scubapics

If you have an iPhone.... Download the petrolprices app. It will tell you where the cheapest fuel is in your current location or you can specify a location for any type of fuel you choose. You can also use the website for the same information. Jim

Cut a scaffolding plank in half and use that to reduce the angle of normal ramps by leaning the planks on the first or second step.

Looks like they only painted the outside of the wheels in one of the photos. Is that right?

It's called pride. Now get yourself a decent wheel brush like this one and you can clean inside the wheel through the spokes all the way to the back and also behind the spokes themselves without taking the wheels off. http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/ez-detail-brush/prod_480.html

You'll get pulled. But also consider that when you come to sell the car on you may have difficulty.

Absolutely. If it doesn't need constant power then wire it to a circuit that's switched with the ignition. To do it properly you'd give it it's own fused circuit that's switched via the ignition using a relay.

I might be talking bollocks here but these are my thoughts. It's not unusual for a courtesy light left on overnight to flatten a battery. A 5W bulb will use 0.42amps so your boost is not far off that. I was just reading a web site about car batteries which said they are designed to provide high current for short periods rather than low current for long periods. You could always experiment with the battery out of the car and a bulb wired to it to see how long it lasts.

Not really as I needed to take all four wheels off to do a brake fluid flush and bleed. Jacking one side up fully to put axle stands on seems rather dangerous to me. The best way I found is to drive the car up onto some scaffolding planks to raise it a little. That gives enough clearance for a trolley jack to be put under the front jacking point which is the chassis cross member between the engine and gearbox. Raise the front and put onto axles stands at the front sill jacking points. Then do the same with the rear jacking point under the differential and put two stands under the rear sill jacking points. The car is raised in a balanced manner doing it this way.

The factory bluetooth will still work with this using either a FM transmitter or the ipod/mp3 tape mod as described above. You don't actually have to remove parts of the tape deck as you can use a dummy cassette instead.

Are you a member of the AA or RAC? If so, they might be able to advise the best course of action with the council. I've never been in this position myself so I don't know for sure if they can help but no harm in trying. Good luck. Jim

Ouch! Forget the rim damage, the inner wall looks bent to me. I doubt that can be fixed. I hope someone proves me wrong. I'm sure Alex probably has a wheel you can buy off him.

You're right. There shouldn't be anything using that kind of current with the ignition off. Even if there was, the worst that can happen to your multimeter should be a blown fuse. When running, I think the voltmeter on the dash should read about 14v. I'd have to check to be certain. Mine normally shows about three quarters across the dial - I think that's about 14v. Good luck. Sounds like you know what your plan is now. Jim

Yup. I was wondering about alternator too. What's the voltage reading on the dials when the car is running? But you said the battery was completely flat and wouldn't even open the doors. That indicates to me that there is still a discharge to drain the battery. If the battery wasn't charging when engine running then normally the battery light would light up on the dash. Of course there is always a drain even when the ignition is off as you have certain circuits such as the alarm and central locking remote on as well as perhaps power to the ECU or whatever keeps the clock in check. You can connect the multimeter to either the negative or positive. If you ammeter is only rated to 10amps then start with just the 10amp circuits (or below) as indicated by the 10amp fuses. Jim

You could try using a current meter, pull out all the fuses, put them back one at a time to see which circuit is drawing power and how much. That might help narrow it down. Do this with the ignition off. Too much current will blow the fuse in your current meter / multimeter. Good luck. Have you fitted any thing recently or made any changes to the car? Jim

How much value do you put on your life you can rest assured, if one is going, the other won't be far behind, and the tolerances will be better, its similar to changing one tyre. I simply don't agree with you on this. If the other bearing is not showing any signs of wear then you are just wasting money. It may be good for a day, month, year or more. Why spend the money now if it could last for months or years? You could apply the same reasoning to CV joints, tie rod ends, shock absorbers, springs etc. Either the garages I've used in the past are total cowboys or your advice is over cautious. With respect to changing just one tyre I see no problem providing it's the same make/type. More often than not though the tyre is no longer available. Providing the other tyre is sound what's the problem?

Why should you always replace both?

Sod it. Just seen you are in Reading. I'm in Crowthorne just outside Bracknell. I could do it this weekend if you like. Jim

Splicing. Two options. The socket in the fascia has two wires running to it. You need to attach two new wires to these and then to the new socket. Make sure you get the polarity correct! If you have any doubt about this then get someone who knows what they are doing to do it for you. 1. Cut the existing cable in two, strip, tin and solder then heatshrink to insulate each cable. or 2. One of those blue crimpy cable joining thingys from Halfords. (sorry, don't know what they are called.). I always solder my connections 1 but if you can't solder then option 2. For socket (15amp): http://www.maplin.co.uk/car-accessory-socket-1055 x 1 For cable (15amp): http://www.maplin.co.uk/twin-power-cable-20666?ordercode=XS72P length to suit. For crimps: http://www.maplin.co.uk/snap-lock-automotive-cable-connectors-1073 x 2 The crimps are only 3amp rated. Do you know how much current the tomtom charger takes? If more then these are not suitable. Jim

I don't have a guide but what I do is buy some cable and a cirgarette lighter socket from maplins. Then wire this in behind the facias/dash into an existing socket. Then the tomtom can plug straight into that. If you buy a different tomtom in the future or need to take it out when selling, it's easy to just unplug/fit new charging adapter. Couple of cable ties to hold it all in place and voila. Done. No need to hack your existing tomtom charger and it all remains fuse protected by the tomtom fuse. PS, I think the front cigarette socket can be pushed out so you can get at the wires to splice in your extra socket. Jim

Yes, axle stands inside the vertical strip/seam of metal. Use some wood to spread the weight onto the axle stand rather than just using the edge of the stand. For oil changes only I tend to use a set of ramps to raise the front of the car. Get some scaffolding planks to make the ramp longer so that the approach angle is smaller. The z will then get on the ramp easily. If using axle stands best to raise the car from the jack points just behind the engine and place on both axle stands in on go rather than lifting one side then the other. Much safer. Again, drive the car onto a couple of scaffolding planks to raise it just enough to get a trolley jack underneath. Personally I wouldn't waste my money on those sump plugs. I thought the engine was aluminium anyway although the piston rings may not be (expect to be corrected). Jim

Can anyone give me some tips for getting the Z fully up onto axle stand please. Seems a bit hair raising to me to jack one end up, put onto axles stands and then the other end up hoping the first two don't slip. I've raised the front onto ramps before to do an oil change but couldn't for the life of me work out how to get a jack under the rear diff once the car is at such an angle. I've seen a youtube vid of someone slightly jacking one side of the car to get a jack under the front or rear jack points and then jacking up. It would be good to hear from someone who has done this themselves. Jim

Performance driving lessons so he can get the best out of his Z. There's a couple of threads on here about it.

I'm about to do a brake fluid change and thought I'd replace some of the brembo bleed nipples that have rusted over a little. Does anyone know of a supplier where I can get some stainless steel ones that fit the brembo? Does anyone know what size the brembo ones are? I think they are M10x1.0 but what length? Thanks, Jim

Tailgaters - all though I just have fun with them and go slower although 99% of them clearly don't get it so I think they don't have a clue that they are tailgating but driving on automatic. Cyclists that refuse to use a cycle lane/path that cost hundreds of thousands to put in next to roads that are simply dangerous to cycle on! What a waste of everyone's tax!