Kick Those Shoes Off and Relax. It's the Delta 2017 Tea Break

[Mike Bell]

Spare wheels? The new van I got last sept doesn't have a full size spare, doesn't have a 'space saver', doesn't have an inflator / repair kit, doesn't have run flats. In fact doesn't have any method of continuing after a puncture. Gives you great confidence when towing across Europe!

[delta]

All sorted "on paper".ive got my Wembley tickets and booked fights from Toulouse. Flight back early Tuesday from Stanstead back to Toulouse. I just need to get from Toulouse back to Pau . One of the Delta crew will stay with truck that I will park in railway station . He is a keen fisherman so will bring his rods and sit by the river in Pau. Not sure what river it is and if there are any fish .

[delta]

There is nothing happening at Zandvoort until Saturday so I have plenty of time .

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Spare wheels? The new van I got last sept doesn't have a full size spare, doesn't have a 'space saver', doesn't have an inflator / repair kit, doesn't have run flats. In fact doesn't have any method of continuing after a puncture. Gives you great confidence when towing across Europe!

Health and safety rules dictate that, in event of any form of breakdown, you should not stay within .5 Km of your vehicle until the police have closed the roads locally and a hazmat team have carried out a visual inspection of the area and then tested for noxious materials and gases measuring concentrations over a 4 hour period.

After that a mechanic with full on-line backup will be allowed to approach the vehicle and carry out further inspection before informing you that they can get the parts required but they are expensive and will take a week to arrive.

He would be happy to tow you 1km up the road to a service area but the computer says no as you vehicle is not one of the 10% of vehicles left on the roads that can actually towed anywhere at all. At that point he will call for a full elevated recovery vehicle and depart.

The penalty for the road closure will be a hefty bill of inconvenience. However the cost of being caught attempting to change a wheel at the roadside may be several years of incarceration and in some countries the death penalty may be applied if you are not in a position to( bribe your way out) persuade the authorities that you had their best interests in mind.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by grantp

Health and safety rules dictate that, in event of any form of breakdown, you should not stay within .5 Km of your vehicle until the police have closed the roads locally and a hazmat team have carried out a visual inspection of the area and then tested for noxious materials and gases measuring concentrations over a 4 hour period.

After that a mechanic with full on-line backup will be allowed to approach the vehicle and carry out further inspection before informing you that they can get the parts required but they are expensive and will take a week to arrive.

He would be happy to tow you 1km up the road to a service area but the computer says no as you vehicle is not one of the 10% of vehicles left on the roads that can actually towed anywhere at all. At that point he will call for a full elevated recovery vehicle and depart.

The penalty for the road closure will be a hefty bill of inconvenience. However the cost of being caught attempting to change a wheel at the roadside may be several years of incarceration and in some countries the death penalty may be applied if you are not in a position to( bribe your way out) persuade the authorities that you had their best interests in mind.

.....you forget to mention that Diane Abbott will be responsible for working out the charges.

A brilliant piece of satire but sadly probably not far from the truth in the depressing modern world.

[Gerard C]

Delta, around Pau and may be inside the city, trout fishing is appreciated. The small river is named "le Gave de Pau". And not le pau de chambre !!

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

.....you forget to mention that Diane Abbott will be responsible for working out the charges.

A brilliant piece of satire but sadly probably not far from the truth in the depressing modern world.

nicely put Grant, and as John says, too close to the truth!

There was a news snippet the other day about a guy in Ireland who crashed in his new Fiesta. As I'm sure those of you that read up on modern motors will know, Ford (among others) offer a connectivity feature that phones the police with your location if you have an accident. This guy's car did just that, but unfortunately when the emergency services got to him he was still in the crashed car- blind drunk and so immediately arrested. Shopped by your car- Whoops.....

[bauble]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

nicely put Grant, and as John says, too close to the truth!

There was a news snippet the other day about a guy in Ireland who crashed in his new Fiesta. As I'm sure those of you that read up on modern motors will know, Ford (among others) offer a connectivity feature that phones the police with your location if you have an accident. This guy's car did just that, but unfortunately when the emergency services got to him he was still in the crashed car- blind drunk and so immediately arrested. Shopped by your car- Whoops.....

And I bet the Bl**y car knew that.

[Gerard C]

Quite right Bob! Should it be a "modern" one he couldn't start it when drunk…*

[delta]

Hi guys, got major problem. The Historic FF2000 brigade are heading down to Pau this weekend. One of our drivers Tom Smith and his girlfriend have broken down near Bracquetuit Northern France. They are being recovered to a garage near by. Any tenthers live nearby that could assist please. Not sure waht has happened to the van but some moral help is always helpfull when you are a long way from home. Thanks in advance iain.PM me if you can help.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by delta

Hi guys, got major problem. The Historic FF2000 brigade are heading down to Pau this weekend. One of our drivers Tom Smith and his girlfriend have broken down near Bracquetuit Northern France. They are being recovered to a garage near by. Any tenthers live nearby that could assist please. Not sure waht has happened to the van but some moral help is always helpfull when you are a long way from home. Thanks in advance iain.PM me if you can help.

Hi Iain,

Tried that but it says you don't receive PM's!

Had to look up Bracquetuit on vianichelin - they are in the middle of nowhere! It's a tiny village just to the north of Rouen, so about 100 miles from me. Got a car problem of my own at the moment, but if help still needed let me know.

John

[delta]

Many thanks John . We have got sorted now . He will leave the van there and. One back to Delta HQ for a van and trailer . Go. Back out tomorrow and continue to pau . Many thanks for the thought .Patric Quiniou rang him and he is sorted .

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by delta

Many thanks John . We have got sorted now . He will leave the van there and. One back to Delta HQ for a van and trailer . Go. Back out tomorrow and continue to pau . Many thanks for the thought .Patric Quiniou rang him and he is sorted .

No problem Iain, always happy to help if I can. Hope it all works out & you have a good weekend in Pau.

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

Still on the subject of we've got a new-ish car. So no spare wheel, just a bottle of tyre weld and a compressor which could be a disaster as my wife gets a puncture at least every two months. I just fished all the CDs out of the loft so she could listen to them in her car, it has no CD player although it has DAB radio, blutoof, mp3 capability (whatever that is) and a USB port.

Sold quite a few space-saver spares along with jack / wheelbrace etc to owners of newer Alfas that don't come equipped with anything more than a can of mousse......

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

Sold quite a few space-saver spares along with jack / wheelbrace etc to owners of newer Alfas that don't come equipped with anything more than a can of mousse......

Always makes me laugh, a pressure cam of mousse is a lot of good to most "modern" drivers who have probably driven the car for miles on a flat tyre and shredded it to death

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Always makes me laugh, a pressure cam of mousse is a lot of good to most "modern" drivers who have probably driven the car for miles on a flat tyre and shredded it to death

...and they'd probably think it was something to put on their hair anyway!

[Gerard C]

Probably a tyre is the most difficult part to develop in a whole car, IMHO.
Jean, just to go on with la querelle des anciens et des modernes dont you think that the very modern run flat tires are fantastic?
Well if you need a very good tyre when it is flat! Otherwise they downgrade comfort and road holding too forgetting to mention their price.
A good reason to wish for a puncture ??

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Probably a tyre is the most difficult part to develop in a whole car, IMHO.
Jean, just to go on with la querelle des anciens et des modernes dont you think that the very modern run flat tires are fantastic?
Well if you need a very good tyre when it is flat! Otherwise they downgrade comfort and road holding too forgetting to mention their price.
A good reason to wish for a puncture ??

I don't have any experience of run-flat tyres, Gerard. I have had experience of an exploding tyre (on the M25, in the outside lane) & that certainly became very flat very quickly!!

[Gerard C]

A while ago I could test a kind of ring to be fitted inside the wheel to prevent the tyre to go out from the wheel in case of puncture. I think you police forces went for this system rather than the first generation of run flat. They had already wrecked some Vauxhalls on wet roads …
With the new run flat generation, you can almost notice a puncture till a dash warning lits up. But I still carry a full size spare wheel! Too old for this stuff.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

A while ago I could test a kind of ring to be fitted inside the wheel to prevent the tyre to go out from the wheel in case of puncture. I think you police forces went for this system rather than the first generation of run flat. They had already wrecked some Vauxhalls on wet roads …
With the new run flat generation, you can almost notice a puncture till a dash warning lits up. But I still carry a full size spare wheel! Too old for this stuff.

The Avon Safety Wheel concept (fitted as standard to the Vauxhall Droop Snoot Firenza) used a band that was fitted to fill the well in the wheel once the tyre had been fitted. The theory was that without the well, the tyre would be unable to pull itself off the rim in the event of a puncture. Obviously, one the tyre had deflated is offered significantly less grip than an inflated tyre anyway, so it did help, but not very much...

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

A while ago I could test a kind of ring to be fitted inside the wheel to prevent the tyre to go out from the wheel in case of puncture. I think you police forces went for this system rather than the first generation of run flat. They had already wrecked some Vauxhalls on wet roads …
With the new run flat generation, you can almost notice a puncture till a dash warning lits up. But I still carry a full size spare wheel! Too old for this stuff.

Several years ago I got a puncture whilst driving a friend's Chrysler Voyager. Once I'd worked out how to release the spare (a space-saver) & changed the wheel I realised there was nowhere really to locate the rather large road wheel.

Fortunately I was on my own.If I had had, say, seven passengers & a boot full of luggage, what would I have done with it? Leave it on the roadside, ask a passenger to carry it on their lap?

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Fortunately I was on my own.If I had had, say, seven passengers & a boot full of luggage, what would I have done with it? Leave it on the roadside, ask a passenger to carry it on their lap?

There was an incident a while back where a couple discovered a bulge in a tyre, they changed it for the spare but due to lack of space the woman carried the damaged tyre on her lap while they drove to a tyre place, unfortunately the tyre exploded killing her before they got there.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

There was an incident a while back where a couple discovered a bulge in a tyre, they changed it for the spare but due to lack of space the woman carried the damaged tyre on her lap while they drove to a tyre place, unfortunately the tyre exploded killing her before they got there.

Nasty - I hadn't heard that one.

My exploding tyre episode was down to age. I had bought an Alfasud that had for a long time belonged to a retired engineer who did a very low mileage but kept copious notes. It seems he had been in the habit of rotating wheels, replacing tyres one or two at a time. When I took my exploded one to a tyre centre to replace we had a close look at it. It was a Goodyear with made in Italy on it, so we presumed it was the last of the original tyres on the car, making it 22 years old. Fortunately it was on a back wheel - still not a pleasant experience on the M25, just near the M4 junction.

The tyre was far from worn out, the blow-out was caused by the metal banding rusting & eventually letting go. The way it was described was that you only need the tiniest of nicks to let in moisture - if the tyre had spent a long time as spare (underneath the car) the moisture would have collected in one place, ultimately causing the corrosion.

Now, whenever anyone proudly tells me their prized classic is still on its original tyres, I suggest they change them quickly. The owner of an Esprit Turbo in a concours was quite upset when I told him that story after he gleefully pointed out his original tyres!

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Nasty - I hadn't heard that one.

My exploding tyre episode was down to age. I had bought an Alfasud that had for a long time belonged to a retired engineer who did a very low mileage but kept copious notes. It seems he had been in the habit of rotating wheels, replacing tyres one or two at a time. When I took my exploded one to a tyre centre to replace we had a close look at it. It was a Goodyear with made in Italy on it, so we presumed it was the last of the original tyres on the car, making it 22 years old. Fortunately it was on a back wheel - still not a pleasant experience on the M25, just near the M4 junction.

The tyre was far from worn out, the blow-out was caused by the metal banding rusting & eventually letting go. The way it was described was that you only need the tiniest of nicks to let in moisture - if the tyre had spent a long time as spare (underneath the car) the moisture would have collected in one place, ultimately causing the corrosion.

Now, whenever anyone proudly tells me their prized classic is still on its original tyres, I suggest they change them quickly. The owner of an Esprit Turbo in a concours was quite upset when I told him that story after he gleefully pointed out his original tyres!

An interesting (and salutary) story John.
Personally, I've never believed in rotating my tyres (and before Bauble jumps in here and explains that the wheels & tyres are always rotating when you drive the car, proper grown-ups will understand what I mean).
Generally (especially in modern front wheel drive cars) the front tyres naturally wear with a rounded edge to the sidewall whereas the rears usually wear with a more square profile. So, when you swap them from front to back all that happens is that the 'new' front tyres quickly wear their corners to create the rounded profile, and the backs wear the centres to become flat. If anything, I believe that this promotes accelerated tyre wear.

[Mike Bell]

Lest we forget- I give you Dunlop Denovo! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-flat_tire

I remember customers with them fitted to Rovers refusing to drive on a punctured Denovo despite that being the idea! And getting replacements was a pain as they were rare as hens teeth........