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Regret to say I think it will have to be let go. Whilst there may be the odd regular prepared to contribute I doubt it'll be enough to warrant continuing. Apart from the excellent technical info, the forum has been a nice "matey" sounding board, with some of us probably sharing thoughts and feelings that we wouldn't necessarily do with our partners or family, but with Tony passing that will dwindle away. WIM has brought a few of us together randomly and I'll always be thankful for that, but life and interests move on & change, new technology and platforms pop up and I've seen other forums disappear for much the same reasons as this one's decline. We have already lost some that have had massive respect, such as Sagitar and now Tony, and while its a nice thought to continue I think the hard reality is that we will all wander off on our own tangents and maybe connect with new people via other platforms. Rich, you have been a real pal to Tony and to all of us, but you shouldn't feel obliged to be out of pocket or to soldier on regardless. Andy

I only found out about this yesterday and I have been debating whether to post about it. But I have decided I will as I don't want Tony's good name to be tarnished. It seems the owners of Blackboots sold the company to Protyre at the end of January. At the moment they are including the name Blackboots but I suspect this will change in time. They are covering everything from tyres to geometry. So if you go to the centre or book your car in for a geometry please be aware that you will no longer be dealing with WIM and Tony's excellent reputation. I don't know if any of the staff have been kept but I would hate for anyone to go there expecting the WIM treatment and be disappointed. So it's looking like it is the end of an era sadly. As for the forum, it will be staying for the meantime but I can't say for how long 😔

Well, it is sad that it may come to an end, but without Tony and the team giving us info about cars (HOTW was great), I'm not sure what purpose the forum serves now . I have enjoyed it immensely and can't thank the people here enough for everything that has been discussed and debated. It's been an incredible time, but feel it has lost its heart and soul with Tony B now gone. Paying out of your own pocket isn't financially wise and without WIM behind the forum what shall it be for? All I can say, and I'm sure this is echoed through all the users on here is thank you Rich for your selfless support in running and maintaining the forum. It really is one of those roles thank can be thankless and forgotten about, but we really do appreciate all you have done .

I reckon it's all a big story you've invented to cover the forthcoming newspaper article in case any of us read it: Tony Bones exposed himself to 2 old Ladies One had a stroke, the other couldn't reach.

Decided it's time to part with an old friend who has been languishing in lockups since the mid '80s... Good old bus started up without too much persuasion, but won't drive away as I've taken the front calipers off and the clutch is rusted on. Other than that mechanically it's not a difficult project for someone, but it will need quite a lot of bodywork surgery. Was hoping to sell the registration separately but I believe it has to be roadworthy for a while before I can do that so it's now out there on Facebook Marketplace and Car & Classics at £5500 - let's see how it goes. Certainly had lots of initial interest but no offers near what I want yet.

If there aren't enough contributors and it must go, we will still have the knowledge that it was Tony's passion and he wanted to communicate with the world. He wanted to build this all up and he succeeded. It is such a terrible shame. However, it would need all of us to put to it and you are right - you couldn't and shouldn't do it alone. I'll contribute.

This thread might help you 🙂

What have we told you about selfies Tony 🤣🤣😂😂 . .

Glad it passed and hope you can make use of it! With ref to your E10 question in another thread. I believe you can add dye and it separates out the ethanol.. Loads of videos on YouTube on it.. Apparently loads of classic car owners do this already

Call the hospital

Here you go:

The orange illumination wire needs to connect to a wire that goes live when your lights are on. It's used to dim the screen. You may not need it if the system has a built in light sensor. You can't take it of the existing Lexus harness as it gets it's signal from the instrument ECU and you wouldn't know what you might be back feeding. Best bet is to take it off one of the existing panel lights. The easiest will be one the seat heater switch backlights lights as you will have them disconnected already with the headunit out. I would try it without first as most detect the lighting levels in the car. Does the Android want an illumination input? Have you got the pinout for it? Blue wire for antenna remote goes live when you turn the system on to extend the antenna, or to power a radio signal amplifier. Unless you have one, that's not needed. Same with the other one labelled power control. If you want, you can use it to power anything else you want switching on when you turn the system on. (pretty low current though). Only one of the blue wires will work - it will be the one from the new stereo. Yep, you are right on the mute wire - you would only need that if you have something external to your system. I can't remember now, Has yours got the factory satnav in? Will you be using it or the Android one? Only because you will have to make another change or the satnav screen won't work, you have to fool it into thinking there is an original headunit. Are you fitting a reversing camera too? Well worth it for the price they are.

Yes it would be difficult if the charge has become quite low. When I had my Bluebird (blast from the past) I had terrible troubles with batteries on it. I got a reel on mains cable and extended the croc connectors on the end. Had it running under my back gate and under through the engine so I could close the bonnet. I would imagine it would be ok at 5A as you would expect the charger to drop at around 80% of the charge to a lower current. GEL batteries are more sensitive to charging currents though so there is the possibility the manufacturer isn't just being over-cautious. In saying that, it's only 0.8A of a difference and you would expect the tolerance margin to be larger than that. I'm 50/50 on whether you should give it a go or not. I bet loads of people have lobbed on those crappy large 8A chargers Halfords used to sell. For testing, do you still have your multimeter? Put on 20V setting and read the voltage. Should be about 12.4-12.6V. (If it's less than 11v, charge it) Turn the car on but don't crank it. See what the voltage drop is. Switch off, leave for 1 minute and do the same. If it's more than 2v drop it needs a charge and may not be in best condition.

Yes, definitely, assuming there was a standard set of battery sizes and capacities but even then it wouldn't be easy. Lots of checks would need to be in place, the main one being capacity testing on board the battery with full display of history and energy used. This could be fed to the car. Without that you wouldn't know it's true capacity, only the usual vehicle voltage tests and maybe a quick cycle test. I wouldn't like to hire a 100kWh battery only to get 88kWh. They would have to be laden with a lot more stress sensors if in and out of cars. Minor bumps measured and that sort of thing too because you wouldn't know what's happened on previous trips if it wasn't your own battery pack. Maybe the answer is for everyone to have two packs - one on the car and one in the wash? At 500kg would still need a method to store and swap but possibly something to look at. Negates cost savings but still goes to help using more fossil fuels. We'll still need charging stations for a long time into the future though.

BTW looks like the garage have now agreed on a replacement , largely thanks to the technical views people have offered

Sorry to diversify on this but it did tickle me. While I was looking through the police and newspaper reports, I read that someone broke into the local petting zoo and swapped all the animals around. Andy Johnson, owner of the shop said: “Someone got in in the middle of the night and mixed up all the animals. Nothing was taken and the wallaby must have got out through a fence. We haven’t seen it since.” Asked if he wanted an appeal launched for the return of the animal, Mr Johnson said: “Not really because the last time it happened a few years ago people brought a lot of wallabies that weren’t even ours.”

Joe has now left Pro Tyre, he was the last member of staff from the WIM days. See the other thread about where he's now working. When I was there the other week Pro Tyre have changed none of the WIM or BB signs, they haven't even put their own name on the building! Therefore, still trading off Tony's good reputation 18 months later 😞

Well yesterday I ordered my next CHR, my third, a 1.8 GR Sport in Scarlet Flare with leather. Checked the app this morning and they have one built and ready to ship from Turkey. Probably get it end of March / April 😃

Hey, long shot.. But I'm almost certain I now own this exact corolla t sport and have had it for 4 years, does SD03YHS ring any bells? 👀 If so she still goes strong and is very loved. Just a pic of her Last July on a nurburgring trip I did

They aren't as laden with precious metals nowadays , modern cats arent worth anything like some of the ones from the early 2000's are

No filters used here, just straight point and shoot from my phone. I have resized the images to fit them on here... Really is pretty and the people are wonderful and friendly, however you do need to keep a keen eye out for the wild dogs as they can be a bit of a nuisance at times.. Also some of the roads are mega steep here, its not unusual to find a 40% gradient slope in town,

Logically, it makes perfect sense to an owner, yet the total money spent/time invested would if totalled up over the years seem totally irrational, almost to the point of sheer lunacy. However let me finish with this. When you hear it finally at WIM one day, you will begin to understand.

Did you see Top Gear last night ? They had to buy a mid life crisis car for £8k - Paddy bought a Toyarri F355 but he went over budget at £9.5k looked immaculate. Is that the true value ?

Rich, that's like saying make all bridges in the UK able to withstand motorway traffic, Or make all bridged the same height. Some railway lines were laid when carriages where not that tall, as a result different routes can handle certain types of rail traffic.. Hence all their routes are normally computer calculated

Well. Yesterday was the day to do the job. Aim: 1)remove low pressure fuel pump and syphon out of tank using a hose 2)Clear out fuel lines 3) replace fuel filter 4)put everything back together Expected duration 2-3 hrs.. Reality : 1) could not remove 160mm cap that secures low pressure pump in the tank. We spent hours trying to get it undone with a plethora of tools and different methods. Pro tip: spend the £15 and get the proper tool in advance. We ended up getting a small drill powered pump and sucking the fuel out the tanks pump.. It worked but boy it was slow... Time taken 1hr to empty just shy of 40 liters. 2) not as easy as I expected! Ended up doing this last by putting fresh diesel in the tank and using the priming pump to pull it through, took ages! 3) to get to the fuel filter, I only had to remove the battery, airbox, intake pipe, turbo intake pipe.... The fuel filter is situated on the engine bulkhead, so 3 very awkwardly positioned nuts were undone and filter removed... At this point we find out nissan sold me the wrong fuel filter... 1h round trip to the Nissan garage to get the right one and it fits. Re fit the filter, turbo intake pipe, airbox, battery and intake pipe... Primed the system and it started up no problem, checked all fittings for leaks ect and it all looked OK. Actul time taken... 6hrs! Can I get my day back please

Crazy idea. Cyclists would feel too safe (or bloody minded as it is their right of way), bomb it around the island and the drivers would really need to look around and behind to judge the cyclists speed. As well as cyclists being hit, any cyclist could go into the side of vehicles. Stopping to check would cause a terrible snarl up of traffic so not a good option for either. I wonder if the driver that hit the beacon in this case was trying to look around too much, while on a turn, while watching what was ahead? Poor design. Cyclists and pedestrians are absolutely different to motor vehicles and don't mix well. I really wish governing bodies could see that. Best option is pedestrian crossing if they need to get people and cycles across safely. The slower, less dense traffic (pedestrians and cyclists) must have an option to stop the majority, not have right of way over it as it simply doesn't work. History has proven that. There will always be human error and stupidity on the roads and governing bodies must bear some responsibility for that and not put people in that position.

It's not absolutely perfect. It still pulls slightly right and needs slight steering input to stay straight. I need to check wheel balance or distortion as there's vibration through the steering wheel, but overall fuel economy on the way home was 3 mpg better than on the way down and it feels much better.

Yep we can do that mate

I was watching the feeder yesterday when the rain started. The Goldfinches stayed for a while but soon flew off. The Bluetits got a real soaking, after which I found it really difficult to get anything sharp

Its surprising how few people know how to change a wheel. I had to teach a 50yr old neighbour how to safely remove his wheels the other week as he wanted my opinion on his brakes. He covers about 30k miles per year and didnt have a clue When I was taught to drive in the military changing wheels and basic checks (POWER) ie (Petrol, oil, water, electrical and rubber) were taught before you got behind the wheel

I'd go with MICHELIN X-ICE XI3 or BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK (listed here https://carpassionate.com/best-winter-tires/) I've driven on both on a different car and they perform nearly the same.

Tony: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-employees Specifically:

Too late then. Facts not opinions are what counts.

Maybe Tony works twice as hard on a Thursday

Petrol is now labelled E5 and diesel is B7.

That didn't work? I'll try again...... Ok it worked this time. This song and sound must rank in the top 10 ever, if not maybe #1?

WOW!! My car now drives like it’s brand new. The guys at Wheels In Motion in Chesham were incredible and total perfectionists. Tony and Joe, the alignment technicians spent most of today tinkering till the alignment and the drift to the left was completely eradicated. 2 camber bolts fitted and a control arm replaced after a botched job by a so called Merc specialist corrected, bolts and alignment adjusted till it was spot on! Car drives like it’s brand new. If u have the same issue I had... go see these guys. Well worth the 5 hour round trip!! Cannot thank you enough. Total professionals and technicians that care as much about their craft as much as you care about your car

If it's their own website, they're not likely to publish it, unless it is powered by Google reviews. They may not show it on their site but it will be in Googles reviews? You can sometimes add to google maps if you search for the business on maps and scroll up (or left pane on a pc/lappy) and you can leave a review. Don't forget Trustpilot too. If they don't play ball on any form of recompense, get some footage for Youtube (from a public place) and let people know their professionalism. They may then Offer to come to an agreement to take it down. Legally of course, you don't want it to look like bribery. I do hope you can get some recording of them saying something about the nuts they put on.

Well, generally it is but some little bits aren't quite the same. The spec is so complex, where they can they make their own enhancements. Some poeple exploit those enhancements which of course would';t work on another browser that had them. However, it's not Chromein this case as I use chrome and I always have a few versions for testing and it works on previous I wonder if it's an add-in causing it? (It's not uBlock, I have that too, although I do have WIM excluded.) If you haven't tried already, open the thread in incognito mode - the extensions will be disabled. Try it and see if that makes a difference.

It depends upon the criteria that you use. "The largest tyre manufacturer" implies that they use the largest volume of resources to manufacture tyres. I find that difficult to believe. If you had said that they make the largest number of tyres, I could believe that because it makes no reference to the size of the tyres. If on the other hand you had asked which company converts the largest amount (weight or volume) of elastomers into tyres I suspect you might get a different answer. Similarly, if you compare on the basis of sales revenue you definitely get a different answer. I noted that in one recent year Bridgestone had a revenue (from tyre manufacture alone) of $26.2 billion; while Lego had a total revenue from all sales of $2.1 billion. On that basis, they certainly don't look like "The largest tyre manufacturer".

My how far we have come but this was high tech in it's day.

Nice ride, looking forward to seeing the detail pics.

Nice upgrade Rich you have been busy.... Forum looks and works superb, nice and clean looking... The old forum was very behind the times so a bit challenging for new members. If i'm honest had Rich not dropped a hint there was something going on with the forum i would have thought Firefox was on a bender