After the hard winter I took the Ford in for an oil change, filter changes and some TLC. Had the tires rotated and balanced and scrubbed her down. Getting ready for the planned expeditions and trips of the summer.
Might know it would snow again the day after.
I have had a problem with the gas mileage fluctuating wildly and wanted to check on that also. The technician said the timing was good and the problem was probably the variations in the quality of the fuel we are getting. They will slip alcohol into the blend any time they can and that will crush the fuel mileage as well as decomposing many of the fuel system parts.
Re: Fuel Quality - my diesel powered machine was misfiring quite a lot last year, so when I took it in to the local garage for service etc I mentioned this to the workshop supervisor. They checked everything out, told me everything was normal and then asked me where I usually got my fuel. To cut a long story short they recommended that I do not get any more 'supermarket fuel' and go for the slightly more expensive oil company branded product. This I did. The misfiring does not happen and the mpg has improved slightly. So it would seem that the cheap fuel sellers are scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as quality is concerned.
I have noticed the same thing, running a 2.8 diesel (big engine over here MB ) the inconsistency mileage i get ...over the last year or so in particular , but there again it appears to be going on across the board, smaller quantity cans,smaller bottles,smaller boxes, and quantity in general smaller ...a gram here a gram there , cheaper alternatives...thinner bars of chocolate ....its called INFLATION whilst maintaining profits and even increasing profits ...mostly driven by big corporations, a small company would not last five minuets trading like this, to survive in a small company you are forced to provide Quality, Service, and price ...if you fail in any one of these......some one else Will WIN its called Competition.
supermarket fuel is bought on the Amsterdam spot market, it just conforms to the minimum basic requirements with no extra's such as detergents octane boosters or the myriad of other goodies that are added by the majors, it's false economy buying it you may save a couple of percent on the price at the pump but you will get less mileage and you will be giving you're engine a harder time....I worked for ESSO exxon for you Yanks for a spell in the 90's and we did supply ASDA supermarkets with exactly the same fuel as you cold buy from an ESSO station very cheaply indeed but that contract ended in 1998/99 and to my knowledge none of the other supermarkets have a contract with the major fuel companies anymore.
when I was a kid a Mars bar was 60grams in weight think they're 48 grams now , kingsize was 100 grams when first introduced 85 now , do they think were thick and don't notice these things.
I stopped using supermarket fuel back in the 90's when I went to the garage for my MoT and mechanic said to me you run that on Supermarket fuel don't you! I said yes, but how do you know? He reckons he could heard the difference in the engine tones as I drove it into the garage.
(28 March 2015, 13:23)Midnitemo Wrote: [ -> ]when I was a kid a Mars bar was 60grams in weight think they're 48 grams now , kingsize was 100 grams when first introduced 85 now , do they think were thick and don't notice these things.
And what about Wagon Wheels!! How much smaller are they now??
Bloody right DEV half the size ! ....we should organize a march .....WE WANT ORIGINAL SIZE WAGON WHEELS ..."when do we want it" NOW ! ...what ? ewe doing next weekend DEV...lets geet serious .
Now I must admit that a candy bar protest might be something that would get things accomplished! You could get the entire population behind you, you would know "like minded" folk just by observing their waist size, mobilize the kids at the candy store, have flash mob protests...
Already had mine in for fair chunk of work this year. New alternator was the last outing. Got to keep it as is for a few more weeks until new motor turns up, then it'll only be used by me; so back seats out, wheel spacers on, hoping for an external roll-cage and proper bull-bars instead of the nudge bar I have now. Half length roof rack and flexible solar panels on the back half should cover everything I want. Although full length rack with an awning would be spot on. Means drilling holes in the roof though
I'll do the filters and oil change myself when that comes around in a few thousand miles. Probably should have done the aux belts when I replaced the radiator a few weeks back, they're not difficult, but an extra pair of hands definitely helps.
Can't say I notice different in fuel too much. This thing will happily run on SVO, so giving it derv is a real treat! When the oil prices skyrockets (again) it'll be fed on cherry juice...