HardHat

Probably most of you guys know this and there may have been previous threads, however while we are on the subject, this is how it works: Stock tyre: 185/70R13 Rim diameter = 13inches 13inches x 25.4mm/inch = 330.2mm Tread width = 185mm Side wall height = 185 x 70% = 129.5mm Diameter of the wheel (d) = 330.2 + (129.5x2) = 589.2mm Therefore circumference of the wheel (pi x d) = 3.142857 x 589.2 = 1851.8mm And there are a zillion calculators on the web to do the above calc. New Tyre 185/70R14 Do the same math for a 185/70R14 wheel and you get the circumference of 1931.6mm. Thats 104.31% of the stock wheel circumference, meaning 4.31% increase. You will be doing 104.31km/h when your speedo shows 100km/h. Apart from the error in speedo, car will suffer a reduction of pulling power and the transmission is likely to stress more in acceleration. So as a thumb rule, stay clear of increasing wheel circumference if possible. If you must increase rim size, go for a lower profile tyre. For example, you can do 225/55R14 and still will be at 98.13% of the stock wheel circumference. However, with all the rough road surfaces and pot holes and speed humps and what not on SL roads, a lower profile tyre will fetch its own raft of problems. Furthermore, bigger wheel diameter is also likely to impede and not improve the handling. I think there are quite a few members in the forum who have been there done that in fiddling with rim and wheel sizes, who could bring more light into this subject.

whoa! you mean there were four guys on that Chaly? Not that I doubt if it was the case

IMO this thread could have been used to have a valuable discussion about Viva Elite. But the opportunity was missed by some Elite owners themselves, as one posted about the distance run while fuel warning light is on and a few others joined the band wagon.

Pleasure! wading is best avoided whenever possible. However seeing how easily roads in and around Colombo get flooded after a downpour, sometimes one might find him or herself with no option but to wade through. If you must wade and after you've ensured that the depth of water is manageable, proceed in one slow but continuous motion through water until you're in the dry again and never stop in between. The trick is to maintain a bow-wave in front of the car so that the engine bay stays dry. Also keep revs low as high revs might suck water up the air intake, even though it is not submerged. Having said that, best to avoid wading. Either find another route or if that's not an option, park the car and wait it out until water recedes.

the RPM drop when A/C kicks in sounds like a classic case of the vaccum line being disconnected or clogged. Suggest checking this before letting any makabass fiddle with the carb

he.. he.. memories. Back in the A/L days I managed to pursuade my then GF to climb onto the pillion of a borrowed Dax to go for a ride. The joy lasted only 5 minutes as her father chased us on his Yamaha XS250, stopped blocking my path and whisked the girl away. She was grounded for months and I was asked to stay away if I didn't wish to get my face and limbs re-arranged. He happened to be a 6'5" tall high ranking officer in SL Army and I well heeded the advice. sorry, OT

Yes, if the engine didn't stall then you've dodged the bullet, and possibly there is no harm in running the car. Nevertheless, its a good idea to get it checked. Pay attention to condition of oil in gear box and differential, as water could find its way in through the breathers. Exhaust barrel, electrical componenets in the engine bay and CV boots (if cracked) are some other places which may suffer water ingestion.

what a relief!So you're gonna by one now? Which spec are you going for - the GXL, VX or the Sahara?

And yes as MD said the Honda Cub 50/70/90 is allegedly THE greatest bike of all times. Having ridden many makes and models of bikes over the years I kind of see the point now My FIL has got an 80 Sri C90, bought brand-new back in 1980, one owner and still running smooth. I hope my wife will inherit it one day

K9 make no mistake Chally is now an emerging classic, so with the rest of the 80's Honda minibike clan like the Dax, Paladin and Palfrey - remember those?the Chally was perhaps the first expereince of motorized self commuting for most teenagers in the '80s Today's plastic scooters are no match to those funny old workhorses

Aha....! That explains why quite a few Viva Elites are road-hogging in broad daylight, to the sheer frustration of all other drivers trailing behind. They are participating in the "longest distance with blinking fuel warning competition"

PHOTOSHOP.See that the lettering is at a perfect staright line and does not follow the curvature of CIVIC's boot lid

Yes, seems a far fetched It's hard to imagine that a Morris Minor power plant and radiator, etc will fit under a VW Beetle hood, and where will you find space for the gearbox?

And the award for the most useless post goes to..............

Mate, the Land Rover Series 3 was produced circa 1971 to 1985. The contents of your query do not sound like this is the model you are looking for. Are you referring to Land Rover Discovery Series III (Or Discovery 3 as it is mostly known), which started production in 2004? Why not be specific on the model you are looking for, do a simple internet search on specifications, engine size and transmission, etc, and then seek advice from the forum regarding user expereinces, maintenance and parts availablilty, price, etc in the SL context?

I had a 2003 CRV (don't remember the model number). It was a good car in many aspects and my requirement was 95% paved-road use. However, at the few times I took it for some mild off road, the 4WD system failed miserably. The car is basically a front wheel drive with the 4WD supposed to kick-in automatically when front wheels loose traction. This means by the time the rear wheel come into action the front wheels have already dug into the ground, especially if you are on sand. Go for the X-trail, in which you get an on-dash switch to manually lock-in the 4WD mode when needed. Be prepared for horrendous fuel economy as every one else have also said, specially if most of your driving is going to be crawling in rush hour traffic

are you going for the 4WD version?

for a short while, say a month or so - yes, overkillfor a long time - definitely need to get the load off your tyres otherwise they will develop a flat spot which will give your car a very irritating vibration when travelling at speed. Trust me, seen that first hand.

Crosswind (BTW, are you a pilot?) you are absolutely right. Shouldn't be an issue if car is propped at the jacking points. However, there are stories out there of bad expereinces people had doing this, especially on monocoque body Jap cars, like doors going out of alingnment and stuff, so perhaps not worth taking the risk.Suspension would damage if the car was driven on bad tyres. As for storage, guess it would be alright if you selected four used tyres of same size, inflated them hard and left the car on them.

MD, thanks for the reply mate. Yes I think that's what I'll have to do. The speedo went kaput last time I was in SL and a quick check at an auto electritian found the sensor to be the culprit. Made a few calls to parts dealers and some of them had the unit for Pajero but they were unable to confirm if the same would match L400 gearbox. Ran out of time so just left the car unfixed. Going back to CMB for a short visit and trying to get the thing fixed in the shortest possible time.

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a speedo sensor for my 1995 Mitsubishi L400 Spacegear. (The unit that plugs into the gear box, which generates the signal for the speedometer) The vehicle has a 4D56 Turbo engine and auto transmission, which I assume was shared with the Pajero and L200 Strada models of same era. I haven't checked at Panchi or any of the recondition parts shops yet, and actually a bit pressed for time to search through many shops. So if anyone here could give me a lead to a place or two where I could find this part, that will be highly appreciated.

Obviously there are different schools of thought on this but some would say that placing the car on jack stands for a long period of time may encourage the chassis / body to go out of shape. Keeping the tyres inflated to a higher pressuere (say 5-10 psi more than the usual) while the car is in storage may save the tyres a bit but most probably they will still develop a slight flat spot if car is not moved at least once a month As an alternative, you could fit an old, second hand set of rims and tyres and keep your good wheels well inflated and lying flat on the floor while the car is in storage. one more thing, never use a tarp or a cheap car cover to cover the car. Use a good quality breatheable car cover if you have one, otherwise leave it uncovered. If possible get someone to open the doors once in a fortnight or so for a few minutes to air it out.

IS THE LEVEL OF ILLUMINATION SAME WHEN ENGINE IS RUNNING AND NOT RUNNING?? DOES THE BRIGHTNESS CHANGE WITH ENGINE RPM??

Good one Jaliya, that's most probably what JC's expression would be, if he found out that Top Gear brand is now on jocks

Welcome to the world of online forums mate!