Car (or bike) Chat!

[struth]

yeah, it depends on what you have running in car and how hard you depress throttle, but a mile is about top unless freewheeling too.(its designed mainly for getting you out of your drive without awaking neighbours i think) The HV Battery isnt huge, so needs constant charging via, wheels turning, brakes on or engine. Still it can be pretty silent even with engine on.
If you really press throttle a bit more, but not too much, yes, it can growl a bit. its improving acceleration wise but is most impressive at pulling away.
The brake hold feature is a clever thing too. Funny but bar mine and my brother in law(oddly we both bought same car at same time without knowing) there were none in area that i had ever seen. Now they are all over..lol
Certainly get stopped and asked about it etc a lot

[walpurgis]

Just had a phone call re these cars, and it seems that if water gets into the boot area it can blitz the wiring causing problems of the type mentioned. There was certainly water in the boot - which surprised me yesterday - I wondered how it got there. Draining it was quite easy - there are two holes in the floor with covers. I suspect the water may have come in that way too!

It's probably worth checking for water in the boot area of these cars once a year at least - take everything out - the spare wheel - the tool tray etc. until you can see the floor underneath and make sure everything is dry.

I wondered how long it would be before somebody mentioned water ingress.

The seals probably tire and compress. Worth replacing every few years I reckon, they won't be cheap though.

Seals should be cleaned regularly, as should the surface they bear against.

[struth]

Yup, over time the rubber becomes a bit porous and absorbs water, then in winter freezes and thaws causing more damage. they can also get hard and brittle. Apply regularly some rubber sealant like Autoglym Rubber Care ... keeps them in good trim. Wont be an issue for a few years tho when car is new. As Geoff says they should be cleaned with car.

[Beobloke]

My car had a nice growl, as it has a proper engine.

And a ‘handbrake’ that you operate with your hand, and which works. I must admit, as an engineer, some of this alleged ‘progress’ does concern me...

[struth]

The said that when they brought in the spinning jenny.. Lol

Smash the Spinning Jenny! Burn the Rolling Rosalind! Destroy the Going-up-and-down-a-bit-and-then-moving-along Gertrude!

[dave2010]

If you really press throttle a bit more, but not too much, yes, it can growl a bit. its improving acceleration wise but is most impressive at pulling away.
The brake hold feature is a clever thing too. Funny but bar mine and my brother in law(oddly we both bought same car at same time without knowing) there were none in area that i had ever seen. Now they are all over..lol
Certainly get stopped and asked about it etc a lot

When I first had the Prius I could pull away from lights etc. faster than 95% of cars. Then a couple of things happened. People started driving more aggressively, and manufacturers started making and selling more powerful cars. Now I’m struggling to keep up with most of the newer cars, and aggression continues. Speed limits. What are they? Many drivers now overtake me even if I’m above the speed limit.

I can go faster, and at times I’d love to do that, but that would be when I’d get caught, so would ultimately give little pleasure.

The real pain about faster cars plus aggressive driving is that whereas ten years ago there were gaps in traffic streams to pull into when joining a trunk road, now the clever dicks who drive keep speeding into them, thus making entering fast moving traffic streams difficult and/or hazardous.

[Pigmy Pony]

I've found that in recent years it has actually become easier to pull out of a side road to join the traffic. Ten years ago everything was moving too fast, but these days the roads are so clogged that the traffic passes my side road at a snail's pace. Meaning that the drivers find avoiding eye contact with me difficult, and are a little more likely to be courteous.

This will never happen in That London though - those drivers are a caricature of everything that's wrong with modern driving standards

Contrary to popular opinion I find the drivers of vans to be the most courteous, unless it's because I'm in a van myself, and I'm actually in some secret club I'm unaware of

[hifilover]

Crikey, I’ve not been on here in ages...

This is my new ‘daily’ car; a 2002 E39 530i touring Jap import with just 86k miles on it & zero rust

I’ve only had it 8 weeks but I’ve done a massive amount of what I call ‘maintenance’ work to it (because of my OCD & because I like things to be right). The E39s do have some weak points/Achilles heels, but they’re easy enough to sort. It’s had a full cooling system overhaul, full suspension overhaul (including ALL arms, drop links & OEM spec Sachs sport dampers & OEM BMW Mtec II springs), full braking overhaul (more aggressive grooved discs and Yellowstuff pads etc) and a change of alloys which are off the E38 7 series & E34 5 series to get the more aggressive offsets

I love tinkering with my cars, it still needs a better stereo sorting & I’ll be looking into the exhaust next; fancying a nice but subtle stainless Schmiedmann twin exit back box

Freshly washed:



On its first road trip (since collecting it & driving it back from Glasgow) down in Anglesey:

[Marco]

Hi Dan,

Nice seeing you checking in again, and hope you are well

Cool car - I thoroughly approve! Hope it brings you lots of fun

Marco.

[JohnJo]

Crikey, I’ve not been on here in ages...

This is my new ‘daily’ car; a 2002 E39 530i touring Jap import with just 86k miles on it & zero rust

I’ve only had it 8 weeks but I’ve done a massive amount of what I call ‘maintenance’ work to it (because of my OCD & because I like things to be right). The E39s do have some weak points/Achilles heels, but they’re easy enough to sort. It’s had a full cooling system overhaul, full suspension overhaul (including ALL arms, drop links & OEM spec Sachs sport dampers & OEM BMW Mtec II springs), full braking overhaul (more aggressive grooved discs and Yellowstuff pads etc) and a change of alloys which are off the E38 7 series & E34 5 series to get the more aggressive offsets

I love tinkering with my cars, it still needs a better stereo sorting & I’ll be looking into the exhaust next; fancying a nice but subtle stainless Schmiedmann twin exit back box

Freshly washed:



On its first road trip (since collecting it & driving it back from Glasgow) down in Anglesey: