AndyP

One of my primary school teachers was Mr Hoare, I'm guessing that he never had ambitions to teach in a secondary school !

There used to be a Joscelyn Ballbag where I worked.

Yep, I'd agree with either the Toyos or Continentals and also add Bridgestones.

I probably have a spare ECU that will work, I know I have a number of NA's, but only for use with a boost controller on a TT obviously. I may have either an auto or man TT, would need to check the part numbers. Incidently, I have a heap of broken ones if anyone reckons they know how to mend them !

I could brave the rain and get a spare ECU from the garage, but I don't think mine have a wire there. What is the symptom, does the electric fan start as soon as you turn the ignition on ? If so then I suspect you may have damaged the chip by static.

That wasn't intended to be a thread killer !

I don't recollect seeing a connection like that before. Can you get a better picture ?

So ignoring all the toxicity stuff, does it actually work better ? They go on about the benefits of reduced or non-existent cavitation, which has to help, (but the system is under pressure and the boiling point will been raised a bit by that anyway), but what I'm interested in, is does this liquid transfer heat better than water ? I'm sure that'll be called a coefficient of something or other ... would be interested in knowing whether that is higher than water or water with 20% antifreeze etc. We have talked in the past about the benefits, or not, of running on pure anti-freeze (and of using Water Wetter) - how does this compare with that ? Given all the glycol (whatever) discussion, it sounds like it's pretty similar to me.

I'm in full agreement with this, the problem is that all cars are slightly different. However, if you know exactly what you're doing and map the chip for your car then there is a lot more to be gained than from a 'standard', 'safe', tuned map.

My general view is that drilled discs are far more likely to crack than solid ones, probably best avoided. Discs also very, seldom actually warp, so that should not be a concern for road use.

OK, so it could be the PTU breaking down, do you have a series I or II PTU ? If you have a I, borrow a working one to test. If you have a II, it's almost certainly something else !

Backfiring generally means unburnt fuel in the exhaust which means ignition not fuel delivery problem. So concentrate on coil pack connections. If it only happens when warm consider failing coil pack too.

Sounds to me like you have a missfire and there is unburnt fuel igniting in the exhaust. Worth checking the coil pack connections and even considering a failing coil pack.

Ooops, so it would !!!!

A boost controller would be one way, but the simple and cheap one would be to fit smaller boost jets.

Schumacher ... again ...... Probably for the last time this time.

I had no idea what that condition/operation was so I looked it up. Fortunately it sounds like the success rate is pretty good, so at least the discomfort will be worth it in the end. Hope you're both getting on fine now anyway. Good to see that Teddy has a wristband too - sharing her experience !

Most problems like that are either due to the temp sensor of the idle control valve - a poor electrical connection to either of those creates all sorts of odd effects.

Getting a warranty on a car more then 10 years old is going to be tricky, expensive and probably near to worthless !

It's always worth checking to see what Richer Sounds have on offer, although obviously the latest greatest stuff won't have much of a discount.

To be honest Hamilton was let down in his first year by McLaren by many of the same errors - he really, really should have been world champion in that year. Given that he is clearly one of the most talented drivers and has for the most part had a seriously competitive car, he really ought to be on his third world championship by now. Schumacher will be retiring, or will be working in an "advisory" capacity for someone I expect. Perhaps Ferrari ....

I don't think it's about money, those guys have more than they know what to do with anyway. Mercedes have sold him a promise that next years car is going to be a winner, presumably he hasn't got the same confidence from McLaren.

Not totally convinced it's a good move. It's hard to deny the impact the Ross Brawn has had on F1 over the years, the the current Mercedes car/team isn't there when up against McLaren, Ferrari & Red Bull.

Top man, got a little bit too bluesy boring for me these days - fab memories of the great times at The Marquee etc though.

It's worth checking the big blue plug on the ECU and also ensuring that there are no broken wires coming out of that plug. End-to-end continuity tests!