LandyManLuke

As has been said before, proper PMR sets are pretty good. the sets we use for training cost ~£250, not £25. ICOM and Motorola have pretty good 'pro' sets. We also use ICOM VHF handhelds, they're nice bits of kit. whatever you use, a decent aerial makes a whole lot of difference.

Temperature has a very important part to play. Gas Law explains it all.

Yup, I've only seen 12 point heads before.

And despite the pre-show planning & design meetings.

The yellow bit is a BFA or Blank Fire Arrester, fitted to catch the gases and carp from blank rounds, but also to stop a live round if it were chambered accidently. So yes it was safe, but yes, i reckon it'd be pretty scary!!

why don't they just hand out the bubble-wrap suits now?

I've heard stories of copper pipe, bluetac, wire etc etc. I gave up and dropped the box again, since i'd only just put it back. some people say you don't need it, but i'd rather it was there.

Info here

You can get 6mm push fit adjustable needle valves.

Oops, whatcha do?

Yup, I'm on the look out for a smaller fan for the intercooler. That said, when i'm offroad i spend most time pottering about on tick-over or a little more, so the intercooler doesn't have much to do.

Makes working on the PS pump, alternator, etc a doddle. I'm looking forward to doing the tappets next time, sat on the radiator. removing the fan takes 60 seconds (two nuts), and makes cleaning the radiator an easy job, you can see the rad easily, i just use a hose pipe to flush it until the water runs clear. You can just see the X-eng 'stat housing in the bottom hose, the relays sit in a box next to the header tank.

If you can't find a Megane fan, a mondeo fan fits, albeit with a little more fettling. It chucks an amazing amount of air through it. info here

put the hub on the stub shaft, then the spacer flat surface out, then the first nut, then the locking tab washer and lastly the second nut.

OK, if that's your view. The anchor, boat trailer and numerous other bits i've got say different, but each to their own. Edit: An afterthought, are you sure the components you've seen trouble with are actually hot-dip zinc galvanised? this is completely different to galvanising/zinc oxide paint, which might well chip. In terms of durability and longevity, the two are completely different.

Galvanising offers a more hardwearing finish than paint, that's why people go to the effort of having a big tank full of hot liquid zinc, why they go to the hassle of re-cutting threads and cleaning parts after galvansing, why people go to the effort of having components hot zinc dipped, rather than just whipping out the paint brush and slapping some paint on. You seem to be basing your argument on a few components on your landrover, if you were to look into the widespread uses and applications of galvanising, you'll see how succesful it is.

I've never seen galvanising chip. if it's scratched or in any other way damaged, the zinc corrodes sacrificially, forming a new layer of zinc oxide that protects the substrate.

Right...... I think you've just seen some poor galvanising. Galvanising, done properly, will outlast painted protection by a factor of maybe 10, 20 times IMHO. In short, there really is a point.

I see what you're saying, and i really wouldn't say i (or the 90) prefer fuel from one place or another, but using your logic, all the water in the world comes out of the sky, but there's some i'd drink, and some i'd rather not. I wonder how much effect storage conditions have on fuel, and whether there is any post refinery treatment/process carried out by individual suppliers.

They have a job to do though......

What do you mean?!

One advantage, however small it might be, is that the VSR and it's wiring is self contained within the battery box. The other is maybe down to me playing it safe, but, with the lights turned on, the engine note changes significantly, that means that current is coming from the alternator, via the VSR which is rated at 100A. A standard relay would only be 30A, and tbh, i wasn't aware of Si's relay at the time.

I see what you're saying, but it works, has done for the last couple of years. my battery doesn't hit ~14.4 straight away, the voltage rises shortly after the engine has started.

If the alternator is charging at 14 volts, yes the VSR will be closed, however the assumption is that if the battery and alternator are at 14v, the battery is pretty well charged. The other advantage of a VSR, over an ignition switch relay is relevant in overlanding(etc) conditions. if you have a flat aux battery (with or without a load shedder to protect it) that has been discharged over night by a fridge,lights etc, an ignition switched relay will parallel the batteries before cranking. this means the healthy cranking battery and flat aux battery will share their charge before cranking, this isn't healthy for the batteries, or the ability to start the engine. A VSR will crank the engine on the cranking battery, then parallel the aux battery once the engine is running and the voltage has risen.

The advantage of a VSR is it will see that the cranking battery gets a decent charge before connecting any auxilary batteries in parallel.