Seemingly trivial things that intrigue you

pblakeney

briantrumpet said:

Do we need a car thread?

It’s an intriguing question. 😉

briantrumpet

pblakeney said:

briantrumpet said:

Do we need a car thread?

It’s an intriguing question. 😉

We might now find the answer.

briantrumpet

FTR, I've got a Nissan Almera. It gets me from A to B (or whatever letter I choose), which is all I ask of a car. I'm expecting the tank of petrol to last me till December sometime.

pinno

shirley_basso said:

I think the quality of the pre-pdk autos is a bit lacking, according to everything I've read.

Firstly Boxsters: dull to me because of the styling.
Caymans are even cheaper than Boxsters and there is reason.

So, here's the Gen.

For Pdk, add £15-£20k to the buying price.
Manuals are a PITA in heavy traffic. Pre Pdk Auto boxes are the Merc Tiptronic one's. They are excellent and the car drives like a kitten with all the sports functions switched off. It's not champing at the bit and makes driving in traffic a breeze.
If you want a practical daily, then Auto is what you need. Clutch changes are pricey. Auto transmissions are kinder on any engine because there is no transmission shock.

If you buy a Porker that isn't a practical car, too quick, never even close to driving it to it's full potential then you'll sort of squeeze the balls out of it occasionally until it ends up in your garage doing fcuk all. Many of them do.

You do not need Pdk or Turbo's unless you have access to a racetrack. Why do you need a Turbo charged one? Is the 3.8 naturally aspirated Carrera S pushing 350bhp not good enough? People who want Turbo's like the word 'turbo' and haven't driven many Porsche's.
It's a bit like having a Dogma with DA costing £12k when you can have a perfectly good bike for less than 1/3rd of that price that is probably a bit more comfortable and suits your needs better.
I can have more fun in my naturally aspirated 944 than my 911. You do not need power to have fun.

The problem with the Clarkson's and the Harris's et al, is that they get to drive the latest GT3 or 992 or 998 on a track and they can pick up on the subtleties of the differences between each model and they loose sight of the fact that each model in it's own right is pretty good.
Chris Harris took an early 911, fixed all it's 'flaws' at tremendous cost, time and money and in the process ironed (killed) out all the character of the car and subsequently sold it after doing less than 1000 miles in it after the refurb. I like the guy but motoring journo's are always after the next best thing forgetting how good a car x or y is. they get dulled too by driving the latest La Ferrari or McLaren - on a race track.

Cayman's
Boxsters
996's and
997's can all suffer from Bore scoring and intermediate shaft bearing failure.
Percentage are less than 7% for bore scoring and less than 5% for intermediate shaft bearing failure but something that you need to consider.

The incidence of the above in 997's is less than the other models. Bore scoring can lead to catastrophic engine failure. This is why it is imperative to get an independent specialist to inspect the car and do a 'borescope'. An inspection will cost you iro £300 but worth every penny. (£675 main dealer).
An inspection will also tell you how many times the driver has hit the rev limiter and give you a good idea as to how it has been driven. It is imperative that you get a pre purchase inspection.
Intermediate shaft bearing failure will kill the engine. Some models can have the bearing changed in situ but the models where you can't will need the engine out to do it - £££'s.

997 3.6 engine rebuild: (Hartech engineering - only company you would want) £6k, 3.8 litre and above £12k.

Boxsters and Caymans - £4 to £5k for an engine rebuild.

A well serviced Porsche can easily do over 300K miles. There is no other marque with such a heritage of endurance racing.
Servicing is every 2 years and it is major, minor, major minor etc.
iro £300 for a minor service and £6 - £700 for a major service (indie) though they do recommend an annual oil change. Mobil 1 plus filter £110 per oil change. Tyres will cost lots especially if you track it or have a heavy right foot.
I do 90% of the work on my 997. This makes it affordable. I was quoted £1700 to fix the air con on the pre purchase inspection. I did it with genuine OEM condensers and a local garage to recharge for less than £500. Air con units (essential in Porkers) will need changing every 5 to 6 years - it's age (rubbers deterioration etc), not mileage related.
Same as the coil packs (need to be changed every 50k), about 1/4 of garage price by DIY.

Buy a Porsche based on condition, not mileage.
Drive a few before you say 'I want a turbo' or one with Pdk. If your pdk box goes pop, you can just about write the car off and anything affordable will be 1 year warranty at best.

You will be surprised at just how good base models feel and handle.

pinno

Sorry Brian.

First.Aspect

We, and by "we" I mean you, need a car thread.

briantrumpet

First.Aspect said:

We, and by "we" I mean you, need a car thread.

Football first, now cars...

elbowloh

Pinno...and I thought you were full before.

shirley_basso

Thanks pinno. I've done tons of research and think I know what to do. My friend is a motoring journo and just bought one so I'll the benefit of him owning one for a year before I go shopping.

I really like the blue fried egg one I linked on the prior page.

pinno

shirley_basso said:

Thanks pinno. I've done tons of research and think I know what to do. My friend is a motoring journo and just bought one so I'll the benefit of him owning one for a year before I go shopping.

I really like the blue fried egg one I linked on the prior page.

They are very good VFM because they hit rock bottom on the popularity front - headlights were not in keeping with the 911 look. Performance and handling is very good. Technically, from the 993 onwards, no longer classed as a rear engine but a mid engine. Porsche have slowly pushed engine and box forward. Weight distribution and balance is better, therefore handling.
But please get a pre-purchase inspection.

shirley_basso

Defo getting a PPI! I think prices are back up now. Rock bottom was 3-4y aho

Will dm you links when I get closer to purchase day. This time next year I hope.

Pross

Currently on a train from Venice to Peschiera del Garda and have to change at Verona but the ticket is half the price of the ones for Verona (so cheap, 24 euros return per person and it even left on time!).

Why charge more to get to a station I have to change at?

TheBigBean

Pross said:

Currently on a train from Venice to Peschiera del Garda and have to change at Verona but the ticket is half the price of the ones for Verona (so cheap, 24 euros return per person and it even left on time!).

Why charge more to get to a station I have to change at?

That happens in the UK as well.

Pross

TheBigBean said:

Pross said:

Currently on a train from Venice to Peschiera del Garda and have to change at Verona but the ticket is half the price of the ones for Verona (so cheap, 24 euros return per person and it even left on time!).

Why charge more to get to a station I have to change at?

That happens in the UK as well.

Yeah I always thought it was a uniquely weird UK thing due to the complex rail franchises and ticketing system but this is just standard, on the day tickets.

elbowloh

That these people are selling an upgraded cage and jockey wheel for your rear mech for just £519.

pinno

shirley_basso said:

Defo getting a PPI! I think prices are back up now. Rock bottom was 3-4y aho

Will dm you links when I get closer to purchase day. This time next year I hope.

Yeah sure.

veronese68

Pross said:

Currently on a train from Venice to Peschiera del Garda and have to change at Verona but the ticket is half the price of the ones for Verona (so cheap, 24 euros return per person and it even left on time!).

Why charge more to get to a station I have to change at?

Wish I was in any one of those places, hope you're enjoying it.

kingstongraham

https://youtu.be/Kp7J9fqhmo8

pblakeney

Time to revive Eurotrash?

elbowloh

pblakeney said:

Time to revive Eurotrash?

Now we have our sovereignty back, we only want Britrash on our tellies.

pblakeney

elbowloh said:

pblakeney said:

Time to revive Eurotrash?

Now we have our sovereignty back, we only want Britrash on our tellies.

The whole point of Eurotrash was to laugh at the silly Europeans.
Could not be more relevant today. Wonder if they do Britrash?

surrey_commuter

pblakeney said:

elbowloh said:

pblakeney said:

Time to revive Eurotrash?

Now we have our sovereignty back, we only want Britrash on our tellies.

The whole point of Eurotrash was to laugh at the silly Europeans.
Could not be more relevant today. Wonder if they do Britrash?

Brit Rash is a series following teenagers on their first unaccompanied holiday

Ben6899

Pross said:

Why are so many people unable to spend 2 hours on a plane without using the toilet? There were people queuing as soon as the doors were closed before we'd started taxiing and then it was constant from the time the seatbelt signs went off until they came back on again. The wife takes the Mick out of me for going so often but even I managed that duration with no issues.

People behave like toddlers when they're on aeroplanes. There's the toilet thing - just fuck1ng hold it for an hour or two or go while waiting in the departure lounge.

And then there's the behaviour that really grips my shiit on longer flights. On an 8hr flight, I grant that going to the toilet is reasonable. But people walking the equivalent of 10km up and down the aisle because they can't possibly sit down for that amount of time... they can get in the sea. Preferably via the bit of the 'plane where the landing gear retracts.

(wrong thread, yeh)

rick_chasey

Ben6899 said:

Pross said:

Why are so many people unable to spend 2 hours on a plane without using the toilet? There were people queuing as soon as the doors were closed before we'd started taxiing and then it was constant from the time the seatbelt signs went off until they came back on again. The wife takes the Mick out of me for going so often but even I managed that duration with no issues.

People behave like toddlers when they're on aeroplanes. There's the toilet thing - just fuck1ng hold it for an hour or two or go while waiting in the departure lounge.

And then there's the behaviour that really grips my shiit on longer flights. On an 8hr flight, I grant that going to the toilet is reasonable. But people walking the equivalent of 10km up and down the aisle because they can't possibly sit down for that amount of time... they can get in the sea. Preferably via the bit of the 'plane where the landing gear retracts.

(wrong thread, yeh)

A lot of people have anxiety around DVT

pblakeney

Walking around during a long haul flight is actively encouraged.
Not by everyone, obviously.

TheBigBean

Ben6899 said:

Pross said:

Why are so many people unable to spend 2 hours on a plane without using the toilet? There were people queuing as soon as the doors were closed before we'd started taxiing and then it was constant from the time the seatbelt signs went off until they came back on again. The wife takes the Mick out of me for going so often but even I managed that duration with no issues.

People behave like toddlers when they're on aeroplanes. There's the toilet thing - just fuck1ng hold it for an hour or two or go while waiting in the departure lounge.

And then there's the behaviour that really grips my shiit on longer flights. On an 8hr flight, I grant that going to the toilet is reasonable. But people walking the equivalent of 10km up and down the aisle because they can't possibly sit down for that amount of time... they can get in the sea. Preferably via the bit of the 'plane where the landing gear retracts.

(wrong thread, yeh)

Why does it bother you? Get a window seat and ignore them all.

I'm far more bothered by reclining seats and the baggage fights which mean I have to have mine by my feet.

Pross

TheBigBean said:

Ben6899 said:

Pross said:

Why are so many people unable to spend 2 hours on a plane without using the toilet? There were people queuing as soon as the doors were closed before we'd started taxiing and then it was constant from the time the seatbelt signs went off until they came back on again. The wife takes the Mick out of me for going so often but even I managed that duration with no issues.

People behave like toddlers when they're on aeroplanes. There's the toilet thing - just fuck1ng hold it for an hour or two or go while waiting in the departure lounge.

And then there's the behaviour that really grips my shiit on longer flights. On an 8hr flight, I grant that going to the toilet is reasonable. But people walking the equivalent of 10km up and down the aisle because they can't possibly sit down for that amount of time... they can get in the sea. Preferably via the bit of the 'plane where the landing gear retracts.

(wrong thread, yeh)

Why does it bother you? Get a window seat and ignore them all.

I'm far more bothered by reclining seats and the baggage fights which mean I have to have mine by my feet.

I hate reclining seats. On the baggage issue, my flight last night we had speedy boarding and were allowed one larger cabin bag and one smaller cabin bag as part of an upgrade but only actually took one bag each. By time we boarded all the overhead luggage storage was full until around 6 rows further back than our second row seats. We then had to try to get back to our seats whilst everyone else was fighting to get onboard with no-one being prepared to wait for a few seconds so we could sit back down out of the way. Many of those getting on had two (or sometimes three) bags none of which would have fitted in the size checker for even the larger allowable cabin bags.

To get back on thread topic I'm intrigued why they even bother having baggage rules if they are just going to let people take what they want on the plane? Refuse to allow a few people to board unless they sort their bags out or check them in would focus minds but then budegt airlines are actively trying to discourage luggage being put in the hold as it increases their turnaround time. Also, priority boarding is a bit useless if you only have one person on the gate and half the plane have priority boarding.

TheBigBean

Pross said:

TheBigBean said:

Ben6899 said:

Pross said:

Why are so many people unable to spend 2 hours on a plane without using the toilet? There were people queuing as soon as the doors were closed before we'd started taxiing and then it was constant from the time the seatbelt signs went off until they came back on again. The wife takes the Mick out of me for going so often but even I managed that duration with no issues.

People behave like toddlers when they're on aeroplanes. There's the toilet thing - just fuck1ng hold it for an hour or two or go while waiting in the departure lounge.

And then there's the behaviour that really grips my shiit on longer flights. On an 8hr flight, I grant that going to the toilet is reasonable. But people walking the equivalent of 10km up and down the aisle because they can't possibly sit down for that amount of time... they can get in the sea. Preferably via the bit of the 'plane where the landing gear retracts.

(wrong thread, yeh)

Why does it bother you? Get a window seat and ignore them all.

I'm far more bothered by reclining seats and the baggage fights which mean I have to have mine by my feet.

I hate reclining seats. On the baggage issue, my flight last night we had speedy boarding and were allowed one larger cabin bag and one smaller cabin bag as part of an upgrade but only actually took one bag each. By time we boarded all the overhead luggage storage was full until around 6 rows further back than our second row seats. We then had to try to get back to our seats whilst everyone else was fighting to get onboard with no-one being prepared to wait for a few seconds so we could sit back down out of the way. Many of those getting on had two (or sometimes three) bags none of which would have fitted in the size checker for even the larger allowable cabin bags.

To get back on thread topic I'm intrigued why they even bother having baggage rules if they are just going to let people take what they want on the plane? Refuse to allow a few people to board unless they sort their bags out or check them in would focus minds but then budegt airlines are actively trying to discourage luggage being put in the hold as it increases their turnaround time. Also, priority boarding is a bit useless if you only have one person on the gate and half the plane have priority boarding.

People putting luggage in the hold speeds things up. It's the reason Ryanair and EasyJet have changed things a bit recently. The charges for hold baggage were just to enable them to market lower fares, but now the majority don't check in bags, they've lost that revenue stream whilst they have also created a luggage fight which delays departure.

I think I read the cost of a checked bag is around £2 to the airline.

Although I enjoyed reading about some Ryanair member of staff ranting that whole families would bring one carry on case each. The audacity.

briantrumpet

Pross said:

TheBigBean said:

Ben6899 said:

Pross said:

Why are so many people unable to spend 2 hours on a plane without using the toilet? There were people queuing as soon as the doors were closed before we'd started taxiing and then it was constant from the time the seatbelt signs went off until they came back on again. The wife takes the Mick out of me for going so often but even I managed that duration with no issues.

People behave like toddlers when they're on aeroplanes. There's the toilet thing - just fuck1ng hold it for an hour or two or go while waiting in the departure lounge.

And then there's the behaviour that really grips my shiit on longer flights. On an 8hr flight, I grant that going to the toilet is reasonable. But people walking the equivalent of 10km up and down the aisle because they can't possibly sit down for that amount of time... they can get in the sea. Preferably via the bit of the 'plane where the landing gear retracts.

(wrong thread, yeh)

Why does it bother you? Get a window seat and ignore them all.

I'm far more bothered by reclining seats and the baggage fights which mean I have to have mine by my feet.

I hate reclining seats. On the baggage issue, my flight last night we had speedy boarding and were allowed one larger cabin bag and one smaller cabin bag as part of an upgrade but only actually took one bag each. By time we boarded all the overhead luggage storage was full until around 6 rows further back than our second row seats. We then had to try to get back to our seats whilst everyone else was fighting to get onboard with no-one being prepared to wait for a few seconds so we could sit back down out of the way. Many of those getting on had two (or sometimes three) bags none of which would have fitted in the size checker for even the larger allowable cabin bags.

To get back on thread topic I'm intrigued why they even bother having baggage rules if they are just going to let people take what they want on the plane? Refuse to allow a few people to board unless they sort their bags out or check them in would focus minds but then budegt airlines are actively trying to discourage luggage being put in the hold as it increases their turnaround time. Also, priority boarding is a bit useless if you only have one person on the gate and half the plane have priority boarding.

I must admit to schadenfreude at CDG airport when a British family with 'cabin bags' (the ones with massively expanding pockets) were taken aside from the queue for passport control, had their bags checked, which didn't get close to fitting the checker, and were firmly told to go back to bag check-in. Despite the mother speaking Very Loudly In English about how they might miss their flight, the security guy just kept pointing back to the bag check-in area, kept his cool, and eventually the family skulked off.

Really annoys me too, as everyone is inconvenienced by the ones not respecting the regulation sizes. I've always got a squashy rucksack that'll go under the seat, as I can be doing with the scuffles over the overhead lockers.

womack

rick_chasey said:

Ben6899 said:

Pross said:

Why are so many people unable to spend 2 hours on a plane without using the toilet? There were people queuing as soon as the doors were closed before we'd started taxiing and then it was constant from the time the seatbelt signs went off until they came back on again. The wife takes the Mick out of me for going so often but even I managed that duration with no issues.

People behave like toddlers when they're on aeroplanes. There's the toilet thing - just fuck1ng hold it for an hour or two or go while waiting in the departure lounge.

And then there's the behaviour that really grips my shiit on longer flights. On an 8hr flight, I grant that going to the toilet is reasonable. But people walking the equivalent of 10km up and down the aisle because they can't possibly sit down for that amount of time... they can get in the sea. Preferably via the bit of the 'plane where the landing gear retracts.

(wrong thread, yeh)

A lot of people have anxiety around DVT

A lot of us suffer from DVT. Must admit not done longer than 3 hour flight since I have been on the blood thinners.