Nick T

Always use J&S for both my 7 and my other cars.

Hi Bob, A lot of this is personal taste however being only a mere 6.2 the tillets do give you a couple of inches more on both height and leg room. Also having done several trips to CLM and 10 plus hrs in the car I have found the tillets very comfortable. However, this may be something to do with my fat a@@s. Lowered floors will also help. cheers Nick

Long shot I know, but is anyone selling or thinking about selling a BMW 4 series, or Mercedes C Class coupe. Looking for 2017 or newer, auto and M sport / AMG respectively. thanks Nick

I do agree that there will be some drag on the movement of the caliper, however it is difficult to fully quantify what effect that will have on pad wear. Clearly my post was not intended to change peoples mind if you are for whatever reason, strongly against the original design. However, it was designed to consider facts as opposed to perception and put in perspective that the CC design is not fundamentally unsafe and that if you do not change immediately to hoses your brakes will fail. This is not the case.

Dear All, This post will undoubtedly cause some reactions, but please bear with it. Firstly, if you are going to race a 7 then I wholeheartedly agree that you should have flexible brake hoses fitted and if you plan this undertaking on a road car it is entirely up to you and I would not be one to sway you from that. However, I would suggest that we consider the facts not necessarily what we might consider good or otherwise engineering practice. Firstly, it is relatively easy to assess the condition of a metal pipe by a visual inspection. It is impossible to ascertain the condition of a flexible hose (particularly if it is braided) therefore the only viable option is to replace these at a time based interval. If you also replaced the metal hose at the same interval I would imagine that there would be no issues or concerns. Secondly, there is the issue of routing and additional protection to ensure there is no fretting of the hose on the suspension components. This is not an issue with the brake pipe. You may be inadvertently adding an additional failure mode. Has anyone ever suffered a brake pipe failure on a road going car? The movement of the caliper as the brakes wear is minimal and the correct brake pipe will have the correct radiuses to allow for this. This is how all pipe systems allow for expansion/contraction and movement. Also, given that the material used is "malleable" it should be at least hundreds of cycles before fatigue fracture sets in. (a long time since I studied metallurgy but more than a couple of pad changes). You are also "modifying" the primary safety system (albeit with good intent) away from the manufacturers design. Have you advised your insurers of these mods? Lastly the great man himself said "simplify and add lightness", this is the opposite. You are in fact adding more opportunities for failure. This is not meant to cause offense, grumpiness or swearing merely to put into perspective an engineering conundrum. Just for the record, my car has brake pipes which will be changed when I change the brake hoes. Thanks for reading

Hi, just a quick comment on an Ally replacement, when I changed mine on my xflow I did use the CC one. What surprised me was the reduction in weight vs the original.

I suppose it comes down to originality vs power. I did rebuild my xflow with forged pistons bored out to 1700 and rebuilt the head (although it was already quite new and converted to unleaded) It did make a difference and it was a great engine. However when I went down the "power" route, I decided the best was to sell and buy a later Duratec car. Once modified (very quick and cheaper if you want big bhp) it will affect the value (in my humble opinion) in the long run.

Now sold

For sale new NOT FORD Sierra diff cover. Brought as a replacement as the plug was stuck, but never used. Includes used magnetic plug, got a chisel mark in it but useable. £40 plus p&p or collection from Hampshire

ChrisC, Just seen your blog and it is excellent*thumbs_up_thumb*

Taken from the first thread on google, but quite a succinct answer What happens when you over grease a bearing? Too much grease volume (overgreasing) in a bearing cavity will cause the rotating bearing elements to begin churning the grease, pushing it out of the way, resulting in energy loss and rising temperatures. ... This can result in accelerated wear of the rolling elements and then component failure

Dear All, A quick comment on greasing of bearings, whist clearly too little grease can cause an early demise, over-greasing can also cause the premature failure on roller/ball bearings. There is quite a lot of historical evidence across a number of industries of this. To be fair, it is usually associated with automatic greasers or the over zealous use of grease guns on a regular basis, but it is more to make the point more is not necessarily better.

PM sent. Cheers Nick

Thanks for all of your inputs, will look at the options. Cheers Nick

Hi All, Anyone got any thoughts/experience of using yellowstuff pads over standard or greenstuff? Also, any rough idea of what Bigg Red charge for a caliper overhaul? Thanks*driving* Nick

Hi Andrew PM sent

Morning all yes I am still looking for a black one so my preference would be a swap. James I will get a photo and pm you cheers Nick

Hi Andrew, will let you know if I don’t get any luck with a swap cheers Nick

Rj apologies for any confusion. I did add Wanted to the title but for some reason it's not there. Might be my old iPad or just that I am old and easily confused. For some reason it's not in my other advert either.

Phil, Top man many thanks, I will give them a call. Cheers Nick

Hi, after an Aero filler cap for a Duratec in black. May consider a swap for a silver one. Thanks

Hi, As the title says after a set of MB wheels nuts. May consider less than the 16. Thanks

Dan, my thoughts. I usually turn the engine over by hand two complete revolutions (spanner on crankshaft nut) just to check that all is free. With fuel, if it has only been in for the winter it should be fine, although I do try to leave mine low and top it up with fresh first time I use it. Turn the key and enjoy!! Nick

You do not need to fully compress the rubber seal. As tight as you can get it by hand should be fine.

Thanks I will drop him a line