Things to love or hate about cars...

Speaking of manufacture trim levels. The thing really annoys me as second hand buyer is how higher trips always get bigger alloys by default.

Bigger alloys = more expensive tyres, less comfortable ride. Only up side is more showroom appeal and (unnoticeable in normal driving) turning response.

I like to buy top trim cars to not feel cheap and outdated after a few years. But I hugely dislike the large alloys on my cars.

I hate alloys, prefer black steel wheels, less cleaning. Our car looks nice and gleaming, wheels look a mess with all the dirt, and brake dirt. :(
 
Speaking of manufacture trim levels. The thing really annoys me as second hand buyer is how higher trips always get bigger alloys by default.

Bigger alloys = more expensive tyres, less comfortable ride. Only up side is more showroom appeal and (unnoticeable in normal driving) turning response.

I like to buy top trim cars to not feel cheap and outdated after a few years. But I hugely dislike the large alloys on my cars.
Car suspension is greatly improved and it doesn't necessarily follow that larger wheels will mean a harsher ride, it depends on how the suspension is engineered in the first place.
Both my previous cars had 18" wheels with 40% sidewalls, my current car has 19" wheels and 35% sidewalls, all three cars on sports suspension and there is no noticeable difference in ride comfort. The only time the current car suspension feels hard is if the suspension is in Sport. My wife's car has 13" wheels and 65% sidewalls and that really has an uncomfortable ride.

I have noticed that some VAG and BMW cars have had smaller wheels and higher tyre sidewalls on their performance models, this has meant their suspension is harder but offset by the tyres soaking up the bumps. Fit larger wheels and tyres with thinner sidewalls and the ride gets harsher. Best thing is to replace the springs with Eibach Pro Sportkit springs, even though they lower the suspension, they are progressive, giving a softer ride than the standard spring, but stiffer when they need to be when cornering.
 
Do like i did, join an owners page and swap with someone else. Mine came with 19" alloys i managed to swap to some (imo) nicer looking 18" plus a bit of cash my way.
I hope you told your insurance company. That is classed as a modification and they can refuse a claim if you haven't disclosed it.
 
I hate alloys, prefer black steel wheels, less cleaning. Our car looks nice and gleaming, wheels look a mess with all the dirt, and brake dirt. :(
My alloys are satin matt black and relatively easy to clean. The secret is to give the wheels a wax coating just as you would the car body, it helps prevent the brake dust and grime sticking to the wheels and should then come off easily with a spray bottle, a detailing brush or paint brush to get in any small areas and a cloth to wipe them down afterwards.
 
My alloys are satin matt black and relatively easy to clean. The secret is to give the wheels a wax coating just as you would the car body, it helps prevent the brake dust and grime sticking to the wheels and should then come off easily with a spray bottle, a detailing brush or paint brush to get in any small areas and a cloth to wipe them down afterwards.

The days have long gone since I last washed and waxed a car, possibly the 70s or maybe even as late as the 80s. This was traditionally done on a Sunday, just before dinner. :)
 
The days have long gone since I last washed and waxed a car, possibly the 70s or maybe even as late as the 80s. This was traditionally done on a Sunday, just before dinner. :)
Must be filthy by now, no wonder you bought a new one. :)

I find cleaning my car very therapeutic, especially when it's a black car and gives fantastic reflections. During summer, but a cloudy day, I can spend upto 8hrs hoovering out the interior, then cleaning, polishing and waxing the exterior. Not just once either, maybe twice a month.
 
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Must be filthy by now, no wonder you bought a new one. :)

I find cleaning my car very therapeutic, especially when it's a black car and gives fantastic reflections. During summer, but a cloudy day, I can spend upto 8hrs hoovering out the interior, then cleaning, polishing and waxing the exterior. Not just once either, maybe twice a month.

It was fun back in the day, my mates would call in their cars, when cars were cars. Dolomite Sprint, 1600E, and a tuned up Capri. etc. We would all line our cars up cleaning them, with our stereo systems blasting.

Ahh, them were the days. Don't see mates as much anymore, probably all in care homes now. Besides, we would bore each other now, with our high tech gizmo cars of today. :(
 
My OH had a mini and she nearly fainted when she saw the price of the electric one.

I priced up a replacement JCW Clubman the other evening as mine's now had it's 2nd MOT. Same car, with all the extras I have, £38k :oops: :$:oops: :$:oops: :$. Mine will have to do for a while yet. Replacing the other Mini seems a better idea as it's a 2011 model. We rarely go further than 45-50 each way in it, so electric would make sense. But the prices don't...
 
I hate alloys, prefer black steel wheels, less cleaning. Our car looks nice and gleaming, wheels look a mess with all the dirt, and brake dirt. :(
I have glossy black painted alloys........
 
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Must be filthy by now, no wonder you bought a new one. :)

I find cleaning my car very therapeutic, especially when it's a black car and gives fantastic reflections. During summer, but a cloudy day, I can spend upto 8hrs hoovering out the interior, then cleaning, polishing and waxing the exterior. Not just once either, maybe twice a month.
I used to really enjoy cleaning cars in my car show days, (won best modified car at one show).
These days I mostly use a snow foam and just jet wash over winter, and a wax/ceramic infused shampoo the rest of the time.
Even a plain shampoo and one of the ceramic infused snowfoams or rinse aids gives a months protection, so I really can't be bothered with the while 2 day car cleaning regime anymore.
 
DSCF3289.jpg

I know this has been asked before, but I can't find that post...

I am assuming this thing on the roof is a GPS of some sort, it is not the Arial as that is on the front of the roof.
 
View attachment 310767

I know this has been asked before, but I can't find that post...

I am assuming this thing on the roof is a GPS of some sort, it is not the Arial as that is on the front of the roof.
It could be for the satnav. My aerial is a similar shape but with a small antenna, doubling up as aerial and satnav.
 
I used to really enjoy cleaning cars in my car show days, (won best modified car at one show).
These days I mostly use a snow foam and just jet wash over winter, and a wax/ceramic infused shampoo the rest of the time.
Even a plain shampoo and one of the ceramic infused snowfoams or rinse aids gives a months protection, so I really can't be bothered with the while 2 day car cleaning regime anymore.
I live in a flat, so no chance of a jetwash and snow foam. Even in winter, I clean the car once a week, a fortnight will be the longest period it gets left. I also use a ceramic infused shampoo. The smell of some of the products I use is great. I use a combination of Poorboys and Autobrite Direct. I get quite a few comments about the smell by people walking by, when I am out cleaning my car.
 
We had 5 Saabs over the years: 99, 900 hatchback, 900 saloon, 9000 hatchback and 9-5 convertible. My memory is that you couldn't start the car with the gear in reverse. You turned the key to the unlock position, took the knob forward to neutral, then you could turn the key the rest of the way to start up.

View attachment 309350

If you had a 9-5 vert you had a unicorn[emoji6]that a 9-3 in the pic..

The 9000 key was by the steering column, no gearbox lock IIRC.

The original generation GM 900, 9-3 and 9-5 had the gearbox lock but the new gen 9-3 and 9-5 were oddly equipped with steering locks even though the ‘key’ was between the seats, the gearboxes weren’t locked. But old habits die hard.
 
I live in a flat, so no chance of a jetwash and snow foam. Even in winter, I clean the car once a week, a fortnight will be the longest period it gets left. I also use a ceramic infused shampoo. The smell of some of the products I use is great. I use a combination of Poorboys and Autobrite Direct. I get quite a few comments about the smell by people walking by, when I am out cleaning my car.

That is my excuse for not cleaning the car, no drive to park on so have to park at the top of the street. If I had a drive to park on, I would wash the car every Sunday. :)
 
I used to really enjoy cleaning cars in my car show days, (won best modified car at one show).
These days I mostly use a snow foam and just jet wash over winter, and a wax/ceramic infused shampoo the rest of the time.
Even a plain shampoo and one of the ceramic infused snowfoams or rinse aids gives a months protection, so I really can't be bothered with the while 2 day car cleaning regime anymore.

I feel the same. Since moving to the countryside my car is filthy within a day or so. If it's not from the mud left by tractors, it's the dust from the fields, Still, I've always said I'd rather be driving it than cleaning it.
 
It is far too early to service the car yet, only a few months old and only a few hundred miles on it.
I used to change the oil, plugs and filters on my previous cars. Can't do that with modern cars, as the instrument panel would still light up prompting me to change the oil ( book a service with authorised dealer) etc. The car does not know the oil has been changed, as this has to be turned off by garage.

I wonder how people get around this, who service their own vehicles? :thinking:
 
It is far too early to service the car yet, only a few months old and only a few hundred miles on it.
I used to change the oil, plugs and filters on my previous cars. Can't do that with modern cars, as the instrument panel would still light up prompting me to change the oil ( book a service with authorised dealer) etc. The car does not know the oil has been changed, as this has to be turned off by garage.

I wonder how people get around this, who service their own vehicles? :thinking:
Ignition on with foot on brake and accelerator pedal simultaneously, then follow the instructions on the dash.
Your car has to be serviced by any VAT registered garage, with Ford parts to maintain the warranty. But there is nothing to stop you from doing interim changes if you wish. As your car is diesel and you're not doing many miles, you may find your car will flash up a warning that an oil service is required, long before the yearly service is due. This is because the emission system for the dpf will be injecting extra fuel for a burn off cycle because the dpf isn't reaching high enough temps. As a result the engine oil gets diluted with diesel. Worth keeping an eye on your oil level to see if it starts going up.
A Ford service will be more expensive than an independent garage but the independent garage won't be able to warrant the paint and corrosion checks. Also most Ford dealers, renew the full roadside recovery when the car is serviced. It's called Ford Roadside Assist, but is actually the AA. Going by AA's prices that's worth £169 in itself.
 
Ignition on with foot on brake and accelerator pedal simultaneously, then follow the instructions on the dash.
Your car has to be serviced by any VAT registered garage, with Ford parts to maintain the warranty. But there is nothing to stop you from doing interim changes if you wish. As your car is diesel and you're not doing many miles, you may find your car will flash up a warning that an oil service is required, long before the yearly service is due. This is because the emission system for the dpf will be injecting extra fuel for a burn off cycle because the dpf isn't reaching high enough temps. As a result the engine oil gets diluted with diesel. Worth keeping an eye on your oil level to see if it starts going up.
A Ford service will be more expensive than an independent garage but the independent garage won't be able to warrant the paint and corrosion checks. Also most Ford dealers, renew the full roadside recovery when the car is serviced. It's called Ford Roadside Assist, but is actually the AA. Going by AA's prices that's worth £169 in itself.

I did notice our other car, Ford Galaxy the service flashed up not long after it went in for a service. The dealer just said to ignore it as it was a glitch. Will have to see how this Tourneo works, after a service.
 
It is too cold to be faffing about with the car anyway, will get the dealer to sort it out, when it is due. To also keep within warranty, I would not touch the car.
 
View attachment 310767

I know this has been asked before, but I can't find that post...

I am assuming this thing on the roof is a GPS of some sort, it is not the Arial as that is on the front of the roof.
I don't get why some have these and some don't. Mine doesn't just a nice clean looking roof.
 
I did notice our other car, Ford Galaxy the service flashed up not long after it went in for a service. The dealer just said to ignore it as it was a glitch. Will have to see how this Tourneo works, after a service.
More like they forgot to reset the service indicator after they had carried out the service.
 
Car came back from garage with a new mot, and the dash message ‘ change key battery’ it was only 3 months ago I did it, Duracell battery long date on it, no matter I just wait until the key stops working anyway, last time the message was there for 7 months, it does annoy herself though.
 
Keep a spare battery in the car - it's bound to die completely at the most inconvenient moment possible!
Mine did a similar thing the first time we went out after the last lockdown ended. I knew I'd changed the battery just before lockdown so was a little surprised and even more so when the message vanished for ages afterwards, only to reappear when I picked Mrs Nod up from work in it. Penny dropped that it was the battery in HER remote that was dying!
 
Keep a spare battery in the car - it's bound to die completely at the most inconvenient moment possible!
Mine did a similar thing the first time we went out after the last lockdown ended. I knew I'd changed the battery just before lockdown so was a little surprised and even more so when the message vanished for ages afterwards, only to reappear when I picked Mrs Nod up from work in it. Penny dropped that it was the battery in HER remote that was dying!
There's always a way to get in and start the car even with no battery in the key.
 
Car came back from garage with a new mot, and the dash message ‘ change key battery’ it was only 3 months ago I did it, Duracell battery long date on it, no matter I just wait until the key stops working anyway, last time the message was there for 7 months, it does annoy herself though.
Sometimes when a fob battery goes flat, the fob has to be reprogrammed. Seems an expensive thing to take a chance on, rather than spend a couple of quid and change it now.
 
I have spare batteries for various things, they tend to fail to lock first and that's when I change the battery, kinda failsafe, .
 
Having to get to know the sounds and feel, of a new car. At the moment it is making a strange wheezing sound, when going over speed bumps, even at a slow pace.
It is the sort of sound that the gas struts on a hatchback make, when you open the hatch, a sort of wheezing sighing sort of noise, not noticed before.
 
Having to get to know the sounds and feel, of a new car. At the moment it is making a strange wheezing sound, when going over speed bumps, even at a slow pace.
It is the sort of sound that the gas struts on a hatchback make, when you open the hatch, a sort of wheezing sighing sort of noise, not noticed before.
It will be the sound of the gas struts in the suspension. As your Tourneo is based on the Courier van it probably doesn't have the same amount of sound insulation as your Galaxy had. Also ambient air temperature can have an effect on the sound. Sometimes both my tailgate and suspension struts make no, or very little, noise at all.
 
It will be the sound of the gas struts in the suspension. As your Tourneo is based on the Courier van it probably doesn't have the same amount of sound insulation as your Galaxy had. Also ambient air temperature can have an effect on the sound. Sometimes both my tailgate and suspension struts make no, or very little, noise at all.

Yes, I suppose that would make sense. When I first got the Tourneo I kept stopping and checking the windows, I was convinced one of the windows was not shut properly, as I could hear road noise very clearly, as though a window was open. (y)
 
Yes, I suppose that would make sense. When I first got the Tourneo I kept stopping and checking the windows, I was convinced one of the windows was not shut properly, as I could hear road noise very clearly, as though a window was open. (y)
You get a similar thing with noise if you drive around with the rear seats folded down.

I get a lot of tyre noise in my car, I don't notice it alot of the time, it isn't really obtrusive unless I focus on the noise and then I really notice it. I have been considering buying some sound insulation to put under the carpet in the front foot wells and beneath the rear seat.
 
Turbo's are all about performance and economy. I can get over 40mpg if I drive my car sedately, not bad for a 2 litre, 275bhp 4 wheel drive car... I get a lot less if I'm heavy with the right foot, but it moves much quicker too. Modern turbo's are the norm these days. Although I'd still like a 3.5L normally aspirated V8 in my drive :D

My car has a parallel-sequential turbocharger setup, although the larger turbo is the primary one and the smaller one is the secondary. I would have thought it the other way around to ensure minimum lag. The primary is a variable vane turbo though, unlike the fixed secondary. It's a 3L V6 and weighs 2 tonnes with me in it, yet I can get just under 55mpg driving across Glasgow (mixture of motorway and local). I suspect a lot has to do with the ZF8 transmission. It's certainly not very enjoyable to drive like that though!

But, give me a supercharger any day of the week! lol If I get the petrol version then it's a 5.0 V8 supercharged and a maximum of 28mpg, although I'm sure I'd be getting single digits.


I'm not sure if it's been mentioned but something I dislike about cars today is the lack of spare wheel. I've got a space saver thankfully and also a temp puncture repair kit (the kind you plug from the outside) but I'm not keen on these foam cans you get.
 
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Most of the research for cars is done by Formula 1 teams. Why isn't there a carbon fibre bodied reasonably priced car? Because they would last too long????
 
My car has a parallel-sequential turbocharger setup, although the larger turbo is the primary one and the smaller one is the secondary. I would have thought it the other way around to ensure minimum lag. The primary is a variable vane turbo though, unlike the fixed secondary. It's a 3L V6 and weighs 2 tonnes with me in it, yet I can get just under 55mpg driving across Glasgow (mixture of motorway and local). I suspect a lot has to do with the ZF8 transmission. It's certainly not very enjoyable to drive like that though!

But, give me a supercharger any day of the week! lol If I get the petrol version then it's a 5.0 V8 supercharged and a maximum of 28mpg, although I'm sure I'd be getting single digits.


I'm not sure if it's been mentioned but something I dislike about cars today is the lack of spare wheel. I've got a space saver thankfully and also a temp puncture repair kit (the kind you plug from the outside) but I'm not keen on these foam cans you get.

That larger turbo is probably a low pressure design, so it scrolls and boosts lower down, and the smaller high pressure turbo kick in when the revs are higher. Some clever designs out there for modern turbo engines, long gone are the days of the R5 Turbo which was like a kick in the back, but about 3 seconds after your foot was flat to the floor :ROFLMAO:
 
My car has a parallel-sequential turbocharger setup, although the larger turbo is the primary one and the smaller one is the secondary. I would have thought it the other way around to ensure minimum lag. The primary is a variable vane turbo though, unlike the fixed secondary. It's a 3L V6 and weighs 2 tonnes with me in it, yet I can get just under 55mpg driving across Glasgow (mixture of motorway and local). I suspect a lot has to do with the ZF8 transmission. It's certainly not very enjoyable to drive like that though!

But, give me a supercharger any day of the week! lol If I get the petrol version then it's a 5.0 V8 supercharged and a maximum of 28mpg, although I'm sure I'd be getting single digits.


I'm not sure if it's been mentioned but something I dislike about cars today is the lack of spare wheel. I've got a space saver thankfully and also a temp puncture repair kit (the kind you plug from the outside) but I'm not keen on these foam cans you get.


I would like the V8 version of mine but it took me a couple of years to find a Sportbrake in any V format locally so had to "settle" for the V6 Diesel S version. TBH, I like it more for the comfort than the get-up-and-go but the extra oomph over the 6 speed non-S version is quite nice!
 
That larger turbo is probably a low pressure design, so it scrolls and boosts lower down, and the smaller high pressure turbo kick in when the revs are higher. Some clever designs out there for modern turbo engines, long gone are the days of the R5 Turbo which was like a kick in the back, but about 3 seconds after your foot was flat to the floor :ROFLMAO:

Aye I think being variable vane plus the larger capacity engine helps overcome lag, whereas the 2.2 single turbo version apparently has terrible lag coming out of a roundabout. The secondary turbo doesn't come into play until you pass 2800rpm and assists the primary one so it's pretty relentless all through the revs and gears. Incidentally, it's quite common for the secondary turbo actuator to seize up and my theory is that it could be due to owners not getting the revs up whilst driving, probably due to the 8 speed keeping the revs at about 1200rpm on the motorway.

Speaking of big turbos, SAAB is a bit like that with their 2.8 petrol (and previous 900 Turbo). Nothing for a second or two then the world ends! lol
 
I would like the V8 version of mine but it took me a couple of years to find a Sportbrake in any V format locally so had to "settle" for the V6 Diesel S version. TBH, I like it more for the comfort than the get-up-and-go but the extra oomph over the 6 speed non-S version is quite nice!

Like hens teeth finding the Sportbrake V8. Doesn't help that it's only in R-S guise and a limited production run. The saloon V8 has to be one of the most affordable modern high power cars about, it's certainly a lot for your money. Shame about the timing chain tensioner issue, too big a risk for me. Plus the coolant pipes in the V8 valley, an 11 hour job! Ouch.
 
Most of the research for cars is done by Formula 1 teams. Why isn't there a carbon fibre bodied reasonably priced car? Because they would last too long????
Because carbon fibre isn't reasonably priced. The process takes too long to make each part.
Carbon fibre panels are made for my car, front wings and bonnet are all over £900 each. Bumpers, doors and tailgate are all available too, don't know the prices of those, but I am willing to bet they will each be similar in cost too. Just the price of those alone is probably more than the cost of a whole new body shell and closings.
 
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