The Car Thread

[Tredman]

Anyone ever bought their own Diagnostic tool?

I've had an amber light come up on the dash, and according to the manual it could be anything from a parking sensor fault to a major engine malfunction. Seems daft to pay 75-100 quid for a garage to do a diagnostics check when I could buy my own for about 50.

I’ve got a Bluetooth OBD reader - don’t use it for diagnostics but it was simple enough to setup and use.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I’ve got a Bluetooth OBD reader - don’t use it for diagnostics but it was simple enough to setup and use.

Cool - what do you use it for?

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Yes, worth every cent. Not sure I’d bother with a smart one that Bluetooths to your phone; usually pulling the code(s) is enough for a quick Google to get you the rest of the way.

Up there with spare tires and jumper packs in terms of usefulness IMO, moreso gradually as the car ages.

I accept that I have no idea if vehicles East of the Atlantic function exactly the same as on the West side when it comes to ECUs and such, though.

Then get one I will

 

[Alan]

Then get one I will

I reserve the right to pretend this never happened if you hate it

 

[The Bear]

Cool - what do you use it for?

You can program the car to activate certain settings through them.

 

[Tredman]

Cool - what do you use it for?

I use it for integration with https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

I bought one for £20 off Amazon and it has found the fault code when the EML came on on both mine and my daughters car. Doesn't mean that you know how to fix it when you've Googled the code/issue but you are better informed as to whether something can wait until a service or needs doing immediately. Also can give you a good indicator of cost.
It will also cancel the light if you want to p/x or MOT

I also have a mate who has an independent garage and he paid over £5k for his and clearly you get lots and lots more information and the ability to re checks as well as run certain programs/remaps.

My £20 was good enough for what I wanted at the time but clearly when I had DPF issues, his was way better.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I bought one for £20 off Amazon and it has found the fault code when the EML came on on both mine and my daughters car. Doesn't mean that you know how to fix it when you've Googled the code/issue but you are better informed as to whether something can wait until a service or needs doing immediately. Also can give you a good indicator of cost.

Yep, that's exactly what I want mine for

I've ordered the XTOOL AD20 Pro for 33 quid.

 

[Jolemai]

 

[Keef]

Lots of rumours that Lotus is closing its uk factory and moving production to America for the Emira, and China for the rest of the range, it’s been really badly hit by trumps tariffs, and hasn’t made a single car at the factory for 6 weeks now.

 

[Kenny]

Now I am no expert but maybe, just maybe it's because Jaguar have stopped building their cars ahead of their "woke" relaunch towards the end of this year.

 

[pagey]

Stolen from FB

 

[EpsomWolf]

Was lucky enough to drive a range of high performance EV’s and ICE’s on track a few months ago. Most things were as you’d expect, the EV’s had blistering performance but with the weight were lumbering units through the corners and on track at least had the strange sensation as if you’d gone to a West End show but the orchestra decided to stay at home.

Biggest surprise though was the motion sickness. Felt pretty pukey at times in the ICE’s but was awful in the EV’s and the instructors did warn of that beforehand so must be something in it. Should’ve asked why but never did. That’s not just a cheap dig at EV’s by the way and perhaps it’s something that would never occur away from the forces at work on a track, but wondered why it might happen and if in normal everyday use it’s actually a thing?

 

[Tredman]

3 kids and had 5 EVs. Not had any car sickness at all - last time it happened was in the old A6

 

[pagey]

Got an EV and the Mother in law refuses to come in it as always get motion sickness, so win win.
No one else has ever mentioned it till now, must be a real thing then.

 

[The Bear]

I've owned one for 4 years and it's the first I've ever heard of it. The physics of being in one is no different to an ICE car.

 

[sycophantia]

I read Epsons post as though he was in some supercars, both ice and ev, being driven round a track at warp speed. That would make most people queasy.

 

[pagey]

Definitely a thing, although it's probably due to getting the body accustomed to the slightly different style of driving.

Why Do Electric Cars Make Me Sick? - Tech Drive Play

Why do electric cars make me sick? Discover the reasons behind motion sickness in EVs and how to alleviate discomfort.

techdriveplay.com

 

[EpsomWolf]

I read Epsons post as though he was in some supercars, both ice and ev, being driven round a track at warp speed. That would make most people queasy.

The Porsche Centre at Silverstone, lucky enough to be in the pilots seat which does help with motion sickness fortunately. Just had a quick google and evidently it’s a thing with EV’s with lots of different theories.

Personally I felt pretty sick with the launch control 0-100-0 which went from incredible to very queasy within a few runs, but the closest to really letting rip were the ICE 4x4’s on the drift circuit. So much grip but they eventually begin to understeer when pressed, then you have to boot it more to break the rear away to instigate the drift or you’re in the barrier. 2wd’s were relatively easy but never got to grips with those things and the sickness from going round in circles is something you don’t forget.

Have probably always been a bit prone to motion sickness so was curious at to whether this is a big thing with EV’s generally. Looks like it could be a bit of a problem going forward but if it’s something mother in laws particularly struggle with then I could buy into that.

 

[Keef]

Wonder if the motion sickness is caused by the lack of noise and the speed you’re doing?
iCE cars have the rising noise off the engine to give you the speed and sensation of speed.
EVs just go with little to no noise, so maybe when you tilt your head from looking forward to out the side window brain just goes whoa whats happening? We’re moving how did that happen?