_dg

Regarding spelling, I noticed this from another forum... Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. I think you'll need a superchip to counter the drag from those bars. LOL But, each to their own

http://burns.thefinaldimension.org/cwm/cwm/eek2.gifeeek I would just ask ... why? Although there is little practical point unless you go off road, I can't see any styling reason what so ever Yes, these may look OK on a boxy 4x4, but the galaxys shape does not lend itself to this addition. I have been nearly tempted to fit some to my Hi-Lux, but the extra inches it adds to the front means that you tend to knock them more often than you do your bumper - and there is nothing worse than bent and rusting bullbars. It reminds me of that VW advert with a new shape golf shown crying when a big air intake was cut into the bonnet.

If you're interested, then Aldi will be having a PocketPC with GPS for

I would like to bring the drivers door in a bit nearer. The number of times I have gone to rest my elbow on the top of the door or door handle, missed and banged my head on the glass. DOH! Can there be too much space?

I use tomtom 2, and GPS wise it is dead accurate - it tells me to turn where the kerb stones start to bend! There are some issues with missing towns or towns in the wrong place, but this is a data input issue by the programmers and all such mapping units have some errors.Check out the forums on www.pocketgps.co.uk An added advantage is the regularly updated Speedcam database from the above site, and also all the other POI's (points of interest). Just imagine how cool it is to pull out of a traffic jam, or leave the bank holiday motorway jam at the next junction, tap your screen, and let the unit take you down the country lanes to your destination. Brilliant Also I still can't believe that it manages to store all the UK info on the machine and you can zoom in to door number level. After the steering wheel, it is the best invention for the car. The big advantage with the Galaxy, is that you can mount the Pocket pc on the dash and you then have a speedo that is not obscured by the bloody steering wheel. Hurrah.

eeek. What about that horrible deep red/maroon colour. Arrrghhhh, my eyes..... http://burns.thefinaldimension.org/otn/shocked/Wow1.gif

This testing is more likely to occur when there is evidence that you may have been at fault. If the cause of your claim is that someone reversed into you in a carpark, tipped brake fluid on your roof, scraped the side of your doors etc, then the insurer is very unlikely to check your engine chip. And what if you had your car serviced, and the mechanic diagnosed a problem with your engine management system and adjusted it for you. How would you be expected to know that your engine now has an extra 50 HP ? dg

Would an insurer really bother to check for a chipped engine on a Galaxy (as opposed to an obviously souped up gti look-a-like)? How would they tell if the engine was chipped - wouldn't they need to test it to see if performance has been uprated?

Tell me about it. On getting cut up I have washed the front and rear screen put the wipers on, flashed main beam, and indicated left and right. Tried to wind the windows down for some good old fashion abuse and adjusted the bloody door mirrors. By the time I have found the horn I am half a mile down the road and giving some old lady pedestrian a blast! Now I just tut and say "silly man" (or more likely woman - lol). Its easier. I bet the taxi drivers hate galaxies - they have to get out and actually ring your doorbell. Outrageous

You see a number of cars travelling around with slightly bent roof bars, and these are normally the cheaper ones. Ford and Thule are roughly the same price, and worth it. BTW, if you get the Ford ones, don't try and tighten the securing (allen key) bolts too much - the head snaps off very easily and alternative bolts are not easy to find. Edit: Don't forget to budget for some small step ladders!! . Also, don't forget to take them with you for unloading!!! LOL

I thought there was some calculation you could do, as it is only worth buying a diesel if you did a certain amount of miles per year? The fuel and servicing costs are generally higher, so could cancel out mpg savings. I did a weeks summer tour of Cornwall, with big roofbox, four kids, luggage etc and aircon all the time, and got about 30mpg from my 2.3 petrol. I thought this was really good, considering the hills and gear changes. But I made use of the A roads where possible. Incidently, I have always had petrol cars, and I have found that I have always had to fill up every 2 - 2 1/2 weeks, and seem the get roughly the same amount of miles between fill ups. So in that respect, it seems that my petrol costs have been the same whatever car I had. I expected lower mpg with the galaxy though, but have been pleased with it as it is not costing me any more to run than the car it replaced.

I had this problem, and asked the question here a few months ago. I was told by a ford rep that the car would have to go on to one of their diagnostic units to find out exactly if the car had a remote unit installed. They could not tell just by vin or reg number. And location of cabling and the unit may differ. Mine is a 2.3 zetec - 2000 old shape. Apparently some may have had it as the new spec came on line and newer parts may have been fitted to the last of the old spec cars. I never found the time though, but will investigate further. I thought I'd loccated an IR reciever though, but one turned out to be the heated screen connector, and the other was the rear side window ariel connector. DOH! dg

I notice from the Ford web site, that the body kits "... are painted in vehicle colour and will not be damaged in car wash". Do they therefore come already painted, or should this be "... can be painted in vehicle colour... "? Cheers dg

Can anyone recommend any console or similar unit to get more storage places in the front seat area of an old shape Galaxy? I find that for such a big area around the driver and front seat, apart from the door pocket, ashtray and under the radio - storage space is non existant. Cheers dg

I came accross this link in another forum http://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/173460...01.phtml#thread. May take a little time to download the pics, but it is worth it. This is what I call a cool system, and I will be chalking out my dash to see if I can fit one. Then I will be selling the house and having all mail directed to my Galaxy. I don't know what to do with the kids though. dg

I think the bubbling within a short time looks even worse! If you are going to get it done, get some proper tinted glass. dg

There are lots of ways to modify a car, but a modification will only have consequence on any insurance terms if the modification is likely to affect the chances of the car being stolen (ie desirability) , or drastically increases the value of the car in any loss or repair. I would doubt that the insurance assessor would even notice anything on your vacuum pipe, nor for that matter know what a vaccuum pipe is! Anyway, I was under the impression that these fuel saving devices crop up every now and again, but when thay are tested by the relevent consumer bodies (eg Which? or AutoExpress etc) they are found to be of little value. Consider, if they are so good why have the manufacturers with all their RD budgets not figured it out sooner or made them available as optional extras? I would say that having your tyres inflated/deflated a little past the recommended pressure, driving into the wind, having a window open or the aircon going is just as likely to influence the mpg. I am not aware of any proof that these contraptions work. dg

The misting starts on the windscreen but quickly spreads to all glass including the rear window - which is why I suspected a recirculation problem. However, I recall it being a bit humid recently so I may monitor external weather before I start dismantling anything, just in case it is a "feature" of the car dg

LOL I tried this recently and changed down to lower gears. I noticed other drivers giving me the "you're a mad man" look as we zoomed past them at warp speed. I am still trying to get the top of the seats to puff back out after being firmly squashed by my passengers' very firm grip. dg

I am also noticing that even when approaching junctions/islands etc on level roads, the engine still seems not to want to decelerate. I agree that the engine is otherwise smooth, but I am having too frequent sudden braking for my passengers liking! I am not looking forward to winter driving and having to use my brakes to slow down on an icy road. On the subject of driving instruction - would this explain why the majority of vehicles I am behind have brake lights that flash at regular 5 second intervals in even the slightest bit of traffic? dg

I find that the interior glass gets misted up quite quickly when I am just using the air blower - requiring frequent use of the air-con system to clear it. I know this can happen with re-circulated air, but the settings I am using are for fresh external air (ie the amber light is Off). I presume the intake flaps are electronically controlled, but is there a simple way I can test that the interior is getting external air? If all is OK, is this a common thing with the ventilation system? Cheers dg

Having just used my new (W) 2.3 Zetec petrol on some twisting and hilly country roads, I find that engine braking is non-existant - the engine and car will continue to accelerate when I change down gears whilst going down even the slightest slope. Is this a common feature of the Zetec engine? Cheers dg

I use a PDA (Ipaq) and TomTom II. I find this a better, and more versatile system than a dedicated unit - plus it is a lot cheaper. dg

Cheers I have the old shape. Further enquires show that while the car was registered in mid 2000, the build code indicates that it was built in August 1999! A technician says that Ford would have started to install the newer parts to the very last of the old shapes, and mine may have been too early. But I am not too sure. Perhaps I should trust car salesmen a little more? lol Its' just a little hard using a key to open a car after 19 years of using key fobs. Well the price of a second key seems to be a big con. Could you imagine if Barratts only gave you one complete set for your new house? dg

I recently purchased a 2000 (W) model - 2.3 zetec, and want to find out if I should have remote locking. The dealership could not seem to find the required module, and apparently the car will have to be connected to their diagnostic computer to find out. When I was looking at other similar (and also some slightly older) models on the forecourt, I recall that they did have the remote keyfobs. Can anyone advise if this model would have come with a remote locking keyfob as standard? If not what are my options? Ford have quoted a price of