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Post by geoffr on Aug 13, 2024 8:18:54 GMT
Don't come with or lost? It is usually in what counts as a tool kit, these days the towing eye, a reversible screwdriver wheel wrench and a plastic wheel stud to help align the wheel during replacement when the bolts are removed. Oh almost forgot the funny pot metal pliers and locking wheel nut / bolt key ( also lost ). I don't think any of my cars came with one, but they were all brought used so may have been 'lost' by previous owners. Any needing locking wheel nut adapters have always had them. Most cars manufactured in the last 20 years should have a towing eye, as it is only any use for towing the vehicle, you’re not supposed to use it to tow with the vehicle, a missing eye would be a red light for me. If it’s not there with the tools it had probably been used, why? I would probably walk away if a prospective purchase lacked either the towing eye or the wheel nut key*. *Technically they aren’t “locking” nuts or bolts they are “tamper resistant”. They aim to deter theft. |
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Post by willien on Aug 13, 2024 11:05:37 GMT
These days the fashion is to steal the whole car. Back in the day, when wheels were more standard in size and alloys were a new thing, there was an enthusiasm for pinching them. Locking fuel caps have also disappeared, replaced with flimsy latched flaps having an internal release. I doubt they'd survive the attention of a crowbar. I guess pinching fuel in small quantities has also gone out of fashion. It was rife at one time. You can't pinch fuel, they've put some sort of grid that stops you sucking the fuel out... Two cars ago, when I was still working and broke, I noticed the petrol filler flap open on my car one morning - not that they were going to get much out of my car. A couple of days later I notice a car parked on the next street down and worked out the area had been hit by would be fuel thieves. Later, when I had finished my rant at work the guy next to me who is born, raised and lives in Fyfe looked embarassed for his fellow denizens of the ancient kingdom and said that round his way the police had had to issue a warning to fuel thieves not to drill into the underside of petrol tanks with battery drills as they might take the innocent householder with them... |
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Post by andy on Aug 13, 2024 11:26:31 GMT
My Yose Power ebike battery has a USB port on the side of it so folk can steal my electricity to charge their phone.
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Post by spinno on Aug 13, 2024 12:06:04 GMT
My Yose Power ebike battery has a USB port on the side of it so folk can steal my electricity to charge their phone. Or their camera...(as this is a photography site...) |
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Post by willien on Aug 13, 2024 12:17:01 GMT
My Yose Power ebike battery has a USB port on the side of it so folk can steal my electricity to charge their phone. How long does the bike take to charge via the USB port? |
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Post by petrochemist on Aug 13, 2024 12:47:41 GMT
You can't pinch fuel, they've put some sort of grid that stops you sucking the fuel out... Two cars ago, when I was still working and broke, I noticed the petrol filler flap open on my car one morning - not that they were going to get much out of my car. A couple of days later I notice a car parked on the next street down and worked out the area had been hit by would be fuel thieves. Later, when I had finished my rant at work the guy next to me who is born, raised and lives in Fyfe looked embarassed for his fellow denizens of the ancient kingdom and said that round his way the police had had to issue a warning to fuel thieves not to drill into the underside of petrol tanks with battery drills as they might take the innocent householder with them... Air powered drills should be OK if a bit messy  Over the weekend I had to sample fuel from around 60 different cars. Most had quick release fittings for a sampling hose, but a few involved un doing the fuel line & collecting it directly from the fuel pump, or even dipping the sample container & their fingers directly into the tank. (This last approach has on occasion introduced engine oil into the sample making it fail). For theft slicing the fuel line might be practical, I'm not sure how it would be routed in road cars... Many road cars now have valves in the filler line to prevent syphoning, I've found on a couple of occasions this means plastic spare fuel cans can no longer fill the car - the nozzles aren't rigid enough to open the valve. Halfords do sell a more rigid nozzle, but it doesn't fit the standard fuel cans. This makes using up spare racing fuel more difficult. |
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Post by willien on Aug 13, 2024 13:30:05 GMT
Two cars ago, when I was still working and broke, I noticed the petrol filler flap open on my car one morning - not that they were going to get much out of my car. A couple of days later I notice a car parked on the next street down and worked out the area had been hit by would be fuel thieves. Later, when I had finished my rant at work the guy next to me who is born, raised and lives in Fyfe looked embarassed for his fellow denizens of the ancient kingdom and said that round his way the police had had to issue a warning to fuel thieves not to drill into the underside of petrol tanks with battery drills as they might take the innocent householder with them... Air powered drills should be OK if a bit messy Over the weekend I had to sample fuel from around 60 different cars. Most had quick release fittings for a sampling hose, but a few involved un doing the fuel line & collecting it directly from the fuel pump, or even dipping the sample container & their fingers directly into the tank. (This last approach has on occasion introduced engine oil into the sample making it fail). For theft slicing the fuel line might be practical, I'm not sure how it would be routed in road cars... Many road cars now have valves in the filler line to prevent syphoning, I've found on a couple of occasions this means plastic spare fuel cans can no longer fill the car - the nozzles aren't rigid enough to open the valve. Halfords do sell a more rigid nozzle, but it doesn't fit the standard fuel cans. This makes using up spare racing fuel more difficult.Back to red deisel? |
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Post by petrochemist on Aug 13, 2024 14:38:54 GMT
Air powered drills should be OK if a bit messy Over the weekend I had to sample fuel from around 60 different cars. Most had quick release fittings for a sampling hose, but a few involved un doing the fuel line & collecting it directly from the fuel pump, or even dipping the sample container & their fingers directly into the tank. (This last approach has on occasion introduced engine oil into the sample making it fail). For theft slicing the fuel line might be practical, I'm not sure how it would be routed in road cars... Many road cars now have valves in the filler line to prevent syphoning, I've found on a couple of occasions this means plastic spare fuel cans can no longer fill the car - the nozzles aren't rigid enough to open the valve. Halfords do sell a more rigid nozzle, but it doesn't fit the standard fuel cans. This makes using up spare racing fuel more difficult.Back to red deisel? Not worth trying that, if HMRC catch you (or even just suspect you & you can't prove innocence) they take the vehicle & fine you... At least the racing fuel has had road duty paid & is higher octane than usual (usually 102 octane), no good for my car but fine for my Son's motors, at least if judiciously mixed with super market petrol. |
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Post by andy on Aug 13, 2024 14:53:19 GMT
My Yose Power ebike battery has a USB port on the side of it so folk can steal my electricity to charge their phone. How long does the bike take to charge via the USB port? Days, I imagine. AFAIK the USB port is just a power output for weirdos that mount a phone on their handlebar but I don't think there is any way disable it beyond filling it with hot glue or something. |
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Post by peterob on Aug 13, 2024 17:40:28 GMT
My Yose Power ebike battery has a USB port on the side of it so folk can steal my electricity to charge their phone. How long does the bike take to charge via the USB port? It won't be a charging point, and the voltage would have to be stepped up, but e-bike (pedelec) batteries are typically 200 - 500 Wh capacity and a larger USB charger maybe 15 W so, assuming no losses, maybe ~13 to ~33 hours. My bikes (500 and 450 Wh) take something like 7 hours to complete a charge with their dedicated chargers. I'll try to remember to look up their power ratings but they are quite lossy in that they get quite hot. |
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Post by daves on Aug 13, 2024 18:10:07 GMT
Not worth trying that, if HMRC catch you (or even just suspect you & you can't prove innocence) they take the vehicle & fine you... At least the racing fuel has had road duty paid & is higher octane than usual (usually 102 octane), no good for my car but fine for my Son's motors, at least if judiciously mixed with super market petrol. 102 octane, remember when you could get "5-star" 101 octane at the pumps? Now it's not much better than the old 3-star unless you buy one of the "super" variants which are still only 4-star. Most of the rest are only fit for lawn mowers. |
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Post by mick on Aug 14, 2024 7:25:45 GMT
Not worth trying that, if HMRC catch you (or even just suspect you & you can't prove innocence) they take the vehicle & fine you... At least the racing fuel has had road duty paid & is higher octane than usual (usually 102 octane), no good for my car but fine for my Son's motors, at least if judiciously mixed with super market petrol. 102 octane, remember when you could get "5-star" 101 octane at the pumps? Now it's not much better than the old 3-star unless you buy one of the "super" variants which are still only 4-star. Most of the rest are only fit for lawn mowers. You might want to Google that. E10 , the one with 10% ethanol can be pretty bad for garden machinery.
Mick
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Post by geoffr on Aug 14, 2024 7:35:40 GMT
Not worth trying that, if HMRC catch you (or even just suspect you & you can't prove innocence) they take the vehicle & fine you... At least the racing fuel has had road duty paid & is higher octane than usual (usually 102 octane), no good for my car but fine for my Son's motors, at least if judiciously mixed with super market petrol. 102 octane, remember when you could get "5-star" 101 octane at the pumps? Now it's not much better than the old 3-star unless you buy one of the "super" variants which are still only 4-star. Most of the rest are only fit for lawn mowers. I use the E10 and get an average of around 40mpg from an Audi A5, which is neither small nor short of performance. Over an extended period I have never found the “super” fuels to give better mileage or performance. |
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Post by daves on Aug 14, 2024 7:49:58 GMT
102 octane, remember when you could get "5-star" 101 octane at the pumps? Now it's not much better than the old 3-star unless you buy one of the "super" variants which are still only 4-star. Most of the rest are only fit for lawn mowers. You might want to Google that. E10 , the one with 10% ethanol can be pretty bad for garden machinery.
Mick
Yeah, I was being disparaging. I almost said it was no better than pink paraffin. My Civic R will run on E10 95 octane but prefers E5 98. I usually use Morrisons E5 97. |
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Post by andy on Aug 14, 2024 7:58:23 GMT
FWIW E10 means up to 10% and from tests I've seen online is way less than that in practice.
It's almost like it's some BS carbon accounting fiddle to pretend emissions are lower.
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