[Arragonis]

So, before I rudely interrupted myself...

What has been happening ? Well I had to take off the nostril and radiator blocks for the servicing at Mr Toyota as mentioned on the previous page. I kind of got distracted into the real world for a while and I haven't refitted them since, but I have continued to try and hypermile when possible - its like an addiction, I even do it when in other people's cars including a Range Rover Sport. My technique is coming better but it is harder over a longer journey.

Mr T's servicing was good but now that dealer has moved to a really inconvenient place so I need to find another alternative. I also need to get them to look at the brakes as the previous dealer decided to "skim" the disks (aka. rotors) due to corrosion on the inside, but the result is that they now "snatch" at low speeds. George has a 5 year warranty so hopefully they will fix it, plus they caused it in the first place.

Other than that the only mods to George have been a K&N Panel filter (basically a K&N replacement for the standard one) which was very cheap (<£10) at a car show I went to. I planned some performance tests for a CityBug website including a "snorkel" type induction kit but I haven't had time yet - I may not bother as the result will be no change except for more noise - and these cars are noisy already.

I also added some weight in the form of soundproofing to the insides of the doors. Why add weight ? These "bugs" are about as basic as they come, and the road noise is quite loud. I also have some under-carpet stuff to add but the weather hasn't been good enough to strip out the carpets and fit it.

My tyres have been maintained at 45 which helps a lot with RR, the fronts are still about 50% worn (based on the legal tread depth here in the UK) and the rears about 10% at 11.5K miles. I'll get Michelins to replace the worn ones when they go below minimum and swap the new ones to the back - which is recommended here.

George is due another service in the next couple of weeks and after that the nostril and radiator grill blocks will be back in place for a faster warm up. I would service (basically oil change for this one) myself but I need the stamps for the warranty for when/if the clutch goes - its a weak point.

On the downside, A-Junior started a new school in September which means my suburban journey has now become more urban, including (shudder) into Edinburgh city. I'll do some videos so you can share the pain, but it is an FE killer which will get worse with time and temp I think.

Other than that George is still saving me money, tax was £20 this year compared to £165 for Helga, insurance is due and quotes are about £220 compared to £400+ for Helga.