Jonathan Kay

Morning, Dennis. Quick brain dump: Unusual patterns of tyre wear have the same causes as on ordinary cars. But on many 7s the tyres get old before they wear out. Someone recently showed that different versions of the Assembly Guide aren't consistent on recommended alignment.I think the following may be a logical sequence: Fit the wheels and tyres you want. Set the ride height and rake. Set the front and rear alignment (from one version of the book) either by DIY or paying someone. "Flat floor"/ "Corner weight" the car. That's a step beyond alignment but seems to be highly recommended. Again either DIY or pay someone. One of the advantages of the latter is the expertise of which settings will meet your needs. Adjust to taste.Jonathan PS: Do we have any modern alignment tools (which presumably involve lasers) or scales in the Register of Equipment for Loan? Or offers?

Which model and age? Is that 5 V between the pair or to earth? And is the voltage affected by the ignition being off or on? What colour are the existing wires? And are they the same colour in the other car? How are you going to switch the new lights? Always on with the ignition on? Jonathan

Tried some oil on the old uj but no improvement - I've left it soaking to see if it would come back to life. Good idea. If it doesn't free up after that how about cutting through both joints and looking for corrosion? Jonathan

Is there a club discount for Tayna by any chance? I don't think I've seen it mentioned. Jonathan PS: But there is for Powervamp (and several others) ... sure you want another that needs topping up? ;-)

Passenger + stethoscope? Jonathan

Yes... but if you're going to polish it with GPS won't it work to set the diameter to 0.56ish and go straight to the final tweak? Jonathan

Same thought... but wrong President! Jonathan

The difference between the ranges aren't obvious. They keep changing the designation and possibly the specification. And the eBay site isn't very good. But apart from that... ;-) Jonathan

Powervamps were going for about £45 a few years ago but seem to have doubled in price since then - I would still highly recommend them though. Their current suggestion for 7s is the Clubsport NP at £50. NB might need some fettling on the strap and connections. Jonathan

Lots of good reports of Tayna, including mine. But putting the Great Lithium Question to one side I'd choose a lightweight sealed AGM type. Jonathan

If that charger gets through its sequence correctly it's the best method I know. Jonathan

Hard to judge until you've topped it up. I don't think there's any other service that's worth doing, but some recommend clever pills. Is that a smart conditioning charger eg a CTEK? How old is the battery? ... 7 V on cranking is far too low once you know it's topped up and correctly charged. Jonathan

I'd try something other than silicone lube on that UJ - some good old multi-grade GTX maybe. Agreed: you need something that's going to hang around in there. Jonathan

Do you think its a set of circumstances unique to your car or something others need to check regularly? If I had a Zetec/ Sigma/ Duratec I'd immediately get the plugs out, have a look and refit them with appropriate stuff on the thread. Then I'd keep an eye out for moisture. Jonathan

Have you got the Assembly Guide? Let me know if you need a copy. Jonathan PS: That would be the precise opposite of the way the first 7s were sold... ;-)

Will go and fiddle, then go for another spin with a GPS speedo on my phone. Exactly. Jonathan

But now, the revs drop off slowly... and there is very little engine braking. Yes, those both sound strange. Here's the thread in which Roger King explained to me why there should be more engine braking... and I still have to work it out every time I think about it. Jonathan

There are references to that and to something from "Think Automotive". Unrefined search. Jonathan

From what I can tell it affects the fittings because of the T-piece. Jonathan

Thanks, Tony. Those curves don't look compatible with the subjective experiences. Jonathan

There's a fair bit in the archives. Do you want to fit a warning switch and light as well as the gauge? Jonathan

I don't know about the track or race aspects. Convex mirrors are pretty common on road cars, especially on the passenger's side. Split mirrors seem to be common on vans. And the warning message has a Wikipedia page of it's own! Jonathan PS: I've seen parodies of that message, was it on BlatChat... ? PPS: They're very unlikely to be lenses, and Newton would be greatly offended. :-) PPPS: Isn't it about time that external mirrors were replaced by video technology?

... not sure how much a factor the wind buffeting is to hearing damage. That's complicated. Because accommodation to the wind probably hides the sound level. But once you've got decent hearing protection in place I'd suggest getting the buffetting down to comfortable levels without worrying further about the sound. Jonathan

:-) Jonathan

If I had interchangeable mirrors i'd be more comfortable with consistent angles of view. Would you prefer that? Can you add photos of the mirrors? Someone might be able to tell you how easy it would it be to change the glass rather than the whole unit. Jonathan PS: