kevin the chicken

Hi, Having had a good result on ebay, namely getting a brand new set of boxed 15 inch alloy wheels for 150 quid I am now in the market for some new tyres. After a lot of research I have decided to plump for Federal 595RS-R, mainly because they seem to be almost as good as the 888's but a lot cheaper (and plenty good enough for my style of motoring). The prices I have seen seem to vary a heck of a lot so does anybody know of anywhere that would be cheap? I need them in 195/50/15. Regards Kevin

I got one from Motad too and have just finished fitting it. It looks good and sounds fantastic and is a lot quieter than the old one. I think I paid 160 inc delivery but I didnt have the front pipe as I wanted to put a flexi join in.

Dave, We tow a five berth caravan with a Honda CRV diesel and it copes with it fine. If you are used to camping in a tent this will change your way of life. Looks like a good van too. Ours was a 1000 pound job off ebay and it came with everything down to the bog roll! We don't use the shower in ours for the reasons already stated plus it can make the interior a bit humid. The battery should be charging all the time you are plugged into the mains and will power the water pump, if you are not on a hook up then it can be switched to power the 12v lights. We are off to Devon in ours this year but we use it for weekends away fishing, steam rallies and off course we will be going to the RHOCAR meet up at Hollowell in September

I am still trying to get my new exhaust mounted between gales and storms. I have mounted it on two brackets fitted to the underside of the car, one around the end of the can where the next section fits in and one around the tailpipe. I have fitted both brackets so that the exhaust can sits centrally over a bobbin at either end so that movement is available in every horizontal plane. Up and down movement of the front pipe caused by any engine movement is taken care of by a flexible exhaust coupling which will fit on to the can. (not one of those pieces of spiral pipe but a proper one with fabricated ends which can be split and clamped). Although I have used quite big stiff bobbins there still seems to be a lot of movement side to side of the can so before I connect the rest of the system, how much movement do i need? I cant really think of any way to reduce movement without taking one or both bobbins out ot the equation and to be quite honest I am getting fed up with what should have been a simple job. As usual all comments gratefully appreciated. Kevin

Nearly finished putting my new exhaust on. About time too, after three different plans I said to my wife thats it, there is no plan D it goes on even if it does look a bit agricultural. At least it will work and I do live in an agricultural area. Next plan is to blank off all the gaps in the front of the car so that all the air goes through the radiator ready for the warmer weather. Nice Stuka. For you ze winter project is over

Well done. You'll have some fun with that.

I need to paint my shed floor and was wondering if some sort of tiles were an option perhaps just in the area that I work in not the whole thing as it is 7 x 10 metres. Its not the painting thats putting me off, just moving all the stuff out. I can get floor paint fairly cheap as there is a community paint recycling centre nearby which sells part tins off cheap and all I have to do is get the same sort and colour and mix the tins. But somehow the thought of shifting a six ton aircraft tug, two cars, a landrover and trailer etc makes me think the tile option may better if the price is right

Flames licking around your backside would probably refresh your memory!

Sounds like a good price. I had a good look around and it certainly looks as if they are your best option. I think I will probably use 15 inch if I can find a suitable combination. The rims on it at the moment are too narrow for that width of tyre so I am really being forced to change. I've been looking at every car I've walked past to see if its wearing some suitable alloys. I think I'll take a tape measure with me next week to see what combination will work.

Tuesday at the earliest then! How much did they set you back? I have decided to replace my rims to get a better choice. My friend who works for a company that tunes and repairs Toyotas reckons they are a good tyre

Powder does make a hell of a mess. Fit a cut off switch to kill all the circuits, its no good trying to put out an electrical fire if the powers still on. Tried putting out a fire in a big chip shop fryer once, used four co2 extinguishers without any luck before resorting to powder which did work. So much for trying not to make a mess. Fish was off that night.

Thats what my friend said. He asked if the tyres looked like they were ballooned , I had a proper look at them and they do stick out a bit but they dont look terrible. Another reason for changing the rims though.

Mine came with 13 inch 6j with 195/60/14 with an offset of 32, ancient compomotive alloys. That is about all that will fit width ways. I am currently looking for an alternative size wheel as there seems to be very little available quality tyre wise in this size. What is available seems to be quite pricey too so I am hoping that a more popular size will give me a better price and choice. I am hoping to win the lottery too! I havent checked to see if less of an offset will allow a larger tyre on the rear, the cycle wings on the front certainly wont accomodate any more width.

My series 7 is stable at motorway speeds although I have the cycle wings. However I have always felt the front end to be to hard, although the rear seems fine. I don't know what springs are fitted. I would be interested in the tie bar conversion if it improves things too, maybe a mod for when the weather improves.

Checked my car tyres to make sure that I had the right size before ordering and found that I had obviously been thinking of the wrong car. They are in fact 195/60/14 which means that the selection available is terrible. 888's are not available in this size, which is what I was leaning towards on the recommendation of a friend who runs a sprint car. The rear arches would probably accomodate a slightly wider tyre which would be ok but the current tyres fill the front cycle wings so I am at a loss as to what to do. I definitely wanted to fit a dry weather biased tyre but now it looks as if I may have to go for some sort of compromise tyre. Anybody got any suggestions?

888's not recommended for cold weather use. The list gets smaller and smaller. Wear rate isn't really an issue for me as I don't do that many miles but I do want to be able to go out on those sunny, crisp clear winter days.

I'm in the market for a full set of tyres so was interested in this thread. I looked at a review for the A021R on the demon tweeks website and they say that they were primarily designed to perform best in the wet which is not what I want. I want something that sticks like the proverbial used food to a blanket in the dry but with a passable performance in the wet so that I get home safely if the weather turns while I am out. I too need them in 13 inch which rules out the pilot sport 3. Anybody got any other ideas?

Now that I have taken my rose tinted specs off (V8 grand cherokee) I remembered that I had gone to cornwall and back from cambridgeshire in one day (650 odd miles) in my wifes daily driver with a heavy flatbed trailer to pick up a sylva leader kit car with no issues at all. It is a Honda CRV diesel, does about 40mpg in normal use and has a massive boot. With a lighter weight trailer it would be just the job. I told her I was just nipping to Tesco's.

Go for an automatic if available it takes a lot of the hassle out of towing. Most diesel turbo engines apart from really new ones suffer from turbo lag, much less noticeable with an auto. Or go for a jeep grand Cherokee v8 as we did for a couple of years until it became unreliable. It had an lpg conversion and would return an equivalent of about 30mpg pricewise.nicest car we ever had

Hi, personally I would go for a thicker single gasket as that leaves less joins for leaks! I have used a cork/rubber composite that comes in a large roll and is easy to cut with a craft knife of scissors, its available in varying thicknesses. As for a sealant just don't use silicone as that dissolves in to a sticky mess and ends up causing masses of problems gumming things up. Somebody on here will be able to suggest the best thing to use. Kevin

Yuk agree with shaft. Pig ugly

The cream eggs were on sale in our local garage well before xmas, I nearly bought the wife one as a present but decided that would only help to perpetuate stupid early marketing of seasonal goods. At work (Royal mail) we had spring/summer clothing catalogues well before xmas and we usually get Studio cards xmas catalogue in june or july. It makes no difference to me when we have to deal with them but it is completely ridiculous that it all comes so early. Anyway I must finish writing these christmas cards

Oi! I ask the daft questions around here. Seriously though you are in the right place to get your questions answered, there's a wealth of knowledge on this forum, it will save you a shed load of time and money. Welcome Kevin

Food for thought. Two of mine are almost worn out but the rears looked ok. As the car was last taxed in 2008 before I bought it I will be purchasing a set of four with my xmas bonus without even bothering to look at the dates on them. I am surprised at how little grip they give, especially under acceleration maybe they have gone hard.

Somebody from one of the kit car parts supply companies told me that although exhaust paste is ok he uses silicone sealant. When I said no way he said yes, ordinary bathroom sealant. He said the best stuff to use is RTV if its available. Haven't dared try it though. Thinking about it though my wife has some silicone cake and bun trays.