Stutopia

Mutual wave on the A66, you were heading westbound. Anyone on here?

There's an ancient parable which might be handy here. A man decides to walk to the shops to get some fresh bread. It's a three hour walk each way to the shops, so it's a big effort for him, but he has a powerful lust for toast and a brew. When he gets to the shops he picks up his bread and as he's walking past the fridge he thinks to himself, "How much milk did I have back at the house?". In the end he decides he can't be certain he's out of milk, so he doesn't buy any. He walks the three hours home, slices up his loaf, whips out the butter and the marmalade and puts the kettle on. He's just about to tuck in to his delicious toast on his sunny veranda and the kettle boils. The man goes to the fridge and finds he was correct at the shop, he has got milk in there, but it's gone bad and smells like toe cheese. Thoroughly dejected, after his 6 hour exerts, the man says to himself, "I wish I'd bought that bloody flywheel when I was getting my clutch done."

I wasn't suggesting popping so shampoo in means you don't have to a TBW! I just like some shampoo in the lance too!

Always happy to help other people spend money. Yeah, AF are a "premium brand" which in the detailing world just means "expensive". It's worth considering if you can find a good offer on, although for some reason I've not bought any Avalanche since using the BH foam... I can't imagine why. Must be a decent lance to make the demon wash foam that nice and thick. I found it a lot runny with the half assed karcher foam gun, which lasted one wash. I tried the avalanche snowfoam and found the snow a bit disappointing TBH but, as you say, the actual cleaning power to be good. I want my foam insanely thick, with 10 dwell time!!! Might try the BH next. Does anyone else put some shampoo in as well as the inch or so of snowfoam? Edit: nice job by the way Graham

Looks superb, and like no other. Nice work.

Paint pedestrians and cyclists in the same stuff?

It's extremely practical and handy, but a "fun" tip? That's stretching fun beyond it's elastic limit.

Did she say which colour is best?

Voted and shared, anyone who can turn those plenums into mirrors deserves a vote, and is probably involved in voodoo

That's actually better than the movie!

"Snow is formed when temperatures are low and there is moisture - in the form of tiny ice crystals - in the atmosphere. When these tiny ice crystals collide they stick together in clouds to become snowflakes. If enough ice crystals stick together, they'll become heavy enough to fall to the ground."

The 8 hour limit is interesting, but then again there plenty of roads with no lighting at all now, so even 8 hours would be an improvement. It'd still take you through to midnight, assuming a winterey 4pm darkness. Cool to see the crazy Dutch guys had a schmoke and came up with this. When was the last time we did something innovative on the road that didn't involve generating stealth taxes?

Saw this interesting story, I did search to see if it was a repost, my bad if it is. Article text below, pics in the link. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27021291 Glow in the dark road markings have been unveiled on a 500m stretch of highway in the Netherlands. The paint contains a "photo-luminising" powder that charges up in the daytime and slowly releases a green glow at night, doing away with the need for streetlights. Interactive artist Daan Roosegaarde teamed up with Dutch civil engineering firm Heijmans to work on the idea. The technology is being tested with an official launch due later this month. It is the first time "glowing lines" technology has been piloted on the road and can be seen on the N329 in Oss, approximately 100km south east of Amsterdam. Once the paint has absorbed daylight it can glow for up to eight hours in the dark. Encourage innovation Speaking to the BBC last year about his plans Mr Roosegaarde said: "The government is shutting down streetlights at night to save money, energy is becoming much more important than we could have imagined 50 years ago. This road is about safety and envisaging a more self-sustainable and more interactive world." The team also hopes to develop giant weather symbols that appear on the road Mr Roosegaarde's projects aim to help people and technology to interact. His past projects have included a dance floor with built-in disco lights powered by dancers' foot movements, and a dress that becomes see-through when the wearer is aroused. "I was completely amazed that we somehow spend billions on the design and R&D of cars but somehow the roads - which actually determine the way our landscape looks - are completely immune to that process," Mr Roosegaarde said. Heijmans was already working on projects involving energy-neutral streetlights when Mr Roosegaarde teamed up with the company. "I thought that was updating an old idea, and I forced them to look at movies of jellyfish. How does a jellyfish give light? It has no solar panel, it has no energy bill. "And then we went back to the drawing board and came up with these paints which charge up in the daytime and give light at night," he said. Heijmans says that the glow in the dark technology is also "a sustainable alternative to places where no conventional lighting is present". Pilot project Innovation on roads needs to be encouraged said Professor Pete Thomas, from Loughborough University's Transport Safety Research Centre but new technologies need to prove themselves. "We have some high visibility markings already on roads in the UK, plus cats-eye technology etc. So the question is how much better than these is this alternative? The Dutch Minister for Infrastructure Melanie Schultz Haegen visited the project "If we put this technology on all unlit roads that would be a lot of kilometres and it would be a big investment so if safety improvement is the target then we need hard evidence about how this compares to what we already have and to back up any safety claims," he said. The UK Highways Agency said it was watching the trial in the Netherlands with interest but said that previous studies had shown that "luminescent road paint would be unsuitable for use in this country". It said it would take several things in to account when deciding whether to include luminescent road markings in its design standards. These would be include how far in advance road markings could be seen, how skid resistant they were, how visible they were during the day and how they would perform in winter when there are fewer hours of daylight. Initially the team also had plans to develop weather symbols that appeared on the road once the temperature reached a certain level. A temperature-sensitive paint mixture would be used to create giant snow flake-shaped symbols on the tarmac to warn users that the road may be icy. The current stretch of glow in the dark road in Oss does not include this temperature sensitive technology. It is a pilot project at this stage and is expected to expand internationally later this year. Dutch media report that Heijmans is keen to use the paint on other roads but has not yet negotiated any contracts. I quite like the idea of a glowing snowflake to tell you the road surface tempreture (rather than the ambient air temp you get in the car). At worst, it'll just make you feel like you're in Tron!

Any more watermarked photos from Ms. Ringpics? She sounds interesting... Maybe a video link???

How many BHP was it good for? Did it have an overdrive lever as well?

I got mine from these guys http://www.wiperblades.co.uk/coupe-3-years-2003-to-2009-wiper-blades/ There were 2x 18" and 1x 20" - can't remember if the 20" was the rear or one of the fronts though. I think their website tells you IIRC.

I think the Bosch aeros that have look cool and futuristic and, almost as importantly , they shift water pretty well too

It's quite a common "issue" with the Zed, but it's strange to occur immediately after a service if it hasn't ever manifest before. I'd suggest getting in touch with the garage as a first step to see what they'd suggest.

You sure there's no chance of speaker wiring fault/short? Might be worth getting a multimeter on it

Yeah mine idles just short of that from cold, drops off after a couple of minutes.

Cheers gang, my old man's pretty TO'd at the minute, it's been at the end of a few other dramas of late and he's screwing that his insurer insist it comes under accidental damage and therefore his voluntary excess kicks in too. If I'm perfectly honest, I was hugely relieved my Zed was round the back for a change, instead of in his space.

Generally speaking, in terms of the options I've seen here, you can get them re-painted, powdercoated or hydro dipped. I'm sure you'll have myriad custom choices stateside and much more competitive pricing. Even in the little old UK the prices can vary quite a bit, just from area to area, I was quoted anything from £70 to powdercoat, up to £150 for multi stage paint job, per wheel, so geography and finish will have a huge impact on price. You seem like a handy sort of chap and I'm sure I saw a how to/guide on DIY refurbishing wheels, but I can't find it! Might be worth a trawl through the guides and wheels sections, if you're feeling it's something you might take on yourself. Good luck mate!

Dang it! The best suggestion I've seen is to buy a formula silver centre cap from an official dealer, then find yourself a @*!# hot paint match guy.

I wanted this for my Rays, it's the only thing the internet doesn't know.

Great result mate. Another fine job by the Zed Shed. P.S. With a thread title like this I still can't believe SMD hasn't posted in here yet...