My plan executed with some C4

[Suka]

We don't all own something you can throw round a track. Take this very C4 for example...

[Clivey]

You know way too much about cars to be a fanboy (besides I was as much an anti-fanboy of vauxhall, but i still want a shot of a vx220), besides Fleet has redefined fanboyism.

Tut, tut, tut. I strongly dislike some Fords, but that doesn't stop me liking others. I practically hated the entire 1990's model range (bar the Puma), however now Ford look like they're getting back on track.

I guess many other cars have that effect. My gearbox is silent (and engine at low-mid revs), i generally judge suitability of gearing/rpm on vibration changes and response i guess.

Yep, this is one of them. You can barely hear the engine at low-mid revs without any of the other electrics on. Once you've switched on the climate control (it's not loud unless you're using the higher fan speeds or windscreen demister) and radio (even at minimum volume) you can't hear it at all. It becomes a game of letting your fingertips and ass decide when to change gear (judging by vibration frequency).

Still being a diesel the rpm probably drops slower and you might get rpm jumping on clutch depression.

Actually, modern diesels (especially the quicker ones) are not far off petrol engines when it comes to RPM rise and fall. TBH what you describe usually only happens with older engines.

Once my Luego is finished just try and stop me driving all over the UK!
I can't wait.

That's the spirit - but I've got a feeling you'll need a "daily driver" too lol!

mine is called "Bleu Mauritius" and is a nice metallic colour as long as the car is clean, which is rarely....

It's possibly the same colour as mine - just under a different name. I've had pearlescent blue cars before and they look fantastic. I took mine into the local Citroen dealership this morning and got the chance to compare it with a black VTS. The blue's easily as nice, if not more so.

My experience so far is that common rail diesels are brilliant, but lifeless and without passion.

You can't argue with the performance and fuel consumption that's for sure. But if you like cars diesel simple can't provide the thrill of reving the nuts of an engine just for the pleasure of doing so.

Oh I don't know...I like to think that mine sounds like a V8. It's actually a better engine than its petrol counterpart. The Mini sounds spookily V8-like at higher revs too. I don't favour petrol or diesel engines in general - it depends on the specific application and engines available.

You lot have a ways to catch up yet. I look forward to you guys one day meeting up. (but your shenadigans wont match ours )

Now that's tempting fate - we're a whole bunch of messed-up retards, you don't know where it's gonna end!

I guess its not your fault, but c'mon, I could drive south to north in a far shorter timeframe to north to south australia.

Haha, how long do you spend stuck in traffic? The UK is practically a carpark these days. Hell even cars aren't cars anymore - they're diesel generators to run our traffic avoiding SatNavs, speed camera detectors and the office equipment that we would otherwise only use once we'd actually got to where we need to be.

I can cruise doing 30mph in sixth with the Mini, will I be able to do that with the diesel?

6th gear at 30mph? What damage is that doing to the drivetrain? You won't be able to do that in the diesel - in Dad's Mini One D, 6th is only useable (I mean in the real world) at about 50mph. In mine, 3rd is useable (again, in the real world) at about 18mph, 4th at about 30 and 5th at about 40. Unless you're climbing.

[Ferrer]

6th gear at 30mph? What damage is that doing to the drivetrain? You won't be able to do that in the diesel - in Dad's Mini One D, 6th is only useable (I mean in the real world) at about 50mph. In mine, 3rd is useable (again, in the real world) at about 18mph, 4th at about 30 and 5th at about 40. Unless you're climbing.

I guess it's because of the short gearing. The downfall though is noise at motorway speeds, but I guess you can't have all. In the BMW 6th is only good at speeds above 100km/h (60mph).

It's funny that diesels are known for having low down torque and slow revving cars. When I drive realxingly I actually have to rev the BMW higher than the Mini because in the 118d between 1000-1500rpm there's nothing, whereas the I used to drive the Mini in this zone benefitting from the low down torque of the supercharged engine.

PS Oh and the 118d certainly doesn't sound like a V8, not even slightly...

[Clivey]

I guess it's because of the short gearing. The downfall though is noise at motorway speeds, but I guess you can't have all. In the BMW 6th is only good at speeds above 100km/h (60mph).

Yeah, I guess in the Mini, you only want to be in 6th at above 60mph, although you can get away with it at 50.

It's funny that diesels are known for having low down torque and slow revving cars. When I drive realxingly I actually have to rev the BMW higher than the Mini because in the 118d between 1000-1500rpm there's nothing, whereas the I used to drive the Mini in this zone benefitting from the low down torque of the supercharged engine.

Uh-huh. Unless you've got the turbo working for you, there's a big black hole into which all efforts to make progress fall. The trade-off is that the fuel consumption also falls too.

PS Oh and the 118d certainly doesn't sound like a V8, not even slightly...

After it's run in (the noise it makes will change quite a bit over the course of the running-in procedure), use the upper rev-range and you might hear it - it probably won't make the same noise as the Mini though because although it's BMW made, the Mini is Toyota-engined.

[Ferrer]

Uh-huh. Unless you've got the turbo working for you, there's a big black hole into which all efforts to make progress fall. The trade-off is that the fuel consumption also falls too.

As I see it diesels are very gear sensitive. If you're caught in the wrong gear you can do nothing except downshift if you want to make any sort of progress. In the Mini this didn't happen at all, even in the wrong gear out of the proper powerband it'd still pull you forward without complaining.

The effective usable rev range has been reduced. I guess that now it's about 1500-4000 (or perhaps 4500rpm) when in the Mini it was 1000-6500rpm. So I've lost something like 2500rpm. The upside though as you say is the greatly improved fuel consumption which is always welcomed.

[Waugh-terfall]

It becomes a game of letting your fingertips and ass decide when to change gear (judging by vibration frequency).

Are you sure you're not just driving on the lines?

[jediali]

Are you sure you're not just driving on the lines?

its beause he likes the seat vibration feature

[Waugh-terfall]

Yeah, thought so...

[Clivey]

its beause he likes the seat vibration feature

Except that's only available on the Exclusive/VTS models.

LoL, don't mock my village... Unfortunate as the name is...

It was on Top Gear the other week also. James was testing the Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe on Severals Rd and the aptly named Bell Lane. You may hve noticed James grin at the camera at the sight of the 'Welcome to Cocking...' sign...

That's where you live? Appropriate (or ironic?).

we can mathamatically work out the mean point of our locations, it may be of the coast of newcastle but that doesnt matter. If it suits the circumstance and we have a good plan then distance shouldnt be a massive problem for me personally.

Yep, we need a decent event to go to and a point that everyone can get to - but I think this is being discussed in the other thread enough so there's no need for me to bang on anymore here.

We don't all own something you can throw round a track. Take this very C4 for example...

Well, I'm sure I could throw this around a track, it's just that I wouldn't want to - it's not that sort of car. Besides, it's too precious right now lol.

As I see it diesels are very gear sensitive. If you're caught in the wrong gear you can do nothing except downshift if you want to make any sort of progress. In the Mini this didn't happen at all, even in the wrong gear out of the proper powerband it'd still pull you forward without complaining.

The effective usable rev range has been reduced. I guess that now it's about 1500-4000 (or perhaps 4500rpm) when in the Mini it was 1000-6500rpm. So I've lost something like 2500rpm. The upside though as you say is the greatly improved fuel consumption which is always welcomed.

Yes, it reminds you that the engine gets all of it's 00mph from the 'charger. Just pretend you're driving an 80's rally car and you'll be fine...!

Today my C4 made it's first trip to the local Citroen dealership (Bristol Street Motors in Derby) because, as with all used cars, there are a few things that need sorting out (nothing that can't be done easily). Once those are satisfied, it'll be in showroom condition. Unfortunately, nowadays dealerships for some ridiculous reason don't stock even the most simple parts, so I have to wait for them to be delivered.

Basically, I bought the car from Citroen in Birmingham with 8k miles on the clock. It had been used as one particular salesman's daily driver and so hasn't had a hard life so far BUT someone's been a bit careless with the exterior (those minor things that I'm now getting sorted under the warranty or by the bodyshop).

The reasons I chose this particular car were:
- It was on sale for a snip at £8,995. Similar cars were around the £11k mark (this is because the dealership needed to make-up sales figures) and I really wanted a VTR+ because of the specification advantages over "cheaper" models.
- It's in absolutely perfect condition on the inside
- I was offered £6,000 for the Astra as a part-exchange, making the difference a fantastic £3,000-ish (including 12 months' road tax)

The things that need sorting are:
- Someone's broken a couple of clips that hold the inlet pipe for the air filter in place on top of the radiator (a new pipe is going to be fitted)
- The rear "spoiler" that seperates the two rear windows sticks-up higher on one side of the car than the other - I was told today that a screw's broken that should be holding it down (I suspect someone's tried to use the spoiler as a handle to open/shut the boot at some stage)..., again they've agreed to fix it seeing as I didn't do it.
- Someone's removed a bolt that holds one of the wheelarch liners in place (I noticed this when the liner moved as I washed the car), it just needs the right part putting in as it's not broken, just missing. I am concerned about why the liner's been off in the first place though...
- There's a common "rattle" that stems from the incorrect clips being used in the door cards, which is present in my car. Revised clips are going to be fitted.

Aside from that, it's going back to Birmingham on the 2nd of January to have some scratches removed, then it'll be perfect! And to top it all off, I'm seeing my fuel consumption improve as I'm getting more and more used to the car (I've done about 220 miles in her now) - I'm currently managing 45mpg in heavy city traffic (was 40 at the start of the week)!

[henk4]

As I see it diesels are very gear sensitive. If you're caught in the wrong gear you can do nothing except downshift if you want to make any sort of progress. In the Mini this didn't happen at all, even in the wrong gear out of the proper powerband it'd still pull you forward without complaining.

The effective usable rev range has been reduced. I guess that now it's about 1500-4000 (or perhaps 4500rpm) when in the Mini it was 1000-6500rpm. So I've lost something like 2500rpm. The upside though as you say is the greatly improved fuel consumption which is always welcomed.

The effective rev range will actually be between 1500 and 2500.....and a little higher if you need a higher topspeed. I have learned to shift up at 2000...when not in a hurry. Going over 3000 is hardly ever necessary, only to gain speed quickly when entering the motorway. Downshifting from top on the motorway only below 60 kph (about 1200 revs) but that will greatly depend on V1000 in top gear (about 50 kph in my case)...city traffic 2nd and 3rd...and the car will pull from 1000 revs.

[Waugh-terfall]

Today my C4 made it's first trip to the local Citroen dealership (Bristol Street Motors in Derby) because, as with all used cars, there are a few things that need sorting out (nothing that can't be done easily). Once those are satisfied, it'll be in showroom condition. Unfortunately, nowadays dealerships for some ridiculous reason don't stock even the most simple parts, so I have to wait for them to be delivered.

For some reason we've been waiting since August for a new piece of trim that goes along side the centre console that I accidentally kicked, hard as well, and shattered some of the clips, yet we were able to get a MAF and an ABS Pump for the old car when we popped in to the dealer. I thought Bristol Street Motors was Ford?

[Clivey]

For some reason we've been waiting since August for a new piece of trim that goes along side the centre console that I accidentally kicked, hard as well, and shattered some of the clips, yet we were able to get a MAF and an ABS Pump for the old car when we popped in to the dealer. I thought Bristol Street Motors was Ford?

There's another site that sells Fords too. It's one of those dealer networks that take out licenses for quite a few brands.

I used to be able to get more-or-less any part for Vauxhalls because there's a small, family-run dealership with their own bodyshop and parts place about 3 miles away from here. Why can't they all be like that? It's getting ridiculous - Stratstone Mini in Derby had to order-in brake pads for my Dad last time FFS!

[Sophie]

its beause he likes the seat vibration feature

No, he doesn't like them, Clive said they were for me!

It's so cute Clive has introduced you all to his new baby, how sweet!

And even I was kept in the dark about the C4, I didn't know he had got it until he turned up at my house with it!

Sophie

[jediali]

Haha Sophie! So i take it you rate the C4 over the Corsa! or diesel over petrol..it will be good to have a guy that likes to save money on his fuel

[Waugh-terfall]

32mpg at 105mph