Modern Cars... unnecessary gubbins....

RideOnTime

I'm so angry...

I don't know why.

Giraffoto

PBlakeney wrote:

The planet is going to hell in a handcart and this is what gets you upset?

I'd imagine the OP would quite like a handcart. Nice and simple.

team47b

Life was so much easier before the handcart

Colinthecop

I blagged my Chiefs Range Rover for a couple days as I needed a 4x4.

It had a heated steering wheel...!!!

If ever there was a pointless fantastic needless must-have gadget, it's a heated steering wheel.

drlodge

My kit car has a posh feature no other car has...cold air entering the engine compartment gets heated by the exhaust manifold, and exits via louvres on the bonnet hitting the windscreen on the drivers side. Does an excellent job of clearing the windscreen in the winter (which is a good job as the internal heating and ventilation is crap).

bianchimoon

drlodge wrote:

My kit car has a posh feature no other car has...cold air entering the engine compartment gets heated by the exhaust manifold, and exits via louvres on the bonnet hitting the windscreen on the drivers side. Does an excellent job of clearing the windscreen in the winter (which is a good job as the internal heating and ventilation is crap).

trouble is, in the summer those flat windscreens are impossible to see through with low sun, I got rid of windscreen altogether and put an aeroscreen on saved on wiper motor weight and heavy screen weight, trouble was i'd get to a 'reasonable' and crash helmet used to take on a life of its own

t4tomo

Nice rant but you do need to get out more / review your life.

Does having auto wipers and headlights really lower your quality of life. You bought it 2nd hand so paid no premiujm for them.

By the way the "privacy" glass refelcts the sun - keeping your kids cooler in summer, which i'm sure they'll appreciate as their dad sounds like the sort of tightwad who wouldn't turn the aircon on because it reduces his MPG.

veronese68

Aeroscreens, to you Dr Lodge £70 a pop.

They don't look right on most modern cars I grant you, and they are barely enough to keep the flies out of your teeth.

drlodge

Veronese68 wrote:

Aeroscreens, to you Dr Lodge £70 a pop.

They don't look right on most modern cars I grant you, and they are barely enough to keep the flies out of your teeth.

Thanks, but where do I hook the soft roof onto when it starts raining? :shock:

VTech

Most people here wouldnt be able to afford insurance these days without these "gubbins"

Just because you don't use them doesn't mean its less important.
Also, there is huge savings in repetition, lots of case have things fitted just because its cheaper to repeat an order. I wonder how many would like to pay more for less.

I bet some here would biatch about how they couldn't work it out why having no ABS etc would be £1500 more expensive without understanding that it would cost vast amounts of man hours to make a car and remove these (hand built equivalent) rather than having it within a process of build.

bianchimoon

drlodge wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

Aeroscreens, to you Dr Lodge £70 a pop.

They don't look right on most modern cars I grant you, and they are barely enough to keep the flies out of your teeth.

Thanks, but where do I hook the soft roof onto when it starts raining? :shock:

eek soft roofs on kit cars make them look like olde fashioned prams

drlodge

My car makes an old fashioned pram look like a Ferrari.

bianchimoon

drlodge wrote:

My car makes an old fashioned pram look like a Ferrari.

drlodge

This is it...

VTech

drlodge wrote:

This is it...

Thats badass.
If its still running the 2.0 ford cortina engine there is scope for mega power gains

Look here for what your pinto big can do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ9y10TdEvw

veronese68

VTech wrote:

I bet some here would biatch about how they couldn't work it out why having no ABS etc would be £1500 more expensive without understanding that it would cost vast amounts of man hours to make a car and remove these (hand built equivalent) rather than having it within a process of build.

The motor industry are masters at charging more for less. BMW used to make the 3 series in 2 door and 4 door saloons. The 2 door was cheaper because it had less doors. Then with a model change they started making a 4 door saloon and a coupe, which looked like the 4 door but only had 2 doors. The coupe cost more than the 4 door, I think it's called marketing.

VTech

Veronese68 wrote:

VTech wrote:

I bet some here would biatch about how they couldn't work it out why having no ABS etc would be £1500 more expensive without understanding that it would cost vast amounts of man hours to make a car and remove these (hand built equivalent) rather than having it within a process of build.

The motor industry are masters at charging more for less. BMW used to make the 3 series in 2 door and 4 door saloons. The 2 door was cheaper because it had less doors. Then with a model change they started making a 4 door saloon and a coupe, which looked like the 4 door but only had 2 doors. The coupe cost more than the 4 door, I think it's called marketing.

Cars are cheap, I would say probably as cheap as they have ever been, mass marketing has bought prices down massively.
Marketing is good, it means you can still get parts and servicing many years after your purchase due to the fact the company is still in business

drlodge

VTech wrote:

Cars are cheap, I would say probably as cheap as they have ever been, mass marketing has bought prices down massively.

It never ceases to amaze me how expensive new cars are , and how cheap old cars are.

My Lexus RX300 new in 2002 was £34k, I had to extend my mortgage to buy it (cheapest way of borrowing money). Now 12 years later and with less than 60k on the clock (miles not km!) its worth diddly squat. Webuyanycarandripyouoff.com value it at less than £3k, so may be I'd get £5k for it in a private sale? It still runs like a new car. To get something similar and a bit newer I'd need to add another £10k to it.

rolf_f

drlodge wrote:

VTech wrote:

Cars are cheap, I would say probably as cheap as they have ever been, mass marketing has bought prices down massively.

It never ceases to amaze me how expensive new cars are , and how cheap old cars are.

My Lexus RX300 new in 2002 was £34k, I had to extend my mortgage to buy it (cheapest way of borrowing money). Now 12 years later and with less than 60k on the clock (miles not km!) its worth diddly squat. Webuyanycarandripyouoff.com value it at less than £3k, so may be I'd get £5k for it in a private sale? It still runs like a new car. To get something similar and a bit newer I'd need to add another £10k to it.

Bonkers isn't it? People pay £30k for a family saloon that is no more than transport to them yet you can get something far better for a tenth of the price that's hardly run in but just isn't new. Used cars are shamefully undervalued really but people are still more bothered about the numbers on the number plate than the actual content.

bianchimoon

Thats my ex aeroscreen, no need for modern gubbins wipers/motors with that

drlodge

There's another thread about numbers on the plate, mine are D2 LOJ. Oh and the kit car now has a Q plate.

veronese68

VTech wrote:

Marketing is good, it means you can still get parts and servicing many years after your purchase due to the fact the company is still in business

Marketing comment was tongue in cheek. But without marketing types creating the desire punters wouldn't see the need to pay more for less.
Regarding companies existing in future so you can buy parts that is nonsense. Once a car is out of production manufacturers lose interest very quickly, they continue supply for a few years because there is a law that tells them they have to supply parts for a minimum period. We supply parts for cars 50 plus years old, we are not the manufacturer, we supply and manufacture them because there is a demand. A car that is new today at 50 years old will be a lot harder to keep running because manufacturing the parts necessary will be a lot more costly.
In terms of the cars you deal with Ferrari have no interest in supplying parts for their older models. They sold the rights to parts for the classics to Maranello Concessionaires years ago. Lamborghini stock very little for their older models and are no help in sourcing stuff. We supplied a clutch master cylinder for a 60's Lamborghini the other day. It's still in production because it's common to a Triumph TR6 which creates the demand. The manufacturer has no interest in supplying it.

drlodge

VTech wrote:

Thats badass.
If its still running the 2.0 ford cortina engine there is scope for mega power gains

Look here for what your pinto big can do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ9y10TdEvw

Cheers, yes its a 2 litre pinto, 60 thou over-bored so 2050 cc. Single Dellorto 45 with Lynx crossover manifold, Piper 285 cam (very lumpy, too lump actually) and 4 to 1 manifold. About 140 bhp but too little torque at the low end. Revs up to 7,000 rpm which is 70mph in 2nd gear :shock:

bianchimoon

super engine the pinto, used to leave the x-flow for dead, till i got fed up trying to start it and keep it cool and replaced with a 2 litre zetec, actually my cyclings a bit like a x-flow compared to every one elses Pinto/zetec injuns

VTech

drlodge wrote:

VTech wrote:

Thats badass.
If its still running the 2.0 ford cortina engine there is scope for mega power gains

Look here for what your pinto big can do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ9y10TdEvw

Cheers, yes its a 2 litre pinto, 60 thou over-bored so 2050 cc. Single Dellorto 45 with Lynx crossover manifold, Piper 285 cam (very lumpy, too lump actually) and 4 to 1 manifold. About 140 bhp but too little torque at the low end. Revs up to 7,000 rpm which is 70mph in 2nd gear :shock:

Thats a work of art, I love the older type of engines, although the electronics are my thing I do love carbs.

Here is my track day piece.



420hp 0-100 in around 6.5s

Monkeypump

VTech wrote:

Here is my track day piece.



420hp 0-100 in around 6.5s

VTech - any thoughts on the XBow vs. Atom? Not that I'll own either any time soon, but the Atom looks like a heap of fun.

veronese68

Those KTMs are so wide. Great for grip on a track as a result I'm sure. I saw one parked down a side road and it stuck out so much further than anything else. Could have been crap parking too.
For sheer driving pleasure it's not all about speed. Simplicity and a good power to weight ratio, as in the 3 cars above, are the key. Also handling, as opposed to pure grip, is what will make you smile.
Completely agree regarding carbs, the Dellorto on the good Dr's kit car is better than a Weber and would give better performance. Although they are no more and Weber are still around.

drlodge

As my engine builder said to me..its not power that makes driving fun, but torque.

So torque and handling = a great time.

veronese68

drlodge wrote:

As my engine builder said to me..its not power that makes driving fun, but torque.

So torque and handling = a great time.

There the famous saying "Power sells engines, but torque wins races."
I drove a supercharged MGB a while ago and whilst it's vastly quicker than a standard, or most tuned, MGBs, it was no fun. The power delivery is too smooth if that's possible and as a result it didn't feel fast. A lumpy cam and a big old carb is harder to drive, but ultimately more rewarding. Saying that if you're tired and not in the mood the blown car would be better. But if that was the case you'd jump into a modern car.

VTech

Monkeypump wrote:

VTech wrote:

Here is my track day piece.



420hp 0-100 in around 6.5s

VTech - any thoughts on the XBow vs. Atom? Not that I'll own either any time soon, but the Atom looks like a heap of fun.

The atom is faster. !

Thing is, I don't like the look of it.

As for power vs torque, its not quite as simple as that, you want a balance between the both, a chassis capable of handling it and the final thing, something hardly any of us have...... The gonads to drive it to the limit.

The stig is a good friend of mine (before anyone has a pop, I can't help it, its just the way it is) and I no longer go out on the track with him. The last time was in a stock GT3, not even the more powerful GT2 and I was ill for hours. Nothing prepares you for the track as your driven by someone who can seriously drive.

I have another friend who is actually racing this weekend, his name is Daryl Wilson and he was faster round Silverstone in a Diesel Saab which I tuned than I was in my Ferrari F430 a couple of years back.