tim-spam

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I don't really think you can blame Top Gear presenters for the tendency of some drivers to drive well beyond their ability or the conditions around them. Hope he recovers fully - a good sign was that he regained conciousness during the rescue.

My wife says I drive quickly, but neither she nor any of my children have ever suffered from either feeling or being travel sick. I'm not sure what that proves though.

Shouldn't they be 215/55 x 16's?

My main concern would be the fact that you can 'lock up' - is your ABS not working?

Skimming the head should make very little difference to the power output. Sorry to hear about your troubles - how many miles had the car done?

Always have a method of measuring caravan nose weight with you (unless, of course, you can remember exactly where you packed everything before). Always take a serviceable spare wheel. Always take a footpump and tyre pressure gauge.

4) Wow ... that's one hell of a sweeping statement to make!! any statstics to back that up! :lol: Oh dear, oh dear, let's deal with each point in turn: 1) The stopping distances quoted are typical for a dry road surface - what else could they be? Unless of course the precise coefficient of friction of the tyres, road surface, brake linings, etc, etc., ambient temperature, relative humidity, etc, etc was recorded during the tests! And then, how meaningful would those figures be? It really is pretty simple - a car / caravan combination takes around 20% longer to stop than a car alone travelling at the same speed, and should be driven accordingly. And a car / caravan can stop more quickly from 60mph than a car alone from 70mph in similar conditions. 2) Of course, conditions vary, as do cars, caravans, tyres, people, etc. But yet again, in similar conditions, a car / caravan combination will take around 20% longer to stop than a car alone, and should be driven accordingly. 3) Where on Earth did you get that from?? It is legal to drive faster in France, and, by the way, just as in the UK, the motorways have a far lower accident rate than other roads. 4) As I said, if you observe most caravans on the motorway, they are being driven far more than 10mph slower than the cars around them, and can therefore stop in a considerably shorter distance. Just because a car / caravan outfit is being towed at 60mph (or 70mph) does not in itself imply any undue danger additional to the normal day-to-day hazards of driving. Again, this really is pretty simple stuff. We have all seen idiots driving past schools at emptying time at 30mph - legal, yes (ish), but safe......? Likewise, there are many who drive at 90+mph on clear motorways in good conditions, which, whilst illegal, does not necessarily pose any undue danger. Likewise again, there are some who tow caravans at 70mph on clear motorways, etc, etc. I think most people understand this.

So, blue seems to be the most popular - I'm a little surprised, although mine is blue - I guess I'm more common than I thought......

One thing I forgot to mention is that GSF, Eurocarparts, etc. attend many of the VWOC meetings, and there are often special deals to be had on spare parts, many of which are suitable for the Galaxy.

If you think that the FFOC is for a younger age group and not really relevant to Galaxy owners (which has got to have at least an element of truth - after all, the Galaxy shares virtually nothing with the Focus), why not try one of the many VWOC meetings - after all, the Galaxy is basically a VW with Ford badges.

What happened to the original ones?

Except , of course, that some emission controlled diesel engines running on high sulphur diesel produce sulphuric acid as a byproduct of the combustion process, which results in serious internal engine corrosion, particularly on the cylinder bores. Whether this is the case for VAG group diesel engines, I don't know. Basically, using red diesel not only risks prosecution, it may also wreck your engine.

Well, deviation in moderation never hurt anyone.

Sorry about the 20mph - yes it should have been 70mph - I'll edit my post. Now, about stopping distances. These are not my own personal measurements, but are based upon figures from the caravan industry. 20% extra distance is an approximation, and is a typical figure - some outfits will be better, others worse. As regards the brakes being better (or I should say sharper) with a caravan or trailer in tow, this is just how they feel in normal driving. However, in an emergency situation, things are a little different. Caravan brakes are designed so that they should not lock up in an emergency, and as locking the wheels would be highly dangerous, the braking effort of the caravan is limited accordingly to well below that for the maximum possible retardation. The other big factor is that caravans are equipped with drum brakes, which tend to grab on initial application (due to the 'self servo' effect of the leading shoes), making them feel sharp. However, this effect very quickly disappears as the drums expand with heat. In addition, when stopping from high speed, drum brakes suffer from considerable fade, leading to a reduction in performance and demanding more of the tow car's brakes. 20% extra stopping distance is a good guide, and it is always prudent to leave extra space between yourself and the vehicle in front when towing. The main reason for my original post was to reassure people that high speed towing with a properly set up and matched outfit is perfectly safe and does not pose any undue risk either to those in the towcar or elsewhere.

Although mine will pull the caravan in 6th, this runs the engine well below its maximum torque, so I tend to use 5th for cruising - you may even find the economy better in 5th as the engine will be working more efficiently at around 2000 rpm. There will also be less gearchanging in hilly areas.

There has been some 'discussion' recently concerning the maximum safe speed at which to tow a caravan, with questions raised over how long it takes to stop. Some have even been flatly accused of driving dangerously just because they touched 70 mph whilst towing a caravan (what's more, by those who have never towed before!). As well as being potentially offensive, this is just plain wrong. In fact, this question is very similar to asking what the maximum safe speed to drive any vehicle is, and the answer is that it really depends upon factors such as the prevailing road conditions, the capability of the vehicles and the capability of the driver. In many cases, it also has little to do with the speed limit. Well, from someone who has done a considerable amount of towing, and therefore has at least some knowledge, here are a few facts concerning stopping distances. A typical car / caravan outfit will have a stopping distance of about 20% longer than the car alone, and if we allow for the same reaction time in each case, the braking distances on a typical road surface are as follows: Car alone from 20mph - 12m; Car / caravan from 20mph - 13m Car alone from 30mph - 23m; Car / caravan from 30mph - 26m Car alone from 40mph - 36m; Car / caravan from 40mph - 41m Car alone from 50mph - 53m; Car / caravan from 50mph - 61m Car alone from 60mph - 73m; Car / caravan from 60mph - 84m Car alone from 70mph - 96m; Car / caravan from 70mph - 111m Car alone from 80mph - 122m Now, whilst caravans are limited to 60mph on British motorways, it is legal to cruise at 70mph on French autoroutes, and you can see that the car / caravan outfit can actually stop more quickly from any speed than a car alone travelling just 10mph faster, and my experience tells me that, whether I am cruising at 60mph in the UK, or 70mph in France, cars are consistently overtaking me at speeds well in excess of 10mph more than me. In other words, should the worst come to the worst, a car towing a caravan could stop in a considerably shorter distance than the cars around it. The records of most insurance companies show that car / caravan combinations have a far lower accident rate than for cars alone - I guess that says it all really. Just one more thing - a fully laden 40 tonne artic. takes between 2 and 3 times the distance to stop as a typical car - something to think about next time you see one bearing down on your rear.......

No, not at all. Save your money (and your MAF!).

Mine barely registered 1/5 of the smoke emission limit on its last MOT. Most modern diesels smoke very little indeed, although if the car is only ever used for short runs and is never driven hard, soot can build up in the exhaust over time and can be blown out during the MOT test, giving a poor result.

No, all the diesels were and are VW.

.....and then there's my wife's car......

Exactly!!

As I said, no problem with deviation (within reason), and no need to apologise for it (again, within reason). But closing threads with words like 'alright that's enough' (like the participants were children) especially after having been part of the thread may not be the best way of doing it. If the thread is truly getting out of hand, just close it - no need for chastisement or getting the last word in.

Well, so far this year, I've replaced all 4 tyres, centre and rear exhaust sections and battery. I'm just about to change the cambelt and rollers. However, all of the above items are consumables or semi-consumables, so I guess it hasn't been too bad, especially as I do all of the work myself. I just hope it stops there!

I have absolutely no problem with a certain amount of deviation from topic - it does, after all, add to the character of this forum. I was in no way being critical of bringing in a discussion about the TIS, Elsawin, etc..- after all, it did sort of follow on - that is usually what threads are all about. What I was being a little sarcastic about, however, was the somewhat high-handed closing of certain threads on the basis of deviation, by one who deviates more than most, so to speak.