Blacken

Caterham by Momo Steering Wheel + Mounting Boss Looking for for one of these to put on my car when I get it later on this month. Would appreciate any help in finding one.

Is there anyone that uses AG Extra Gloss Protection on the paintwork? Is there any value to applying it to the wings?

head & Shoulders?

I have the basic gelcoat wings with metal stoneguards which certainly soak up the elbow grease.

Yes, I did mean wings - it is interesting that you actually covered the difference between polish and wax because the manufacturers don't really distinguish this difference on their products. I have been down Halfords on a couple of occasions when customers have asked staff members to explain the difference and have been met by a blank expression.

Having recently washed the car, I have been applying polish to the body. Having looked at the Auto glym recommendations, I was wondering what other owners used on the front and rear mudguards - polish or bumper care?

As the Smack addict said ..."I can quit any time I want...."......

The hood sticks have left the building!

Hey Toby, You could have a 1:18 model display in your garden under canvas....

Returning to the half hood topic, the only problem I have experienced is water ingress if there is a side wind which forces the side screen to move so that there is a gap in the roofline which the becomes a steady trickle. On the whole though it is a much better product and will fit in the CC hoodbag.

Or a clothes drier for a Seven owner who has got drenched trying to put up his full hood!

I sense a trip out for the toolbox!

I have been giving the boot a bit of a clean today and actually raised the hoodsticks for the first time in about 3 years having switched to the 1/2 hood a few years ago. It crossed my mind that it would give me better entry into the boot area and, of course, I would be adding lightness if I removed the hoodsticks altogether *thumbup*. Has anybody out there who has removed them got any opinions on the downside of removing them (other than the obvious one of not being able to use the full hood) 🤔

Yeah, tell me about it! 😔

I've just got one of these beauties and am looking to use the existing Banner battery tray. I have sorted out a spacer but am looking for recommendations as to whether it is best to have the terminals facing towards the engine or away from it. If they face towards the engine, the negative terminal will be closest to the scuttle which is do-able but is a bit of a stretch. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Is there a specific order that the thick and thin cables should be connected to the terminal i.e. which cable is mounted on the terminal post first? Has any one got a solution for weather protection on the terminal posts like a rubber cover?

It doesn't surprise me. When my car was a 125 I had no problems. 3 grand on it has been a series of headaches.

The allen bolts are the original ones fitted and have probably only been removed once for the second service. I took off the plastic plate which protects the camshaft cover to check the HT leads were secure. When it came to tighten the bolts having put back the protective plate I used minimum force but nevertheless they came out. I have cleaned the holes with servisol and will pick up some adhesive to finish the job. What is the camshaft cover actually made of?

Gave the Banner the works this week - electrolyte top up plus a charge up within 18 hours it has gone from 13.14V to 10.71V. The funeral will be held on Friday - no flowers please. 😬 As soon as my Racing Battery arrives I will proceed to test the car for the other issues in case the rough engine/ exhaust problems are all ECU derived matters.

I forgot to mention the engine is a 2008 Ford Sigma.

Can anyone advise what I can use to keep the brass inserts that are fitted in the top of the camshaft cover from being pulled out when I screw on the plastic engine cover with the allen type bolts? I tried tapping them back gently and from the get go have not used excessive force when doing them back up but they just get drawn out as they are progressively tightened. I don't know if there is some sort of adhesive that would be appropriate. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately, I don't have power in the garage - so it is remove the battery for a charge or persistant usage of the car. Rained all day - put paid to any investigation - too dark in garage even with headtorch. Still, it was nice to see Stoner overtake Lorenzo in the championship *thumbup*and well done Jenson! *thumbup* Is the RMD25 are superior battery to the banner?

What battery would you recommend? 🤔 A lot of people seem to have an aversion to the Banner. As I have mentioned I use the Battery Master switch whenever the car is not in use. I also don't use the lights unless the conditions demand it and I don't have any in-car media other than the occasional use of a Satnav. (I checked my diary and it was actually only 8 days between the IOW and my having to cancel the MOT test.) If a battery is better quality and less problematic then I would probably go for it.

Sorry I could not respond earlier but Blatchat was unavailable to my computer last night. Tomorrow is the first day off I've had in 2 1/2 weeks so I will have a look and try and make sense of it. I don't want to move it in it's current state because of the alarming noise coming from the exhaust. To be honest, in retrospect, the 150 upgrade was probably the worst £3,000.00 I ever spent with all the knock on problems it has caused and I was rather disappointed by the lack of support from the installer.

My S3 has developed a couple of problems - I'm not very mechanically minded and I don't really know anyone over my way to give me advice. The 2 problems are that a) my car is difficult to start - the battery does not seem to hold it's charge b) once started the car idles unevenly and if the revs are increased the exhaust note sounds like a trails bike or a revved moped. Background - 3 year old 125 Sigma Roadsport - 15 months ago upgraded by CC to 150. The car ran really badly in traffic at low revs (kangarooing), CC could not resolve it and said that was how they all ran. At the suggestion of several club members I took it to the 2 Steves for a remap last June. They made it run significantly better. The car has generally run well and done several long trips. In the winter I take the car out if the conditions are ok just to keep things ticking over. Mileage 11.5 K - car fitted with battery master switch to avoid battery drain (no power in garage). In April I went up to Wales and then went to the Isle of Wight Blat - no problems. 10 days after the IOW I did a pre MOT check on the car - everything AOK. The next day - the test day the car would not start. I had to reschedule the Test for 05/05/2011. Managed to get the car running - seemed quite a lot of fuel in the system. A fair amount of dirty vapour came out of the exhaust. I let this burn itself off, took it round the block. It started first time the following day, I took it on a 60 mile round trip to get the MOT - no problems. Due to work pressure I was not able to use the car for a couple of weeks - again it would not start - I got a friend to start the car with a powerpack and had it running up to working temperature but the battery does not seem to be holding it's charge. While running at working temperature it gave a reading of about 13.4 V but it would not restart without the leads. Took another reading with the engine off and it was down to 10.4 V. More alarming is the noise I am getting if I put my foot on the gas, it sounds like a trials bike or a highly revved moped - I did not dare take it for a spin in case I would inflict damage to the engine/exhaust system. When it initially fired up there were coughs and splutters and after a while the odd intermittent faint burning smell and the odd small pop from the exhaust. I thought the initial fuel or condensation that was in system would have burned off but the character of the exhaust note did not change. I can imagine the battery might be past it's best even though it is only 3 years old. I have tried my best to keep it running at regular intervals but it has gone for longer periods in the cold months where I have not had a problem with the battery - it would always start first time. The car sounds like it is running unevenly, I don't know if it could be an exhaust related issue. The car was running well in April and it covered about 1,000 miles. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Well I guess I had better give it a try. I expect when I go to Halfords there will be about 5 different types to choose from and I will be none the wiser.