What have you done to your car today?

Ev0 · 21 Dec 2019 at 21:32

[TW]Fox said:
Surely mpg figures are difficult to compare as people's usage will vary dramatically?

For example my average has ranged from 21mpg to 49mpg over a full tank.

Yup, I can get an average of low 20s for a tank in the RS3 if all I’ve done is town driving.

If I’ve had any longer trips anywhere (Devon > Birmingham and back) I’ll get mid high 30s.

Think my long term average over 7k or so miles is around 28.something.

Akagi · 21 Dec 2019 at 22:03

True but my driving is fairly evenly mixed tank to tank. Bit of town, bit of country, bit of dual carriageway, bit of motorway, some short journeys, some long journeys, some spirited driving, some sensible.

Rroff · 21 Dec 2019 at 22:30

lee1101 said:
Tried out my new snow foam lance. Turns out the Magifoam that came with it is useless so have ordered some BH AutoFoam

I've never really been impressed by snow foam - doesn't get close to the results I get with showroom shine albeit that takes a lot more effort - though I usually end up using both approaches so as to clean everything.

lee1101 · 22 Dec 2019 at 00:23

Acme said:
Whatever foam you have used there seems pretty good? Or do you mean it didn't lift the dirt very well?

It foams great! But like you said, it doesn’t lift the dirt very well at all. Still good fun though

grudas · 22 Dec 2019 at 09:24

I find bilt hamber and magifoam very similar results wise. One thing to keep in mind I think is that if the car is not sealed and has no protection on the paint then lifting the dirt is much harder.

Bilt hamber is stronger for sure but be real, it won't clean your car fully. It'll take away the easiest to remove dirt particles and leave the rest which will require contact wash.

lee1101 · 22 Dec 2019 at 11:03

In hindsight I think I may have been a bit heavy handed with the mix! The foam has stayed on the drive overnight. Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon either

Havana_UK · 22 Dec 2019 at 13:03

lee1101 said:
In hindsight I think I may have been a bit heavy handed with the mix! The foam has stayed on the drive overnight. Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon either

I find Magifoam needs about an inch to an inch and a half in the bottom of the foam bottle then filled up with warm water (warm seems to produce better results). If you mix it much stronger it seems almost too dry to properly penetrate the surface dirt.

As @grudas also said snowfoams in general are much more effective if the paintwork is properly protected, whether that be by a wax or sealant as the surface contaminants don't adhere to the bare paint very well.

Berger · 22 Dec 2019 at 21:01

Replaced the wiper motor.

Rotated the wheels F-R before winter & made a jobs list.

Need to replace rear shocks or replace the top bush. Replacing the shocks is going to be easier than pressing poly bushes in.

Bilstein B4 seem relatively inexpensive (£80) and should only be a couple of hours work.

Sump could do with a lick of paint & the exhaust clamp is shot.

Gaygle · 25 Dec 2019 at 22:59

Berger said:
Replaced the wiper motor.

Rotated the wheels F-R before winter & made a jobs list.

Need to replace rear shocks or replace the top bush. Replacing the shocks is going to be easier than pressing poly bushes in.

Bilstein B4 seem relatively inexpensive (£80) and should only be a couple of hours work.

Sump could do with a lick of paint & the exhaust clamp is shot.

What car is this on?

Berger · 25 Dec 2019 at 23:06

Gaygle said:
What car is this on?

FIAT 500. It’s a 2017 facelift model.

My list (aside from the wiper motor) seems to match the common faults on the forum.

Will look to get some krust then either etch primer or just hammerite the sump.

Gaygle · 25 Dec 2019 at 23:19

Berger said:
FIAT 500. It’s a 2017 facelift model.

My list (aside from the wiper motor) seems to match the common faults on the forum.

Will look to get some krust then either etch primer or just hammerite the sump.

Not sure on Fiat's but a lot of cars use Sachs dampers which are pretty reasonably priced and OEM.

rodenal · 25 Dec 2019 at 23:48

Why are bushes done on a 2 year old car (and not warranty work)?

geekman · 26 Dec 2019 at 01:23

Berger said:
FIAT 500. It’s a 2017 facelift model.

My list (aside from the wiper motor) seems to match the common faults on the forum.

Will look to get some krust then either etch primer or just hammerite the sump.

Seems a little worrying that you need to do those jobs on a 2 year old car, unless it’s been driven 50k miles per year or something?

Berger · 26 Dec 2019 at 09:57

rodenal said:
Why are bushes done on a 2 year old car (and not warranty work)?

Its 2 years 10 months and has 34k on the clock.

Shock bush lifespan seems to be between 10-40k. John Simister from Evo mag had a Twinair and replaced his shocks after 14k!

See photo of bush on one side. The other side is fine.

Because you do not get a courtesy car, it is simply too much hassle for a minor part which may or may not be covered under warranty.

Take day off, take car in, no loan car. Then it’s either not covered. Covered and they replace one damper, covered and they replace both, that’s if they hold stock of OE dampers and if they can do it. If a return visit is then needed that’s another day off and another hassle with a hire car.

With the third year warranty there are reports that you have to pay FIAT £30 to transfer it from the original owner (pre-reg car with 18 miles on it). For all the potential hassle, I thought I’d just buy the shocks and replace them myself.

As for the sump, cheap powder coated. Must have picked up a couple of chips and has started to rust. I can ignore it and have a knackered sump in 2 years or do something now.

https://ibb.co/fpnYXSm

rodenal · 26 Dec 2019 at 11:23

That's absolutely "shocking" - I'd throw it at them and insist on getting it fixed rather than roll about in winter on my drive for the sake of £30. Even doing it yourself will cost £150-200 but it's up to you ultimately.

Any Sachs or Bilstein OEM equivalent shocks will be fine as you're doing the pair, do the top mounts and drop links whilst you are taking them out anyway. Don't go anywhere near it without a reasonable impact gun either (assuming you don't have one)

acemastr · 29 Dec 2019 at 23:23

Installed Rokblokz splash guards! No more rubber up the side of my car

Akagi · 29 Dec 2019 at 23:26

Fitted a boost gauge, took it out again because the "PEAK" light wouldn't stop flashing, so I'm trying to figure that out.

Figured out that my intermittent issue with power loss is related to something which resets when the battery is disconnected and reconnected because it works fine after doing that for a while, then runs funny again... Possibly the ECU adjusting fuel trims because of a vac leak or something... I don't know!

Shredded my aux drive belt and spat it out all over the road, then pulled over and fished the rest of it out, and limped home, new one is already on the way but I wasn't expecting it to destroy itself...

grudas · 29 Dec 2019 at 23:43

Acme said:
Fitted a boost gauge, took it out again because the "PEAK" light wouldn't stop flashing, so I'm trying to figure that out.

Figured out that my intermittent issue with power loss is related to something which resets when the battery is disconnected and reconnected because it works fine after doing that for a while, then runs funny again... Possibly the ECU adjusting fuel trims because of a vac leak or something... I don't know!

Shredded my aux drive belt and spat it out all over the road, then pulled over and fished the rest of it out, and limped home, new one is already on the way but I wasn't expecting it to destroy itself...

Gotta love that Volvo reliability

Akagi · 30 Dec 2019 at 00:26

grudas said:
Gotta love that Volvo reliability

More a tuning issue and a maintenance issue tbh, but I can find an unreliable example of any car!

Cookeh · 30 Dec 2019 at 09:08

grudas said:
Gotta love that Volvo reliability

Volvo has nothing to do with it here, this is down to the previous owner and nothing else. Any car owned by the previous owner is guaranteed to be a nail. The guy Acme bought it from has a history of taking cheap shortcuts, not doing maintenance, and grenading engines - including a 1J in a Soarer he had, a V8 XK, and two freshly built B5234T engines from T5s, which are all known as being pretty hard to kill.