From: bod on
Adrian wrote:
> Adrian <toomany2cvs(a)gmail.com> gurgled happily, sounding much like they
> were saying:
>
> (of Slowlexes)
>> the older one ('62 2200)
>> the other one (late '60s, not UK registered, 3800)
>
> Oh, and "What's the difference?" - Main functional difference is that the
> later one has a little drum brake on the back wheel, and a bike-style rim
> brake on the front only. The older one has rim brakes on both. Thank gawd
> they're slow, because the brakes really are abysmally shite.
>
>

That's shattered my illusions. I always thought that they were trusty
chaps.

Bod
From: Albert T Cone on
Ian Jackson wrote:
> In message <htjasi$ab4$2(a)heffalump.dur.ac.uk>, Albert T Cone
> <a.k.kirby(a)durham.ac.uk> writes
>> boltar2003(a)boltar.world wrote:
>>> On Wed, 26 May 2010 14:55:58 +0100
>>> Albert T Cone <a.k.kirby(a)durham.ac.uk> wrote:
>>>> Another way to imagine it is that, given a low-resistance path to
>>>> earth, the charge on the car will discharge to earth in a very short
>>>> time, producing a short current pulse (with a high peak value, hence
>>>> the putative spark risk), in which the bulk of the energy is
>>>> contained in high frequency (RF) components. The effect of the
>>>> rings is to increase the reactance of the conductor at high
>>>> frequencies, thus preventing a short current pulse and reducing the
>>>> peak current and the concomitant spark risk.
>>> Ah ok. They're just acting like inductors in other words.
>>
>> Indeed.
>
> Maybe I'm sticking my neck out a little, but I think that explanation is
> simply not true. It may be why they put the rings on the hoses (assuming
> they are ferrite - which I doubt), but the increase of inductance
> obtained is unlikely to have any appreciable effect on the amplitude of
> a spark discharge.
Indeed it does. Not excatly the same application, but the same physics,
if you are interested:
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/556605/files/fpah302.pdf

Even the few microhenries offered by a handful of rings offers a
reactance of several ohms at frequencies in the MHz...

> It all sounds like a mixture of snake oil and 'SWAR'
> grease!
Dickering about with forces wot we didn't ought to wot of, eh?
From: Albert T Cone on
Ret. wrote:
> Adrian wrote:
>> Mike P <mikewpearson1(a)gmail.com> gurgled happily, sounding much like
>> they were saying:
>>
>>>>>>> BTW, my dad's had two Octavias. They were reliable, but so, so
>>>>>>> dull to drive.
>>
>>>>>> Perhaps he's just a dull driver. There's no such thing as a dull
>>>>>> car in the hands of a good driver.
>>
>>>>> Do you actually believe the shite you post?
>>
>>>> The celebrities all seem to have plenty of fun when driving the
>>>> 'reasonably priced car' on Top Gear don't they?
>>
>>> What has that got to do with anything?
>>>
>>> I have fun thrashing my manky old 1.9 N/A diesel Peugeot.
>>
>> Because the 306 was one of the very best cars in it's class. You'd
>> have a lot less fun in an equivalent Astra or Almera.
>
> Overlooking the fact, of course, that like so many French cars, it was
> abysmally unreliable:
>
> http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/trends3.html?apc=3128339010848601

Peugeot dealers are, and have for a long time been, pretty awful and
this tends to skew survey results. I have owned and maintained quite a
few peugeots (9, I think) to date and (bar drop-links on the 205, which
are an annual replacement item), have found them to be really very
reliable - rather moreso than the VWs and Ford I have had, despite the
relative reputations of the companies for reliability.
From: Ret. on
bod wrote:
> Mike P wrote:
>> On May 27, 10:05 am, Adrian <toomany2...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Mike P <mikewpears...(a)gmail.com> gurgled happily, sounding much
>>> like they were saying:
>>>
>>>>>>>> BTW, my dad's had two Octavias. They were reliable, but so, so
>>>>>>>> dull to drive.
>>>>>>> Perhaps he's just a dull driver. There's no such thing as a
>>>>>>> dull car in the hands of a good driver.
>>>>>> Do you actually believe the shite you post?
>>>>> The celebrities all seem to have plenty of fun when driving the
>>>>> 'reasonably priced car' on Top Gear don't they?
>>>> What has that got to do with anything?
>>>> I have fun thrashing my manky old 1.9 N/A diesel Peugeot.
>>> Because the 306 was one of the very best cars in it's class. You'd
>>> have a lot less fun in an equivalent Astra or Almera.
>>
>> You're not wrong. I remember having an R-plate Ashtray as a hire car
>> years ago - the Pug is a 169000 mile R plate now.
>> The Ashtray was a nice place to sit in, with it's aircon but not
>> interesting in the slightest. It was brown as well (!!)
>>
>> Mike P
>>
>>
>
> So it looked like Sh*t as well then?

The new Astra looks quite nice both inside and out. No idea how it drives
however. I was disappointed with the Insignia when I test drove it.

Yet again, looking at the Astra brochure, I note that the top-of-the-range
model has bigger wheels as standard than the rest of the range = 17".

Why oh why do they do this? So far as I am concerned there is no advantage
to bigger wheels at all - but significant *disadvantages* - ie harder ride
and more expensive tyre replacements. Bigger wheels should be an option
across the range - not a standard fitment according to trim.

They fit bigger wheels as standard on the top model Astra - but rear parking
sensors are an optional extra...

--
Kev

From: Adrian on
boltar2003(a)boltar.world gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying:

>>Yet again, looking at the Astra brochure, I note that the
>>top-of-the-range model has bigger wheels as standard than the rest of
>>the range = 17".
>>
>>Why oh why do they do this? So far as I am concerned there is no
>>advantage

> Simple - because they look good.

Not quite that simple.

It's primarily because that's what customers - real, live buyers - say
they want in customer clinics, focus groups, and other similar exercises
which the manufacturers base their marketing decisions on.

Anyway, having a look at Vauxhall's website, he's not actually correct.

Half of the spec choices have 17" alloys as standard and 18" as option.
Two of the remaining choices have 16" steels as standard, with 17" as an
option. The pikiest of pikey-spec (which doesn't even have metallic paint
as an option) versions is 16" only.

16" steel only - Expression
16" steel or 17" alloy - ES or Exclusiv
17" alloy or 18" alloy - SE, Elite or SRi.