Introducing George

[mcrews]

Aygo Bulb Change - Toyota Owners Club - Toyota Forum

this link is a discussion about removing the bulb.....seem to be difficult for some!!

[Arragonis]

If you look back at the Annoyances thread I mention the "difficulties" I had replacing one in Mrs A's previous car. I ended up taking it to the garage and even they only managed it with much turning of the air blue

I've checked the area behind the lights and TBH I think I could probably do it in the time it takes Alonso to get a new set of tyres compared to the Skoda. As for the Prius, I am dreading changing one of those - I think it is in volume 2 of the manual...

[Piwoslaw]

Re: using LEDs to replace normal bulbs:

1. If you use LED turn flashers, then they will blink 2x faster. This is because the relay is made to change its rate if one of the bulbs burn out to let the driver know about it. The effect is that each time you drive with someone they keep telling you "Hey, one of yer bulbs is busted". Faster blinking may keep you from passing registration/MOT inspection.
   The work-around is to add a resistor parallel to the LED, the increased power draw making the relay think the bulb is OK. But wait! If the power draw is increased, then why replace with LEDs in the first place? Sometimes it's possible to find a replacement relay without the 2x option, but that's not easy.
2. I replaced my front position lights with LEDs. After turning the car off there would still be a residual current swimming around the circuitry for a minute. Not enough to light a normal bulb, but enough to make an LED shine. The effect? Each time I got out of the car after dusk someone would tell me I left my lights on. Not really a problem, but an anal inspector/policeman may give you problems if your LED doesn't have all the right symbols on it to make it legal.

[Arragonis]

Thanks - the "position" (aka side) lights will be the ones that are replaced first. After running for a few months without lights on (I used to run with headlights on all the time in the Fabia) I have noticed that people are back to "not seeing" me - pulling out when the distance is too short for example. I thought about DRLs but it seemed like a plug in multi-LED sidelight is easier and just as bright.

[Casanova]

My main car is a Citroen C1, which is mechanically identical to George. I haven't got so many bells and whistles (no satnav, no aircon) but I do have a rev counter

I've kept brim-to-brim figures for each tank since I bought it in December 2008. I've covered just over 46000 miles in that time. The average economy over that time has been 56.46mpg, although I was getting an average of 60mpg in the first year before I moved house (my commute is now shorter and hillier). My best tank has been 517 miles from 35.93 litres, which is 65.4mpg (UK mpg).

Here is a graph of my economy (axis on the right is tank economy in UK mpg). Gaps are where I haven't brimmed it for a while, and low points are where I've misbehaved for some or all of the tank and driven too fast! You can see the seasonal variation, especially in 2009, and you can see it hasn't been as good since I moved house in February 2010.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

My paint issue

Looks like it simply flaked off, i.e. no adherence between bumper and paint.
One cause could be a greasy surface that the paint won't stick to (mold release ?).

You can't just spray bumpers, they need a primer to make the paint stick.
Maybe it wasn't primed on the inside ?


How are those Continental Ecocontact 3 tyres doing ?


One thing my Volvo has going for it, is the way to change lightbulbs.
I can do both in 5 minutes

[Casanova]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Looks like it simply flaked off, i.e. no adherence between bumper and paint.
One cause could be a greasy surface that the paint won't stick to (mold release ?).

You can't just spray bumpers, they need a primer to make the paint stick.
Maybe it wasn't primed on the inside ?

Worth adding, my C1 isn't painted in that area at all; its just unpainted black plastic inner wheelarch trim. Perhaps yours just received some overspray? Which is particularly noticeable because its white.

Tyrewise, my car's on the Michelin Energy E3 tyres that C1s are specced with. They're not very grippy but have come top in an Auto Express LRR tyre test I read. Very long-lasting - my car's on 62000 miles and is still on its 2nd set of fronts and original rears.

Originally Posted by Arragonis

From research the original clutch was undersized even for this car so they failed randomly, some people could get a full 5 years life no issue, and some would go in very few miles.

The current model uses the Yaris one which is larger - seem to be OK. The uprated replacement was just one from a bigger car. There is a "procedure" for testing and/or adjusting it posted as a sticky on the City Bug forum

Mine (manufactured before they fixed the issue in 2008) failed at 56000 miles. Plenty of meat left on the pressure plate, but there were 3 quite flimsy tabs holding it to the outer plate, which had all sheared. Replaced it with the stronger Yaris one, as per the accepted wisdom.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Casanova

My main car is a Citroen C1, which is mechanically identical to George. I haven't got so many bells and whistles (no satnav, no aircon) but I do have a rev counter ...

Hello Cas and welcome - I noted the post count, and thanks for the graph.

George has a few bells and whistles, TBH he came due to the best offer I got at the time. A stripped out one seems more appropriate - its kind of like a Mini City vs a Mini Mayfair with all the extras. OK maybe that ages me...

Yep, speed seems to make a huge difference to FE but I think your figures are pretty good. I'm aiming for a 70 MPG tank to tank average with George, we shall see how it goes.

If you have technique advice I would appreciate your input as I am still learning the switch from Diesel (TDI) to a 1 litre petrol...

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Looks like it simply flaked off, i.e. no adherence between bumper and paint.
One cause could be a greasy surface that the paint won't stick to (mold release ?).

You can't just spray bumpers, they need a primer to make the paint stick.
Maybe it wasn't primed on the inside ?

How are those Continental Ecocontact 3 tyres doing ?

One thing my Volvo has going for it, is the way to change lightbulbs.
I can do both in 5 minutes

I think I may waxoyl the inside - OK its not going to be rust but it stops the paint flaking to spread to the outside. Yeah, I worry about how he looks...

I forgot you are a tyre geek They are pretty damn good if I'm honest - tons of grip dry or wet but I think I have them at too high PSI just now. Good coasts but the ride is rough, I think I'll back them down a bit.

I changed the sidelifghts (position) bulbs tonight - took me 10 mins, but 3 swears...

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Casanova

Worth adding, my C1 isn't painted in that area at all; its just unpainted black plastic inner wheelarch trim. Perhaps yours just received some overspray? Which is particularly noticeable because its white.

Tyrewise, my car's on the Michelin Energy E3 tyres that C1s are specced with.

Thanks for that, mine looks like it was painted deliberately, maybe because its white ? No liners in there.

Originally Posted by Casanova

<clutch>

Mine seems fine, but I did let a friend have a go and there was a smell of burning clutch when he put it back onto my drive. Maybe the new one is marginal with someone not used to it. I'll have to keep an eye on it.