Tax doesn’t have to be taxing (or does it?!)
It depresses me every year when I have to renew my car tax and see the price raises every single year. This year it’s £210 for a year as the car is old enough to be in the Private Light Goods band. This means it is taxed on engine size not emissions; 1.6 litres and above is currently £210. Which means, ludicrously, my Evo is also £210 to tax while no doubt chucking out two or three times the Pug’s CO2. Why oh why can’t the Government not scrap road tax and simply charge tax on fuel? So-called gas guzzlers and high mileage drivers will be taxed more. Which is surely what the Government is trying to advocate againt or am I being naiive? 
)
Ah French cars…
I started the Peugeot for the first time in two months today after being laid up with a severe knee injury and was amazed to see it fired into life first time! Reversing off the drive, it was clear the brakes were a little rusty as they were very ‘grabby’ however these cleared after a little braking. What was odd, however was the stuttering that occured; The engine seemed to lurch and stutter quite badly, especially on part throttle. I thought this might be the Coolant Temperature Sensor or lambda signals not working properly, perhaps water ingress over the last 9 weeks was affecting the signals received or sent by the ECU. However after the first journey of 3 miles, all was well again, and the car was behaving itself. The joys of French cars!
Prepare your car for winter
We’re well into Winter and it’s helpful to be reminded of those simple tasks we can do to keep our cars in tip top condition and prevent breakdowns in bad weather.
Tyres – Check your tyres; The minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm, but make sure there’s more than enough grip for torrential and even snowy weather. Ideally a set of Winter tyres is preferable. These outperform so called normal summer tyres at temperatures below 7 degrees, clearing water and snow effectively. A spare set of cheap wheels with Winter tyres fitted could be cost effective and last for years, meaning you can run your summer set when the weather warms and get all the performance and feedback of summer tyres without the poor grip in Winter.- Aircon – Run the aircon once a week, even in Winter to keep the system seals lubricated. This means you won’t be replacing the aircon system, come summer time.
- Visibility – Do yourself and everyone a favour – clear the whole windscreen of ice before setting off in a morning when setting off. It means getting up 5 minutes earlier, but it could also be the difference between knocking someone off their bike or being pulled over by the Police and not. Change your wiper blades every 12 months – check them regularly for wear and tear.
- Lights – Make sure all your lights are clean and fully functioning. Don’t forget to check your rear lights, brake lights and indicators.
- Screenwash – Check the levels and use screen wash with suitable additive – this will reduce the chances of your washer fluid freezing and help clear grime, dirt and ice.
- Coolant – Check your antifreeze levels to avoid your engine freezing and cracking. Also make sure you use the right antifreeze, usually indicated in your vehicle handbook.
- Electrics – With French electrics temperamental at the best of times its a good idea to check your battery. If it’s over 5 years old, it may not be holding a charge as well and may need replacing. A voltmeter should show 12V with the engine off and around 14V when running.
- Breakdown cover – taking it out now can be a lot cheaper than calling from the side of the road to sign up.
- Snow socks – these inventions are relatively cheap and make all the difference when trying to ascend or descend a hill. It can be handy to have a set stored in the boot should there be heavy snowfall.
Winter car pack checklist
Carrying some or all of these items below will help, should you get in trouble during heavy snowfall or bad weather this year:
- Deicer
- Small pieces of carpet to put under wheels if stuck
- Snow shovel
- Snow socks
- Emergency blanket
- Warm coat and gloves
- First aid kit
- Spare bulbs
- Tow kit
- Pen paper, camera, tape recorder useful in the event of an accident
- Petrol can useful if you get stuck in a traffic jam
- Cigarette lighter phone charger or spare battery
- Breakdown cover details
Transmission fluid leak
I noticed a small patch of gearbox oil on the drive the other day. You’ll know if it gearbox oil by the horrendous smell! It looks like the offside driveshaft seal is leaking. This is a circular seal that sits in the end of gearbox differential casing. The driveshaft goes through this seal. It’s possible I disturbed the seal when refitting the gearbox and driveshafts after changing the clutch. I despise dealing with transmission oil at the best of times, so I’m going to book it into the garage to sort this one out easily on the ramps.
For those of the DIY persuasion I’ve described the process of fixing it yourself .
Time for a Clarkson video!
As Autumn nears, I thought it might be time to post a Clarkson video for a bit of fun. Reviewing the Pug 106 in his typical comedy fashion, this quick 2 minute video is worth a watch!
Lift Off!
Lift-off oversteer (LOO) is a term used to describe the process that happens when lifting your foot off the throttle while cornering at speed, to induce weight transfer and cause oversteer primarily in a front wheel drive car.
Some cars are more prone to LOO than others and some are deliberately designed to make it accessible. LOO should come with a warning, however, if you’re not expecting it, you could easily end up in an accident as the rear of the car overtakes the front!
Once the rear of the car is sliding, the usual couse of action is to steer in the direction of the slide and apply the throttle. This takes training and discipline as most people tend to automatically press the brake, or panic and take no action at all, leading to a spin, or worse a crash. It is also important not to overcorrect the steering by applying too much corrective lock and then end up getting into a ‘tank slapper’ and fishtailing down the road.
Taking the car on a trackday is one of the ways to learn this characteristic in a relatively safe environment and then you can choose to adjust the car on the limit using this technique or just employ it for fun.
The 106 GTi/Rallye with it’s excellent chassis, allows oversteer on demand and is part of the car’s charm. It’s rare nowadays for cars to oversteer when lifting for safety reasons but there are still many hatchbacks that do, 306 GTI-6, Clio Sports, Civic Type-Rs to mention a few.
LOO in action:
Buying a 106 for track
Being an excellent handling and lightweight car from the factory, the GTi is the perfect car to get a taste for the racetrack. As parts are readily available at good prices it’s a very good way to learn how to drive a car on and up to the limit in a relatively safe environment. With a sweet handling chassis and lift off overster on demand, you’ll never have so much fun. To learn more read the With trackdays becoming more popular and even cheaper, whats your excuse for not trying it?