Safe Speed Forums

Passed test in March 2003.

April 2003 - August 2004: 1995 (M) Ford Fiesta 1.1 CLX 3-door in Petrol Blue

First car after passing my test, bought for £1,800 with around 40,000 miles on the clock. Put... a lot of mileage on it... and discovered that a 1.1 litre engine tends to burn a lot of oil on long motorway trips! Needed something bigger. Actually had this car until August 2005 when I eventually sold it for £700

August 2004 - September 2004: 1999 (T) Audi A3 1.8 Sport 3-door in silver

Discovered that being self-employed causes your mileage to increase dramatically. Needed something bigger with a few luxuries, power steering, air con, electric windows etc. Bought this as approved used for just under £8k with 40,000 on the clock. Had a lovely holiday with my then-gf in Cornwall (really loving the air-con!)... then having owned it for about a month managed to spin it backwards through a hedge (aquaplaned and lost control - had only been driving 18 months so hadn't learnt how to deal with things like that) writing it off. Me... I got away with a bang on the head where I nutted the window as the car spun out. Got the full amount back on the insurance though so all good.

September 2004 - August 2005: 2001 (Y) Audi A4 1.9 TDI SE in blue

Bought to replace the A3 on insurance (I'd wanted the A4 to start with but could only afford an A3 at the time), mileage approx 58,000. Loved this car until it developed a fault in the braking system whereby the servo assistance would fail randomly. Eventually traded it in at 86,000 miles as I lost confidence in the car after one too many close calls with brakes not working.

August 2005 - September 2006: 2003 (52) Audi A4 1.9 TDI SE Quattro in blue

As I'd liked the first A4 so much I tracked down a nearly identical but newer model, same colour (Denim Blue), 30,000 miles, interior was charcoal rather than navy blue and it had the front centre armrest fitted. Oh... and it was the Quattro version. Liked this even more, total convert to Quattro. Ran on Michelins to start with then switched to Pirelli P6000s. Unfortunately this car ended up going nose-first into a hedge due to me driving in a state of mind where I shouldn't have been (personal problems... I was really upset about something and missed the end of the road). Had nearly 70,000 miles on the clock by this point. I walked away without so much as a scratch.

September 2006 - present: 2006 (56) Audi A4 2.0 TDI 170 SE Quattro in silver/grey

Had this from new following the insurance payout from the blue Quattro. Also has a rear parking sensor. Had this brand new (9 miles on the clock!), now has 77,000 miles on it.

Also had an old N-reg Mondeo 2.0 GLX that I was running for a couple of months with 145,000 on the clock!

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Magistrates rule #1: "Never let justice get in the way of a conviction."

Squirrel: I was already thinking about the car after next, and thinking an RS4 Avant (like to plan ahead!!!), but apparently their suspension is even more fragile than my Clio Trophy's.

Have you heard anything about this?

Take a look at this on PH

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Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May

Just had a look at that thread, I suspect it's something to do with the dynamic ride control...

Mine's just got "regular" dampers fitted, although I'm told by the dealership that the Quattro has the suspension components from the A6 fitted. Certainly the damper settings seem a lot firmer on the B7 (MkIII) Quattro than on the FWD version - have driven a few FWD B7s as courtesy cars. Mine's the SE rather than S-line so doesn't have the lowered ride height and can still take up some of the bumps.

On the B6 (MkII) A4 the Quattro and FWD had exactly the same suspension, as mentioned above I had both a FWD SE and a Quattro SE. The FWD didn't suffer too badly from body roll as it would start to understeer long before that became a problem. The Quattro... if you pushed it hard it would understeer (the MkIII doesn't) but you'd start getting body roll long before this. Nothing too bad from the driver's seat but a couple of passengers noticed it, whereas in the MkIII with the stiffened dampers (even though the ride height is the same) doesn't have this problem.

The idea of DRC is brilliant though. Set it to Auto and it'll soften the ride on the motorway and main A-roads. Get onto a B-road and start chucking the car around and it firms up automatically. So you can have your cake and eat it.

Apparently Audi's DRC works by having the dampers filled with ferrofluid (basically oil with iron filings suspended in it) and an electromagnet coil around the damper housing. Energising the electromagnet will cause the iron filings to bind together and increase the viscosity of the oil. A brilliantly simple idea - provided the computer that controls it works properly! However if the system fails it'll simply go into "comfort" mode.

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Magistrates rule #1: "Never let justice get in the way of a conviction."

Have a Google for magnetorehological fluids.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

That's where I got the idea from, thanks though!

Peugeot 306 D.T. Had it since May. I'm just waiting for my local I.A.M. observer to call me then the fun starts

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

Alfa Romeo Competizione

Seriously???

An 8C????!!!!

oh dear... is this a willy waving thread now ?

Recent change?

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Darn it....I just woke up!!! Been dribbling in me sleep as well GT Junior, really

No, I sold the Williams to George Harrison

Do I need to own up now?

Here's a picture of my P & J:

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I won't slave for beggar's pay,
likewise gold and jewels,
but I would slave to learn the way
to sink your ship of fools

Nice P&J you have there

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.