It’s The Latte Latte Delta Tea Break 2018

[Colin McKay]

And getting back to freezing diesel......

Mid winter, early '80s. Borough Green in Kent. Pre-mobiles, I had a 2-way phone system in my truck where you had to relay messages through Securicor. 4am and got a request for help from a friend who ran a knackered Scammell Crusader with a horrible Rolls Royce engine, always a pig to start in the cold. Tried towing him down the A25 until the air ran out and the brakes came on just outside the bus garage (now houses) so borrowed their jump start batteries. Now the Scammell had an air filter on the back the size of a small dustbin. We dipped a rag in diesel and set fire to it in the air box with a coathanger attached and instructions to whip the rag out as soon as the engine started to cough to avoid it being sucked in. This I duly did with a degree of enthusiasm and when the clouds of white smoke cleared I could see a milk float disappearing over the horizon with smoke and flames belching from the back and the milkie hunched over the wheel, totally oblivious. I wonder what he thought when he got to his first delivery, assuming he made it that far

[Mike Bell]

Great stories Colin! The 1960s tractors we had (2wd obviously in those days) were fitted with a very crude diff lock. You stood on a pedal behind your foot and it pushed a pin into the diff to jam it. Made them virtually un-steerable, and even when you released pressure it could take seconds to free, especially if any side load. The fun bit of driving tractors in those days was their independent rear brakes (none on front). You could spin the machine round on the inside wheel if you wanted..... Happy days!

[Mike Harte]

What a load of wusses, you are! Can't steer with a locked diff!

I raced for years with fully locked diffs, 'cos I couldn't afford any of those fancy-shmancy LSDs, and I managed to get around every corner that presented itself to me. And never "attacked" a marshal directing me on the way, either.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

What a load of wusses, you are! Can't steer with a locked diff!

I raced for years with fully locked diffs, 'cos I couldn't afford any of those fancy-shmancy LSDs,

What we in Australia would refer to as a CIG Locker Diff!

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

What a load of wusses, you are! Can't steer with a locked diff!

I raced for years with fully locked diffs, 'cos I couldn't afford any of those fancy-shmancy LSDs, and I managed to get around every corner that presented itself to me. And never "attacked" a marshal directing me on the way, either.

Slightly different circumstances and application, methinks!

There's quite a few significant cars through history that ran without a diff, so you're in a select club, Mike....

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Slightly different circumstances and application, methinks!

There's quite a few significant cars through history that ran without a diff, so you're in a select club, Mike....

I wouldn't belong to any club that have me as a member, but thanks anyway!

[bauble]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

I wouldn't belong to any club that have me as a member, but thanks anyway!

I'm sure that I have a club suitable for you somewhere in my Golf bag, it's called a Mashie Niblick.

PS; I don't have a golf bag/club/ and I have no idea what a mashie niblick is, but undoubtedly John Elwin will enlighten me, as he knows everything about everthing.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by bauble

I'm sure that I have a club suitable for you somewhere in my Golf bag, it's called a Mashie Niblick.

PS; I don't have a golf bag/club/ and I have no idea what a mashie niblick is, but undoubtedly John Elwin will enlighten me, as he knows everything about everthing.

No time to tell you! It's a fabulous day & I'm just off to Belgium.

[Tel 911S]

On the subject of freezing diesel .
It was often a problem with sudden cold spells in this country that the fuel could freeze on a cold day causing problems on the road .
Then they started adding antifreeze , [ winter diesel ] , through the winter months .

My personal view is that at some time ,[ perhaps 80s or 90s ], it was realised that winter diesel was less efficient & the ,[ perhaps ], 20% less mileage that it gave would be extra income for the fuel companies & government tax .
So I believe that we are on winter diesel here now most of the year .

Many many times I have been driving thought France etc & have found a tank fill up there has given me an extra 20 to 25 % more miles than the fuel I started with from the UK.

Has anybody else noticed anything similar .

[bauble]

I see that Freezing Diesel are playing at the local Dance Hall next week

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Many many times I have been driving thought France etc & have found a tank fill up there has given me an extra 20 to 25 % more miles than the fuel I started with from the UK.

Has anybody else noticed anything similar .

I don't drive abroad much but the only thing I've noticed is my fuel consumption has risen dramatically recently due to having to leave the engine ticking over longer to defrost it twice a day.
One thing I find a godsend is the heated windscreen on frosty and snowy days and wife's car has heated seat and steering wheel which will defo be on my list of things to have if I ever replace my ageing Mondeo.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

There's quite a few significant cars through history that ran without a diff, so you're in a select club, Mike....

Didn't the works Porsche 935 run at LeMans race without a diff in some years - I believe that the argument was that it was one less thing to break, and the Mulsane Straight was the most important part of the track anyway.

[VIVA GT]

A lot of Group A RS500's ran a spool diff which was basically a locked diff (there were no sun or planet gears). As long as the wheel alignment was set accordingly it didn't hinder them on track and made the handling far more predictable than running a 'Detroit Locker' which would appear to switch from an open diff, to a locked one at random!
One big drawback of the spool was that it made the cars very difficult to manoeuvre by hand as any steering lock applied would practically stop the car in its tracks!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

On the subject of freezing diesel .
It was often a problem with sudden cold spells in this country that the fuel could freeze on a cold day causing problems on the road .
Then they started adding antifreeze , [ winter diesel ] , through the winter months .

My personal view is that at some time ,[ perhaps 80s or 90s ], it was realised that winter diesel was less efficient & the ,[ perhaps ], 20% less mileage that it gave would be extra income for the fuel companies & government tax .
So I believe that we are on winter diesel here now most of the year .

Many many times I have been driving thought France etc & have found a tank fill up there has given me an extra 20 to 25 % more miles than the fuel I started with from the UK.

Has anybody else noticed anything similar .

Before we moved to France (2004) but were making regular visits, I always found that my car went further on a tank of French petrol than it did on UK. I had an Alfa 155 then & a friend who had the same model, also spending a lot of time in France, reported the same experience.

[Eric Falce]

Smokey RR Eagles had nothing on the Garner 180s, starting them on a summer morning would cover the whole of Charlton in a cloud of white diesel fumes, we had one of the first Volvo FB88 ever in this country , that and the Scania blitzed the Donald Stokes truck industry, passed my test in 1957 in a Ford ET6 fitted with a flat top Mercury V8, enough said.

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Before we moved to France (2004) but were making regular visits, I always found that my car went further on a tank of French petrol than it did on UK. I had an Alfa 155 then & a friend who had the same model, also spending a lot of time in France, reported the same experience.

Ah but surely your odometer would have been reading in Johnny Foreigner's km while in France, not good old British miles. It only *seems* to go further than proper John Bull jungle juice.

Easy mistake to make, old boy.





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[Colin McKay]

Before I set out on my own I drove (amongst other antiques) an ERF A series fitted with Eric's aforementioned Gardner 180. Starting in cold weather the side exit exhaust under the front bumper would blow the most perfect white smoke rings which would float slowly skywards. Oh, that wonderful smell of unburnt diesel! I'm sure the guy asleep in the next truck enjoyed it just as much

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Ah but surely your odometer would have been reading in Johnny Foreigner's km while in France, not good old British miles. It only *seems* to go further than proper John Bull jungle juice.

Easy mistake to make, old boy.





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Er, no...

[Gerard C]

Never made any comparaison between UK and french juice. What I can say is we can make a longer distance with premium than with reg', both being bought in a supermarket petrol station. The difference is enough to make premium worth. Bearing in mind that diesel is a no more up to date discussion now. Not enough to become historic, Bob!

[bauble]

Gerard, there are several reasons why certain individuals have recorded better MPG figures when using French Go-Juice. Driving on a daily basis in the UK involves a lot of stop-start motoring. Driving to work, the shopping run, school run etc., however, most people travelling on the continent would be driving for long periods on main, fast roads where one would expect a better economy in terms of mileage per gallon/litre. Probably many would drive more carefully when unsure of local speeding laws, and with less experience of enforcement methods. Another factor could well be the air! Perhaps more moisture in the atmosphere would improve performance allowing a greater oxygen content through the carburettor, especially in the mountainous regions.

I wonder if there s a difference between petrol bought in France and that purchased in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Montenegro or Monaco?

As always I expect Monsieur Jean to have an opinion.

Salut!

Robert.

[midgetman]

Oh Bauble, I'm so disappointed - a sensible answer.

I thought my moment of lunacy was far more in keeping with the thread. Please go back to Narnia straight away!



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[Mike Bell]

With all the current controversy in athletics and cycling, the Cambridge half marathon yesterday wasn’t going to be left out.......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-43289854

[delta]

Crikkee that’s tough . My first London Marathon I used a mates number . We both ran a half week before and he got injured and gave me his number . Did not win so got away with it . Happy days . Guess you can’t do that now .

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by bauble

Gerard, there are several reasons why certain individuals have recorded better MPG figures when using French Go-Juice. Driving on a daily basis in the UK involves a lot of stop-start motoring. Driving to work, the shopping run, school run etc., however, most people travelling on the continent would be driving for long periods on main, fast roads where one would expect a better economy in terms of mileage per gallon/litre. Probably many would drive more carefully when unsure of local speeding laws, and with less experience of enforcement methods. Another factor could well be the air! Perhaps more moisture in the atmosphere would improve performance allowing a greater oxygen content through the carburettor, especially in the mountainous regions.

I wonder if there s a difference between petrol bought in France and that purchased in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Montenegro or Monaco?

As always I expect Monsieur Jean to have an opinion.

Salut!

Robert.

I started the claim about better fuel mileages in Europe so I had better explain .
I realise that in wintertime you will use more fuel , so it might not be realised that winter diesel is less efficient .
But I have driven over a half a million miles in Europe , & what made me think that the UK was using winter diesel all year round was that on a regular run I had I would come off at Calais with a full tank , & in the same day would fill up twice in France .
The French fuel would take me 20% to 25% further for each tankful , on the same day , on the same roads , in the Summer .
This happened several times on similar runs across Europe .

[bauble]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Oh Bauble, I'm so disappointed - a sensible answer.

I thought my moment of lunacy was far more in keeping with the thread. Please go back to Narnia straight away!



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I know, I thought long and hard before trying to add something serious to the forum knowing it might well ruin my reputation as a complete buffoon, but the desire to show off overcame my instincts.
I will try not to let it happen again.

Plase except my cinseer opaligits