Sifaan

And if you a know a little more science, you will understand that the scenario is much more complicated than this, and that's why there are benefits in hybrid systems that outweigh the conversion losses. Mostly it is to do with the fact that electrical energy can be stored conveniently, but the torque characteristics of electric motors (compared to engines) also play an important role.

that may have been the recommended pressure on your previous car, but that does not mean it is the "normal" pressure for that size tyre. The recommended pressure will depend on the weight of the car and the level of loading as well. And it could be different for front/rear as well.

have you even been through the process of paying a fine?

hybrid technology is not just for econoboxes... even Porsche has hybrid vehicles! BTW First Full Hybrid diesel sold out in just 9 days (but it was a limited production run) - doesn't seem to be a boring car at all!

melt their what?

can you convince the cops that they are for the rear seats ?

So there was a recent change? well, as the practice seems to be "come and show us the car without the tint to get your license back", I guess it would just be a case of unsticking it and putting it back up later (reminds me of motorcycle helmet rentals in vietnam!)

no, it was allowed upto a certain percentage of visible light transmission, but there wasn't clarity on how the cops were supposed to measure if a tint fell within the limits or not and of course it's allowed if you are a V*P, a V*P escort, or at least have a car that looks like it might belong to a V*P

but you can get additional cover for specifics; I don't know how this varies with different companies, but in case of airbag deployment my policy covers 50% of the replacement cost (airbags, dash, etc) - I could have got 100% cover by paying an additional premium. And there was some option for the windscreen as well... so not too surprising that there's an option for the battery. Mmaybe AbeysinghE can share what the additional battery cover actually covers?

Loving it it's been behaving itself pretty nicely for a while now (after all the brain damage getting it fixed up the first time around)... only recent problem was the rear view mirror leaking its fluid out :S Got down a cruise control stalk cos supposedly it's just a case of plugging it in the steering column and configuring it in Lexia... I know it's possibly the most useless upgrade I could make, but it seemed a fun and cheap thing to try out!

I saw the ad and the "new starter motor" caught my attention (since you had mentioned it on some posts) and thought it was yours - and the phone number confirmed it

I don't know if the following will still be valid from tmrw (because there were some changes outlined in the budget) but the problem is that VAT has to be charged on the lease installment and if you are an individual you can't claim that VAT. So for an individual a loan is usually cheaper. However people who can't get a loan big enough to buy the car (e.g. if salary is too low) then they go for lease. that is the explanation I got from few places when I was looking out for a loan/lease a few months ago. and there was no difference (at least no significant difference) in the interest rates between loan/lease from the same provider.

there really isn't much point to get a higher colour temperature HID because it's going to give less light output (and illuminate less road area) - however some people think the blue/purple colour is cool (a carryover from blue neons?) so that's probably why there's a market for it. the glare problem is less to do with the colour temperature, if at all. it's mostly because of cheapo HID conversion kits that only change the bulb: the light distribution pattern in a HID is different from halogen, so when a HID bulb is stuck in a headlamp designed for halogen, the beam pattern is all screwed up. also - in Europe (and few other markets) it's only legal to have HID if the headlights are self-levelling (otherwise a car loaded at the rear will shine light upwards - eye level for oncoming drivers) and have headlamp washers (not sure if this is to do with dirt on the lamps or water) - such legislation doesn't exist here and people who go for cheap upgrades don't care and/or are not aware. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp#Lack_of_backward-compatibility

What the manufacturer intended it for, and what people use it for, are not necessarily the same thing...! I was travelling in an X-Trail from Colombo to Badulla sometime back and the driver kept switching to 2 to overtake.

what's the difference ?

My understand is that grip and rolling resistance is two different things; it seems like that is also what you are saying here so getting back to the question about wider tyres => more grip => less fuel economy... there are many places where static friction has to be overcome before the car will move (e.g.at the bearing of any rotating part) but that doesn't (?) include the contact between the rubber and the road. if that static friction is overcome, then the tyre will spin without gripping (like what happens on mud; because the static friction is very low there). so more grip (e.g. because of softer rubber in the wider tyre) should not adversely affect economy. if the above is incorrect, I would appreciate if someone can point me to an article that explains otherwise (e.g. that the friction between rubber/road has to be overcome by the engine) (BTW wider tyres may well give poorer economy because of the increased weight / moment of inertia or some other reason; what I am trying to understand is the "grip" part of the story)

BTW I'm quite happy to stick with recommended tyre specs; however, those are a balance of many factors (price, comfort, handling, economy, looks, etc.) so some people do prefer a different balance - like upsized tyres for better looks and cornering but less comfortable and more expensive

I've been searching a bit to try to understand this better; what the engine needs to overcome to move the car is the rolling resistance of the tyre (and air resistance, but that's not the topic here) the main contribution to rolling resistance in a car is the deformation of the tyre (surface can also deform; and there are a few other contributors)... low rolling resistance tyres (like Michelin Energy) have some silica mixed in to reduce the deformation. BTW steel wheels (like in a train) have a much lower rolling resistance (because they don't deform). I can't find comparisons on rolling resistance vs. width for car tyres, but there are several sites about bicycle tyres that say that, for the same pressure, a wider tyre has less rolling resistance than a narrow tyre because the sidewalls flex less. however, racing bikes have narrow tyres because they can be inflated to higher pressures (don't know why that is so) which means lesser resistance, there's also less wind resistance (more significant in a bike than a car), and moreover the tyre itself weighs less (which is also important for cars) I also can't find a connection between the rolling resistance and the "grip". It's also not clear why a wider tyre would give a better grip (assuming the pressure, tyre material, tread, etc. are unchanged) because the size of the contact patch does not change (pressure = force / area; in this case force = weight; so area = weight/pressure) - only the shape will change (wider and shorter for a wider tyre). maybe there's something else at play here (like a softer rubber?)

I get that manufacturers recommend particular tyre sizes for certain reasons; what I don't get is, why is a tyre with more grip bad for fuel consumption?

that doesn't make sense... it is because of the friction between the tyre and the road that the car moves at all; less friction would mean more slipping

how does too much grip lead to poorer fuel economy?

didn't ask about that, but I presume they would be able to do it.

probably monthly target for fine collection has been increased

you restored a 2CV? Awesome.. do you still have it? (And BTW do you know Ray Welaratna?) PS Tried to send this by PM but seems you can't receive them :S