are called i think. the police do still hand them out from time to time, since mot computerisation and the stamps being thrown away how do you go about stamping the tickets. The ticket states it has to be the embossing stamp which now no one has got. WE still have ours by the way but i bet most stations dont any more. Surley if the stamp cant be used then it rendors the ticket useless.

What strut top covers? theres quite a lot of them about mate there was a group buy on here not so long ago. but yeah the point i agree with. round discs of ally with 3 holes to mount and the word Lexus cut through the ally. Polished or satin finish. or even painted. I had them made so i know they are a one of. The were also a great buy ?? if thats the right word, as they were free my mate knocked them up for me in his dinner hour!!!

just spoke with the wife on this one,he should have gone to court it would have been throwen out.....the officer had no right to do someone for 2 miles per hour above the limit!! unless he was in a 20 zone then 32mph is bad.......... not here to argue the reason i asked the wife is she's a traffic cop and has been for a few years now...rule of thumb to get a 100% conviction at court they must be above 5-6mph over the speed limit on the motor way its more... also on the noise testing the wife has done this but only when out with vosa which involves a mot type test noise at idle and noise at 2500-3000 revs...they do not need to drive the car its a static test with a mic set a mesured distance from the tail pipe.. Thanks ormi, the law has obvioulsy been changed in recent years. I did say the law i quoted was 3 years old. It did used to be a driving test not a static one. I once had the problem and took the car to my local Vosa centre where they drove the car to test it.So basicly my point is correct that the police cant test your vehicle for noise not without vosa being there as its them with the equipment. So the Police cant just stop you and carry out the test. My sunday school teacher took the punishment as he is a law abiding person and held his hands up, yes he was speeding, end of it as far as he is concerned. He got caught he took punishment. he didnt even attempt to argue with it through the courts.

fil, just wondering where you obtained the above figures? You should also know that several Police forces DO have equipment for roadside checking. Which law would need changing to enable the roadside checks which are being done and can/have resulted in prosecutions? The figures are about 3 years old. Ministry of transport figures used when type approving or single make testing vehicles. This may not be the law but its the figures used to make sure your car is quite enough to be used on the roads. It must pass this test as part of type approval all new vehicles must pass it. Which law needs changing?? good question, my thought was police are not allowed to drive your vehicle and to carry out the test they would have to. If they drive your vehicle then find it is defected (as in fails the test) then the police would also be subject to the law, they did afterall commit the same offence for which they are catching you doing.As no one is above the law,not even the police then some law needs to be changed or introduced to allow road side testing. The above stated figures are under load conditions so merely reving the car to 3500 rpm wouldnt work for test. Why would the police need to drive your car to test exhaust noise? You still don't say which law would need to be changed to enable police to check exhaust noise and prosecute.......which they can already do. CHECK The test has to be carried out under driving conditions not just reving at road side. This is how it is tetsed at type approval. With out driving the car the car the test could not be done. AS for as i am aware the police have not right to drive your car and they cant ask you to drive it either whilst they test it ,,Can they ??. so a law would need to be brought in so they could drive it to test it. Either way would still be worng as they would be testing a car that they suspect to be illegal and surley wouldnt be allowed to do this. Would be like suspecting you of drink driving and asking you to drive to the station so they can check you out. They cant break the law to up hold the law can they?

but Customising/Modifying isnt about the money.Its about being different. Ive spent nearly £23K i estimate on my car including buying it. I could go out and buy an M3 or an Evo but it wouldnt be the same. My car is both modified and customised but its mine, i wont ever see another car like it thats the whole point to mePs on topic i consider mod's as bought "off the shelf", and customisations as one of a kind. I like your post script very good point to consider. Made me think about the diffrence between mod and custom. In short non Lexus parts on a Lexus would be custom ? Changing a Lexus part for a diffrent Lexus part would be modded?. What I take from that, is for example. You fit a TTE front bumper to your car, thats a mod. However, if you take out the plastic section in the middle where the number plate goes to expose your massive intercooler, thats customization. :winky: Got it in one mate. and Fil, its doesnt need to be a lexus part. like fitting a defi gauge is a mod cause its off the shelf but not lexus. making a 6 hole gauge pod on the middle of the dash, thats a one off so custom I have one of strut top covers theres only 2 in the world so they are custom??? if i copied them and mass produced them would they stil be custom?? or would they become a mod?.

I like the thought process there sprinter. I think taking something of would be a mod, putting the intercooler on in the first place would be custom as far as i am aware an intercooler wouldnt be a Lexus part.

I have got around in all sorts of weather for over 40 years, without the obvious advantage you seem to have as a mechanic/MOT tester, also without the benefit of winter tyres (in UK) mainly because we tend not to get real extremes generally, especially around Coventry fortunately. That does not blind me to the proven advantages that winter tyres have with regards to traction, handling and more importantly stopping distances. My comment about "its his insurance" relates to me managing to avoid a person/vehicle and then being hit from behind and not as you seem to think just "stomping on my brakes" for no reason. Since you would prefer to not have the "modern aids" does that also mean that you think they are pointless? No pretty certain i have said if you want to buy snow/winter tyres be my guest. Personally i dont see the benifit not in this country. I think theres been 3/4 weeks where the benifit would have been worth while having them. (below 7 degrees is the quoted figure) And no i dont have a problem with modern aids, do i turn of my traction control ? yes. have i driven with the fuse out of my abs system? yes. I still feel that a driver should be able to handle his/her car with out the modern aids. So why not for once in a while turn them off. I know some countries where i believe they, as part of the driving test, include driving on a skid pan with out any driver aids. I know it seems that the older drivers have a better understanding of driving control than the younger people. I dont have any problem with driver aids but if people understood driving with out them then they would be better drivers than waiting for the driver aids to work. Have you ever been braking quite hard and seen a grid realising that you may skid on the grid lifted of the brake slightly?. This is what i am getting at. See the road see the problem and drive the car acordingly,dont wait or rely on driver aids. Yes great now we have them but properly taught drivers shouldnt need them. Not once in the recent snow did i use my abs didnt kick in . Ok my traction did alot but only when starting to move away on the hill where i live. Some times i turned the traction control off and just used my foot and ears sometimes it can be too intrusive.

but Customising/Modifying isnt about the money. Its about being different. Ive spent nearly £23K i estimate on my car including buying it. I could go out and buy an M3 or an Evo but it wouldnt be the same. My car is both modified and customised but its mine, i wont ever see another car like it thats the whole point to me Ps on topic i consider mod's as bought "off the shelf", and customisations as one of a kind. I like your post script very good point to consider. Made me think about the diffrence between mod and custom. In short non Lexus parts on a Lexus would be custom ? Changing a Lexus part for a diffrent Lexus part would be modded?.