OK, and the scores are in,

Well, you wouldn't get the parts, but...

Czech mechanics tend to be ex militery. For them a car repair workshop isn't a laptop, and a parts catalogue, it is a lathe and a lump of recycled tank.

Ask PeteM, he will tell you. If they need a bolt, stud whatever with a thread, and they haven't got one, they won't go and buy one, they will get a piece of bar or a bigger bolt, measure the sizes they will need and cut one themselves.

Cars of all kinds have been kept running using proper engineering, not parts swapping for decades. And now things are easier, you see 17 year old kids building turbo Skoda Estelles with fuel injection and rear disc brakes in the same way as kids here might brag about going to halfords and having a man bolt an air filter in.

They aren't all Burt Munro, but they have a way with mechanics inbred into them.

Ahhh... so you did drive like a nun then.

I'm in it for the challenge of the fun, but I will improve. And I haven't got a turbo to help me.

I am expecting an improvement in the summer. The average is a bit low after one week of 21, and 1 at 22 thanks to the brake problem.

It will definatley improve thanks to the adaptive native of the injection as things warm up and the air is less dense and summer fuel becomes available. I'm looking sceptically into whether there really is any prolonged improvement in swapped to a re-useable panel air filter as some claim, apart from not paying for a new filter every couple of years, and now the SP9000 is no longer made, what tyres will help without compromising grip/low noise.

I'm not going to be going stupid on the economy changes/mods, just like I won't go mad on performance ones, but I do like improving things where I can for minimum effort/cost.

I've got something with a turbo, but it ain't gonna win any economy challenges (unless supertankers are turbocharged..)

Doesn't that depend which way the challenge is? :-)

(and yes, I believe they are - 2 stroke ship diesels have to be blown, it's part of the cycle - they don't work the same as little 2-strokes)

I got about that when I drove it back from you.

Only getting 20ish at the moment just doing short trips round town... but not surprised!

Seem to have done OK this weekend though - a longer trip with some nice

Aie me too.

LOL! Well, they do recycle energy that's otherwise lost, but they do also restrict the exhaust some of the time too.

I bet I'm also carrying more pies than you... ;-)

So, hmm, some time in the spring when it's a bit warmer? Tim Kemp may also be up for it, perhaps as marshal..?

Michelin Primacy... This one wears 205/55/16Ws. At least I think it's that size; may be 215/55s. I could get Michelin Energy booties for it, I think I wanted to, but it would also be so wrong at the same time.

I don't run the 9-3 on the highest recommended pressures, but near enough. I put all four corners to 35 PSI rather than book-recommended 32. The ride is softer at 32 but economy isn't anywhere near as good as 35 PSI.

Sheeesh that sounds proper tight when I read it back... :-/

Keeping an eye on tyre pressures works wonders, but it's all in the technique. Shutting the donk down at traffic lights is useful too.

I don't go into all this "only buy 3.4 litres of petrol every twenty minutes because the car is lighter" nonsense, or turning the donk off on the move, or slipstreaming at 10 feet; but when it's busy I will match HGV pace at the three second point. Cruising at 55 mph for 20 miles doesn't take much longer than at a cruise of 70 mph, but feels like it takes a lot, lot longer!

I'll bear that in mind, I think mine are 215/45/17.

Not really, book says 36 for extended over 100 driving. or 32 for normal driving. Owners club reckon 35 for all general driving. I've been going with the club, and checking pressure is part of my normal routine.

I daren't shut down, I would have a queue embedded in my rear seat if I didn't race launch on Amber, and at least one of them would be a police van. I'm sure if you asked a Manchester copper what comes after amber he would look at you daft.

Interestingly, I fill for the week, because where I fill up means I would be making loads more of the uneconomical cold local journeys to put in a £10 a day, instead of doing it once a week.

Today coming home, I gave it a bit of gas because the road was clear. Once upto 80, a steady foot without too much twitching gives a nice solid clear 30mpg, and getting home quicker, otherwise, I tend to try and keep to 60.

I think the difference here is between 'low' and 'low for it's age'. It's not bad for it's age, but it's hardly a low-mileage car.

Had 20 bags of portland's finest in my mum's xantia, but thanks to the magic of hydrosquishy suspension, it was fine. :-)

I dunno if 4 burly Czechs and a bouncy castle weigh as much as 20 bags of cement but I got them in my BX once. Similar story with the suspension. Performance was not enhanced and lateral grip was not improved.

Unsurprising really.

That was my thinking, low for age. Hence why I said lowish. I wasn't ever claiming barn find, time capsule, carcoon, "oh look, that is where shergar has been hiding" mileage.

They're like VAG TDIs - use a lot whilst still 'young', but this decreases with mileage.

Yeah - and our one 2.3 V5 Golf was the same. The TDIs often had to be topped up at every check until the second service. We have two 320ds at the office, one the earlier 150 PS and the other the later 163 PS. Both wanted topping up during the first few months a couple of times. Now they appear to be fine.