My New years eve :-

[Audio Al]

Well what a epic result

Decided to go to bed in the hope I could get some sleep through what has now become world war three with the bloody fireworks and this year around here it kikked of at 18.30 and went on and on and on and on and did I say on !!!

Gave up at 22.30 ahd headed for bed as I could not stand another year of the BBC draging out the same old fossils

Bit of reading " No not that sort " then in with the orange foam ear plugs , Lights out and BINGO I woke up at 03.30 :D

Epic result

Have the best 2021 you can people and stay safe :D

[Pigmy Pony]

Morning Allen, and Happy New Year, looks like you may have returned to the Land of Nod. Epic result indeed, 5 hours, long enough to watch the Great Escape 3 times, with enough left over to nip out and enjoy the fireworks :)

Bed for me at 12.30am, up at 6.30. So now I'm on here talking shoite until the hour is civilised enough for me to play my new records. Anita and the ankle biters can't wait ;)

[CageyH]

Went to bed at 04:00, up at 09:30. Really looking forward to a siesta today.

[Pigmy Pony]

Went to bed at 04:00, up at 09:30. Really looking forward to driving a Ford Fiesta today.

Nice little cars, but nothing to get excited about. You might be better off having an afternoon nap :)

[guy]

Nice one to start the year with Steve :lol:

[CageyH]

Nice little cars, but nothing to get excited about. You might be better off having an afternoon crap :)

I think you are quite correct. The Dagenham dustbin was not the best car.

[Macca]

I thought that was the Ford Cortina?

Had a girlfriend who owned a Fiesta Super Sport, 'S' reg 1978. I spent a lot of time trying to get that to run. The tailgate started leaking so spent about 3 hours in the freezing cold cutting out all the rot and filling it, touched it up with paint, not a bad job in the end. She crashed it and wrote it off the next day.

Edit - now I think about it, it was an 'X' plate not an 'S'.

[struth]

used to have a fista company car. someone hit it a glancing blow and it opened up like a cheap tin can. scary actually how thin it was. that was years ago tho. may be better built now. was a bit bumpy to start off as well. front wheels always had too much power to the weight on them

[Pigmy Pony]

I thought that was the Ford Cortina?

Had a girlfriend who owned a Fiesta Super Sport, 'S' reg 1978. I spent a lot of time trying to get that to run. The tailgate started leaking so spent about 3 hours in the freezing cold cutting out all the rot and filling it, touched it up with paint, not a bad job in the end. She crashed it and wrote it off the next day.

Oh well, as long as she had nice tits.

[enrae8]

Oh well, as long as she had nice tits.

:lol: on a roll this morning :)

[CageyH]

I thought that was the Ford Cortina?

Had a girlfriend who owned a Fiesta Super Sport, 'S' reg 1978. I spent a lot of time trying to get that to run. The tailgate started leaking so spent about 3 hours in the freezing cold cutting out all the rot and filling it, touched it up with paint, not a bad job in the end. She crashed it and wrote it off the next day.

Edit - now I think about it, it was an 'X' plate not an 'S'.

I also had a Fiesta SuperSport.

I didn't (and still don't) have any tits though.

[Pigmy Pony]

used to have a fista company car. someone hit it a glancing blow and it opened up like a cheap tin can. scary actually how thin it was. that was years ago tho. may be better built now. was a bit bumpy to start off as well. front wheels always had too much power to the weight on them

How long have front wheel drive cars been the norm? Maybe just early one suffered this way. I used to have a MK 2 16v Golf, which was nice, but when nailing it in 1st or 2nd it felt like the front end was floating, and as though it was looking for the nearest ditch to drop into.

[Macca]

How long have front wheel drive cars been the norm?.

Since the 1980s.

[Marco]

Really? Tell that to my car!;)

Marco.

[struth]

bar beamers, although they make fwd now too

[Marco]

and Mercs... When you plant the power down on a fast, rear wheel-driven car, and feel that satisfying SHOVE up yer arse, there's nothing like it!! Front-wheel drives are for pee-soaked pussies!:ner:;)

Marco.

[CageyH]

And lightweight British sports cars, as well as pretty much any sports car.

[Marco]

Indeed, so it all depends on who's 'norm' it is you're referring to!

Marco.

[enrae8]

I had a 70s Fiat 128 (crap)
It started to wander about under acceleration- the exhaust began to rub on a drive shaft
Took it to a garage and low and behold when you turned the steering wheel the front of the car moved - it could have ended up travelling down the road without me :eek:

https://i.imgur.com/Fg95Ngr.jpg

[enrae8]

That’s a 131 - 128 slightly smaller only 2 headlights - same shitty colour though

[Filterlab]

Citroën were the first to introduce front wheel drive back in the 1920’s. Mechanically simpler, easier to set up, reduced weight on the drivetrain, much better in snow/ice/mud/heavy rain, better weight concentration over the driving wheels, shorter engine bay as transverse mounting is simple, which means better cabin space on a given platform length - there are countless advantages.

Disadvantages are tramping, wheel spin and potential for under steer; but most of these problems have been overcome by good chassis design, a decent diff (or computer management of torque vectoring) and well made tyres.

My girlfriend has a 1 Series and it’s completely nasty on anything but a dry road. My little C4 will take anything that’s thrown at it, and drive tidily with it. It has ESP but it only ever comes on if I really push ridiculously hard, and even then it’s as subtle as a fly stroking one with a feather.

I personally don’t care which end a car’s driven from, as long as it’s properly done. And in the real world where speed limits are almost zero, roads choked with traffic and appalling road surfaces (and let’s not forget phone zombies), the difference between chassis type is negligible.

[CageyH]

Change from Runflats on the series 1, and you may find it is a better drive.
In the 25cm of snow we had recently, I was happy to have a 4x4 available, with snow tyres. Best car for the job that day.
When you wake up on the morning you have to drive home, to see this...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50786035283_70e8f6fcf0_z_d.jpg

I agree that in real world driving, fwd, rwd or 4wd makes very little difference on a busy road. You can only go as fast as the car in front, until there is a safe opportunity.

[Pigmy Pony]

If your car is on run flats: I've heard the best handling upgrade is to bin 'em and get proper tyres.

i don't think I've ever pushed a car hard enough to see the advantages or otherwise of RWD. Now the bike is a different matter, I used to run that quite hard... I wonder what a FWD motorbike would handle like (if such a thing exists)?

[Macca]

Really? Tell that to my car!;)

Marco.

The 'norm' in that the majority of current models are front wheel drive. That wasn't the case prior to the 1980s.

[struth]

with the latest sno, there were beamers rear wheel spinning on a gradient quite a lot, which just made it slippier. Bmw's are often not great in icy snow etc tho. My Toyota surprised me that it worked flawlessly. might be as the battery was being used at time.. might be the driver too:ner:

[struth]

The 'norm' in that the majority of current models are front wheel drive. That wasn't the case prior to the 1980s.

yup vast majority are fwd now. used to like tail swinging with a rear assed drive

[Marco]

with the latest sno, there were beamers rear wheel spinning on a gradient quite a lot, which just made it slippier. Bmw's are often not great in icy snow etc tho. My Toyota surprised me that it worked flawlessly. might be as the battery was being used at time.. might be the driver too:ner:

Lol - indeed, which is why mine stays put when there's snow on the ground! Plus, as you say, too many clueless arseholes don't know how to drive in snow:doh:

That's why (a simulated version of such on a test track) should be part of the driving test!

Marco.

[Marco]

Change from Runflats on the series 1, and you may find it is a better drive.
In the 25cm of snow we had recently, I was happy to have a 4x4 available, with snow tyres. Best car for the job that day.
When you wake up on the morning you have to drive home, to see this...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50786035283_70e8f6fcf0_z_d.jpg

I agree that in real world driving, fwd, rwd or 4wd makes very little difference on a busy road. You can only go as fast as the car in front, until there is a safe opportunity.

You can go as fast as the speed limit allows on the (many) open, and largely deserted, country roads in France, where often you can have the road to yourself, for MILES! Same in many parts of North Wales and Scotland;)

Also when overtaking (and accelerating hard), the 'shove' from a torquey RWD is rather grin-inducing:D

Lovely snow scene, btw... Wish we had that here!!

Marco.

[Filterlab]

I’ve told her to bin the silly runflats dozens of times, but the advice lands on deaf ears. :lol:

[Pigmy Pony]

When it comes to driving in snow, the tyre profile will play a big part.

My brother used to have an X5, 4WD, fifty-odd grands worth, should go on any terrain... Well one snowy night he was off to his girlfriends, and the damned thing wouldn't make it up Parbold Hill, which isn't that steep. He gave up and phoned a taxi - an old Black cab turned up on skinny old tyres, and drove through it like it wasn't there.

[Filterlab]

And that's why the original Land Rover Defenders had skinny tyres.

[struth]

When it comes to driving in snow, the tyre profile will play a big part.

My brother used to have an X5, 4WD, fifty-odd grands worth, should go on any terrain... Well one snowy night he was off to his girlfriends, and the damned thing wouldn't make it up Parbold Hill, which isn't that steep. He gave up and phoned a taxi - an old Black cab turned up on skinny old tyres, and drove through it like it wasn't there.

yeah gear ratios as well. ive never had many issues in snow. had to stop a couple of times in blizzard whiteouts, where knowing road helped so you knew where laybye was. once drove into a very deep snowdrift on a side road.. that was fun. car just vanished..:eyebrows:

[Marco]

And that's why the original Land Rover Defenders had skinny tyres.

Yups... Fat tyres/wheels + snow = get jiggy with kerbs!:D

That's why the Brabster stays put in the snow, as I ain't risking ruining my £900 (each) 19" alloy rims!:eek::nono:

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

yeah gear ratios as well. ive never had many issues in snow. had to stop a couple of times in blizzard whiteouts, where knowing road helped so you knew where laybye was. once drove into a very deep snowdrift on a side road.. that was fun. car just vanished..:eyebrows:

I bet you didn't just stay in the car for 3 weeks thinking "What am I going to do now"? Right, that's my last word on Piss Film Of The Year.

[CageyH]

You can go as fast as the speed limit allows on the (many) open, and largely deserted, country roads in France, where often you can have the road to yourself, for MILES! Same in many parts of North Wales and Scotland;)

Also when overtaking (and accelerating hard), the 'shove' from a torquey RWD is rather grin-inducing:D

Lovely snow scene, btw... Wish we had that here!!

Marco.

That is why I have a suitable toy car.

[Pigmy Pony]

Yups... Fat tyres/wheels + snow = get jiggy with kerbs!:D

That's why the Brabster stays put in the snow, as I ain't risking ruining my £900 (each) 19" alloy rims!:eek::nono:

Marco.

:eek: For 900 bones a corner I'd expect my allies to be unbreakable, in fact I'd I'd expect them to nip to the shops without me.

[CageyH]

When it comes to driving in snow, the tyre profile section will play a big part.

My brother used to have an X5, 4WD, fifty-odd grands worth, should go on any terrain... Well one snowy night he was off to his girlfriends, and the damned thing wouldn't make it up Parbold Hill, which isn't that steep. He gave up and phoned a taxi - an old Black cab turned up on skinny old tyres, and drove through it like it wasn't there.

As do the type of tyre. The car is fitted with 215 section (I fixed your post) tyres, in a 65 profile. But they are snow tyres, so worked perfectly fine. No real loss of traction, braking was good, as was stability. Didn't see many other cars out and about in the snow. Once we got to the main roads, they were clear.

[Pigmy Pony]

That is why I have a suitable toy car.

But I bet you get your tyres from out of town - Toulouse Wheels isn't a name to inspire confidence :)

[Marco]

That is why I have a suitable toy car.

Indeed, but you can also do it with something more conventional. The point is, driving *can* still be fun, depending on where you live!;)

Marco.

[Marco]

:eek: For 900 bones a corner I'd expect my allies to be unbreakable, in fact I'd I'd expect them to nip to the shops without me.

Lol... They're special custom jobs, imported from America. The low-profile Michelins are another £230 on top!:D

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Lol... They're special custom jobs, imported from America.

Marco.

Imported from a country that can't make cars that go round corners properly :ner:

[Marco]

Yesh, the fact that the wheels have a mind of their own makes it more fun!:eyebrows:

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

Binning the run flats on beemers makes a huge difference, transformed the handling on my 535d. Got my winter tyres on at the moment though, they are run flat Continentals but smaller 18’s with a thinner and higher profile so ride is not bad at all.

For summer tyres I went to F1 Asymmetric Supersports from the OEM run flats. No idea why BMW persist with them, they were hopeless compared to the F1’s.

[Pigmy Pony]

BMW will have canvassed opinions of current and potential users, and found that yer average BM owner has little interest in changing a flat tyre and even less gumption. They should offer a space saving wheel as a cost-reducing option for those who are happy to do the manly thing.

They've probably got a big contract going with the tyre manufacturers, and until that ends you're stuck with it.

[CageyH]

Indeed, but you can also do it with something more conventional. The point is, driving *can* still be fun, depending on where you live!;)

Marco.

I thought you were against "conventional"?

[CageyH]

BMW will have canvassed opinions of current and potential users, and found that yer average BM owner has little interest in changing a flat tyre and even less gumption. They should offer a space saving wheel as a cost-reducing option for those who are happy to do the manly thing.

They've probably got a big contract going with the tyre manufacturers, and until that ends you're stuck with it.

I doubt it. The bean counters would have done the sums and worked out it was cheaper not to provide a spare.

[Pigmy Pony]

I don't think there'd be much in it - a little steel wheel with a skinny cheapo get-you-home tyre would probably cost them £50 tops.

[Audio Al]

:D:hijack::)

[CageyH]

I don't think there'd be much in it - a little steel wheel with a skinny cheapo get-you-home tyre would probably cost them £50 tops.

€50 may be. Times that be however many cars they make, and you will see it is worth deleting...

[Marco]

I thought you were against "conventional"?

Lol - "conventional", as in something with a roof, four doors and a decent heating system!:D;)

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

:D:hijack::)

Of course run flats (or any other kind of tyre) didn't figure in MY NEW YEARS EVE, as I didn't leave the house at all. Just stayed in and watched The Handmaid's Tale.