Barry

I think it's the toasted carbon fiber panels that makes it look so bad. The resin burns off and just leaves the fluffiness of the carbon fiber. I saw on another website different angles of this crash. Hammond was a very lucky man. When he rolled, the roof of the car collapsed and there was only one window on the car he could escape from. Carbon fiber is strong, the resin that holds it together is the weak point. Try to look at it like an expensive version of fiberglass and you will understand. Set fire to it and the resin (glue that holds it together) is very flammable.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/11/richard-hammond-escaped-crashed-car-seconds-before-being-incinerated Richard Hammond, formerly of Top Gear, now on The Grand Tour has been involved in another serious accident. The last one was when he rolled a jet powered dragster and ended up in a coma. This time in an electric powered vehicle on a hill climb. Seems that he got lucky and crawled out before it burst into flames. From what I have seen recently, EVs are just as prone to fire after an accident as a petrol powered vehicle is, if not more. I've seen a lithium ion phone battery explode when it was punctured, this is just a gigantic version of that.

Thank you Ill see if I can negotiate something for the Carnity team.

Yes very cool. And currently the only company in Dubai doing it.

A few of you know the situation with the garage I was working for. Today I quit my job and on Wednesday I am starting with an exciting new company called ghost tints in al quoz doing the electrical part of the work in the video below. Unfortunately, this means no more cheap mechanical work for Carnity members from me but I will be available to help with other things and I may have access to a diagnostic scanner. Thank you to everyone who has helped out along the way. It has been fun and I've met a lot of interesting people and I'll see you around.

Very poor advice, especially from a professional mechanic. Manufacturers spend millions on research and development testing oils and their recommended grades and service schedules should be adhered to. One of the biggest problems in UAE is mechanics just pouring any oil into an engine and saying it'll be fine just change it in 3k or 5k. It is unprofessionalism like this that rips customers off and gives the rest of us a bad name. Too many mechanics in UAE are good and screwing bolts in and out but when it comes to technical stuff, they'll tell you anything to appear smart but when you know a bit, it's easy to tell when someone doesn't really know.

I agree with Gaurav. Check the basics, seals, tires etc then forget about. You could spend a fortune dynamatting the whole car but there will always be a bit of road noise.

I would stick to what the manufacturer recommends. Put the wrong grade in and you could be looking at problems with the vtec system.

Just for future reference, I'd like to share a couple of easy things to help diagnose battery without a tester that we discussed on the phone. These are not foolproof but it can give you something to go with when you have no tools available. Check if you have lights on the dash. Switch on the headlights and try to start the car. If the headlights dim very very low when you're trying to crank, start to suspect that the battery doesn't have enough power. Another indication is that you hear a click click click from the starter motor. This click click click could be a faulty starter motor solenoid but it can also be a low battery which is the first thing to check.

Why not fit a fan that is easily removable? When you have to go to the stealer, remove it, then fit it back when the car is out again. Wouldn't be too hard to engineer a solution.

I don't mean keyless start, I mean remote start. You install a box in the car and you can start it from an app on your phone. It's used so you can start your car and have the ac cool the interior before you get to it. Google it, there are a few suppliers in UAE.

Two options I can think of. Use a remote start kit that allows the car to start and run without a key. You can control it through an app on your phone. Deactivate the occupancy sensors so it will still run with someone in the car. The other option is leave the key in the ignition and use the spare key to lock the door.

I have been doing some research on this. If it is what I think it is, it only uses power when you change it.

Does anyone know anything about these? Or have any experience dealing with Ghost Tints in Al Quoz https://www.ghosttints.com/home

This is a rolling road in the video below. It's basically a set of rollers set into the floor which enable you to drive the vehicle without going anywhere. They can be equipped with sensors to measure horsepower, braking force and imbalance etc. It also gives you the ability to hook the car up to computers and make adjustments while driving without having to watch where you're going. You can also run the car up to full speed without getting arrested for speeding.

All these shiny showrooms are expensive to build and coffee isn't cheap. There is overheads costs, electricity, jumped up overpayed salesmen who have no interest in cars, pretty secretaries in short skirts, etc. That's why cars from showrooms are more expensive.

1600 for 2 services is too much. I could service your car 5-6 times for that.

You can fit a smaller pulley on the pump and use a shorter belt. Or you can fit a larger capacity pump which would necessitate fabricating a bracket to suit. Another option is to fit an electric motor from a GM into the steering column along with the control unit. The first option is the easiest. You need to measure the size of the input shaft on the pump and count the ribs on the belt, then find or machine a pulley with a smaller circumference. A bit of simple maths will tell you which length of belt you need. Personally, if it was mine, I wouldn't bother and just start working out more.

A normal shock absorber is filled with oil. A modern active shock absorber is filled with oil and little metal particles. When the suspension needs to stiffen up, electromagnetics activate and move the metal particles around to where they are needed for extra pressure.

This would come in handy on some of the roads in UAE

Sounds like they don't know what they're doing and hoping they can change something and get lucky. Have they checked the sensor voltages?

I've checked a tuner in U.K. and 20 BHP, 20 lb/ft increase is what they offer. At a guess, you could safely push this higher. I'd also recommend carrying out some simple breathing mods too like adding a high flow air filter, catalytic converter removal and deletion to make the most of any gains.

My google-fu is strong today Chipcentric Dubai +971 50 585 3993 I can't give performance figures or quote you a price for a company I don't work for but proper tuning doesn't come cheap. I'll speak to a few people and see if I can get a contact for the guy in rashidiya as well. It'll be a lot cheaper but the quality of the work won't be on the same level i.e. it will be flash and go, no fine tuning.

Waxoyl is a good rust preventative but I'm not sure how it would cope in the gulf climate. It stays semi liquid and could easily be rubbed off driving in sand which means it would need regular maintenance. It is however very good at coating the insides of the chassis and gets into all the nooks and crannies. For off-road applications, Id recommend looking at 3M Body Schutz. It forms a thick rubberized coating similar to what you find factory coated on the bottom of modern cars. It is extremely tough and hard wearing, one time application that will last the life of the car. But as with the waxoyl, you will need special application equipment. One of the downsides of using these applications is that it can make working on the underside of a car more difficult as it tends to get into the threads of bolts and jam things up so if you need to carry out any work on the downside, it's probably better to make sure everything is completed first.

If you want proper chip tuning with rolling road setup you can try chipcentric in al quoz. Speak to Murat and tell him I sent you. The other option is go to rashidiya and have a cheap generic map loaded on but there is no rolling road testing. If you're interested I can get you a contact tomorrow.