12v auto jump start tool ... any good ?

On 21/12/10 21:00, Mrcheerful wrote: i again Dave :)

Could be interesting with a limited-slip diff?

well thought of, but once again: brave and strong. or thick and determined. When AA/RAC is so cheap why on earth would anyone in the uk worry about it? Maintain the car, carry a cellphone and be in one of the breakdown services. all bases covered.

That's what I replaced the std battery with in my E39. It now has a 96ah,

I dunno. The Mini was an 850 one - and larger engines are always more difficult to start by hand using a starting handle so I'd guess the same applies doing it with the wheel.

On the last two times I've been involved with the emergency services - once RAC, once AA, both in or near London, they've taken so long to arrive and or arrange recovery I'd never bother with them again.

OTOH, someone I know who only upgraded to Homestart last Friday when the pump belt broke on his T4, and after the minimum membership period of 48 hours, was told on Monday he may have to wait up to five hours for help due to the workload. He was actually towed to his preferred garage within the hour.

With any type of service, you will get variations in quality. On average, most users have a good experience with the AA; they're just the ones you don't hear about.

Chris

In article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus

Britannia rescue, much better service so I've found on the rare occasions I've had to use them:)..

You'd have to be a bit desperate to twist start rather than just push starting. If the road is dead level you should be able to push a mini reasonably fast, and if there's a hill - well just make sure you are pushing it the right way.

I was - I couldn't push the Mini van away from the kerb camber on my own and it was parked between cars.

So, you were in the middle of the road pulling this caper? :)

Depends on compression ratio too.

or this one

No more in the middle of the road than changing a wheel. ;-)

I avoid doing that. You really need an RAC/AA truck double-parked to protect whoever's doing it. Without that, I'd be worried about qualifying for a Darwin Award.

They both have the same battery inside (17ah, 400 cranking amps). Personally, I'd buy the cheaper one, as you end up paying an awful lot for the air compressor part with the more expensive one.

I've got one of these:-

The compressor does a good job on Landie and pushbike tyres.

Others are not so pleased, if you read the comments.....

It was on a town side street - not motorway. Has everyone gone 'safety' mad?

My 20 quid Lidl one has a compressor. Which actually gets a fair bit of use - since garages charge for air these days.

IKEA have a free air line, and the cafe breakfast is very cheap with an IKEA family card.