Goodbye for now

[Kental]

16 hours ago, Cyker said:

I'm glad you're getting the AWD one after seeing how many RWD BMWs had slid off the road today!!  

 

 

2 series GC is a stretched 1 series so if 2wd then FWD.

[Notfer]

51 minutes ago, Kental said:

2 series GC is a stretched 1 series so if 2wd then FWD.

Aye unfortunately they scrapped the RWD for FWD, although that's not totally a bad thing, but luckily it's xDrive, so AWD.

[TonyHSD]

Rwd and proper awd cars ( pretty much all cars except Toyota hybrids awd)  are tricky to control when under heavy acceleration or in slippery conditions. It requires very quick and very precise control with accelerator and steering wheel, something that not many can do. This is why rwd and awd are more prone to losing control at high speeds and going through deep waters.
Fwd cars are safest to drive in any situations., but that comes at a price, not as fun 🤩 for those who know how to enjoy driving. 👍🏁

[Dylanfan]

When I was at work the directors and top guys had BMW, Mercs etc. All rear wheel drive, I drove 20 miles plus to work through snow and ice on un gritted roads to get to work, they couldn’t get off their drives and drive 4 to 5 mile on main roads. People were sent out to pick um up🤣

[Cyker]

5 hours ago, Kental said:

2 series GC is a stretched 1 series so if 2wd then FWD.

Really?? It almost seems sacrilegious for something to have a BMW M Badge and be FWD! That'd be like having a Subaru without a boxer engine and AWD!

Although saying that my brother recently bought a BMW 2 Series FWD 7 seater MPV so clearly they have branched out a bit  

 

[TonyHSD]

At the office car park a colleague arrived with a Mercedes c class, he tried to park where I was playing with my car earlier without any issues at all , he stopped selected reverse and turned the steering wheel full lock to the left to reverse parking, the rear left wheel was spinning and no movement at all 🛞😂❄️ Well two major errors here: 

1. Rear wheel drive with summer tyres

2. Lack of experience from the driver or simply not thinking at the time. With his front wheels turned full lock to the left acted like a parking brake, all he needed to do was to straighten the steering wheel and the car could have move backwards easily. What he did was full lock to the right and tried forward in which case the Mercedes rear right wheel started to spin and he had already an angry face 😠 and the car became stuck. 😂  Usually it’s not only the car but a combination of all other factors. 👍

[Rhymes with Paris]

Just had another memory of that old Zephyr, I bought it soon after returning from Germany, bricklaying and drinking beer, and scoffing bratwurst.

At that time I think auf wiedersehen pet had just started on the haunted fish tank.

Well ,Oz and Dennis, and the rest of the crew set off on the first episode for Germany in a very rough MK4 zephyr or zodiac, different coloured panels, and smoking exhaust etc.

So back in blighty, the other bricklayers I worked with, royally took the urine, even though my zephyr was in pretty good condition, and nothing like the one in the TV show.

Oh hang on a minute, the other characters, Barry the radish (Timothy Spall, what an actor) went from Birmingham on his triumph bike, and Wayne was from London.

Those times also remind me of a saying that sometimes old people say to younger people,"these are lotus days,eat them slowly"

[Rhymes with Paris]

5 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Rwd and proper awd cars ( pretty much all cars except Toyota hybrids awd)  are tricky to control when under heavy acceleration or in slippery conditions. It requires very quick and very precise control with accelerator and steering wheel, something that not many can do. This is why rwd and awd are more prone to losing control at high speeds and going through deep waters.
Fwd cars are safest to drive in any situations., but that comes at a price, not as fun 🤩 for those who know how to enjoy driving. 👍🏁

Aye Tony, that was more or less the gist of my post about driving in snow and ice on the old RAF runways, to get an idea of how to drive in those conditions.

Eh, I can't even remember where that post is now, but can remember having great fun learning about that nearly fifty years ago.

Funny how memory works like that.

[Roy124]

4 hours ago, Dylanfan said:

When I was at work the directors and top guys had BMW, Mercs etc. All rear wheel drive, I drove 20 miles plus to work through snow and ice on un gritted roads to get to work, they couldn’t get off their drives and drive 4 to 5 mile on main roads. People were sent out to pick um up🤣

I always consider where to park my driving wheels in snow or mud.  Rear wheel drive I will drive into a parking and reverse in if FWD.  When I need to pull onto soft verge on a narrow road I avoid stopping and continue slowly to maintain momentum. 

Worst problem I had was towing a caravan with a FWD.  It was fine on the flat - just.  On a steep hill the trig was all wrong and there was not enough grip for the FWD. 

Always think about where you place the drive wheels. 

[Roy124]

RwP and handbrakes. 

When I had a Triumph 1300 I could turn on a 6 pence.  Thereafter I never had a car capable of handbrake turns. 

The SAAB  had a front wheel handbrake and FWD.  The Merc RWB and a foot operated, hand released rear wheel brake. 

Anyone tried with a Toyota EPB? 

 

[Notfer]

17 hours ago, Cyker said:

Really?? It almost seems sacrilegious for something to have a BMW M badge and be FWD! That'd be like having a Subaru without a boxer engine and AWD!

Although saying that my brother recently bought a BMW 2 Series FWD 7 seater MPV so clearly they have branched out a bit  

 

Nothing with the M Badge is FWD - either RWD or AWD. Unless they're the kind of people that add M/AMG/GR/ST/RS etc to their 1.2 Corsa 😂.

 

[TonyHSD]

18 minutes ago, Notfer said:

Nothing with the M badge is FWD - either RWD or AWD. Unless they're the kind of people that add M/AMG/GR/ST/RS etc to their 1.2 Corsa 😂.

 

See, 

no need to say goodbye to us, just to Toyota but you can keep coming back and have a chat with us from time to time and don’t forget to share your experience and thoughts about  the bmw, we will appreciate it 😉👍 

[RzrAzr]

Ideally Corolla needs to be complemented with a fun car. However nowadays it seems to be much easier to have a fun car be also a sensible daily driver choice and return good mpg and be comfortable enough for daily driving with the new gadgets. 

[Kental]

3 minutes ago, RzrAzr said:

Ideally Corolla needs to be complemented with a fun car. However nowadays it seems to be much easier to have a fun car be also a sensible daily driver choice and return good mpg and be comfortable enough for daily driving with the new gadgets. 

It depends where you live in the UK, (or non UK).  We live in Kent less than a mile from a dual carriageway and all local single carriageway roads are overcrowded, under speed limited and even with central keep left islands when not in town!!!

I have a 1.8 Corolla as it drives and rides well, is comfortable along with plenty of equipment and to be perfectly honest without a motorbike non of my journeys would be more than 30 seconds quicker regardless what I drove.

My brother lives in Lincolnshire and has a M340i xDrive (still a traditional BMW with a longitudinal engine even though it is 4wd).  Now up there it has a material advantage over mine.  In Kent it is just status.

[Rosgoe]

On 12/12/2022 at 9:25 PM, Rhymes with Paris said:

One of the best cars on ice and snow that I had was the old flying pig MK4 zephyr, it was rwd , but I reckon the sheer weight of the thing kept it steady.

Sorry if I'm repeating myself, I have maybe mentioned this before.🤔

Had to be the hillman imp for me and you could get more in the back with the seat folded than the mini.

[davidif]

3 hours ago, RzrAzr said:

Ideally Corolla needs to be complemented with a fun car. However nowadays it seems to be much easier to have a fun car be also a sensible daily driver choice and return good mpg and be comfortable enough for daily driving with the new gadgets. 

This is exactly the route I have taken, with the Corolla for work and longer trips and a Suzuki Swift Sport for fun blasts!

The Corolla is actually slightly quicker than the Swift, but for a short fun drive the Swift is way more engaging. I live on the very outskirts of Worcester less than a mile from country roads.

[Rhymes with Paris]

3 hours ago, Rosgoe said:

Had to be the hillman imp for me and you could get more in the back with the seat folded than the mini.

Aye, I should imagine that rear engine,rear drive helped the tyres dig in.

Didn't the rear window hinge up to load the back of the car?

Not seen an imp for a long time now, or it's cousin the singer chamois.

[bigblock]

6 hours ago, Rosgoe said:

Had to be the hillman imp for me and you could get more in the back with the seat folded than the mini.

The Hillman Imp is firmly planted in my memory as I learned to drive and passed my test in one of these. It was a navy blue one. Showing my age now.

[Rosgoe]

3 hours ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Aye, I should imagine that rear engine,rear drive helped the tyres dig in.

Didn't the rear window hinge up to load the back of the car?

Not seen an imp for a long time now, or it's cousin the singer chamois.

Yep rear window hinged up to load stuff brilliant engine as well Coventry climax. fire service used that engine for years with a water pump attached

[DerekHa]

1 hour ago, Rosgoe said:

Yep rear window hinged up to load stuff brilliant engine as well Coventry climax. fire service used that engine for years with a water pump attached

Yes remember the Hillamn Imp very well. It was a really nippy little vehicle and quicker than than the Mini. That rear opening window did come in handy on occasions but had a habit of leaking as I recall.

That Coventry climax engine was a good one, lightwieght all aluminium but not ideally suited to a smal rear wheel drive saloon car. It was origionally designed as an auxillary engine to power water pumps for the fire service indeed. Not exactly an easy setup to work on for a DIYer though. Coventry Climax already had a reputation for using this engine for racing hill climb cars I believe.