What's made you grumpy today?

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What's made you grumpy today?

I have my dash cameras on "Park Mode" overnight (well hidden) and they act as CCTV but in high definition and night vision as well.

So far I have recorded a cat jumping on my bonnet and my neighbor crashing on to his own driveway. ;)


Me, I was supposed to start my new job today but the chap training me phoned in sick a the very last minute. Not too grumpy as I'll start tomorrow instead. :slayer:
 
I have my dash cameras on "Park Mode" overnight (well hidden) and they act as CCTV but in high definition and night vision as well.

So far I have recorded a cat jumping on my bonnet and my neighbor crashing on to his own driveway. ;)


Me, I was supposed to start my new job today but the chap training me phoned in sick a the very last minute. Not too grumpy as I'll start tomorrow instead. :slayer:

I bought a nextbase 212 from Halfords about 3 years ago. It packed in roughly 6 months ago an is, apparently, nearly as expensive to sort as buying a new one! I don't think it's worth buying a cheap one (£25 jobbie) because they don't seem to have the resolution to even read no plates but can't work up the enthusiasm to buy another good one.

Listening to the news on Radio 4 before I got up this morning I heard the report of increased theft of Keyless cars. I'm guessing that my neighbours two Audis will have been of this "persuasion"? It was some time after I bought the Ibiza, which has an ignition key, that I noticed it (the key) doesn't work in quite the same way as other, older, cars I've owned. It all seems to be the same. Put the key in the ignition lock and twist. Starter kicks in and engine starts. release key to Aux (running) position and drive off. What i've noticed is that you don't have to hold the key in the "start" position all the time to make the starter motor run. You can twist the key all the way round to the start position and immediately release it to the Aux position but the starter will continue to crank until the engine fires up! This must be the same tech as is employed on keyless only using the ignition switch to "trigger" it rather than the button on the dash as in a Keyless. Wonder if that makes mine more vulnerable than if it had the old style system?

Good luck in the new job. Is it motor trade related or are cars "just" a hobby?

Regards
Jock
 
Nextbase seriously surprised me. As good recording quality as Roadhawk but not as many features.

Cars and things are a hobby. If they were work related I would have been bankrupt a dozen times. :D

The chap who was supposed to be training with me phoned in sick this morning so I start tomorrow.
 
I bought a nextbase 212 from Halfords about 3 years ago. It packed in roughly 6 months ago an is, apparently, nearly as expensive to sort as buying a new one! I don't think it's worth buying a cheap one (£25 jobbie) because they don't seem to have the resolution to even read no plates but can't work up the enthusiasm to buy another good one.

Even cheaper if you don't have one at all.

Don't understand this obsession with dash cams.

I've driven around half a million miles since I started work in area manager / account manager roles and not once had any incident where I thought "I wish I had a dash cam".

On the other hand, if someone has one and especially if they have a sticker telling you they have one, you know they're going to drive like a tw@t, so you can adjust your own driving accordingly.
 
On the other hand, if someone has one and especially if they have a sticker telling you they have one, you know they're going to drive like a tw@t, so you can adjust your own driving accordingly.

I like the special feature of non.age.related licence : number plates

Visible from a safer distance ;)
 
I bought a nextbase 212 from Halfords about 3 years ago. It packed in roughly 6 months ago an is, apparently, nearly as expensive to sort as buying a new one! I don't think it's worth buying a cheap one (£25 jobbie) because they don't seem to have the resolution to even read no plates but can't work up the enthusiasm to buy another good one.
Many driving instrcutors have cams, partly for teaching, as we see so many incidents that can be used as learning points, and partly as a defence in case of collision. Apparently around 85% of collisions involving learner cars are the fault of the other driver. Yoou'd hope the L plate would be a warning to stay well away, sadly not. I started watching YouTube videos a while back, as many show the camera information. Overall I'm most impressed with Nextbase for clarity and performance. Not got one yet, but when/if I so, will be a Nextbase 312 or above. I see the latest range are all rear camera compatible too.
... I noticed it (the key) doesn't work in quite the same way as other, older, cars I've owned. ... What i've noticed is that you don't have to hold the key in the "start" position all the time to make the starter motor run. You can twist the key all the way round to the start position and immediately release it to the Aux position but the starter will continue to crank until the engine fires up!

Most switches in the car are not really switches any more, as the current for the job does not flow through them. They are merely triggers, just sending a 'request' to the body computer. The key sends its request, and even once released, the ECU will continue the operation. Not quite the same as teh keyless. The keyless still uses a start button, which does the trigger job. Your (and my) key is still read in situ before the engine will start, whereas the keyless key is transmitting its signal all the time. We're better off with the passive key.
 
Oh dear, now I really do have something to be grumpy about! Today's Tuesday so it's swimming with granddaughter day! Getting out of the car at the pool - lovely new facility near Mayfield with sensibly wide parking bays - Mrs Jock alerts me to a small blemish on the swage line half way up the rear n/s door. Someone has opened a door against it! Could have happened anytime in the last 2 weeks, since I last washed her. It's not big, would fit inside the footprint of a £1.00 coin and the paint's not broken. Ah well, That's been nearly three and a half years since I bought her - it had to happen sometime. Still, feeling a bit p****d off right now.
 
I feel your pain - got 3 of those really annoying car park dings now. Still, not going to let it get to me, as the car was ridiculously cheap 4 years ago, and it is still going strong. I figure it's the universe telling me that it is time to learn how to do paintless dent repair.
(Before anyone points out this is the grumpy thread, I also hope that the gits that did them had really expensive cars with fragile paint and a really strict end-of-lease inspection coming up)
 
I feel your pain - got 3 of those really annoying car park dings now. Still, not going to let it get to me, as the car was ridiculously cheap 4 years ago, and it is still going strong. I figure it's the universe telling me that it is time to learn how to do paintless dent repair.
(Before anyone points out this is the grumpy thread, I also hope that the gits that did them had really expensive cars with fragile paint and a really strict end-of-lease inspection coming up)
Unfortunately it was Twinkle our 2016 Ibiza - bought new - which, at least up 'till now, has looked immaculate! Which is not to say I wouldn't have been just as depressed had it been Becky, the Panda, with all her little blemishes!

On the other hand I suppose one just has to be philosophical about it and say to one's self, OK, the next one won't be so traumatic? Yea right!

By the way, Becky really enjoyed her little jaunt out to the SICD at Hopetoun House last Sunday. The run has done her the world of good, she's running very sweetly.
 
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Oh dear, I seem to be on a bit of a loosing streak just now. For many years I've bought many of my VAG spares (for our SEAT and Skoda cars) from TPS (Trade Parts Specialist). I have not done so for a good couple of years now as my Ibiza has been still under warranty and my boy sold his Fabia replacing it with a Kia. The Ibiza's warranty expired in March so I thought I'd go on the TPS website just to re-familiarize myself with it (I had learned that, for instance, their oil supplier had changed from Castrol to Fuchs).

I like Fuchs oils - the Punto's running of it just now - so I was wondering if their "Quantum" branded (but supplied by Fuchs) oils could be cross referenced for other manufacturers. I found it could so started listing what I'd need for the family cars. Then rang them to get some prices to see if I could save money compared to ordering from Opie, Power enhancer, Shop4parts, etc, where I usually place my order. Got a bit of a shock. They won't sell to me. Strictly trade accounts only. and yet I've bought from them for all those years previously. So something's changed. Just makes it a bit more inconvenient for me as I'll have to see if the chaps at AVW will be prepared to get stuff for me. Then again, if I want genuine parts, I may just look to online providers and forget about TPS altogether. Wonder why this change?
 
Silkolene, as far as I know, is now bikers oil grades?

https://www.silkolene.com/

I've still got a big old metal silkolene can which holds enough waste engine oil that i only need to visit the recycling centre once or twice a year to empty it. As I get older it's getting increasingly difficult to lift it up to the storage tank! Must look out for a smaller container!
 
Maybe Fuchs manufacture the oils for the big name brands and have contracts that prevent them selling under their own brand.
From previous dealings with Fuchs as a supplier of 'own brand' oils, they do a lot of that, so marketing theirs under their own name is not something they seem to pursue with much effort. It is out there somewhere, but not heavily promoted.
I've still got a big old metal silkolene can which holds enough waste engine oil that i only need to visit the recycling centre once or twice a year to empty it. As I get older it's getting increasingly difficult to lift it up to the storage tank! Must look out for a smaller container!

That made me smile.
I have an old Unipart 25l can that I use for my waste oil, and now tend to visit the recycling centre when it is about two-thirds full, for the same reason.
Back in the early eighties, my mother was running a Morris 2200 that consumed oil quite voraciously. Working at an AustinRover dealer I was able to buy a 25l can quite cheaply, so I've had this one a long time. This was the first. Subsequent ones were fitted with a tap to make dispensing twice a week easier. It used so much we stopped changing the oil, just the filter. The sump, which included the gearbox took about 7-8 litres I think.
 
Didn't know that Fuchs were so much into supplying other brand names - interesting. Isn't the world a funny place now a days? Got Fuchs in the Punto just now but will probably use S4p's Petronas option this time which is what they supplied for the Panda.

My boss had a Wolseley 2200, silky smooth and really howled if you reved it - well out of hearing distance of the garage of course! My 2.0 litre "O" series Ambassador took around 6 litres to fill it's sump. I remember being surprised that the automatic version only held about 3 and a half litres until I realized that the gearbox had a separator plate between it and the engine so the gearbox ran on it's own ATF fluid. It was a Borg Warner adapted to fit the transverse application wasn't it? Unlike the smaller engines which used the problematic AP box.
 
My boss had a Wolseley 2200, silky smooth and really howled if you reved it - well out of hearing distance of the garage of course! My 2.0 litre "O" series Ambassador took around 6 litres to fill it's sump. I remember being surprised that the automatic version only held about 3 and a half litres until I realized that the gearbox had a separator plate between it and the engine so the gearbox ran on it's own ATF fluid. It was a Borg Warner adapted to fit the transverse application wasn't it? Unlike the smaller engines which used the problematic AP box.

That's right, the 2200 auto used a borg warner. As you say, housed in the sump, but separate oil. I think the 1800 did the same. The AP unit was used only in A-series and E-series 1500/1750.

The 2200 had a long stroke and narrow bores, to get a straight six across a car. Heavy unit, cast iron block, ok in a straight line, corners needed care. It didn't like revving, although made a lovely noise as you said. With the manual gearbox, it would pull top (4th) gear from about 15mph all the way to its max at around 105mph, in one long wave of torque.
Somehow they made it into a 2600cc unit, used in South Africa and Australia. There was a Rover SD1 on Ebay recently, ex SA, with the E-series 2600.
 
K called me just after lunch break at my trackday as she'd managed to drag the rear 3/4 of our campervan along a pillar on the entrance to a car park.

Makes me very grumpy.

Luckily, I have an acquaintance with a bodyshop, and it's salvageable without panels.

Alphard - 1.jpg

Alphard - 2.jpg

Alphard - 3.jpg
 
The AP unit was used only in A-series and E-series 1500/1750.

The 2200 had a long stroke and narrow bores, to get a straight six across a car. Heavy unit, cast iron block, ok in a straight line, corners needed care. It didn't like revving, although made a lovely noise as you said. With the manual gearbox, it would pull top (4th) gear from about 15mph all the way to its max at around 105mph, in one long wave of torque.
Somehow they made it into a 2600cc unit, used in South Africa and Australia. There was a Rover SD1 on Ebay recently, ex SA, with the E-series 2600.

I seem to remember the AP box ran on the engine oil didn't it? I do remember there being a lot of problems with them, our boss always tried to talk anyone out of buying this option and thankfully we didn't see many. Problem cars were shunted off to the local automatic specialists.

The 6 cyl E series had the smoothest tickover of, I think, any engine I ever worked with. You could get it to tickover at ridiculously low revs, almost counting the firing impulses, and yet still be able to balance a coin on edge on the cam cover (no, actually I never did that, but you get the idea?).

Very interesting about the SD1 Rover. I never knew it had been fitted to that model anywhere. The Wiki page on BMC (Australia) makes for an interesting read and then search for Leyland P76 - I'm interested in the Australian V8 Supercars and have been, just incidentally, aware of the P76 for some time. It used that 2.6 E series as well as the Rover V8.

In parting, With your driving instructor hat on, I thought this might amuse you PB:

P1080443.JPG

Bought many years ago to embarrass my boy after his first car (Allegro) was written off when an old codger reversed his Volvo out of his driveway into the main road right in front of my boy who was cruising along at 30mph! Astonishing amount of damage done. Luckily no serious injuries, lots of bruises though. The old chap was most honorable and completely admitted liability. We heard he handed in his driving license following this. Shame about the Allegro which was in excellent condition and would have gone on for many years. Just so he doesn't get to "cocky" it now occupies pride of place on our "jokey card" board on the back of the downstairs loo door.
 
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