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Ah... I'm getting flashbacks! I suffered a front subframe bush change on my sister's horrible Clio of the same vintage. Secondly, I'd call that complete assembly a "radiator support". The frame to the left of it, in the photos, is what I'd call the "front subframe". Usually, it's the two...

Sure you can - but there's not much advantage in having an auto if you have to do that? (Unless you've a bad left leg and can't press a clutch)? By no means quick - 2 ton, 7 seat SUV with 150 horse - it's never going to be the drag racer of choice! But against the same vehicle with the...

Yes... but... You can put the manual in the right gear for the overtake before you even start to press the throttle, and have your revs already up and in the power band for when you mash the pedal. F1 "flappy paddle" stuff is really optimised for performance on every shift, so not quite the...

Yeah, I like to "make progress"! Living where I do, we have lots of single carriageway, twisty, hilly roads through beautiful countryside and lots of folk bimbling along, admiring the view. That's all fine by me. It's how Cumbria makes much of its living, but if I've places to be and I've...

They're all part of the generic group - "automated manuals". If they don't have a torque converter, they're an automated manual. And yes, some are better than others. Different manufactures have their own "marketingspeak" names for them - DSG for the VAG cars. "Selespeed" for the Italians...

1. You still don't have complete control over which gear and when. 2. You have absolutely no control over clutch engagement (if it's an automated manual) and if it's a torque converter auto you don't even have a clutch. 3. Cost. 4. Complexity. Picture the scene... You're driving along a...

I'm sure we're talking across purposes here? Yes, I prefer manual boxes in cars that have to change gear. I think we've established that? If I had an auto that changed gear for me, I wouldn't like it as much. If I had an auto where I could get rid of one of the disadvantages by changing...

I bet it isn't really seamless! I've been in some upmarket cars where you can "scarcely feel" the change (unless you're accelerating hard), but apart from the old Variomatic DAFs, I've never been in an auto that is truly seamless.

That's where we differ. I don't see that as the best of both worlds at all! I see it as a way of trying to make up for some of the inherent deficiencies of an auto box.

Auto boxes do have advantages. (You don't have to change gear). If you have to change gear manually to circumvent the kickdown delay, then you have reduced that advantage, have you not?

Back in the days when handbrakes were pretty rubbish, it was common to leave a car in gear on a steep hill, as well as applying the handbrake. When auto boxes were introduced, they had no way of doing this, because the torque converter would allow slow slip anyway, so the car would still roll...

Yes I do! But that's why I prefer a manual box to an auto box. It allows complete control of not only which gear and when, but how that gear is engaged. So if I'm in a car that has to change gears, I prefer to do it myself.

Yes indeed (as you can on her car), but both of those reduce the advantage of the auto box - if you're going to change gear manually, all it saves you, is pressing a clutch pedal, and it still denies precise clutch control.

Early European ones were pretty horrible. American auto boxes could get away with only having three speeds, because they were usually mated to 10 squillion litre V8s that had so much torque they didn't really need gears anyway, but when used in small engined European cars, I always found the...

Yes. Don't really need to, IMO but yes, I think it's best practice. Yes Yes - the most important bit. As Noreseman says, to do otherwise put a bit of a strain on the gearbox. Depending n the handbrake and suspension setup, even if the handbrake is fully engaged, as soon as you release the...

Stumbled across this on another forum. Hadn't seen it before. Made me smile...

It certainly did! Buying the right oil is much harder now. Sometimes, the manufacturer-specific standards deliver a tangible benefit - for example the VW "long life" oil standard. If you do big miles, it might be worth paying the extra for the "long life" stuff, but if you don't do enough...

Indeed! :ROFLMAO: But I suppose I should be pleased that our man Simon here, now seems to be going to extraordinary lengths to tell us that he never claimed EV batteries "explode". Really, I'm inclined to agree with him. It is indeed a very rare event.... Maybe he's a closet EV fanboy after...

Yes, I think that probably is what you'd see... (Whether you're right or not, is a completely different question, of course...) ;)

:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: I see, so we're going to play a synonym game where we have to describe an "explosion" without using the word "explosion" are we...? :rolleyes: OK, we won't say "explosion" then. We'll talk about a buildup of pressure causing something to burst...