[Tech1] Just another day.
Dave Plowman
dave at davesound.co.uk
Tue Apr 16 08:13:55 CDT 2024
Quite. And the shot filled rubber type is known as 'dead blow' which
produces an extra thump when it hits. Without damage to those expensive
alloys.
On when it 16/04/2024 13:56, Mike Giles via Tech1 wrote:
> On the rubber vs metal topic - the lead filled rubber mallet was perfect for the task and was less likely to damage the wheel rim than a metal hammer, especially working in a confined space where the aim might not be too good.
>
> Mike G
>
>> On 16 Apr 2024, at 13:33, Alan Taylor via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Around 1999 I was working on corporate and promotional videos for two rival car manufacturers, Jaguar and BMW. I thought it prudent to keep quiet to each of them about working for the other company and besides I wouldn’t have spoken about anything sensitive anyway.
>>
>> It was about the time that Jaguar were introducing their new S type saloon and BMW owners were clearly part of the market they were aiming for. BMW didn’t want to lose customers and were telling their dealers to stress to prospective customers that the boot was so big that you could easily get two bags of golf clubs inside, while Jaguar were telling dealers to point out to customers that their car not only had a spare tyre, but it was a full size tyre and there was still loads of room in the boot.
>>
>> When BMW discovered what Jaguar were saying, the advice to dealers became to say how spare tyres are something for your chauffeur or roadside assistance to worry about. Jaguar in turn emphasised that as a Jaguar owner, they recognise that your time is valuable and in the event of a puncture, they wanted you to be on your way as soon as possible.
>>
>> I’m not sure what customers thought about these conflicting arguments. I’ve generally been rather unimpressed by car salesmen. When my wife recently bought her car, she was about to sign on the dotted line for her chosen car when the sales manager for that branch elbowed his way in to clinch the deal. The young salesman who had been dealing with it up to then was effectively sidelined at the last minute. She was so miffed at the sales manager’s arrogance, attitude and misogyny that she told him where to stick his car and immediately drove to Milton Keynes, ordering an identical car that afternoon, getting a November delivery date instead of the March/April date offered by the first dealer.
>>
>> Alan
>>
>>
>>
>>> On 16 Apr 2024, at 12:28, Dave Plowman via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>> I know what you mean, but the car in question was bought for my third childhood. It's a Porsche Boxster. And even a space-saver would reduce the limited luggage space too much. The tyre I kept wouldn't even fit the 'boot'. Had to be carried inside.
>>>
>>>>> On 16/04/2024 11:49, Alan Taylor via Tech1 wrote:
>>>> I’m glad that Dave’s problem has been resolved. He then touched upon a topic which really saddens me, the lack of a spare tyre in modern cars.
>>>> he
>>>> My wife and I have each bought new cars in the last six months and of course neither of them comes with a spare, but we did make sure that we bought models where there was provision to carry a space saver tyre. The manufacturers want to charge about £500 for a spare, I bought them with jacks and cross braces for about £120 each.
>>>> When we looked at cars, one possible contender had the battery for the hybrid installed where the spare wheel ought to be. It wasn’t a particularly big battery, but I was dismayed that they chose to put it there and killed off the option of ever carrying a spare. The ‘gunge kits’ they provide instead of a spare won’t work if a tyre is split, typically in the way that a pot hole wrecks them. It can work for a small puncture such as caused by a nail in the tread, but then the tyre can only be used to get you home and then needs to be replaced. A typical puncture like that can be plugged in a tyre workshop for £15 and then have a normal lifespan.
>>>> Living in a rural area, pot holes have become a real problem and it’s too easy to wreck a tyre. On the narrow lane to our village, it used to be that people drove along it at reasonable speed, briefly steering to the side when meeting an oncoming ing car. These days locals come to a complete stop and let the other car drive at speed into the pot holes and crumbly edges of the road. We don’t drive on the left, we drive on what’s left.
>>>> Alan
>>>>>> On 16 Apr 2024, at 11:25, Dave Plowman via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>> Just an update. Back from TyreLand in Tooting with two new front tyres. Decided to replace them both, and keep the good one as a spare, given the vast cost. And how often 35 profile tyres seem to get damaged.
>>>>>
>>>>> They undid the bolts using a breaker bar, and their heaviest chap standing on it. Replaced with some Coppaslip on the threads - which did look a bit rusty to me.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'd blamed the bolts being tight on the firm who'd fitted a new set of tyres a couple of years ago - then remembered I'd had new discs and pads for the MOT last year.
>>>>>
>>>>> Not going to be a problem for me anyway, as the car has no spare wheel or jack.
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 16/04/2024 09:52, Alan Taylor via Tech1 wrote:
>>>>>> Much as we all appreciate the satisfaction of whacking stubborn hardware with a dirty great big hammer, the problem Dave was describing was being unable to get the wheel nuts undone. Once the wheel nuts are undone, he can think about removing the wheel, either easily, or with a big hammer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For what it’s worth, when my plastic coated Ford wheel nuts got rounded off by ham-fisted fitters, the solution was to select a ½” socket of whatever size happened to be a tight fit on it and then hammer it on with a really big hammer. After that, a cross shaped wheel brace was used to undo the nut. The two opposing arms meant that the fitter could apply equal amounts of upward and downward force to opposite ends of the arms and undo the nut, while still pressing the socket onto the nut. My long wheel nut wrench was single ended and caused the socket to slip off the misshapen nut, which is why I couldn’t undo it. The wheel brace used by the fitter worked even when his impact wrench failed to do the job.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Incidentally, the tyre fitter I use in Banbury doesn’t trust impact wrenches. He uses one for speed during initial tightening, but with a rather low torque setting. He then uses a massive torque wrench where he dials in the correct torque and then does the final tightening of each nut manually. It’s never a problem undoing wheel nuts after he has changed a wheel.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Alan
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 16 Apr 2024, at 09:15, Nick Ware via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>> Surely, a carefully applied solid steel mallet would have been better, as the initial impact is far greater than a shock-absorbing rubber one?
>>>>>>> Nick Ware - sent from my iPad
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 16 Apr 2024, at 08:33, Mike Giles via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I had the same issue with a Ford Mondeo estate, in that even with all the nuts off, the wheel wouldn’t budge - it took an RAC man lying underneath the car with a large, lead filled rubber mallet to move it. Copper grease did the trick after that episode and was good for easing the wheel nuts as well.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Mike G
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On 15 Apr 2024, at 20:33, Paul Thackray via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Clue is in the name? Kwikfit ( but slow remove?)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Paul Thackray
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> PGT Media Consulting Ltd.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> +44 7802 243979
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Mail; paul at pgtmedia.co.uk
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Web; http://www.pgtmedia.co.uk
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Linkedin; http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/paul-thackray/19/379/746
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> IMDB; http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1488554/
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Original Message
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> From: tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk
>>>>>>>>> Sent: 15 April 2024 22:27
>>>>>>>>> To: alanaudio at me.com
>>>>>>>>> Reply to: barry-wilkinson at sky.com
>>>>>>>>> Cc: tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [Tech1] Just another day.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> If the car is a VW they have a common problem of the wheels getting stuck on the hub due to steel to alloy corrosion. A knock with a suitably big hammer usually releases them ( after taking the wheel nuts off)
>>>>>>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On 15 Apr 2024, at 18:18, Alan Taylor via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> I think that your mistake was going to Kwik-Fit the first time. Around here, at my previous house and in the areas where my motoring children live, KF have a terrible reputation for poor workmanship, dodgy advice and overcharging.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I’ve had good success with independently owned tyre fitting workshops. You see the same staff there for years on end, the prices are way lower and they do the work with care. The only drawback is that most of these smaller places don’t carry a comprehensive stock of tyres, which means that your new tyre has to be ordered in, but deliveries are usually made morning and afternoon. I phone ahead and pop in when the tyre has been delivered.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> It certainly sounds as though they might have wrecked the nut holding on the wheel, either on your previous visit, or today when trying to remove it. When I was running Ford cars, the wheel nuts were metal with a chromed plastic veneer to make them look pretty. The plastic part was easily damaged, which makes it difficult to remove. After a puncture, I was unable to remove a wheel using a long tyre wrench which I carried in the car and needed to call for roadside assistance to get the wheel off. That evening I bought solid steel wheel nuts on eBay and replaced them all - it only cost about £15 for the lot.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> If you are having the same problem, I can explain how they got the rounded nuts undone.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> It’s worth asking neighbours for recommendations about tyre fitters.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Alan
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On 15 Apr 2024, at 17:04, Dave Plowman via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> Took my car to Kwik-Fit today, to have a puncture repaired. They couldn't undo the wheel bolts and say it needs a specialist to do this. And guess who fitted a new set of tyres a year ago?
>>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>>> Dave Plowman
>>>>>>>>>>> London, SW
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>>>>> Dave P London
>>>>> SW
>>>>>
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>>> Dave Plowman
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Dave P London
SW
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