Saturn

What? nothing for me? not even best troll award?? Just kiddin

mph or km/h? any locations you know where cops regularly check speed?

Does anyone have a list of places where cops regularly check speed, and what methods used? Only regular place I know is baseline road, before/after overpass, where cops tend to lurk in the corner, under trees, with (what seem's like) handheld radar. I've seen them stop motorcycles and cars. I drive past them slowly at 55km/h which pisses them off LOL. So... if you know other speed traps, can you please list them here?

They can (and will) stop you for any reason, real or imagined. Maybe they were having a boring day or just wanted to admire your car up close. If they want to stop vehicle with loud exhausts, perhaps they should try stopping buses..

How many liters are in a local gallon?? at this rate it's cheaper to set up my own distillery and import a few damn barrels, and start brewing.. er.. distilling I mean. Is that a Rs. 7 weekly increase or is this a one off?

More specifically, do the searches achieve anything? What about collateral damage ? Besides we have lots of endangered wildlife in our woods (what we haven't yet made extinct) Besides it's hard to differentiate between fighters and villagers, especially on the days they forget to wear their special identifying clothing/badges.

Apparantly better than Jessica Alba in penguin undies.. (Or so I gather from the number of requests here).

Dude if you must list an email on a public forum, at least make an effort to disguise it a bit from the spam bots. You can do something like yourname [ at ] yahoo.com for example, or you can say "please email my yahoo id: yourname" @Madz: Eagerly await your mailing list

Glad you had a good time there! re: tinkering - don't worry those guys tend to quote a rather high price at first, it's negotiable ps: did you get the brakes and all checked? Even if they work OK it's a good idea to get them to remove the wheels and give them a quick check up

Depends on usage of vehicle. Manufacturer specifications usually include this note somewhere (or should). 99% of the vehicles we have on our roads were not designed for this country, so manufacturer specifications are a useful guideline but you have to take into account the extreme usage conditions. I'm gathering you have a reasonably new vehicle (2001+) if so 5k-6k kms (as Pila suggested) is fine. If its an older car you might want to service a bit more often, especially if the engine/mechanical conditon isn't great. (Also, time wise, I would suggest you service at least every 2-3 months). You can also get an undercarriage/oil wash (not sure if this is included in typical service) this is a good idea for vehicles here due to the large amounts of dust etc in the roads. One other thing you could do (as a habit) is to personally check your vehicle once in a way (if you don't already do this), as in, check engine oil level and conditon, radiator water/coolant level (when cold!!) brake fluid level, battery water level, power steering fluid, ATF fluid, etc... you can check these things yourself once in a way (say once in 2 weeks) just takes a few minutes. True modern cars don't loose fluid unless theres a serious problem but its useful for you as an owner to keep an eye on things and not just rely on the service station.

Take it to a good place like Pala Auto, the should be able to sort it out. Alternatively, since this is a Mazda you could consider doing the unthinkable (taking it to carmart) After all, that's what they are here for. Sure they may charge you a bit more but at least they would know what they are doing.

Hi Gentoo. AFAIK Mitsubishi's use about the same amount of fuel as any other equivalent Jap car. No magic there. Heck ALL full size cars on the road today in SL do between 7 - 12 km/l the only exceptions are diesels, kei cars, and hybrids (don't think we have those here yet though). Note that the CARB CK1 use more or less fuel than the normal fuel injected versions (depending on who you ask). If you are buying one, make sure you do a tune up (if it's carb) and do usual stuff like change oil, replace air filters, do engine diagnostics (if fuel injected) etc. etc.

I saw a really nice one at a car sale at Dehiwala a while back, asking just over 1M. Mitsubishi doesn't have the same reputation as Toyota, etc but they are good cars, I've had a couple and they were as good as any other car I had. Fuel efficiency - same as any other car, no major difference. Performance - the 1500 cc and higher ones are quite peppy. Recovering investment - yes get a good car which doesnt have rust, and has a good engine, transmission, etc and look after it well, you should be able to recover your costs. SELLING the car might take a little longer than selling a toyota, say, but it isn't that bad. With your money you may be able to get a 300-301 or if you hunt carefully, perhaps an english no one. Note: I'm told there is an Indian version of this car available here also, can't confirm this, but make sure you get the original Made in Japan version...

@MADZ: How about you guys set up a mailing list (if you don't have one already) that way members can mail each other stuff directly without having posts like this. I'd be happy to sign up and it would be easier for content that you don't want on a public forum. You can always set up one moderated by Yahoo, so you can be sure the list doesnt contain banned content... like cars for sale..

with apologies for dragging up an old thread, were you able to fix this problem?

Are they the ones with the V groove type? http://www.ngk-sparkplugs.jp/english/techi.../q08/index.html I've used them and had some positive experience with them (I find them better the standard NGK On the subject of genuine plugs, NGK has some info here: NGK Also has useful info on Iridium plugs including how they work, and the benefits they provide, in terms of increased power, better fuel economy etc: http://www.ngk-sparkplugs.jp/english/techi...dium/index.html http://www.ngk-sparkplugs.jp/english/techi...02_4/index.html

The differences I've experienced with iridium are: 1. They don't foul up, don't need to be checked as such. 2. Excellent for cold starts, picking up on low gears, sudden acceleration etc. I would say they are more responsive. 3. Use a bit less energy (tiny tip makes spark easier). @Pila: Which brand/type of plugs do you use?

Do you mean the high tension wires? Don't need to change them unless they are not working properly. You can test them with a multimeter set on resistence. If the resistance for one or more wires is too high or indicates a broken wire then you should replace, but usually the wires outlast plugs and don't have to be replaced too often? These plugs are original. I'm baffled myself as I use many different NGK's and never encountered something like this. I did consider mailing them to NGK for analysis but I doubt it would be worth the hassle and I'm sure they know about the problem. On the positive side, the plugs worked flawlessly, and the tips are in pretty good shape (except for a bit of residue on the first plug due to a rather lean mixture).

Test time span: 10,000kms For: 1. Tip looks pretty good still, 2. plug fires flawlessly always Against: 1 Expensive! (1600 each vs 300 for a normal plug) 2. Not mechanic proof: Be very careful when you install/remove these, don't let local mechanics do the job. Otherwise you could end up with a broken plug, like this: Close up of tip: Another plug: Conclusion: If you want the best, iridium is probably as good as it gets, but be careful during installation/removing: The external ceramic portion is very delicate

Hi A K&N filter is pretty expensive (around 8,000 or so) but can be washed and reused. Clones or fakes should be cheaper. Infact, I'm searching for one so if you (or anyone here) knows where to get, please let me know.. How often should I change oil: - Official answer - according to manufacturer specification, taking into account specific conditions, and age of engine. So a typical manufacturer spec might be 3,000 miles that's nearly 5,000 kms? now take into account engine wear (age) AND the extreme driving conditions here and reduce that no accordingly. My answer - AS SOON AS THE OIL GETS DIRTY/ as often as you can afford. i.e. if you change oil today and have clear oil, drive till it turns dark or 5000 kms. One note: Modern oil is designed to 'get dirty' i.e. thats the point, the oil is supposed to suck up all the dirt/soot etc, from the engine and all Re: plugs, denso are quite OK. Basically check your plugs occationally, if they are fine (plug physically not damaged, tan color tip) you should be OK. Your questions are not silly and there's no reason they should annoy me or anyone here. Remember all the experts here were once clueless (some still are but don't acknowledge that )

Trunkmonkey of course: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1882664901133929840 He also comes useful when giving those special hand signals to fellow motorists.

Hi! For tint, when I said windscreen I meant the rear one. For that you can put a silver tint (to reflect sunlight and also let you see out when reversing). For minor tinkering it isn't usually necessary to remove the engine. I would suggest you don't let anyone do that because no matter how carefull they are, they always forget some hose or wire or something when they fix it back. Re: rear exhaust be careful not to make it too loud, (as it attracts cops attention). For tyres: putting low profile rims and tyres are OK but low profile tyres are pretty expensive compared to normal ones, also not as comfortable (in my opinion) so I would say stick to normal tyres. Do you already have alloy wheels? Generally, for performance I have a few simple suggestions: - get a good quality air filter. K&N are a bit expensive but if you can find a clone version which is cloth/mesh type and allows lots of air thru (instead of the usual paper air filters) it will do wonders for your car. - Switch to a good oil and change it regularly (havoline is OK) - get the carb tuned up by an expert. (You have a carb model right)? Set the mixture to relatively lean and ensure that the engine is getting enough air. One good way to know if things are good is look at the plugs - if they are a nice tan (light brownish) or slightly white then combustion is good. - a freeflow exhaust can help by which i mean an exhaust with little/no resistence will reduce load on the engine when flushing out exhaust gas and give you a bit more power. - remove anything heavy in the car you don't need (e.g. roof rack, stuff in boot, etc).

I didn't know cops can pull a person over for using a handsfree. Anyway, how can they prove it? What if the person was singing along to the radio (or talking to themselves)

I'm not absolutely sure but I will try to answer you as best I can. 1. I did this a while back I can't remember the exact amount but you should be able to do all the tinting (all 4 windows and back) for under a thousand total. At first they will quote you some insane amount tell them you got it done on your last car for 500 or something. Try ajit motors, they are OK I think. Re tint level - get lightest tint for front windows and a very dark one for rear and for windscreen you can get a silver tint. Be careful with tinting front windiows if cops find they start to whine. you an get away with an almost transparent tint 2. by spacer do you mean extruding tyres outwards? I would recommend you not do this as it i not good for car, not manufacturer specs, and may affect handling. 3. Dont let a tinkering fellow remove engine. Don't let anyone remove engine!! unless absolutely necessary! as for finding a good fellow, I sadly dont know any but im sure people here can help. 4. Are you sure you want stickers? They attract attention to your vehicle (especially from cops etc) plus you may you run risk of ending on autolanka funniest thread!

I think you should try to transfer the vehicle soon. Remember that the vehicle still "belongs" to that person until you transfer to your name. If he is a close friend/family then its OK but otherwise it's best to transfer it soon. A few notes: - Cost of one day transfer isn't much - about a thousand something I think, but worth it as you get the new log book by afternoon. - make sure you get someone to fill both 'witness' sections - that must be filled otherwise the form will not be accepted. I forgot this and was in a bit of a fix but one kind old chap next to me offered to fill it for me. Sorry I was unable to tell you more as I don't remember much (last transfered a car about an year ago or so).